Rings of Power Season 2, Episode 3 BREAKDOWN

Welcome back, everyone, it’s time to close  out week one of Rings of Power with episode   3! We finally get back to Numenor, catch  up with not-dead Isildur as probably picks   up arachnophobia, and move forward the  Annatar storyline with a dose of dwarves. As always, we’re taking a deep dive  into the episode by analyzing the story,   catching the lore references, and  theorizing. Make sure you’re subscribed   with notifications on so you don’t  miss future breakdowns, watch parties,   and most of all weekly Tolkien lore  videos here on Nerd of the Rings. This week has another big recap segment,  followed by a scene from season 1 where   Elendil let’s his son’s horse Berek run off  and as I guessed, he’s off to save his master   ala Brego and Aragorn in The Two Towers.  But before we get there, we get a nice map   transition to the broken tower from season  1 where we got the whole key-water-volcano   bit. We can see Mount Doom in the background  and Mordor is obviously super gloomy nowadays. Berek comes across a group of orcs who wanna  capture him and Berek kicks and launches one,   impaling him on a tree. I gotta say,  I kinda want to see how high Berek   the killer horse’s body count can get. Equine  Rambo escapes into the black forest, which an   orc says nothing comes out of alive. Given the  recent renovation of Mordor, I have to wonder:   is this a recent reputation? Does the destruction  of all the trees in the forest make a difference? Berek finds Isildur in a cave bound up by  spiderwebs. A fight ensues with an orc,   which gets taken out by a larger spider as we  see a LOT of new hatchlings. We see a larger   spider - now there were rumors that Shelob  would appear in season 2, but I don’t think   this is necessarily her. It seems a bit small  for a being that’s already been around for at   least 1000 years. More likely, I think this could  be one of Shelob’s children - among her spawn are   the spiders that much later inhabit Mirkwood  - the ones that Bilbo runs into in The Hobbit. Judging by Shelob or her spawn here,   we can however guess Isildur’s location  - likely at the Ephel Duath mountains on   the western border of Mordor - near what will  later be known as the pass of Cirith Ungol. Next, we catch up to Isildur’s father Elendil at  the funeral of King Tar-Palantir. His daughter   Earien clearly blames Miriel for her brother’s  alleged death. Miriel appears and we can   see behind her they have a lot of seashell wall  hangings with candles for light. They really go   big on the seashells, as it seems tradition  to place a shell on the casket of the dead. We see Miriel, who was blinded last season,  has Elendil be her eyes as to what is going   on and we meet a new character in Belzagar, a  lord from the north of Numenor. This region is   called Forostar in the books, and was known as  a dwelling place of Eagles. The name Belzagar   is actually one from the books as well. There  he is the 18th King of Numenor for reference,   Miriel’s father is the 24th. While  his Adunaic name is not glossed,   it is possible this means “Sword of Light” which  is what his elvish name “Tar-Calmacil” means. Miriel asks if Pharazon has Belzagar’s ear - or  is it the other way round, and Elendil says “the   latter”. We are going to see these two get up to  some shady stuff later on. Miriel gets slapped by   a woman who lost a son in the battle, and I gotta  think this would hit harder if it wasn’t an all   volunteer force that went. If Miriel had sent  a serving army, it’s a lot less their decision   and solely hers. I gotta say, I love that Miriel  reacts to this with such compassion, giving the   grieving mother a hug - and grieving with her  is such a counterintuitive, yet amazing act. Next we see Miriel hiding a bracelet from  Pharazon, who says it’s time for her to choose her   coronation gown - crimson for Numenor’s future or  white for its past. Miriel chooses white because   it is what her father wore. Pharazon pushes red  to symbolize a new kind of ruler for a new day,   but Miriel sticks with white. They mention  that if an eagle shows up at a coronation,   which is incredibly rare - it’s a huge deal.  People would flip out about how awesome it is. We then get a scene of Pharazon, Belzegar,  Earien, and Kemen chatting in a pub. Isildur’s   buddy Valandil overhears Kemen, probably the most  punchable person on the show, talking about how   unfit for rule Miriel is. Belzegar talks about  how Pharazon was almost chosen to rule instead   of Miriel, which I’m not entirely sure how that  would check out - Miriel is by rights the heir   to the throne. It’s not like Numenor has a  senate that elects the ruler or something. Anyway, Belzegar and Pharazon chat over the  chances of supplanting the queen regent,   and Earien hints at knowing a way  to turn the tide against Miriel.   