This week’s episode of Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power marks the halfway point for season 1. Although we are slated for five seasons, we don’t have much more information on when the filming and release of season 2 will be. The plot has already started to pick up and audiences have started to become fully invested. A very Lord of the Rings-like theme is also emerging: Friendship.

The Queen and Galadriel

The relationships in Lord of the Rings have always been what grounded the story so the fact that we are getting a little more depth in the relationships with these new characters is really great. The tension between the Queen and Galadriel is a very intriguing relationship. It’s causing conflict in Numenor, the men of the city are bigoted and terrified (another major theme of Lord of the Rings). The budding friendship between Galadriel and Halbrand is also something that is very entertaining. You could call it friendship, you could call it more of a partnership but either way, they push each other to see things differently and they balance each other out.

The Queen Regent is in possession of a seeing stone, she lets Galadriel place her hand on it. Revealed to her is the destruction of Numenor, also revealing the reason the Queen has been so aggressive toward Galadriel. Galadriel once again pleads for the Queen’s alliance and she is rejected once again. It at least seemed to be a more difficult decision this time so perhaps a friendship between these two is still possible. 

The Queen ends up gathering men and personally escorting Galadriel back to Middle Earth. When met with an omen that could mean the end of her kingdom she knew she had to help the Southlands.

Isildur

Isildur ruins his relationship with his friends by getting them kicked off of the ship, for daydreaming again. There was some really well-built tension in this scene, we actually don’t know a lot about him or his friends yet but the way they interacted showed the audience that they were more than just work acquaintances. We saw very strong emotions from both men and the scene ended with a punch in the face and Isildur walking away looking both hurt and numb at the same time. There is definitely more to explore in their friendship but when your entire life path is set back in a matter of minutes it can be hard to deal with.

“I just ruined my friend’s lives, disgraced our family name”

Isildur is feeling guilty, lost, and hopeless and quite frankly it’s going to be really cool to see how he goes from this kid to leading an army. 

Elrond and Durin: The Best Friendship

We finally get back to Elrond who the audience most definitely missed the last episode. We got to see the relationship between Elrond and Celebrimbor as well as bring back the relationship between Elrond and Durin. The latter being the most meaningful. Seeing their history and their bond is something a lot of people are really eager to see unfold. Disa is very clearly hiding something from Elrond but her relationship with her husband is so strong that she covers for him very well. The dwarves are clearly digging for something that Elrond’s elven ears overhear. He heads to the old mine to find out just what the dwarves are up to. This secret that he is attempting to uncover is going to add a very interesting dynamic to Elrond and Durin’s friendship. 

“I do care for you, for this friendship, and secrets do not become it.”

Their friendship is so rich and beautiful and this secret ends up bonding them. The dwarves found Mithral and Elrond is given a chunk of it as a token of their friendship. They have this really tender moment that is so well acted by both gentlemen.

“You were faithful to my friend, that’s all we need remember” 

Disa apologizes for lying to Elrond, who simply stands by his friend. After which we get yet another beautiful moment between him and Durin. Their friendship is built on love, support, and daddy issues and in just a few scenes the writers managed to create such depth between them. 

Bronwyn, Theo and Arondir

Bronwyn had led the rest of her village out of danger but really the focus of this episode was her relationship with Theo. She is trying her best to lead her people, and keep them safe and fed. And while Theo has good ideas, he is just a kid who doesn’t really understand risk or consequences. He disobeys Bronwyn and ends up fighting off an orc with the sword he found. 

Theo, now injured after nightfall in the heart of an orc camp is trying to escape and he still tries to take food with him. Definitely a teenage boy-level stupid decision. This kid is limping, barely able to walk and he still grabs a sack of food instead of just escaping. Lucky for him Arondir managed to escape and saved him at the last second. The two are then chased by an impressively large pack of orcs. The friendship between Arondir and Bronwyn is what saved Theo because none of his decisions were correct. 

Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power maintains the beautiful theme of friendship, hope, and love. The show does a brilliant job of building these relationships and making the audience care about every single one of them. This show is done so well, very few criticisms of this show are valid. As long as the rest of the season continues to build like this, audiences are going to cherish it nearly as much as they do Lord of the Rings.