The Rings Of Power Episode 6 Review & Breakdown

The Rings of Power heads to battle with Episode 6 “Where is He?” preparing viewers for an enticing and dramatic battle which will unfold over the next few episodes. With glimpses into Númenor, Khazad-dûm and Rhûn as well, episode 6 takes us all over Middle-earth with Eregion still being its central focus. Let’s break it down!

Rings of Men and Pride

When Celebrimbor is having problems with creating the final batch of rings, which are the 9 for men, he mentions “what pride is woven in your inmost self” which also mirrors what the ringbearers of the 9 in future will be like as they were originally men fuelled with pride that Sauron was able to capitalise on and give them a ring.

Sauron’s Black and Gold Costume

We finally see Sauron wearing his black and gold costume which interestingly in the mid section has a snake like design and creature woven around his body and this could be in relation to previous descriptions of Sauron’s deception earlier in the season, particularly from Adar where mentions Sauron “slithering” and “worming” into people’s mind to take control.

Close Look at a Silmaril

We see again the statue of Fëanor but interestingly we also get a close look at the silmaril in his hand and this is almost ironic as we had just previously seen Celebrimbor tinkering away at trying perfect the 9 rings of men to almost eclipse the singular jewel that is right outside his doorstep on the statue.

Uruk

We get a callback to Adar and Galadriel’s first interaction from season 1 episode 7 where Adar corrects Galadriel in that dramatic moment and says “Uruk” in reference to him being an Uruk and not an orc. We see this correction again by Adar in their exchange which was a cool callback.

Elendil Son of Amandil

For the first time, we hear reference to Amandil the father of Elendil who famously sailed West to the Undying Lands asking for the Valar’s help and a character who has been omitted so far in the show. So is he alive? Is he dead? Hopefully we get some clarity. Pharazôn also during his speech refers to Elendil’s “faithful service” which is a good play on words as of course Elendil is apart of The Faithful.

Many that Die Deserve Life

The Gandalf hints continue as Tom Bombadil in his speech to The Stranger rephrases and reverses some of Gandalf’s famous words from The Fellowship of the Ring “many that die deserve life, some that live deserve death, who are you to give it to them?”. In The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf says: “Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement.”

Something More Precious

Annatar offers King Durin III timber, wood and other resources in return for more Mithril to forge the rings, but the final thing he says is “or something more precious” with a big emphasis on ‘precious’. Then once he leaves, in the next scene King Durin is very reminiscent of Bilbo from the Lord of the Rings with the paranoid attitude where Gandalf asks him to take off the ring- which is something Durin IV asks here. So even though the show isn’t specifically making Durin III call his ring “my precious” this was more of a cool nod to it instead and how the ringbearer becomes so attached and consumed by the ring- and becomes crazy as we saw with Durin in the very next scene.

Also, near the end of the episode in Celebrimbor’s dream world, Sauron makes further reference to the Rings of Power being “precious”.

Balrog in the Flames

When Annatar hears that King Durin III will not offer anymore mithril, he conjures up an apparition of the Balrog we saw from Season 1 in the flames and maybe this is foreshadowing of what’s to come- either for the rest of the show or even this season if we see the Balrog again in some way.

Sauron’s Plan

Adar is sending an army of orcs to attack Eregion and we can further see Sauron’s manipulation and is moving the pieces of the chessboard in his favour as Galadriel even mentions this to Adar when stating that he is falling into his trap by sending Sauron an army of orcs essentially.

Celebrimbor Under Enchantment

It is made clear that Celebrimbor is now fully under the trance of Annatar and almost in his own dreamworld when not being able to see the battle and fireballs being aimed towards the city. Annatar’s control over Celebrimbor has now hit a peak through now even manipulating his surroundings and settings.

Review

The Rings of Power episode 6 is very good, though not as strong as it’s predecessor (episode 5) , but it still effectively progresses the narrative towards the sack of Eregion and fully establishes Sauron’s deception and might in the form of Annatar through his now total control over Celebrimbor. The episode switches through the storylines well with Numenor also finally progressing as well with the sea trial being a highlight. The Rhun storyline still does drag the episode with the Stoors during the middle of the episode, but then the pacing and tensions built in Eregion previously is built back up. Sam Hazeldine (Adar) continues to be a scene stealer through clearly showcasing his motivations and true vendetta against Sauron.

4/5 Stars

Best performance: Sam Hazeldine (Adar), Lloyd Owen (Elendil)