The Rings of Power season 1 episode 3 recap & review: Adar

In ‘The Rings of Power’ season 1 episode 3 — “Adar” — Galadriel and Halbrand seek help from a legendary kingdom; Arondir struggles to break free from his captivity; Nori faces the consequences of her secret shenanigans.

Recap

Arondir has been nabbed by the orcs and thrown away where the rest of the prisoners are. Many of the captives are simply put in cages while the able-bodied are sent off to dig a way through the Southlands.

Meanwhile, Galadriel wakes up to find herself aboard the ship of the mysterious man at the end of episode 2. The man expresses his astonishment at finding one of the Eldar onboard his ship.

The ship sails off to what the man calls “home”, and soon enough, Halbrand and Galadriel find themselves arriving at the kingdom of Númenor. On the way to the queen’s palace, Galadriel explains to Halbrand how once Númenor and the elves coexisted in harmony and exchanged knowledge.

However, Númenor started to attenuate the communication and eventually stopped it altogether.

Halbrand and Galadriel reach the queen’s palace and Galadriel, whose hot temper and sharp tongue sabotage her chances of convincing queen Míriel to offer her a ship she can sail off to middle Earth with.

However, Halbrand steps in with a more diplomatic suggestion and salvages the situation. Queen Míriel and her advisor Pharazón agree to keep the two as guests for not more than three days.

Meanwhile, we learn of the captain that rescued Galadriel and Halbrand. His name is Elendil — a Sea Guardsman originally of a noble line. He has a son that Pharazón speaks of, who is also training to follow in his father’s footsteps.

We soon meet Isildur, the son of Elendil, training hard to be a captain himself one day. We also meet his sister Eärien.

Elendil, meanwhile, is summoned by queen Míriel and interrogated on what his name means. Elendil answers and says that in the ancient language of Valar, it means an “Elf-friend”.

The queen asks if he’s trying to live up to the name, implying he has committed treason by allowing an elf into Númenor. She then asks him to kill Galadriel to prove his loyalty and service to the kingdom.

Galadriel tries to escape via a skiff but Elendil stops her. He then tells her about the Hall of Lore where Elvish is still taught and spoken. The two then depart to the Hall of Lore. There, they find a spy’s account that bears some harrowing revelations.

Galadriel looks at what she had been thinking was Morgoth’s sigil, only to realize it’s a map of the Southlands. Another parchment reads the plans of the orcs in case of Morgoth’s defeat.

Meanwhile, Halbrand gets into a tussle with the local Númenoreans, who all look down upon him. However, in a surprising moment, Halbrand shifts the tides and roughs them all up, consequently getting jailed for it.

In the Southlands, Arondir fights the orcs and helps his superior escape the hole. However, to no avail, his fellow elves all die, including the watch warden.

The harfoot story proceeds and the caravan celebrates and remembers the left behind harfoots. Meanwhile, Nori steals a page from Sadoc’s book about the stars that the Stranger seeks to know about.

During the ceremony, the Stranger sneaks in to take a glimpse at the pictorial depiction on the page, only to accidentally set it ablaze and catch everyone’s attention. Nori faces the threat of being “decaravaned”, as Malva puts it. Sadoc prevents that from happening, however.

The caravan moves, with Nori’s family at the very back, struggling to keep up, but Nori and the Stranger decide to help each other, where she’d help him with the stars and he’d push their cart.

The episode ends with queen Míriel meeting the king and warning him about the arrival of the elf (Galadriel). We do not get a peek at the king in this episode.

Before the credits roll, we see Arondir, getting dragged back into the hole. Right before an orc goes to behead him, another one stops him and orders him to bring Arondir to Adar.

Earlier on in the episode, Arondir and the elves speculate that Adar might be one of many names of the orcs’ leader — Sauron. Adar arrives, with the orcs all around him, kneeling, chanting his name as he stops but before the camera focuses on his blurry countenance, the episode ends.

Review

  • The Rings of Power picks up the pace on some lore in the third episode. There are many new developments for the fans to chew upon.
  • The show introduces some prominent characters from the LOTR lore that are going to play some of the most important roles in the story going forward.
  • Númenor is a delight to behold, with all its grandiosity, lively populace, and even the colossal statues of legendary heroes from times past.
  • While there’s a significant amount of progress with Galadriel and Halbrand’s storyline, Nori and the Stranger’s storyline has yet to provide an answer to the various questions and speculations abuzz surrounding them.
  • Halbrand hails from a long line of kings of the Southlands, or at least that’s what Galadriel thinks for now. Halbrand, on the other hand, seems to be a sketchy character at best.
  • It’s up to be seen what becomes of Halbrand. He has already been keeping some secrets while having a superhuman ability to evade and contend with danger.
  • Questions arise as to what more Halbrand is harboring and hiding within him. There’s also a fair bit of speculation that he might be Sauron himself in disguise.
  • This would also explain why he’s done several things that extend his stay at Númenor. However, that’s still all but proven.
  • For an installment that leaves the viewers with more questions than its predecessors, The Rings of Power episode 3 is an improvement and an exciting watch, compelling fans to discuss and dissect all the new developments in the wider LOTR lore.
The Rings of Power Season 1 Episode 3
The Rings of Power season 1 episode 3 recap & review: Adar 1

Director: Wayne Che Yip

Date Created: 2022-09-09 09:30

Editor's Rating:
3.5

Also Read: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 1 episodes 1 and 2 recaps & review

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