The Lord of the Rings review: The Rings of Power debuts a beloved Tolkien character while Galadriel makes a shocking move
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Prime Videos' The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power brought a character to life who J.R.R. Tolkien first wrote about 90 years earlier on this week's new episode.
The character is none other than Tom Bombadil (Rory Kinnear), who fans of Tolkien's work may recognize, though those who have only seen the adaptations of his work may not.
Tom Bombadil was first seen in print in the 1934 Tolkien poem The Adventures of Tom Bombadil, 20 years before The Lord of the Rings was published in 1954.
The character was also featured briefly in The Lord of the Rings book, though he has not been brought to life in any of the animated or live-action adaptations, until now.
Following the massive three-episode Season 2 premiere last week, The Rings of Power slows things down a bit to set up some important pieces in the episodes to come... ending with a rather shocking move made by Galadriel (Morfydd Clark).
Prime Videos' The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power brought a character to life who J.R.R. Tolkien first wrote about 90 years earlier on this week's new episode
Following the massive three-episode Season 2 premiere last week, The Rings of Power slows things down a bit to set up some important pieces in the episodes to come... ending with a rather shocking move made by Galadriel (Morfydd Clark)
The debut of Tom Bombadil will certainly be lauded by Tolkien devotees, since, while he may be a 'minor' character in the scope of his stories, he has been written about for decades.
Tolkien was always coy about the character's origins, which has lead to many Tolkien scholars devoting numerous writings about what he truly represents.
Showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay offer no more answers than Tolkien, though they hint many times that he is something not of this world.
The episode - written by Glenise Hooper and directed by Louise Hooper and Sanaa Hamri - features Bombadil hinting that he is the 'eldest' of all things, claiming to have remembered the 'first raindrop and the first acorn.'
He is also clearly some form of wizard, displaying his control over fire and wind... while even turning a piece of paper into a piece of meat for The Stranger to eat.
While The Stranger was poring over his piece of paper with alignments of stars that he thinks will lead to the staff that will seemingly unlock his identity... it seems Tom Bombadil is who he's been looking for all along.
The Stranger finally realizes that 'old Tom' is exactly who he was looking for, as Tom hints that he will need to train him some and confirming that The Stranger's task is in fact to confront both Sauron (Charlie Vickers) AND the Orc leader Adar (Sam Hazeldine).
Still, given how many storylines are at play, it remains to be seen how often fans will encounter Tom Bombadil in Season 2 and beyond.
The debut of Tom Bombadil will certainly be lauded by Tolkien devotees, since, while he may be a 'minor' character in the scope of his stories, he has been written about for decades
While The Stranger was poring over his piece of paper with alignments of stars that he thinks will lead to the staff that will seemingly unlock his identity... it seems Tom Bombadil is who he's been looking for all along
The Stranger finally realizes that 'old Tom' is exactly who he was looking for, as Tom hints that he will need to train him some and confirming that The Stranger's task is in fact to confront both Sauron (Charlie Vickers) AND the Orc leader Adar (Sam Hazeldine)
The episode begins with Elrond (Robert Aramayo) and Galadriel setting off on their journey from Lindon to track down Sauron, though they quickly find themselves at an impasse with an impossible decision to make.
The bridge they planned on taking was destroyed in a most extreme manner, forcing the party to go south through a forest, though Galadriel - with the help of her ring - senses 'evil' in the woods and protests, though Elrond commands they go through.
They soon learn why the letter High King Gil-Galad (Benjamin Walker) sent to Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) was never sent, finding the dead horse and the letter in the woods.
They're soon attacked, as Elrond shows his mettle as a commander, fending off a small gathering of undead soldiers, killing them with the blades they were slain with.
While this traveling party - which also includes new characters Camnir (Calam Lynch) and Rian (Selina Lo) was looking for Sauron... they happened to find Adar, marching towards Eregion with his Orc army.
Elrond decides that King Gil-Galad must know of the Orc army and decides to head to Eregion to warn him, with Galadriel using her powers with the ring Nenya to mystically heal a soldier struck with a stray Orc arrow, which stuns the soldier and Elrond.
She insists on distracting the Orc army by herself, allowing them to get away, but also insists that Elrond takes Nenya with him.
While the rescued soldier marveled at her sacrifice, a disappointed Elrond mentioned she didn't do it for them... she did it to save the ring Nenya.
Now with one of the three Elven rings forged by Celebrimbor in the hands of the rings' biggest skeptics, it will be intriguing to see if Elrond falls prey to the ring's power at some point this season.
While this traveling party - which also includes new characters Camnir (Calam Lynch) and Rian (Selina Lo) was looking for Sauron... they happened to find Adar, marching towards Eregion with his Orc army
This episode also catches fans up with Nori (Markella Kavenagh) and Poppy (Megan Richards), who haven't been seen since being sucked into the powerful sandstorm The Stranger created in Episode 2.
They encounter a brand new type of character known as a Stoor when they run into Merimac (Gavi Singh Chera), a rather bumbling young Stoor who ultimately takes them into his village... much to the dismay of Stoor leader Gundabale (Tanya Moodie).
While Gundabale naturally doesn't trust these Harfoots, she learns that these people may have a connection to the Harfoot leader Sadoc Burrows (Lenny Henry).
When Nori casually mentions Sadoc to Gundabale, she shows Nori and Poppy drawings and tells of a Stoor who was 'not like the rest.'
This stoor had a dream of a place where the rolling hills were so soft one could dig into the hill and make a home within a month.
He called this mystical place Suza-t, and he took a caravan of followers to find this place, promising to come back for the rest... though that was the last they heard of this Stoor... named Rorymass Burrows.
