The Rings of Power Episode 6 Review: A Subtle Storyline To Bring A Great Visual Spectacle To The Screen
Cast: Morfydd Clark, Robert Aramayo, Charles Edwards and Ismael Cruz Córdova
Director: Charlotte Brändström
Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime Video
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 4.5/5 (four and a half star) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
The Rings of Power Episode 6 Review: Although weeks have passed since its debut on the Prime Video platform, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power continues to be talked about incessantly. The technical caliber of the work is slowly conquering even the most skeptical. However, leaving room for several complaints and doubts both on the narrative management as a whole, and on the management of the subplots presented in the various episodes. As mentioned in our review of The Rings of Power Episode 5, the last episode was perhaps the lowest point in terms of writing among those seen so far.
With much of this first season behind them, showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay have become the protagonists of a heavy sequence of ups and downs that have put more than a few brakes on immersion in the Arda of the Second Era. For many of Tolkien’s fans, leaving aside the community’s most defeatist fringe, there are still several perplexities that the series will have the task of dispelling, in one way or another. Ironically, after last week’s decline, this sixth episode manages to rise again from different points of view, closing an intense and dense hour with a spectacular cliffhanger. Let’s analyze together what is shown.
The Rings of Power Episode 6 Review: The Story
Picking up exactly where the last episode ended, most of the scenes focus on the Southlands and the advance of the Orcs of Adar. The group of Humans still refugees in Ostirith quickly organize a plan of action in an attempt to resist as much as possible against a stronger and more prepared enemy. Such an effort, however laudable, will lead to a battle of blood and nerves that will expose all the evil of the dark spawn. While waiting for an imminent conflict, there is, however, room to re-fuel the viewer’s doubts about the real identities of some performers – between unanswered questions and small signs to steal. As the battle between the two sides reaches its climax and Adar caresses the idea of recovering the artifact possessed by the Arondir group, the large contingent sailed from Numénor draws closer and closer to the mainland.
After a series of brilliant and well-curated dialogues, also seasoned with further clues to the characters’ past, all attention is focused on the conflict and on the unpredictable implications that follow one another on the screen. Some of these, completely unexpected, will act as the main opening for the first, true turning point of the narrative towards events that are very essential to tell the story of Sauron and the Second Era. Putting aside some of the subplots, the sixth installment of The Rings of Power manages (perhaps definitively) to overcome the transitions to focus on the action: while maintaining particular attention to the sensations and introspection of the characters involved, the episode presses without stop with chaotic battles and action scenes that can show all the potential of the production given an ending that will necessarily have to leave the world speechless.
The plot of the sixth episode of The Rings of Power has two major problems. The first is that if we had to tell the events, raw and pure, that take place during the 64 minutes of Udûn, a line of text would be enough, really too little to justify the length of a review. The second is that, if we wanted to go into a little more detail about the events that will upset the protagonists of the series, we would spoil the surprise of the vision. A vision that offers very high moments, albeit – it must be said – with some slight criticalities that betray a little the television dimension of the work.
This sixth episode is the episode of a battle that takes place in the lands of the South, in Ostirith, between the army of orcs led by Adar and the men, of which the brave Bronwyn and the elf Arondir are the points of reference. At stake is the survival not only of the people of men but of the very lands on which they live. At the center of the dispute is the broken sword that the young Theo has found, a relic that the orcs want to take and which, as we know, hides a black power. It will be a night-long, bloody and violent battle, which Galadriel, Halbrand and the Numenorians must join as soon as possible.
The Rings of Power Episode 6 Review and Analysis
While taking into account some incomprehensible choices, forced or not properly managed, we can say with conviction that this episode has finally shown all the courage and ambition of Amazon in an attempt to tell an epic Second Era with characters, events and stories that would be it was impossible to elaborate elsewhere. Under the direction of Wayne Che Yip, who properly exploits the stylistic continuity between the episodes entrusted to him, the clash that occupies most of the time on the screen shows the muscles of a production that intends to amaze. As for the visual impact, in addition to the New Zealand scenographies and the surprising attention to prosthetic details, the Orcs once again manage to steal the show: in the Prime Video representation, the prototype version of the dark creatures almost borders on perfection.
