The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 Episode 5 Spoiler Review

Episode five of ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ season 2 largely follows Sauron’s deception in Eregion is he twists Celebrimbor around his finger in order to create the nine rings of power for men, and the affects of the Ring of Power on King Durin. It’s a great episode showing exactly what fans wanted from this series, Sauron at the height of his powers. The episode also cuts to the start of the downfall of Númenor, with Ar-Pharazôn starting to indulge in the corruption that will cause the island to be destroyed. 

Charlie Vickers is able to play Lord Annatar/Sauron in a more manipulative and cunning way in this episode, as Celebrimbor sinks deeper and deeper into his grasp. Charles Edwards is also a standout, playing Celebrimbor with a strong resolve, which gradually gets weaker and more desparate as Sauron wears him down. 

The conflict starts as Annatar/Sauron wants to keep going and make rings for men, which Celebrimbor doesn’t want, as he sees men as corruptible. Annatar shocklingly goes ahead with his plans anyway but ends up showcasing why he needs Celebrimbor. Annatar also gets his hooks in the rest of Celebrimbor’s smithing crew, making sure they’re loyal to him.

Displaying this power-crazed and easy corruptible nature is Ar-Pharazôn, as the power of being Númenor’s king goes right to his head. No rings needed! He complains that the elves are immortal, and can travel to Valinor, which is only teased to mere mortals. This element is taken from the character in Tolkien’s books, and is brought to a devastating conclusion. He orders his son, a complete wimp of boy, to destroy a shrine for an aquaduct, mechanical progress driving through sacred faith. This will likely be the start of a long arc that will conclude in future.

King Durin gets his hands on one of the seven dwarven rings, and, unlike the elves who have the mental fortitude to withstand Sauron’s corruption, very quickly uses it to enrich himself. He taxes his citizens, revokes mining restrictions he previously put in place and even ignores Disa’s warning of a creature lurking in the mountain’s depths. Durin even goes to alert Celebrimbor of the ring’s failing, but Annatar twists this and gets Celebrimbor to blame himself, arguing the Celebrimbor’s deceit has 

Galadriel gets only brief moment in this episode, as Adar explains that he wants to forge an alliance with her. Hopefully this is quickly rejected, because it would be extremely stupid if Galadriel teamed up with Adar to attack an elven city, no matter the reason. It would look. Next episode will clear this up, as it’s only a short scene right at the end. 

This episode in particular highlights Sauron’s powers of persuasion, that even being around him is dangerous for the mind. The danger of the rings of power is showcased, especially why Sauron needed to move to more corruptible species like dwarves and men. Charlie Vickers is a great presence along with Charles Edwards. ‘Rings of Power’ continues to show improvements from season one.