Season 2, Episode 2, titled “Where the Stars are Strange,” of the Amazon Prime Video series, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, is directed by Charlotte Brandstrom and Louise Hooper and penned by Jason Cahill. The episode begins with the shadow and the dark power in Mount Doom spreading to every corner of Middle Earth, infecting every land with darkness. It is the work of Sauron likely using his powers in Mordor to begin the infection . The darkness crawls west and it reaches Khazad-dum, which is terrible as the mines are vulnerable to the shadow of the Balrog.
Durin and Disa Argue
In Khazad-dum, Durin IV (Owain Arthur) and his wife Disa (Sophia Nomvete) are buying food in the marketplace. However, they are interrupted as the darkness of Mordor begins to cause a brief earthquake in the great dwarven city. It gets worse as some of the rubble falls on the city and breaks the light mechanism, the sun shafts, used to bring sunlight into the city to grow their crops. As a result, the city’s infrastructure is broken and the crops begin to wither leaving the dwarves in darkness.
The dwarves, led by King Durin III (Peter Mullan), try everything including recruiting Disa and the stone singers for aid. However, the earthquake continues to fester and less and less light enters Khazad-dum. Narvi (Kevin Eldon) comes in as an advisor on the matter and recommends fixing the sun shafts and building new ones. Disa intervenes stating that the stone singers are unable to find new areas to safely mine for the new sun shafts to be built. Following a failed attempt to find a new location, Disa asks Durin III to work with his son again so the both of them can work together to solve the earthquake problem.
Disa confronts Durin IV and pleads that he make amends with his father during this dark hour. Things get worse when Disa and the other stone singers can no longer speak with the mountain for guidance. Durin IV calms down and tries to assure his wife that the dwarves will endure but Disa is skeptical in how they will do so without any outside aid.
Galadriel in a Dark Vision
One day, Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) attends a war council with High King Gil-Galad (Benjamin Walker) in their war effort to invade Mordor and defeat the orcs. However, Galadriel is later stuck in a dark vision Sauron (Charlie Vickers) gives her in which she sees a trapped and dying Celebrimbor utter the ring verse to her horror: Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die.
Soon, Galadriel leaves the vision and privately warns Gil-Galad that Sauron will likely not be in Mordor, but in Eregion as the Rings of the Power are the key to his rise to power. However, Gil-Galad believes that Sauron is not a threat yet as he doesn’t have allies or an army. The irony is that Galadriel is right and that Sauron is in Eregion in the guise of Halbrand which is seen by the future Lady of Lothlorien via foresight.
It turns out that her elven ring, Nenya, strengthened her ability of foresight and this is the same for Gil-Galad who wears Vilya. Gil-Galad shared his foresight in witnessing mountains crumbling, waters running dry, and black clouds gathering over white towers. The vision indicates the future fall of Khazad-dum and its transformation into Moria along with the future war between Mordor and Gondor in the Third Age. However, Gil-Galad does not know it as the visions are blurry and unclear. This frightens Galadriel and she asks permission to be sent to Eregion and worries that Sauron is already there manipulating Celebrimbor.
Gil-Galad declines as Sauron has already gained influence in Galadriel. It is rumoured that once the Deceiver obtains a being’s trust, he gains the ability to sculpt their very thoughts. To deceive not only their heart and mind, but their eyes and ears. To alter their very reality. Sauron can invade the minds of his enemies through the Rings of Power but his deception is so masterful that he can convince people to go against their morals and who they once were. He will do this with the Dwarven Lords, the kings of men, and the Numenoreans soon. Despite this, Galadriel convinces Gil-Galad to let her go to Eregion but not alone. Therefore, she heads to the Grey Havens to request Elrond’s (Robert Aramyao) help to accompany her to Eregion.
Elrond and Cirdan
Elrond is conflicted about accepting Galadriel’s request so he goes to Cirdan (Ben Daniels) for guidance. The herald meets with the shipwright at a lake where the latter is shaving. There, Cirdan talks with Elrond regarding how the three elven rings can be used for good. Cirdan exemplifies this by using Narya to stoke the fire within some of the fishes, making them excited, fast, and brave. This is the same power Gandalf uses when he wields to stoke the fires within men when they fight Sauron’s army during the events of the Third Age.
Cirdan advises Elrond to not let his fear of Sauron’s manipulations make him blind with the potential the three elven rings can be used for good. Cirdan’s words are right as many works and crafts can be used for good if used by the right hands. However, the wise shipwright does acknowledge that the three elven rings would be devastating if Sauron had his hands on them. The conversation concludes with Cirdan encouraging Elrond to guide his friends who are lost in darkness, like Galadriel, Eventually, Elrond accepts Galadriel’s request but agrees with Gil-Galad that he should lead it.
