The Rings of Power season 2 episode 4 recap and review

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 is off to a great start! The first three episodes were released on Prime Video on Aug. 29. Now, the fourth episode of the season is now streaming, as of Thursday, Sept. 5. 

Finally, in the third episode, Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) and Sauron (Charlie Vickers), disguised as Annatar, started making the rings for the Dwarves. It’s called the “Rings of Power” after all, so they should probably get busy. 

Elrond and Galadriel set off toward Eregion 

In episode 4, the story picks up at the very end of the third episode. Elrond (Robert Aramayo) and Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) have assembled a team to accompany them on their way to Eregion. They believe that Sauron has already returned to influence Celebrimbor, and they’re right! 

After traveling for a while from Lindon, they find a bridge on the quickest way to Eregion has been destroyed by the evil of Sauron, probably. Galadriel uses the ring to point them in a new direction, but Elrond won’t trust the ring. They argue about whether or not to follow Galadriel’s advice, but Elrond, who is captain of the mission, wins the duel. 

We all know this was a mistake from the jump, not to trust Galadriel and the ring, but Elrond has to learn, learn, and learn some more. 

They continue on their journey and come across a hoard of Barrow-wights. They fight them off, but they suffer some losses before Elrond opens one of the tombs and kills the beasts with their own weapons. Fun fact: that’s how you kill Barrow-wights. 

Galadriel tells their friends that this is the work of Sauron, awakening this evil across Middle-earth. 

Later, Galadriel and Elrond continue to bicker over the ring. Elrond, please just give it up, my guy. Then, one of their traveling party reveals that they heard drums in the woods. Who could it be? Friend or foe? 

Elrond and Galadriel stumble upon a legion of orcs, led by Adar (Sam Hazeldine), marching to Eregion. The orcs shoot one of the Elves, but Galadriel uses the healing powers of the ring to save his life. 

Then, she sacrifices herself after giving the ring to Elrond to protect the ring from falling into Adar’s hands. She kills many of the orcs before Adar gains the upper hand. 

The Stranger meets Tom Bombadil 

Over in Rhun, the Stranger (Daniel Weyman) meets the one, the only Tom Bombadil (Rory Kinnear), ladies and gentlemen! The Stranger tells Tom that he’s looking for two little folk and the stars they were trying to find are actually above Tom’s hill, which doesn’t seem of any significance to Master Bombadil. 

The Stranger loses his nap and then gets stuck in a tree. Just get on with it, please! 

Finally, the tree lets the Stranger out, and Tom lets him take a bath. They make small talk for a while, which seems weird considering he’s still looking for Nori (Markella Kavenagh) and Poppy (Megan Richards) who were half-dead in the desert before the Stranger threw them across the desert via wind. 

Tom tries to get to the bottom of the Stranger and who he is. The Stranger tries to find out as much information as he can, but Tom is speaking in some riddles. The main point is that Tom is going to help the Stranger discover who he is. The Stranger realizes that he was meant to find Tom to learn from him. 

They’re interrupted by the servants of the Dark Wizard, who controls Rhun, according to Tom. He also learned from Tom many years ago. Tom tells the Stranger that they need to keep Sauron and the Dark Wizard (Ciarán Hinds) apart, for if they meet, Middle-earth will be no more. 

And, this is the big reveal. Tom shares that the Stranger is meant to face not just Sauron, but Sauron and the Dark Wizard, to stop them and save Middle-earth. 

Nori and Poppy find other people like them 

After getting blown away via the magic tornado caused by the Stranger, Nori and Poppy meet Merrimack, another hobbit-like creature dwelling in the caves and rocks of Rhun. “Harfoots living in holes” is what Nori calls them. 

They aren’t exactly welcoming to Nori and Poppy, but once they get to know each other a little bit, they do welcome the Harfoots. 

That night, the servants of the Dark Wizard come to collect the Harfoots, but the leader of the village takes a punch and still refuses to give up Poppy and Nori. 

Arondir and Isildur rescue Theo from the Ents 

After Isildur (Maxim Baldry) and Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) rescue Berek, Theo is taken by the wild men, or so they think. They try to figure out where to go to look for Theo. Estrid (Nia Towle) tells them to go North to find the wild men. 

Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova) knows something is up, and he finds the mark of Adar on her neck. The trio continues on to find Theo and the wild men, but Isildur is pretty upset that she lied to him. 

On their travels, Arondir knows that Theo was taken by Ents, not wild men. They continue tracking them through the woods and end up in the belly of a monster surely awakened by Sauron. 

Later, Isildur apologizes to Estrid, but she uses the opportunity to steal Isildur’s sword to escape. All of the commotion wakes up one of the Ents, who throes Estrid into a rock. 

The Ents are intrigued by the sword, but Isildur reveals it’s not for chopping wood. The sword is for killing orcs. 

The Ents tell a story of an orc army burning and destroying the forest. They also give Theo back to Arondir. In the chaos, though, Estrid’s betrothed Hagen shows up and they embrace. 

We’re officially halfway through the second season of The Rings of Power. It’s taken a long time to move the pieces on the board around, but we’re leading up to a few major battles in The Rings of Power season 2. It’s time to buckle up!