The Rings of Power Season 2 Episode 5 Recap and LOTR References Explained
Thursday, September 12, episode 5, titled Stone Halls, of the second season of The Rings of Power 2, the prequel and spinoff series of The Lord of the Rings, was released. An episode packed with important details, references to previous episodes and the last season, and quotes from JRR Tolkien’s works. If you’ve seen the episode and want to make sure you didn’t miss it, read our episode recap. But be careful if you haven’t seen it yet: from here on out, it’s full of spoilers.
How The Rings of Power Episode 5 Begins: Durin Wears Thror’s Ring?
The episode opens in Khazad-dum, where King Durin III wears one of the 7 The Rings of Power (specifically Thror) that Celebrimbor and Annatar (Sauron) had forged for the 7 kingdoms of the Dwarves at the end of the third episode. Immediately the ring bears fruit, because immediately after it appears where Narvi, Durin’s son, and the other diggers are vainly digging since the collapse left the mountain in darkness and “magically” indicates a couple of points where to dig to find the light again. Narvi and his son try to dissuade him since they are load-bearing walls, so the king takes an axe and chops away himself, finding the gap to the outside, to the delight of the Dwarf people. But not Disa and her fellow stone-singers, who smell something evil in this thing.
Narvi and Celebrimbor Inaugurate the Doors of Durin (in contrast to Tolkien canon?)
We are now in Eregion, where Celebrimbor and Narvi inaugurate an artifact that fans of The Lord of the Rings will immediately recognize: Durin’s Doors, the western stone gate of the dwarves’ mountain, which the Fellowship of the Ring will be able to open by saying the password: Mellon, or friends in the dwarven language. It should be noted, however, that according to Tolkien’s canon, Durin’s Doors were created about 200 years before Celebrimbor and Annatar/Sauron built The Rings of Power. In any case, these doors mark the highest point of friendship between dwarves and elves.
Annatar Returns to Ask Celebrimbor for the Rings for the Men?
After the feast, Celebrimbor and Annatar meet again, with Sauron masked who returns to talk about the need to forge The Rings of Power also for Men. Celebrimbor does not agree, because he believes men are unworthy of such power, and in fact, he is so annoyed that he begins to suspect his “friend”, but Annatar begins to insist saying that there are men pure in heart worthy of wearing these rings, and he will find the nine best to give them the rings. Celebrimbor still refuses, not trusting the corruptibility of humans, and then Annatar replies “You know what? I make them myself, there you go”. Or almost. Later, we see Gil-galad reading the letter of lies written by Celebrimbor, which says that the forge is closed and all is well. A counselor of the king urges him to take advantage of this to send troops to Mordor, but the king has a dire vision with Sauron and continues to wait, while Elrond is almost there.
Pharazon Tasks Kemen With Quelling the Hostile Voices, While Miriel Does not React?
In Numenor, Pharazon has taken power, but he is not satisfied yet. He wants to build the Numenor he has in mind, and his son Kemen encourages him in this direction. His father tells him that his mother had foreseen a “bad end” for the boy, but before revealing which Pharazon he asks Kemen to fulfill a task he entrusts to him. Meanwhile, Elendil and the entire marine guard have remained faithful to the queen, but Miriel does not want to stop her cousin who has stolen her throne. When Elendil touched the Palantir he no longer saw the tsunami that overwhelmed the island, but himself who was riding away on horseback. And this difference, according to Miriel, means that the destiny of Numenor has changed, perhaps even for the better, so “you don’t have to win all the battles, sometimes keeping a calm soul is the greatest victory”. Therefore, she asks Elendil to do nothing and not rebel against Pharazon.
A piece of advice that comes in handy shortly after, when he sees that Kemen and his daughter Earien are “firing”, on the king’s orders, all the sailors loyal to the queen. Elendil has a tough exchange with Earien, who rightly believes Isildur is dead, but he complies and leaves his sword there. Valandil and the others greet him as if he were Robin Williams in Dead Poets Society, shouting “My captain, my captain”, while Kemen tries to say that he is no longer anyone’s captain, but Elendil is not provoked. Earien offers a personal pardon for his friend Valandil, but he refuses because he no longer recognizes himself as such. Pharazon, secretly, goes to take a peek at the Palantir.
Disa is Worried About her Father-In-Law and Finds a Creature (the Balrog?)
Disa is worried about her father-in-law, and how he found the openings to the light, but her husband reminds her that she was the one who insisted on friendship with the Elves from the beginning. The couple goes shopping again, discovering that King Durin has imposed a new 100% tax on trade as “tribute for the ring”. Disa convinces her husband to buy a stone for their daughter’s birthday, but it slips from his hands and lands in a cave. Disa sings to hear where the stone ended up, but she quickly realizes that the mountain is inhabited by an evil creature: if you’re looking for an explanation, it’s probably the balrog we glimpsed in the first season.
