On the first season finale of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the Stranger encountered Sauron’s witches, who believed him to be their master; Queen Miriel returned to Numenor; and Galadriel took the wounded Halbrand to Eregion to be healed with Elvish medicine. There, reunited with Elrond and King Gil-galad, she learned what Celebrimbor had planned to avert the Elves’ doom.
Let’s get straight to it: and in case you’re new here, there will be spoilers if you haven’t seen the episode.
1. The Stranger is Not Sauron, He’s a “Very Old Friend”
The wraith witches turn out to be wrong, realizing the Stranger is one of the Istari, the five Maia sent to combat the Dark Lord, who will eventually be known as the Wizards of Middle-earth. Unsurprisingly, given the Stranger interrupts the mystics before they name him, actor Daniel Weyman and the show’s creators are staying mum on which Wizard he actually is, but the signs he is Gandalf himself are all there: he denounces the wraiths as creatures of the “shadow,” his magic manifests in the form of moths ala the films, and (in the biggest kicker of them all), he tells Nori to always follow her nose. (Not to mention he politely uses her full name.)
Yes, he’s arrived centuries ahead of schedule in Tolkien’s timeline, but I genuinely do not care, I roared with delight finally “recognizing” my dearest imaginary friend. There’s such a kindness in Weyman’s performance too, that really makes him feel like a younger Ian McKellen. Since the mystics knew about the Istari, I presume the others are already active, so if the Stranger turns out to be a different Wizard, I’ll be suing for malpractice. It should be added no one will likely coin the name Gandalf for many years, but I hope we receive a better name than the Stranger, or “the Other.” I would personally like to call him “the Friend,” but that’s a little sappy, so perhaps merely calling him the Wizard will do.
2. Many a Moving Farewell
Sadoc is fatally wounded helping rescue the Wizard, which was very upsetting, but it would’ve felt false if he had survived, given he bravely ran around still intervening while bleeding out: it was emotional to see him decide to spend his last moments watching the sunrise, and inspiring that he accepted his death so comfortably, especially in a saga full of characters railing against their destiny. (I must add, in retrospect, his last lines in the previous episode aren’t that funny now.) Poppy amiably takes on the role of the Harfoots’ new wayfinder, although this means goodbye to Nori, who decides to accompany the Wizard after her family once again encourages her to persevere in helping him. With Nori and the Wizard heading east, and the amount of storylines being juggled, it’s hard to imagine Poppy and the rest of the Brandyfoot clan appearing next season, but in any event, I look forward to their eventual reunion with our young heroine.
3. This is a Little Hasty
You may recall I described the series premiere as being slowburn, and while that may’ve only been because of how much ground it had to cover, it was certainly true in contrast to this episode, which races through the creation of the three Elven rings. Halbrand recovers quickly from the worst of his injury, and wanders into Celebrimbor’s forge to befriend the kindly Elf. I can buy that happening under Galadriel’s nose, but it’s surprising how soon he becomes an invaluable member of the mithril project, and no, having her slyly comment, “All of a sudden, you two seem quite familiar,” doesn’t change that. Granted, she’s unsettled by the resemblance of Celebrimbor’s words to Adar’s description of Sauron (and him behaving like he has repressed memories), but even a small addition like her asking Halbrand, “When do you intend to return to the Southlands?,” could’ve gone a long way to make the passage of time feel less short.
4. But Good (Dark) Lord
I had begun to believe Halbrand was Sauron after part six, where Adar failed to recognize him, despite his personal emnity towards the Uruk, plus the inexplicable circumstances surrounding his return and infection; the reference to his alter-ego in the books (Annatar, the Lord of Gifts) here sealed it for me. Regardless, his admission was electrifying: Galadriel’s fear after she disclosed she had discovered his deception was palpable, you could tell this was her worst nightmare, and it did turn into one, with Sauron cruelly taking on the face of her late brother Finrod to persuade her to forgive him. It was a silly move — if you’re trying to persuade her you’re truly good now, that you were scared of how she might react if she knew, then posing as the spirit of the sibling you murdered was a terrible idea — but then, as actor Charlie Vickers reminds us, Sauron is evil.
Continued belowSauron continues to demonstrate his malice and narcissism after Galadriel hesitates about his offer to make her a queen (a temptation that will haunt her until her meeting with Frodo), leaving her for dead in the river. However, Galadriel cannot bring herself to tell the others what happened, because it would jeopardize the Elves’ hope of staying in Middle-earth, on top of all the repercussions she would face. (Wow, now that I think about it, that’s depressingly topical.) It’s always been dreadfully ironic the Three Rings maintained the Elven realms in spite of being tied to Sauron’s fate, and perhaps Elrond’s discovery that Halbrand was a smokescreen will lead to him being cordially welcomed back to Eregion — after all, Sauron is trying to do good, albeit in his own conceited way, and opposes Adar, while the Seven and the Nine have still yet to be forged.
5. Meanwhile in Numenor
Wait, there’s more? I admit I felt we didn’t need more storylines in the finale, but the scene of Miriel and Elendil reminding each other to trust in the way of the Faithful was very poignant, especially after Sadoc’s sacrifice. The main development was Miriel’s father Palantir passing away, and Earien discovering his namesake seeing stone after he mistakes her for his daughter. What this portends, I cannot say, for I do not have the gift of foresight myself, although I imagine Earien might use it to discover her presumed dead brother Isildur’s whereabouts. Pharazon’s reaction to Palantir’s death was also surprisingly sincere, and I wonder if his reckoning with mortality means we might be gazing at a future Ringwraith.
This has been, simply, an incredible ride for me as a devout Tolkien fan: it almost makes up for The Hobbit films. Eight, admittedly feature-length episodes, were simply not enough, and with filming on season two having only just begun, it’s going to be a long wait until 2024. At least we have the first season to rewatch now, knowing what we know, and to wit, I can scarcely believe the title character of The Lord of the Rings himself, is now one of the leads of a prestige TV show.
Namárië friends: I leave you all with Fiona Apple and Bear McCreary’s incredible take on the Ring-verse, which certainly takes me back to reaching the end of the second film in 2002.
