Last week’s episode of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power showcased some of their best writing to date. The action started to come to a head and the influence of the rings is being felt all across Middle Earth. The 6th episode of Rings of Power is titled, “Where Is He?” Can only refer to Sauron (Charlie Vickers) himself. At the end of the last episode, we were reminded that Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) had been captured by Adar (Sam Hazeldine), perhaps we will see an unlikely allyship. 

The Factions of Middle Earth

Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) is slowly unraveling. He has thrown himself into making these rings for men and they are not cooperating. Annatar/Sauron’s influence also seems to be taking hold of him. Annatar is also taking advantage of Celebrimbor’s fractured mental state. He uses it as an opportunity to gain some trust with the other elves as well as sew unrest among them. 

Adar and Galadriel discuss the dangers of Sauron. He tells her that he can help her destroy Sauron. He shows her Morgoth’s crown, which can. theoretically, be used to kill Sauron. Adar hopes to combine the power of the crown with the power of the rings. 

The dwarves did dig too deep and too greedily. The king is surrounded by gold and jewels produced by his mountain and it is certainly in excess. Durin is very worried about his father who is being violently consumed by the ring. Disa desperately wants to help the king but Durin is too weighed down by the idea of taking down his father. So Disa does it herself. She blocks where the miners are supposed to dig and sing to summon giant mountain bats that chase them off. 

Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle) has fully lost his mind. He tells Elendil (Lloyd Owen) that he will forgive his crimes if he bends the knee which Elendil refuses to do. So the usurpers decide to feed him to a sea monster, “trial by abyss” they call it. Eärien, his misguided daughter begs him to reconsider pledging his loyalty to the king. She cries to him like she isn’t the very reason that he is sitting in a prison cell. 

What’s Missing?

We are losing the halflings story a little bit. The Stranger (Daniel Weyman), Nori (Markella Kavenagh), and Poppi (Megan Richards) all set out on this adventure together, and though there is a need for tension pulling them apart for so long takes away from their story. This seems to be to get The Stranger to grow into his power and learn to control it. The problem with this is that it slows the story down. And it reduces Nori and Poppy to being nothing but character motivation. 

We get more Tom Bombadil (Rory Kinnear) in this episode. He simply speaks to The Stranger in riddles in an attempt to guide him down the path he is meant to be going down. The consensus among Tolkien fans is that Tom is not silly enough, though he fits the tone of the show this version of Tom is very subdued.

The episode ends with Annatar/Sauron showing Celebrimbor an illusion that hides the fact that they are under attack. Action and battle scenes are coming, as soon as the next episode.

Overall “Where is He?” Is a good episode, though a little slower than last week. This week he seemed way more centered on the interpersonal conflicts of each group. The ring’s influence on the king causes tension between Durin and him. Celebrimbor losing his mind over the completion of the rings causes tension between him and the other smiths. Elendil’s unwillingness to accept Pharazôn as his leader leads to the rising tensions in Numenor. So though the episode wasn’t exactly action-packed it did a good job of building the tension in the people of Middle Earth.