The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power episodes 5-6 review: The battle for Middle-Earth has begun

4/5

Story: The Queen regent of Númenor finally agrees to aid Galadriel in her quest to go into battle against the Orcs. A determined Isildur hopes to join the war efforts alongside his friends and father. In the Southlands, Arondir and Bronwyn rally the villagers to take a stand against Adar and the Orcs. Elsewhere Nori and the Harfoots get a glimpse of what their strange human companion is capable of.

Review: It is no secret that House of the Dragon and Rings of Power are in direct competition with each other. With both fantasy TV shows having completed their respective first halves of seasons, House of the Dragon has comfortably come out on top, and it is arguably more popular at present than The Rings of Power. But with the sixth episode, the latter has quite remarkably catapulted forward. It is by no means a suggestion that House of the Dragon has suffered a dip in quality, but instead, it signifies how the Rings of Power has suddenly burst into life.

Despite a solid pilot episode, The Rings of Power appeared to have lost its momentum, in a manner similar to the Apple TV+ original series Foundation. But with episodes five and six the series has roared back to life and the immense potential it showed earlier on in the season has finally come to the fore. The pacing of the narrative is just perfect, the performances engrossing, and the tension in the story palpable with scintillating action, stunning visuals, and incredible character development.

The sixth episode, in particular, titled Udûn, is everything one expects from a Lord of the Rings story. It’s also quite remarkable how the visuals of the series are possibly better than most big-budget feature films, and it is certainly of much higher quality than House of the Dragon. However, the sixth episode thrives when it delves deeper into the lore of The Lord of the Rings and fleshes out its characters. It’s also not surprising that the episode not featuring Elrond and his ‘secret mission’, and the Harfoots and the Stranger is the standout so far. Because even after six episodes there is hardly any progress in their respective storylines.

The series is at its best when Galadriel and Arondir are the focus. Episode six gives a new facet to Galadriel's character, a darker side in fact. There is one scene in particular that hints that her relentless pursuit of Sauron could be turning her into the darkness she is trying to eradicate. The scene in question is riveting and touches upon several themes which are even relevant to contemporary real-world socio-politics. Surprisingly, the Elven soldier Arondir has become one of the best characters in the series. There is also significant exposition about Adar’s history given in this episode — one could almost empathise to an extent about his motives.

Verdict: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has finally delivered on its promise. If the series can build on the incredible sixth episode and conclude the first season in spectacular fashion, even the harshest critics could have different opinions by the finale.