‘The Rings of Power’ Season 2, Episode 5 Review & Recap: Corruption of the Free Peoples

Warning: The following contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2, Episode 5.

As Sauron’s influence over Celebrimbor grows, new evils awaken in Middle-earth. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2, Episode 5 deepens the threat to the free peoples of Middle-earth and across the sea in Númenor as paranoia and doubt infect its citizens under its new leadership. 

With Elrond (Robert Aramayo) and the rest of the Elf company racing back to Lindon to inform Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker) of the incoming attack on Eregion, we return to Khazad-dúm, where the Dwarves struggle with their newfound power of the rings. Meanwhile, Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) is held captive by Adar and his forces, and Pharazǒn (Trystan Gravelle) begins his rule of Númenor. 

‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ Season 2, Episode 5 Strengthens the Alliance of Elves and Dwarves

This episode begins in Khazad-dúm, where King Durin III (Peter Mullan) marvels at the seven Dwarven rings before putting one on. He then goes down to the mines, where the Dwarves continue to search for light. The King uses the ring to find a place in the rock to dig. Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur) and Narvi (Kevin Eldon) warn him that that is a foundation wall, but he takes the axe himself and breaks the wall, filling the caverns of Khazad-dúm with sunlight once more.

In Eregion, Narvi and other Dwarves come to celebrate the success of the rings with Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards). They unveil their latest work, The Doors of Durin, made using Ithildin, which we saw Celebrimbor create in Episode 2. Annatar (Charlie Vickers) leaves the celebrations and tells Celebrimbor that he cannot celebrate while Men continue to suffer.

He brings up the topic of the nine rings again, and Celebrimbor says they will discuss it tomorrow, but Annatar insists they discuss it now. Celebrimbor says that men are too easily corruptible and that much of their misery is of their own making. Annatar reminds him of great men in history, such as Eärendil and Beren, and says they will select nine of only the noblest and wisest, but Celebrimbor still refuses. Annatar accepts his decision but says he will then create the nine himself.

Pharazǒn Rules Númenor With an Iron Fist in ‘The Rings of Power’ Episode 5

In Númenor, Pharazǒn and Kemen (Leon Wadham) look out over the Island to the tower of Eressëa, which sits on the coast of Valinor. Pharazǒn sees this tower as an insult from the Valar and the Elves and a reminder that they are beneath them. Kemen asks his father if being King is not enough and reminds him that this is his time to reshape Númenor how he sees fit. Pharazon then appoints Kemen for a secret task, promising to tell him a story about his mother if he impresses him.

Elsewhere in the city, Elendil (Lloyd Owen) begs Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) to command the remaining members of the Faithful to unite to overthrow Pharazǒn. She asks what he saw when he touched the Palantíri, and Elendil says he saw himself riding away from the city. Míriel takes this to mean that her vision of Númenor’s destruction has now been changed and orders Elendil to do nothing for fear of changing Númenor’s fate again. Members of the Faithful are seen being stripped of their ranks on orders from Pharazǒn, including Valandil (Alex Tarrant). Erendil sees this happening and turns in his sword, and the other sea guard members salute him as their Captain.

‘The Rings of Power’ Episode 5 Awakens New Evil in Khazad-dǔm

Back in Khazad-dúm, Disa (Sophia Nomvete) shops in the market for a tuning crystal. After finding the crystal, she drops it, and the crowd of Dwarves shuffles it away. Disa follows it lower and she’s frightened by the roar of some creature shaking the entire cavern.

King During is then seen meeting with emissaries of the other Dwarf-lords to offer them rings in exchange for a portion of their hordes. He tells Narvi that they should be digging deeper and disregard all restrictions when he notices his ring is not on his finger. 

The King accuses Narvi of stealing it, but Narvi reminds him it’s on the table and that he just took it off, claiming his arm was too heavy. Durin bursts in and tells them about the creature Disa heard in the cavern, saying they must stop digging. King Durin ignores him and orders Narvi to continue, saying that the ring allows him to see the wealth that hides beneath the mountain and that they have only scratched its surface.

Annatar’s Deceit Is Brought to Light

Back in Eregion, Celebrimbor sits in his office while Annatar and the other smiths work in the forge, and he hears a commotion. He comes down to see tools flying around the shop, and Annatar says they are working on a new ring that Mirdania (Amelia Kenworthy) was re-sizing. A hammer then attacks Celebrimbor, but he stops it and takes the ring off Mirdania, who is terrified. She says she was transported to a realm of darkness and saw a monster engulfed in flames and that it has been with them all along. Annatar calms her down and Celebrimbor is called away by the arrival of Durin. 

Durin tells Celebrimbor of his father’s changes, and he assures Durin that it can’t be the ring, as it was made the same way as the three Elven rings. Durin suggests maybe it isn’t the ring itself and accuses Annatar of tampering with them.

Later, Celebrimbor confronts Annatar about a flaw in the Dwarven rings and asks if he tampered with them. Annatar confesses that they both did, as lying to Gil-galad corrupted the rings with deceit. He says that they must confess to the Elven but Celebrimbor refuses in fear of being banned from forging and urges to push on. 

The Faithful of Númenor Are Tested

Across the sea, the Faithful hold a funeral for those lost in the battle in Middle-earth. Kemen arrives with the kingsmen and orders the site to be condemned. The high priest (William Chubb) asks to remove a sacred relic, but Kemen smashes it, and Elendil punches him in the face. The guards take him and as Kemen goes for revenge, Valandil steps in and the two begin to fight. They battle it out until Kemen draws a sword but Valandil easily dodges his blows, using the moves he learned from Galadriel in Season 1. 

Valandil disarms Kemen and breaks his arm in the process. He goes to finish the job but Elendil orders him to stand down. Valandil drops the sword and raises his hands in surrender but Kemen grabs the sword and stabs him in the back. Elendil screams and Kemen orders the kingsmen to report that he started the uprising and to take him prisoner.

‘The Rings of Power’ Episode 5 Sees the Creation of the Rings of Men

Celebrimbor holds a meeting with the other smiths and tells them that they have failed and to make up for it, they must complete the nine rings of men to bring balance to the whole project. The other smiths seem concerned by this but Annatar eases them and Celebrimbor returns to his office trembling. 

Over in Lindon, Elrond finally arrives and tells Gil-galad of the incoming assault on Eregion. Gil-galad refuses to send more troops in fear of this being part of Sauron’s plan and says they don’t have the strength to fight both Sauron and Adar (Sam Hazeldine). We then see Adar’s forces advancing on Eregion with Galadriel held prisoner. Adar lets her go saying he wants to talk to her, not as a prisoner but as an ally. 

‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ Season 2, Episode 5 Brings Balance to Its Cast

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2, Episode 5 is another great episode that explores more of Sauron’s influence growing not just in Eregion, but all over Middle-earth. This episode is full of great performances but the Dwarves continue to be stand-out characters, with the best performance easily going to Peter Mullan as King Durin III. 

While the first three episodes heavily featured the Elves, the last two have done a great job of giving each group of its expansive cast enough time to shine. The show continues to balance action and J.R.R. Tolkien‘s lore wonderfully, keeping the story engaging while also taking small moments to show the deeper mythology and history of the world.

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