Warning: The following article contains spoilers for the first two episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Millions of fans sat in front of the magic box last night to embark on a long-anticipated return to Middle-earth. And as the first two episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power landed at once, audiences have been confronted with a lot of new characters, plot threads, and world-building elements to unpack.
So, with all these new players jumping around every corner of Arda’s map, and exciting realms and verdant rolling hills aplenty, here’s a breakdown of everything significant that happened in the course of these two hours.
“A Shadow of the Past” starts much in the same way as Peter Jackson’s cinematic trilogy did all those years ago; with a monologue by Galadriel, though this time bearing the much younger voice of Morfydd Clark. The Lady of Galadhrim recounts the war against Morgoth and talks of his second-in-command, Sauron, who is once again stirring in Middle-earth. She also reveals that her brother Finrod died hunting him down, a quest that she’s since taken up.
Galadriel and her company of Elves find a fortress of Sauron’s to the north, but it holds no solid leads to allow them to continue their pursuit. Galadriel returns to Lindon, the kingdom of High Elves under Gil-galad, and there Elrond convinces her to give up this search and sail for the Undying Lands of Valinor.
The show then introduces us to Harfoots, Hobbit ancestors who dwelt in the Passes of Anduin in the Second Age. Even though they don’t have perfectly round-shaped houses built into the hills, and appear to be wandering folk rather than the fervent settlers we saw in the Third Age, the Harfoots are similar to Hobbits in all but name.
There are also several villages of Men, guarded by Gil-galad’s rangers. One of these is an Elven archer called Arondir, who has fallen in love with Bronwyn, a village woman. Learning about cattle growing sick and other distressing signs in the land, Arondir and Bronwyn make their way toward one of the other villages, only to find it burning down, and the very ground cleft as if from a rumbling earthquake.
As Galadriel sails for Valinor on a ship, a meteorite flies across the skies of Middle-earth, witnessed by almost every character. It explodes somewhere near the dwelling place of Harfoots, with Elanor Brandyfoot going off on her own to investigate it. Elanor finds a charred and burning decline, with a man laying on his side at its center. The man suddenly wakes up, startling the Harfoot, and then falls back asleep. Elanor, with the help of one of her friends, carries him off to a safe place in the undergrowth.
As her friends join the Undying Lands, Galadriel decides at the last moment to jump off the ship and return to Middle-earth, ending the first episode.
In the second episode, Bronwyn convinces the village to leave for the watchtower, while Arondir deals with whatever’s lurking in the underground of the villages. Bronwyn’s son, Theo, finds a sword belonging to Morgoth’s armies, which could have catastrophic implications for him.
Galadriel swims through the ocean and comes upon a craft — not much more than a bundle of plank wood roped together — with several humans on it. One of them is Halbrand, who reveals that Orcs have destroyed his realm and Galadriel asks him to lead her to his home. The two brave a storm, but when Galadriel opens her eyes next a sailor is looking down on her from a ship, possibly Elendil the mariner or his son Isildur.
Gil-galad introduces Elrond to Celebrimbor the legendary Elven smith, who reveals his intentions to build powerful artifacts with a forge in Eregion. Celebrimbor wants the forge finished by spring, which compels Elrond to seek out his friend, Prince Durin of Khazad-dûm. Elrond enters the Dwarven realm and negotiates with Durin’s heir, not only rekindling an old friendship but also securing a working alliance with the Dwarves and the Elves. Prince Durin and his father discuss the prospects of this new pact while staring into a mysterious gem.
Elanor continues to visit The Stranger, who seems hostile and doesn’t understand the Common Tongue. At the end of the episode, he whispers to a group of fireflies and they draw a constellation in the sky. As to what all of it means, or who this Stranger is, I guess we’re only going to have to wait and find out for ourselves next week when The Rings of Power picks up the narrative with its third episode.