The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Episode 5: Galadriel trains the men of Numenor

After securing support from the elves of Numenor to fight for the humans of the Southlands, Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) trains them for battle in Episode 5 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

While Galadriel was about to be sent back to her homeland, a powerful omen – the white petals from a sacred tree falling – caused Queen Regent Miriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) to support the elf’s cause.

Thursday night’s new episode – entitled Partings – also shows the diminutive Harfoots continuing their pilgrimage, while Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) shows Arondir (Ismael Cruz Cordova) his mysterious blade while Elrond (Robert Aramayon) and Durin (Owain Arthur) pay a visit to King Gil-Galad (Benjamin Walker). 

Training: After securing support from the elves of Numenor to fight for the humans of the Southlands, Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) trains them for battle in Episode 5 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Theo: Thursday night’s new episode – entitled Partings – also shows the diminutive Harfoots continuing their pilgrimage, while Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) shows Arondir (Ismael Cruz Cordova) his mysterious blade while Elrond (Robert Aramayon) and Durin (Owain Arthur) pay a visit to King Gil-Galad (Benjamin Walker)

The episode begins in a field with Nori (Markella Kavenagh) and the monstrous Stranger (Daniel Weyman), as she tries to teach him her language.

He keeps saying, ‘My great thumb’ but she corrects him to say, ‘Migration,’ the arduous pilgrimage the Harfoot find themselves on.

‘You see we winter in the Old Forest, and in mid-summer we make for Norfield Glen to snail while the snailing’s good,’ Nori explains.

She adds that, ‘at the first blush of the oak leaves we head to the Grove,’ which is an orchard with all sorts of food.

‘The only trouble is there are hundreds of perils between here and there,’ Nori explains while eating a snack.

He asks what ‘perils’ are and she says ‘danger,’ and anything that will ‘kill ya,’ as the Stranger asks what kill means.

‘It means to make something… dead,’ she says solemnly, as a realization dawns upon the large stranger.

‘I’m peril,’ he says, though Nori insists he’s not and the fire he caused with the fireflies was, ‘just an accident.’

‘You’re not a peril. You’re good,’ Nori explains. ‘You’re good because you’re here to help,’  when her mother Marigold (Sara Zwangobani) calls for her and they leave. 

The show made history long before the first two episodes debuted on Thursday evening, since it’s considered the most expensive series ever.

The show’s inception can be traced back to July 2017, when a grueling lawsuit between Warner Bros. – the studio behind the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films – and the J.R.R. Tolkien Estate, was settled.

Both the studio and the estate started offering the television rights to the franchise to streaming services, with Amazon quickly becoming a front-runner.

History: The show made history long before the first two episodes debuted on Thursday evening, since it’s considered the most expensive series ever

Amazon co-founder Jeff Bezos has previously given a mandate to the Prime Video streaming service that he wanted a large-scale franchise.

Bezos was also reportedly a huge fan of the franchise and was personally involved in the negotiations for the just the rights alone, which were ultimately acquired in November 2017 for a whopping $250 million.

Amazon also struck a deal with the Tolkien Estate and the Tolkien Trust where they are believed to have given the green light for upwards of five seasons of the show.

Estate: Amazon also struck a deal with the Tolkien Estate and the Tolkien Trust where they are believed to have given the green light for upwards of five seasons of the show

With an estimated production commitment of between $100 million and $150 million per season, Amazon is expected to shell out $1 billion for the production costs and the rights, when all is said and done.

The series was created by Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne, who had previously only worked on 2016’s Star Trek: Beyond as uncredited writers.

The duo pitched a series that would be set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, a history glossed over in a five-minute prologue during the Lord of the Rings films.

Commitment: With an estimated production commitment of between $100 million and $150 million per season, Amazon is expected to shell out $1 billion for the production costs and the rights, when all is said and done

They wanted to expand this into roughly 50 hours of television, which would include the forging of the Rings of Power, the rise of the dark lord Sauron, the fall of the island kingdom Numenor and the final alliance between men and elves.

There will be characters fans will recognize, though, most notably Galadriel, played in the LOTR movies by Cate Blanchett, with the much younger version played Morfydd Clark.

There have been rumors that a white-haired character shown in the trailers, played by Bridie Sisson (previously thought to be Anson Boon), is actually Sauron himself, though producers have not confirmed that.

Expand: They wanted to expand this into roughly 50 hours of television, which would include the forging of the Rings of Power, the rise of the dark lord Sauron, the fall of the island kingdom Numenor and the final alliance between men and elves

Executive producer Lindsey Weber would neither confirm nor deny Sisson’s character, she did offer a hint as to his origins to Time.

‘We are enjoying all the speculation online and can tell you Bridie Sisson is an incredible actor,’ Weber began.

‘We also thought fans might like to know that her character is traveling from far to the east—from the lands of Rhûn…’ Weber teased.

Speculation: ‘We are enjoying all the speculation online and can tell you Bridie Sisson is an incredible actor,’ Weber began

The new episodes will roll out simultaneously across the globe, with the first two episodes dropping on Thursday at 6 PM PT/9 PM ET/2 AM UK.

The final six episodes will roll out weekly at 9 PM PT/12 AM ET/5 AM UK, with the finale of the eight-episode season arriving Thursday, October 13 exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.

Episodes: The new episodes will roll out simultaneously across the globe, with the first two episodes dropping on Thursday at 6 PM PT/9 PM ET/2 AM UK

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