Durin III Has Become Greedy Because of the Ring, His Son Tries in Vain to Stop Him?
King Durin has become greedy and paranoid: he shows it when he summons the six emissaries of the other six dwarf realms to offer them the other The Rings of Power “in exchange for a price”. He shows it when he asks Narvi to remove the restrictions on the excavations of the mines that he had prudently imposed, the same ones he had reiterated when his son wanted to help his friend Elrond find more mithril. And he shows it again when he can’t find the ring and believes it has been stolen from him but Narvi remembers that he had put it on the table because it weighed on him. Durin IV bursts into the room, reporting what Disa saw, but there is nothing to be done: King Durin III is adamant in wanting to dig deeper, no matter the risks. Indeed, he responds to his son’s concerns by thanking him for having convinced him to forge the rings, and renames him heir prince of the kingdom, to the new disappointment of Disa, who then makes her husband swear that he will never wear that ring.
Mirdania tried “The One Ring”? Celebrimbor is Uncertain, Annatar Takes Advantage?
Meanwhile, while Celebrimbor meditates, the work to forge the rings for the men continues. A sort of accident occurs involving Mirdania, the elven master’s assistant: the elf is no longer visible, and objects in the room are shaken until Celebrimbor manages to slip the ring from Mirdania’s finger. She reports that she was in another place, where there was darkness and fog, and above all Sauron, whose skin was made of flames and whose breath stank of death. In short, if you know Tolkien’s novels even a little you will have recognized the characteristics of the One Ring, the one that will be Sauron’s, etc. Probably, this one created by Annatar and Mirdania is a prototype of that ring (which will however remain in Annatar’s hand).
Mirdania explains to the master that he created it by increasing the part of mithril in the metal alloy, Celebrimbor says that they made a mistake, but it is not clear if he does not know or does not want to say what they should have done instead. “Fortunately” he is interrupted by the announcement that Durin IV has come to speak to him. So, while the Dwarf prince explains his doubts about his father to Celebrimbor who categorically denies any possibility that he or Annatar have done anything wrong, Annatar-Sauron convinces Mirdania that the evil creature she saw in the “unseen world” is the true essence of Celebrimbor, thus diverting possible doubts from himself. He adds a disturbing touch when he touches her hair and tells her smilingly that she looks like Galadriel.
In Numenor Kemen Kills Valandil, Elendil is arrested?
In Numenor Elendil and Valandil attend a service in memory of the fallen in Middle-earth, including the presumed dead Isildur, when Kemen bursts in, carrying out his father’s orders by ordering the closure and destruction of the ancient sanctuary “to make room for the aqueduct”. Elendil tries to hold his nerve and is about to leave, the priest asks Kemen to finish a rite in honor of a soul but the son of Paharazon takes the corresponding sacred statuette and smashes it on the ground.
This triggers Elendil to strike Kemen with a punch. When the king’s son has the guards chase him down to strike him calmly, Valandil intervenes and engages in a fight with Kemen. Valandil seems to succumb but then gets the better of him, disarms his opponent, breaks his arm, and is about to strike him with his own sword when Elendil orders him to stop. Valandil obeys and drops his sword, but the infamous Kemen does not hesitate for a moment and strikes the former sailor from behind, killing him. All before the eyes of a shocked Elendil, who is arrested and blamed for having started the sedition that caused Valandil’s death.
Annatar Convinces Celebrimbor to Create the Rings for the Men?
Celebrimbor is certainly afraid, by now, but he still wants to trust Annatar when he asks him what they could have done wrong in making the rings for the dwarves. Sauron tries to blame Durin, but it is only a rhetorical device to get to say that the “fault” is Celebrimbor’s, who soiled the making of those rings with the deception of the letter of lies to Gil-galad. He then asks Celebrimbor to make amends by revealing the truth to Gil-Galad, but the elven master does not want to because he knows that would mean closing his forge forever. Paradoxically, Celebrimbor reacts by convincing himself of the need to create 9 rings for Men, which will restore balance to the project by amplifying the power of the three elven rings and balancing the 7 of the dwarves. But as soon as no one looks at him, Celebrimbor shows that he is now truly shaken by what is happening.
How Episode 5 Ends: Adar Proposes Galadriel an Alliance Against Sauron?
Elrond has come to Lindon to ask High King Gil-galad to send troops to Eregion against the orcs of Adar, but the Elven king replies that he does not have the means to counter both Adar and Sauron with their troops alone. Meanwhile, Galadriel is still a prisoner of the orcs. At a certain point, they seem to free her, and she immediately takes advantage of this to hold a knife to Adar’s throat. He surprises her and a little (not so much) us when he proposes to the elf a temporary alliance against their common enemy, Sauron.
