Warning: The following article contains spoilers for The Rings of Power episode 3, ‘Adar’
For decades, The Lord of the Rings fans have been clamoring to see the story of Númenor depicted in live-action. Now, with The Rings of Power finally beginning its run a week ago, we get the opportunity to bear witness to the Land of the Star in all its glory.
Spoilers to follow.
The third episode begins with Arondir waking as he’s dragged by two Orcs into a labor camp. The Orcs are using prisoners from the villages to dig underground tunnels, allowing Sauron’s armies to move in daylight unperturbed. Except, their commander is not the Dark Lord himself, but someone who calls himself Adar.
Elsewhere, Galadriel comes to on a Númenorean ship, helmed by none other than Captain Elendil. She and Halbrand are brought to the very heart of Númenor, a city called Armenelos also known as the City of the Kings. There, the queen regent refuses to let Galadriel continue her journey, and it seems that the Númenoreans are not as welcoming to Elves as they once were.
One house, Elendil’s house, still remains loyal to the Elves. Elendil is tasked with keeping an eye on Galadriel, while the heroine asks the captain to take her to a “hall of lore”. Galadriel draws Sauron’s sigil and together with Elendil, they work out its meaning. The sigil turns out to be not a sigil at all, but a sign purporting to the Southlands (or Mordor, as it’s known in the Third Age) and a plan which will turn it into a domain for the Shadow.
Harfoots prepare for their grand migration, but the Brandyfoots fear being left behind due to Largo Brandyfoot’s broken, um, foot. The tribe accidentally meets The Stranger and rebukes Elanor for meddling with him, but when they set out, The Stranger helps them carry their cart and keep up with the rest of the caravan.
Galadriel talks to Halbrand again, who has managed to get himself thrown into prison for getting into a fistfight with the members of the blacksmith guild. The Elven princess has worked out Halbrand’s true identity as the king of the Southlands. She asks him to join her in the fight against Sauron, though Halbrand warns her that it was his ancestor who swore allegiance to Morgoth, the first dark lord.
Arondir and the rest of the captured elves attempt to escape the camp, but most of them die in the fight that ensues. Arondir is brought to Adar, who still remains a mystery figure.
Isildur and her sister Eärien are also briefly introduced in the third episode, with the former trying his hand at becoming a captain himself while the latter gets accepted into the builder’s guild.
As mysteries pile up and the plot thickens, this sums up everything of note in the third episode of The Rings of Power.