While it's unclear how Sadoc is connected to this other Burrows, Gundabale asks if Nori and Poppy are there to lead them to the Suza-t.
A sad Nori tells her that Rorymass never found the Suza-t and her Harfoot people, 'just kept wandering,' adding sadly, 'We don't have a home.'
The Dark Wizard's minions ultimately find the Stoors, with Gundabale protecting Nori and Poppy, and with the gold-masked minion insisting he'll return with the Dark Wizard, that will likely lead to Nori and Poppy hitting the road with the Stoors.
This episode also catches fans up with Nori (Markella Kavenagh) and Poppy (Megan Richards), who haven't been seen since being sucked into the powerful sandstorm The Stranger created in Episode 2
They encounter a brand new type of character known as a Stoor when they run into Merimac (Gavi Singh Chera, above), a rather bumbling young Stoor who ultimately takes them into his village... much to the dismay of Stoor leader Gundabale (Tanya Moodie).
A sad Nori tells her that Rorymass never found the Suza-t and her Harfoot people, 'just kept wandering,' adding sadly, 'We don't have a home'
After three straight episodes in a row, the fourth episode does a good job of slowing things down a bit and putting all of the pieces in place for the back half of Season 2.
There's so much more to discuss so we're breaking down The Rings of Power Season 2 Episode 4's 5 biggest moments below.
1) Tom Bombadil Has Finally Arrived... 90 Years Later
J.R.R. Tolkien published The Adventures of Tom Bombadil in 1934 in The Oxford Magazine, and 90 years later, the character has finally come to life.
Rory Kinnear delivers a fascinating performance as this mysterious character, who The Stranger (Daniel Weyman) comes across in his travels.
He hints at being 'the eldest' person in perhaps the entire world, and claims he was there when the first raindrop fell, and he does so in such an earnest way you almost have to believe him... despite how unreal the claims may be.
Even the Dark Wizard (Ciaran Hinds) was given pause when he was told that The Stranger is heading towards this 'hermit,' hinting that this hermit wizard's powers are not to be taken lightly.
Since Tolkien's portrayal of Bombadil in the page is equally fraught with mystery, it will be intriguing to see where the showrunners take this mystical character.
J.R.R. Tolkien published The Adventures of Tom Bombadil in 1934 in The Oxford Magazine, and 90 years later, the character has finally come to life.
2) Galadriel's Sacrifice: For the Ring or For Elrond and His Party?
While Galadriel's bravery is of no surprise at this point, her sacrifice to distract a huge company of orcs was quite stunning.
Alone with only her bow and arrow and a few daggers at her side, she bravely took on these foul creatures to allow Elrond to retreat and warn Eregion of the orc army.
Surprisingly, she also insisted that Elrond - perhaps the one person in all Middle-earth who despises The Rings of Power the most - to keep her ring safe.
Elrond and one of his soldiers even saw the ring's power first hand, as Galadriel used it to heal a stomach wound from a stray orc arrow.
While Galadriel was captured by Adar, fans are left wondering if she sacrificed herself for Elrond or... as Elrond himself suggested... the ring itself.
Surprisingly, she also insisted that Elrond - perhaps the one person in all Middle-earth who despises The Rings of Power the most - to keep her ring safe
3) The Ents Arrive... And They're Glorious
The end of Episode 3 featured Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) looking up at a rather immense creature... which is revealed to one of two Ents.
Ents are massive sentient beings who essentially resemble massive trees, who were featured in the original Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Fans are introduced to two new Ents - the male Snaggleroot (Jim Broadbent) and female Winterbloom (Olivia Williams) - who not only trapped Theo but the wild men they were trying to get Isildur's (Maxim Baldry) horse back from.
It was Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova) who realized that it was Ents who had captured Theo, and tracked them down.
The Ents are not ones to be trifled with, revealing they came from afar when learning how the orcs destroyed the forest.
Arondir makes peace with the tree-beings, promising that the woods would be protected from now on under his watch.
While it seems The Ents may have a small closed-off arc, it would be quite the spectacle to see these massive trees in battle later this season.
4) A Huge Lord of the Rings Easter Egg Was Dropped...
When Gundabale tells the story of the Stoors to Nori and Poppy, she mentions the nomadic Stoor set off on a journey to find a place called the Suza-t.
That word in the Westron language in Middle earth literally translates to Shire, the beloved home of the hobbits in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Stoors and the Harfoots are two of the three breeds of hobbits, along with the fallohides, which the Baggins' belong to.
Given that Rings of Power is set thousands of years before The Lord of the Rings, it's possible that the show will reveal the origins of what became known as The Shire.
The show is set during the Second Age of Middle-earth, with The Shire established in the Third Age, so it remains to be seen how this history will play out during the show.
After fans learned that Estrid (Nia Towle) has been using a makeshift brand to cover up her dark mark of Adar (Sam Hazeldine), it didn't take long for Arondir to find out
5) Estrid's Dark Secret is Finally Revealed...
After fans learned that Estrid (Nia Towle) has been using a makeshift brand to cover up her dark mark of Adar (Sam Hazeldine), it didn't take long for Arondir to find out.
After noticing her flirting with Isildur, he notices the mark, interrogating her briefly before putting her in shackles for the rest of the trip.
Still little is known about why she bowed to Adar in the first place, though she still does seem to have some good in her.
When given the chance to escape after both Isildur and Arondir are subdued by a massive swamp monster, she does come back and try to save them.
However, when her shackles are removed, she does try to steal Isildur's sword, though it turns out she wasn't lying about her 'betrothed,' as it's revealed as Hagen (Gabriel Akuwudike) - one of the wild men captured along with Theo - is her man.