It’s here that Valandil comes up  to confront Kemen and it was his   lines about his father that made me realize  he is the Alfrid of this show for me… We see Miriel use her bracelet key to go up to the  palantir room, but it’s gone. In the background,   as in last season we get quick glimpses of  presumably, Narsil, Elendil’s future sword,   and the swan shield - a reference to Tuor of  Gondolin - the grandfather of Elrond and Elros. Back at the orc camp, Adar says they’ve  got to make certain that Sauron is no more,   and we see a baby orc bundled up in its mother’s  arms. In case you’ve ever wondered about orc   reproduction - the Silmarillion tells us  the orcs “had life and multiplied after   the manner of the Children of Iluvatar”  - those being of course elves and men.   And well, if you’re wondering how elves and  men reproduce, go ask your parents I guess. Next up we get the introduction of a big ol  hill-troll. Adar calls him Damrod of the Ered   Mithrin. The Ered Mithrin, or Grey Mountains,  are the mountain range north of Mirkwood.   This range is known for being a later  home of the dwarves where they fight a   war against dragons. Adar mentions Damrod  being an eater of dragon bones and killer   of stone-giants. No doubt the dragon-bones  relating to the geography of his location. As for stone-giants, they are named for  the stones they throw at one another,   not made of stone themselves. Speaking of  geography though, I have to wonder how long   it took a troll to lumber down to Mordor from the  Grey Mountains, presumably only traveling at night   lest he turn to stone. I mentioned this in  a trailer breakdown but his name, Damrod,   is actually the name of one of Faramir’s rangers  of Ithilien in the late third age. In Sindarin,   this roughly translated to metal hammer. Perhaps  Adar gave him this name as he’s the only one with   any seeming elvish connection, but it still  kinda feels weird to call a troll Damrod,   so in my head I’m still going with  Bob. Not sure what problem Bob could   have with Sauron. I wouldn’t be surprised if  he joins up with him instead. Just a hunch. Next we are back in Eregion where Celebrimbor  offers aid to Durin and Disa in the form of   Rings of Power which will heal the mountain  just as it healed the Lindon tree. Again,   I’m not entirely sure how the  rings will heal the mountain,   but perhaps that’s something that we shouldn’t  ask for too scientific an explanation for.   We see the table represented in the title  sequence setup for seven rings to be forged. I like this little interaction between Durin  and Annatar here, although Annatar rolls a 1   on diplomacy when he says Elrond said Durin  is the wisest of dwarves. It comes across as   something that could work for an elf, but  not really an approach for dwarves. And   it’s a funny moment - and honestly exactly  what i was thinking - that Elrond wouldn’t   say such nice things about Durin. Not that he  doesn’t think his buddy is awesome - it just   seems like too flowery of a way to speak  your dwarf bro. Playing off last episode,   we see Durin IV is just as stubborn as  his dad, not wanting to speak to him. Now real quick, I should point out that the idea  of Celebrimbor and Annatar bringing the dwarves in   on the entire Rings of Power scheme is an original  concept for this show. In the books, the two great   smiths create the seven and the nine rings of  power and they are all meant to be for the elves.   It’s only after Sauron attacks Eregion that he  takes the rings remaining there and distributes   them - seven to dwarves and nine to men. Given  the three were forged early and the magic mithril   from season 1, it kind of makes sense to start  getting dwarves involved early, otherwise they’d   basically be repeating the same story that was  kind of rushed into the finale of last year. Annatar continues to manipulate Celebrimbor,  saying Gil-galad deems dwarves unworthy of the   power and has forbidden the forging of any  more rings. Granted Celebrimbor just said   last episode how they couldn’t forge any for men  because they weren’t worthy. Celebrimbor resolves   to lie to Gil-galad, sending word to Lindon  that he is closing up the forge. I gotta say,   thus far the Annatar-Celebrimbor  stuff is largely clicking for me.   I think Charles Edwards in particular is  doing a really solid job of conveying a   skilled and obsessed craftsman who sees his  chance at greatness after centuries and is   ready to seize it, though it blinds  him to the danger in front of him. Berek and Isildur stop to find some pools of  super gross water with Numenorean corpses in   them. No doubt this is meant to evoke the  dead marshes that we see in the two towers,   but we aren’t anywhere near that  time, or especially location,   at this point. Isildur does pick up some  new boots from the encounter though. Isildur meets a girl named Estrid and it’s love  at first stab. They check out a map and resolve   to head to the Numenorean port of Pelargir.  