Especially in the first sequences, it is extremely fascinating to observe what appears to all intents and purposes as a subculture. In addition to the aesthetic beauty, also the character coherence appears perfectly in line with the Tolkienian atmosphere and indeed, it almost offers a deepening of it. The music of Bear McReary, together with an enveloping photographic sector that is exalted in the night scenes, contributes scene after scene to fuel a qualitative crescendo that culminates with an incredible sequence in CGI. In the excellent management of the rhythms and of the various sequences, very interesting dialogues stand out that manages to fascinate as has rarely happened up to now. It will certainly be pleasing to observe that, for much of her screen time, Galadriel also grants glimpses of the purity and eternal wisdom that she has rarely shown up to now.
However, this is not enough to avoid further relapses. All in all, we gradually gain confidence in the character’s growth path, no matter how sudden or hasty it may seem. In this sense, the revelations about some characters will finally give some satisfaction to the viewers. Leaving aside the minutiae, the main problem of a positive episode remains linked to the narrative choices: some of the character’s actions are not explained in their methodology, nor are they allowed to be understood. This, especially at the end, makes the implications appear much weaker than the developments.
The thought that the weakest part of such an imposing production does not concern budget problems, but rather authorial qualities and personal preparation, still breaks our hearts. JD Payne and Patrick McKay can be very good at dealing with situations that they care about very much, but they still can’t find a formal balance between idea and content. Charm and pathos occasionally manage to emerge between episodes, but the consequences of some narrative choices appear botched and completely illogical when compared to elements inspired by the canon.
The sixth episode of The Rings of Power grants much more than some hope in this sense, configuring itself as a real test of skill – thanks to the high screen time dedicated to the action. Some potentially interesting ideas are flanked by performers who do their best with what they have available, but who are managing to emerge brilliantly and positively – just think of Elrond, but also Arondir. With the onset of darkness and major twists never so close, the series will have the daunting task of building a compelling finale for next season.
Planting Alfirin seeds means giving the possibility of new life, but each flower needs time to bloom. Over the course of the season, The Rings of Power had planted its seeds and asked the viewer to be patient and wait for the big events. In the meantime, he invited us to meet these new characters, from the young Galadriel (who continues to be very different from the one we know and who also in this episode shows the traits of continuous growth and capable of fighting with her blind immaturity) onwards. In this sixth episode, focusing on the protagonists of the story in due course begins to pay off. Right now, as the characters are starting to cross their paths, we feel like we really know them, empathize with them and care about their destiny.
And this is how, thanks to a precise direction by Charlotte Brändström, this difficult episode brings home some of the most memorable sequences of the season, accentuated by the epic music of Bear McCreary whose themes are dedicated to the characters we now recognize. The result is something simply exhilarating, contrary to the post-modern taste of contemporary seriality and very much linked to the return of a classic storytelling pleasure. Of course, not everything always runs smoothly and in an extraordinary way. On short occasions, the limits of television production are noticed (but on the other hand that too could be a problem of the viewer who has now forgotten the difference in language between small and large screen, which remains despite the ambitions to make this division more fluid) and some narrative passages could leave at first glance a little dumbfounded. However, it is in these moments of fragile humility that the series requires a small step back from the proud viewer. On the other hand, why dwell on the little plant that has just emerged, when beauty lies in the care of seeing it grow?
The Rings of Power Episode 6 Review: The Last Words
The Rings of Power Episode 6 manages to lift the spirits after the disappointments of last week, giving space to a visual spectacle and a simply sumptuous crescendo. In addition to the impressive technical sector, there are also fascinating and convincing exchanges between the characters, alternated, however, by some flaws in the management of the plot. With just two episodes to separate us from the end, the Amazon show will have to do its best to convince viewers. The sixth episode of The Rings of Power Episode uses a subtle storyline to bring a great visual spectacle to the screen. Despite some slight criticisms, the Prime series offers an hour of extraordinary television, which will leave the spectators open-mouthed who are now tied to the characters and can’t wait to let themselves be abandoned by this pure epic tale.
