‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ Episode 5 Ending, Explained: Númenor Finally Sails for Middle-earth
Welcome to the Ending Explained for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Amazon Prime’s flagship series. This week, the show touches upon every single storyline, and yet, it feels like the plot has barely moved on. There is just not enough development in each storyline to make the running time of each episode seem worthwhile. Why is that? It is hard to say, but the series is getting lost in trying to achieve this false sense of grandeur with its presentation that it forgets that you need great characters and stories to make it feel real.
In this week’s episode, the theme is lies. Again, this is a fantastic subject, but it is really hard to take anything from it when the theme is only mentioned and the lies that the characters are telling barely register or have clear consequences. We can infer that the consequences will be made apparent as the series progresses, but if the show had managed to show something like it in during the episode, then the audience might feel a bit more excitement and tension.
The following paragraphs contain spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Episode 5. Read at your own risk.
Does Isildur Find A Spot In The Expedition To Middle Earth?
In this episode, the series touches upon the two main storylines occurring in Númenor. There, our characters can stop lying to each other to get what they want. Queen Miriel is the first one in the episode to go full liar. We see a scene with her finally talking with her senile father. It is a sad scene, as the Old King barely remembers her daughter. She explains what is happening to him, and then he warns her during a moment of lucidity, that she should not go to Middle-Earth. He says that the only thing waiting for her there is darkness.
Later in the episode, while having a meeting with Galadriel and Elendil, Miriel lies, by saying that she still has her father’s blessing to go to Middle Earth. The queen has found purpose in the quest, and she is ready to make the most of it. Galadriel also lied during the same meeting. Miriel wants Halbrand to go on the expedition. He is the king of the people of the Southlands and having him on-board will be a huge asset. Mirial is sending troops to make war against Sauron, but they will need the men of Middle Earth to join them if they want things to go well.
Galadriel lies to the rest of the group by saying that Halbrand is willing to go back to Middle-Earth. The opposite is true. Halbrand has no intention of going back to Middle-Earth. He doesn’t want to die. However, Galadriel gives him a motivational speech and manages to convince him rather quickly. The entire Halbrand motivation is dealt with very easily with just a couple of words. At the end of the episode, he grabs his collar and rides the ship with everyone else.
The other liar at Númenor is Isildur. He is having trouble getting a spot on the expedition. His father says that he needs to earn the spot. Many people would kill for one spot on the ship. Isildur wants to prove himself, but he doesn’t know how. He tries to get help from his friends, but it is useless. He then tries to go as a stowaway, but he is discovered by Phazaron’s son, who is trying to burn the ship. They escape the explosion, and then they both lie about what they were doing on the ship. Phazaron’s son lies about Isildur saving his life. Elendil falls for the lie and gives his son a spot.
Do Adar’s Orc Forces Finally Attack?
The episode also touches briefly on the other three major storylines. For example, in the Southlands, which is where Galadriel is heading, Arondir and Bronwyn are trying to convince the people to stay and fight. The people are not convinced and many of them go away with the barkeeper, the one loyal to Sauron. Adar received them, but they force them to kill to bind their promise of loyalty to Sauron and his armies.
The episode also lets us know a bit about Elrond and Durin’s storyline. The two friends are at risk of getting into a fight once again when the High King of the Elves reveals a sad truth to Elrond. The light of the Eldar is fading, and the only salvation of the Elven race seems to be locked inside the ore Mithril, which the dwarves have found in a huge vein in the depths of Khazad Dum. Elrond reveals this to Durin, but the Dwarf receives the news rather well. The fate of the elves is in his hands, so Durin savors the moments quite a bit.
Nori and The Stranger also continue their caravan route. It is all quite lighthearted at the beginning of this storyline. The Stranger seems to be learning Nori’s language and is able to communicate better. The Stranger even saves Nori’s family from a couple of wargs. However, he ends up hurting Nori while healing his wounds. Nori runs scared of him. There are also some strange-looking people following his trail. They are very evil-looking. Could the Stranger end up being Sauron returned?
The last part of the episode sees Arondir trying to teach the people how to fight, and Theo reveals the dark sword to Arondir. Arondir concludes that the sword is actually a key and that it might open something inside the tower. Something that might be their only salvation from the incoming Orc attack.