Pelargir will later become the main port city   in Gondor and features in a number of battles  between the Gondorians and the Corsairs of Umbar. Estrid mentions she’s searching for her betrothed  so Isildur doesn’t get any ideas, but I’m   pretty sure her story is BS. I think there’s a  chance this could end up being Isildur’s wife,   he will after all need to have some heirs from  which Aragorn descends before his story ends. They find an injured guy, but it’s  a trap. The guy has the Adar brand   on his arm and they steal his horse.  Fortunately, Arondir comes in to do   his cool twirly whirly fighting. He’s kind  of grumpy though, as we will see Bronwyn   died between seasons - so maybe Hawkeye here  is in his Ronin phase a bit. He seems kinda   grumpy toward Numenoreans despite majorly  having his butt saved by them not long ago. Next we see the funeral pyre for Bronwyn,  and while Arondir is all sad and slow,   Theo just comes up takes the torch, sets  it on fire, and turns away. It’s kind of   hardcore for a kid…his Witch-king or Nazgul  odds definitely are going up based on vibes. We head back to Khazad-dum where Narvi says the  food merchants want to open the grain reserves,   but Durin IV comes in first - apparently being an  outcast prince still enables you to skip the line.   He humbles himself to his father and conveys the  message about the rings, and apologizes. I really   like the line here when Durin talks about miners  punches landing hard and King Durin says “wait   til your children grow up”. It’s a nice moment of  recognition between the two that has a touch of   poetic subtlety we didn’t get in a lot of other  storylines last season. Durin says he doesn’t   trust the whole rings thing and uses some of his  father’s logic from last season in his argument. Real quick, I know this is a drum I’ve beat  before, but it still makes no sense to me   that they’re both named Durin. Like you could  literally call the son anything else and it   would’ve been totally fine with the dwarven  reincarnation lore - and more practically,   just not having to keep specifying which  Durin you’re talking about. Anyway… Turns out Browwyn died from a poisoned orc arrows  and Arondir says human flesh doesn’t easily forget   the foulness. Fun fact: elves are said to be  far more resilient than men when it comes to   sickness and wounds. Arondir tries talking  to Theo, referencing the realm of Beleriand,   which was actually more a continent than a  realm, that was destroyed at the end of the   first age. Theo ain’t having it, says you’re not  my dad, and says they don’t need to speak again. Theo then meets up with Isildur who reveals the  water fountain they’re using to get water is an   aqueduct. After Isildur brags about indoor  plumbing, Theo has just the quintessential   teenager attitude while saying “if Numenor  is so great, why did you leave?” Theo then   offers to help him get his horse back, and  I kinda like the potential of this dynamic   between these two characters. And if Theo  does indeed become the witch-king, it would   be kind of a wild pairing of Sauron’s greatest  servant and the sire of the line Sauron fears. Isildur chats up the new girl on the block,   revealing that his mother died saving him -  something nobody else knows. Isildur and Theo   head out and we get the reveal that Estrid  has the Adar brand on the back of her neck,   which she tries to get rid of by burning an even  bigger mark. Isildur sneaks into the camp of those   bad dudes that stole his horse before he’s almost  found. But Theo rolls up saying he’s one of them,   showing off the mark left from the shadow  sword hilt-volano-making-key thing from   last season. As Theo is nearly attacked, we  find the axe of the guy cutting a tree in the   background is launched into one dude’s chest,  and all heck breaks loose. Based on the sounds,   these folks are being attacked by Ents. The ents  once lived all across Middle-earth and Beleriand.   Treebeard name drops lands like Ossiriand,  Dorthinion, and Neldoreth in the Two Towers. And all the lands of Eriador - were once part  of Fangorn Forest. This notably changed due   to both the Numenoreans and Sauron. Aldarion the  Mariner started a great deforestation of Enedwaith   and Minhiriath in order to build more Numenorean  ships in around the 9th century of the second age,   and Sauron’s destruction wrought across Eriador  after sacking Eregion would ravage the lands.   