The Dark Wizard
At Caras Gaer, Brank (Zates Atour), the captain of the Easterling trackers, meets with the Dark Wizard (Ciaran Hinds) who has just finished summoning his strongest mystic, the Dweller (Bridie Sisson). The Dweller has failed in her mission to capture the Stranger so the Dark Wizard calls her a failure yet spares her life. However, the Dweller does deliver news regarding how Sauron takes a new form to deceive his enemies.
The Dark Wizard then talks with Brank regarding his tracking of the Stranger and the two halflings in Rhun. Brank asks the Dark Wizard to heal the curse on his and the people’s flesh once the Stranger is brought before him. the Dark Wizard is skeptical if Brank and his fellow mortal trackers can succeed when his own mystics, who are able to wield magic, have failed. Brank assures that he will use the halflings as hostages to force the Stranger to be their prisoner and return to the Dark Wizard with the Istar in chains.
The Stranger Creates a Sandstorm
While on the road, the Stranger (Daniel Weyman) is questioned by Nori (Markella Kavenagh) and Poppy (Megan Richards) of what his name should be. The Stranger explains that a name is already given but it can only be recognized if his heart glows and reacts to it. As a result, Nori promises to help the Istar to find out his real name.
Later, the trio settled down to make camp. Poppy asks why the Stranger couldn’t just magically summon water but Nori states that he needs a gand (staff) to do so. Nori saying the word gand could indicate that the Stranger is himself Gandalf later on. However, this goes against the lore Tolkien wrote as only the Blue Wizards and Saruman have been to Rhun. Gandalf remained in the West where he only worked with the hobbits, the elves, and the men. The West is where Gandalf remained to fight against Sauron and his dark servants.
Eventually, Brank and his Easterling trackers catch up to the Stranger and the halflings. They try to capture the halflings but the Istar stops them by using a temporary staff to summon a sandstorm. The problem is that Stranger cannot control the sandstorm as the staff he is using is not the right one. The sandstorm nearly hurts Nori and Poppy and frightens them as the sandstorm is too chaotic and strong for them to handle.
Halbrand and Celebrimbor
Halbrand tries to meet with Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) but the latter avoids the former due to Galadriel’s instructions not to treat him. However, Halbrand preys on Mirdania’s (Amelia Kenworthy) pity with his body scars and Celebrimbor’s desire to know what becomes of the three elven rings in Lindon. Prior to Celebrimbor meeting Halbrand, he creates ithildin using the last sliver of mithril in which the runes can only be seen under moonlight. It is the same stone and element used to create the Doors of Durin which strengthens the bond between the elves of Eregion and the dwarves of Khazad-dum.
During a rainy storm, Celebrimbor meets with Halbrand and only welcomes the mysterious man once he talks about the three elven rings. Halbrand even pushes into the great elven smith’s insecurities by explaining how the creators of a craft are left to toil in their work while the most powerful leaders, like Gil-Galad, come along and profit from the work. They continue their conversation in Celebrimbor’s forge.
Halbrand relays information that the three elven rings were successful in Lindon and stopped the fading of the elves. Celebrimbor revels at the news of successfully creating something of beauty and power. He created something of worth as his grandfather Feanor did when he created the Silmarils. Celebrimbor is about to celebrate but Halbrand insists that Celebrimbor forge more rings for the dwarves and men. The elven smith refuses as the risk of corruption is far greater and that the rings can only work with elves alone. Yet Halbrand is insistent using further manipulation to convince Celebrimbor.
Annatar: The Lord of Gifts
Halbrand reveals his real name is not Halbrand and that he is an emissary of the Valar to the confusion of Celebrimbor. Soon, their conversation is interrupted when the winds open the doors forcing the scion of Feanor to close it only to find Halbrand missing. Soon, Celebrimbor finds his guest appearing from the fires of the great forge in a new fair form. A form deemed worthy for the emissary of the Valar. The figure is no longer Halbrand but Annatar (Charlie Vickers), the Lord of Gifts. Celebrimbor is astonished and accepts Annatar’s proposal to craft the Rings of Power for both dwarves and men to save them from the coming darkness.
Unknown to Celebrimbor, Annatar is Sauron and he plans to use the Rings of Power to enslave the dwarves and men to his very will. Annatar promises Celebrimbor that their work will make all respect Celebrimbor as not just the scion of Feanor but The Lord of the Rings. Sauron is secretly declaring himself as The Lord of the Rings just as Gandalf stated: “There is only one Lord of the Rings and he does not share power.” Sauron will never share power as he craves it to ensure his twisted plan for an orderly and enslaved Middle Earth comes to pass and succeed where Morgoth had failed. The two then send a letter to Durin IV requesting he visit Eregion to discuss the seven dwarven rings.
Rating: 7/10