‘The Rings of Power’ Episode 3 Recap: The Men of the West
Amazon’s The Rings Of Power Episode 3 takes us to new lands.
Last week’s premiere of Rings of Power was one of the pretest things on TV. It was also a dang good start to the show. The third episode continues the main storylines and introduces a host of new locations and characters.
The shadow of spoilers lies over all that follows – BEWARE.
Branching Stories 
The Rings of Power Episode 3 continues some of the major plot lines from the first two episodes. However, it does not follow all the plot lines they’ve introduced. This is in part because they have to introduce a lot of new locations and people. This episode focuses on just three of the plotlines and a handful of the characters we’ve met. While the episode intertwines.
The Rings of Power Episode 3 Finally Takes Us to Númenor
via Amazon
The largest part of The Rings of Power Episode 3 is devoted to Galadriel’s plotline. After being in the water last time, she and Halbrand are rescued by a Numenorian ship captained by Elendil. Elendil of course is one most important humans in the Lord of The Rings and goes on to found Gondor and Arnor. He takes the pair back to Númenor. And boy is it pretty. I mean, really pretty. We soon found out that Elves no longer go to Numenor and are not well-liked there.
Galadriel and Halbrand are taken to see Queen Miriel and her main advisor Pharazon. Galadriel demands they give her a ship, but it doesn’t go well. Halbrand defuses the situation and gets everyone to agree to wait three days before making any decision. Halbrand then goes off and tries to get a job as a smith, but ends up fighting and beating up a group of men, ending him in jail.
Questions are Answered 
Galadriel meanwhile spends some time chatting with Elendil, who turns out to know more about elves than he let on. He takes her to the Hall of Lore and then they find an answer to one of the show’s mysteries. It turns out the symbol she’s been investigating is actually a map. It represents an area of the Southlands in which the Orcs plan to build a new stronghold. This is of course Mordor.
Meanwhile, we are also introduced to two of Elendil’s children, Isildur and his show-only daughter Eärien. Isildur is training to join the sea guard (the navy it seems) and Eärien wants to be a builder. They also mention his other son Anárion in passing. Elendil and his children are quite friendly to Galadriel. Later she visits Halbrand in prison and informs him she did some research on the symbol he wears. It was a crest of the royal family of the Southlands, kings who supported Morgoth. He claims he took it from a dead man, but no one really buys that.
The Elves are in the Pits
The second plot of The Rings of Power episode 3 follows Arondir. After being captured in the last episode, he’s tossed by some amazing-looking Orcs into a pit. The pit is full of both human and elf prisoners. This includes his friends from the watchtower. It’s not really clear how they were captured. I mean, these are supposed to be Elf soldiers and pretty good fighters. Arondir was ambushed down in a hole. But how were the others taken? And why are the Orcs who both hate and fear Elves keeping them alive?
Honestly not a ton happens here though. The prisoners are being made to dig a trench, in what will soon be Mordor. It seems to be to help keep the Orcs out of the sun, but maybe there is more to it. The Elves of course don’t like this and try to escape. It doesn’t go well. Arondir’s friends all die. It seems like this is supposed to be impactful, but we don’t know them well enough to care. Arondir himself is taken to meet the Orc leader, Adar.
Harfoots Prove to be More Brutal than Orcs
Lastly, we check back in with Nori and the Harfoots in The Rings of Power Episode 3. The Harfoots are having a festival, which seems to mark the time for them to migrate. Meanwhile, Nori’s parents are worried about her dad’s broken foot – it’s not a good thing for a migratory people. Nori and Poppy steal a star map for the Harfoot’s leader to give to the stranger, then attend the festival. There the Harfoots remember those left behind. This sort of seems like a euphemism as most of those they mention seem to have been killed or died along the way.
The Stranger shows up and finds his star map, but also starts a magical fire. As a result, he is discovered, and so is Nori for having helped him. As punishment, Nori and her family are forced to walk at the back of the migration. This turns out to be bad as with his broken foot her dad has problems pulling the cart and they can’t keep up. And this is where the Harfoots prove to be the most brutal people in Middle Earth. It turns out that if you get in trouble at all, no one will help you. Instead, they will just leave your ass, and you and your family will presumably die alone. There isn’t even any danger here. They just leave them. Luckily, the Stranger comes to help pull the cart and saves the day.
Overall Thoughts on The Rings of Power Episode 3
Númenor was gorgeous. It was everything I could have wanted. There are also a ton of cool nods to the lore in the architecture.
I really dig warrior Galadriel. I also like brash Galadriel. However, in this episode, she came off as a bit… dumb? She just felt young and naïve. There was certainly a bit of Elf arrogance, but the way she acted in Númenor, insulting people and picking fights felt off. As was the seeming father/daughter dynamic with Elendil. She’s thousands and thousands of years older than him.
Lots of hints about Halbrand here. His family served Morgoth (way back when) and he’s got a dark side to him. They are seeming to set him up as an Aragorn type here (he even looks a bit like Vigo). The lost king of a people in peril who must reclaim (and redeem) his birthright. It’s quite possible he will end up a reverse Aragorn though, and end up falling into darkness. Maybe a Ringwraith? However, he’s also a smith, so he could be Sauron in disguise.
So I was obviously not a fan of the Harfoot brutality. I get that migratory people do have to make hard choices and might leave some people behind. However, up till now, the Harfoots have been shown as kind, loving folks with a strong sense of community. I could buy that in an emergency they would be forced to leave people who slowed the group down. But the idea that effectively no one would help an injured and struggling member along seems off. I don’t buy that they would just callously abandon them when there is no present threat.
Also, why did Sauron carve their secret backup plan map in Finrod? Why did they even have a plan at that point as they were winning the war?
Overall I didn’t think The Rings of Power Episode 3 was as strong as the premier. It was however still a good time. I can also give it some slack as it still had to introduce a lot of new stuff.
5/7 Rings for Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone.