Through these actions is how Fangorn ends  up being just at the south east corner of   the Misty Mountains - though notably that  seems to already be the case in the show. Now, I’m sure we’ll get a better  look at these ents coming soon,   but I’ll be curious to find out  whether they are ents, entwives,   or a mixture of both. Being near Pelargir, they  are quite a long way from the forests of Fangorn. Next we head back to Numenor where Miriel  is about to be crowned Ruling Queen. In   the books by rights, Miriel should  have become the fourth Ruling Queen   in Numenor’s history, were it not for  Pharazon usurping the throne. Notice,   Pharazon is wearing the same color red  here that he recommended to Miriel earlier. Just as Miriel goes to grab a sceptre, someone in  the crowd yells out Queen of Lies! A quick note on   the sceptre, it was indeed the symbol of the ruler  of Numenor rather than a crown. The priest guy   points out that only the voice of a king or queen  is permitted during the ceremony. While this isn’t   something for coronations, it is reminiscent  of something from the books. In Numenor,   they had three annual ceremonies - the Three  Prayers they are called. During these ceremonies,   the King or Queen would take a fruit offering  to the summit of Meneltarma - the holy mountain   on Numenor. Many people would accompany them -  all clad in white and wearing garlands. During   the three prayers, only the King or Queen would  speak, as Numenoreans believed only their rulers   had the right to make the offerings and give  speeches on the summit of the Holy Mountain. Earien comes in to reveal  the palantir. As we know,   the palantiri were created by Feanor  and given to the Numenoreans by the   elves - and as we know in Numenor elves =  bad. Pharazon shows his cunning by saying “ah,   these are clearly lies because the true ruler  would never put trust in an elvish artifact.” Miriel fesses up to being its owner and says we  need it and Elendil goes to pick it up but gets   thrown for some reason, which makes the mob turn.  They move to attack Miriel when an eagle shows up,   flying to the great window and looking toward  Miriel. As was established by Pharazon earlier,   this is a super rare and great occurrence.  But Belzegar starts chanting “Pharazon”   kinda like yeah….this is what this  means and the Numenoreans go with it,   which can only lead me to the conclusion  that Numenoreans are mostly idiots.  Not only were they afraid of elves taking their  jobs and enthusiastically volunteered to go to   war, but when, spoiler alert, soldiers die in  battle, they turn on her and go all mob at the   coronation. Which also begs the question -  who invited these people to the ceremony. I gotta say, Miriel is one of the characters I  have mostly enjoyed so far in the show. I think   the actress is doing a great job with the role,  she’s regal, she’s wise, and the original element   of her being blinded is an inspired choice to  give her character a really impactful obstacle. Returning to the eagles for a moment, eagles being  part of ceremonies has some precedent as well,   during the 3 prayers I mentioned earlier, the  great eagles would fly above the mountain,   which signified Manwe’s approval, so that’s kind  of cool we are seeing an homage to that here. Next we see some molten gold being poured  and Durin III gives Celebrimbor the mithril,   and Annatar gets him to hand it over. He closes  his eyes and drops it into the gold. This will   no doubt be the difference in the three elven  rings vs the rest. Annatar being the one to   physically place in the mithril places his taint  upon them, leading to whatever ill comes of it. I gotta say I thought this was a pretty smooth  episode. I couldn’t help but notice the whole   Stranger Rhun storyline because of its absence  here. It just feels really disconnected from   everything else, so when it’s not there, the  episodes tend to flow better. Hopefully the   adventures of Isildur and Berek don’t start  to feel like a second disconnected story. I gotta say, it does feel the pacing has  been better thus far than last year. It feels   things are happening at a more reasonable  rate. There’s still the fast-travel issue,   but it was nice that Durin and Disa got the  invite to Eregion and the very next episode   we see that plot move forward rather than  that being a week or two later. But let me   know what you guys think of the pacing,  and the show overall so far. Personally,   I’m enjoying this more so far than season 1  because it feels like we are getting some canon   moments portrayed here. As I said last season,  the vast majority of the show was made up events,   and the one big canon moment, the creation  of the elven rings was lackluster. So seeing   things like Pharazon usurping Miriel’s throne and  Annatar working with Celebrimbor are nice to see. And with that, we are three episodes  down, with five to go! Mercifully,   for youtubers making breakdown videos, those  will come one per week from here on out,   and each week we will do our watch parties live  on the channel. So be sure you’re subscribed so   you don’t miss those, the breakdowns, or some  pretty great lore videos I’ve got on the way. In the meantime, if you want to learn more about  the Second Age, check out my playlist here.  Thanks so much for watching and we’ll  see you next time on Nerd of the Rings.