'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' Episode 3 Review: The Orcs are BACK in a stunning and action-packed chapter
The first two episodes of ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ did a wonderful job of establishing the characters and the plot. There are a lot of stories happening in Middle Earth and it’s important to have a glimpse of all the characters because they would eventually have to get together to fight the ultimate villain. If the first two episodes were all about laying a strong foundation, then Episode 3 was all about riveting drama and action sequences.
So, we knew that Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Halbrand (Charlie Wickers) were rescued by a ship while they were floating in a wooden boat in The Sundering Seas. The captain of the ship is none other than Elendil, a friend of the High-King Gil-Galad, and he is now taking them to the beautiful kingdom of Numenor. It’s worth noticing that for hundreds of years, no Elf has entered the kingdom of Numenor and without any guesses, no one is happy to see Galadriel in the kingdom. ‘The Rings of Power’ continues to achieve new heights in telling a story through visuals. The entire kingdom of Numenor is so beautifully crafted that you want to leave everything and just live there for an eternity.
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Another thing that the latest episode does well is that it introduces action-packed sequences from the very first frame. It all starts with Arondir being captured by a pack of Orcs and he is not the only one who has been held captive by the creatures, a lot of his friends are also there. They have been given a task to make a way for the Orcs to reach the important parts of middle-earth. A hi-octane fighting sequence between Arondir, his friends, and the Orcs is undoubtedly the highlight of the episode. The fight scene is perfectly choreographed and is brutal in every possible sense. Of course, you don’t see blood spilling around as you see in a Tarantino movie because ‘Lord of the Rings’ has never been about gore.
A lot of people, including me, were a little skeptical about Orcs and if CGI will ruin their designs. Fortunately, that’s not the case and the orcs in ‘The Rings of Power’ are quite similar to what we see during Peter Jackson’s ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy. They are scary, ugly, and ferocious.
Once again, it’s Morfydd Clark who shows why she was the best choice to play Galadriel. Her conversation with Numenor Queen Miriel was beyond amazing and seeing them making their points firmly make us understand how women have always been important in shaping Middle Earth. On the other hand, Ismael Cruz Cordova (Arondir) and Lloyd Owen (Elendil) are the MVPs of the episode and impress everyone with their extraordinary acting skills.
The episode ends with a massive cliffhanger as we are about to be introduced to a new character that might play an important role moving forward.
All in all, Episode 3 is the best episode of ‘The Rings of Power’ so far and is a perfect mix of epic action sequences and riveting storylines. Can’t wait for the next episode.
'The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' returns to Amazon Prime Video with a new episode every Friday at 12 am EST.