Rings of Power Season 2 Episode 4 Recap: (Don’t) Think of the Fans

After the highs of episode 3, Rings of Power shifts the focus back onto the series’ weakest parts and makes up for a lack of meaningful plot or character development with shallow fanservice. Episode 4 follows Galadriel’s – now Elrond’s – company as they travel to Eregion, Arondir and Isildur as they wander around a forest, and Nori, Poppy, and the Stranger as they just wander in general. With the Harfoots separated from the Stranger, episode 4 has the unenviable task of balancing four focal points instead of the usual three, though the script’s continued weakness is more of an obstacle than time limitations.

These stories are Rings of Power Season 2’s thinnest so far, and despite running for just over an hour, episode 4 does little to change that problem. It doesn’t help that the writer relies on tired plot devices just to move characters around. Galadriel and Elrond, for example, encounter a broken bridge – destroyed by Sauron, naturally – that forces them to take a detour into the Barrow Downs, a location readers of Tolkien’s stories may recall from Fellowship of the Ring. There, just as in Fellowship, an unexplained (though probably Sauron-shaped) force awoke the Downs’ undead inhabitants after centuries of restless sleep.

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It’s an odd choice for a dramatic encounter. The wights’ power is in their barrows, where they lure travelers and then kill them. Rings of Power’s take on the monsters starts out with an eerie song that captivates one of the elves before chains shoot out from a barrow and drag him in. Then the rest of the undead manifest and just linger menacingly in the air as Galadriel and co. figure out what to do. Despite the wights’ initial aggression, the moment is devoid of tension or consequence. The creatures seem more than happy to just watch while their prey escapes, and they fade back into insignificance from then on. The detour, this battle – the entire scenario has little relevance to anything else that’s taking place, and it seems like just an excuse to bring in something fans recognize that didn’t make it into Peter Jackson’s trilogy.

Galadriel’s corps later stumbles onto Adar’s Orc army marching to Eregion, and she learns of another unexpected power the ring of air offers her. She then sends Elrond away with the ring and attacks the orcs alone in one of the season’s rare action sequences – one with exceptional choreography on par with the best of Peter Jackson’s trilogy – but not before Elrond can deliver yet another snide and cruel remark.

These exchanges between Galadriel and her fellow elves still remain stilted and shallow. They continue treating her as a scapegoat for problems of their making, yet despite this theme’s constant presence, it results in remarkably little tension or character development. Were Galadriel and Elrond as close as Rings of Power wants us to believe, you’d expect deeper or more volatile emotions from both of them rather than the reserved coolness you might get from a work colleague you offended.

It’s to Morfydd Clark’s credit that we still get a strong sense of Galadriel’s inner conflict through her bearing and delivery, even though the script refuses to explore it. The episode ends as Orcs capture her, and perhaps now that she’s separated from the oppressive influence of her kin, her personality might have a chance to shine through at last.

In Rhun, the Stranger – who blew Nori and Poppy away in a whirlwind previously – finds himself in the presence of Tom Bombadil, played by Rory Kinnear, who always seems a half beat away from winking at the camera and asking the audience if they caught that reference. The Tom Bombadil of Fellowship of the Ring hides wisdom behind merriment and helps dispel the fog of doom and doubt from the hobbits before they set off again. The Bombadil of Rings of Power speaks only in trite fantasy truisms, of self-discovery and inescapable destiny, the latter of which is ironic given the prominent role personal choice plays in Prime Video’s series and Tolkien’s original works.

One of the irritating things about this exchange is that Bombadil tells the Stranger nothing new. The Stranger already guesses his “destiny” includes facing the Shadow, and he knows his name has to come from within, since he told Nori as much in an earlier episode. The scenario plays out like an excuse to drag a fan favorite onscreen for no other reason than just to please viewers, though the problem stems from fanservice as much as it does Rings of Power’s more serious structural problems.

The Stranger’s story for two seasons is just another MacGuffin plot. He has little personality or complexity and no conflict other than fearing his powers and wondering about his name. Creative license is fine, and I don’t expect Rings of Power to follow Tolkien’s very specific lore about the Istari wizards in the Second Age. Swapping actual character conflict from Tolkien’s backstory – Saruman’s jealousy and Gandfal’s fear, weakness, and inferiority complex – for a stick hunt is a baffling choice, though. Even if the broader plan is building toward something stronger in a later season, there’s no reason things have to be uninteresting now and seemingly even less reason for Tom Bombadil to even be here.

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While the Stranger lingers with Tom Bombadil, Nori and Poppy accidentally discover a halfling settlement populated by a confederation called the Stoors with a formidable woman named Gundabale, played by Tanya Moodie, as their leader. Moodie is, as ever, fantastic, despite appearing on screen for so short a time in episode 4, and she’s part of what could end up being a complex and interesting subplot that may give the halflings a stronger identity than we’ve seen so far – or, if nothing else, explain their love of peace and home.

The unspoken moment when Nori and Gundabale recognize the shared connection between their families is quietly lovely, and enough to make me almost – but not quite – overlook how out of place Nori’s next comment is. She’s shocked and saddened by the realization that the Harfoots have no home, but the concept comes out of nowhere. Wandering is part of the Harfoot identity, and if Nori’s never known what a single, stable home is like, it’s asking a bit much of the viewer to believe in her strong reaction after hearing about the Stoor way of life.

For now, though, it’s just another building piece for something to happen later. The Dark Wizard’s enforcers show up, somehow know Nori and Poppy are called Harfoots, and threaten the Stoors before leaving.

Meanwhile, I’m more convinced than ever that Isildur should not have been written into Rings of Power’s early seasons. The only thing of note that happens in episode 4 is that he gets angry when a woman he was nice to doesn’t love him enough to ditch her betrothed. Pelargir, the settlement that takes Isildur in, is important for Numenor, but not until later, which makes the events that take place now – a drawn-out rescue mission in the woods and a predictable betrayal from Estrid – seem trivial.

Like the rest of the series, episode 4 does have some moments of awe and beauty, and the one that captures both of those emotions is near the end when Arondir, Estrid, and Isildur finally encounter some Ents. These are warriors and about as far from the likes of Treebeard as you can get. An Entwife bedecked with cherry blossoms is about to flatten the entire group, after imprisoning and killing several other humans, before Arondir calms her and promises to watch over the woods, a promise she believes only because he spoke it in Elvish. Curiously, it’s the only display of attachment in Rings of Power between an elf and the natural world they’re supposed to care so deeply for.

Like with Clark’s performance, Ismael Cordova deserves praise for how his mournful solemnity gives Arondir more depth than his role as chaperone allows. It’s enough to make the brief moment he smiles after making a silly joke feel significant, and it lends extra weight to the pact he makes with the Entwives. Still, it’s hard not to view his character as a missed opportunity to do something more creative, as an elf with no attachments to any major faction or existing character. Perhaps that might change in future seasons as well.

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Rings of Power Season 2 Episode 4: The Verdict

Episode 4 falls prey to some of modern television’s worst tendencies – writing with fans in mind and stretching already thin plots just for the sake of building up to something later. The payoff might well be satisfying, but when it won’t happen for another two to four years, assuming it happens at all, all you’re left with in episodes such as this one is a hollow shell and the ghost of wasted potential.