Last week's episode of Rings of Power culminated with Queen-Regent Miriel deciding to help Galadriel in her search for Sauron. In doing so, the seeds of discontent and conflict are planted in the hearts of her subjects. Over in Middle-Earth, the shadow is getting stronger as all signs lead to the Dark Lord returning once again. We take a look at this Rings of Power episode 5 ending explained to shed more light on what happened.
Rings of Power episode 5 ending explained
This week's episode of Rings of Power starts with Nori and the bearded stranger continuing their migration with the former's family. As they do so, the stranger starts to slowly recover a little of his memory. Meanwhile, several individuals garbed in white inspect the site where the stranger crashed.
In the Southlands, Adar speaks to an orc and tells him that it is time to summon the legions. As this is happening, Bronwyn tells the people that Adar is about to attack their settlement. She urges the people to fight as Waldreg discourages them to do so. Instead, he tells them to bow down to the supposed enemy to save their lives. Waldreg's message is heeded by the people, which causes a good number of them to leave the tower.
Right before Numenor's fleet leaves for Middle-Earth, Isildur speaks to Elendil about joining the expedition. Elendil tells his son he will not help him as Isildur got himself thrown out of the Sea Guard. Meanwhile, half of Numenor's population wants to join in on the expedition while the other half pleads with Pharazon to stop the war. Earien, Elendil's daughter, is among the latter.
Halbrand is seen forging a blade in the armory while wearing a guild crest. He is summoned by Queen-Regent Miriel with Galadriel in attendance to discuss his part in the expedition. Miriel is summoned by the King as Galadriel reveals she knew who betrayed her when she escaped. Halbrand is angry at the thought of being used to fight Sauron as he tells the elf to find another would-be king for the Southlands.
Nori and her family, along with Poppy and the stranger, continue on with their journey. They discover tracks of wolves in the mud. Meanwhile, Malva blames the stranger for the lifelessness of the forest they're traveling in. She implores Sadoc to leave Nori's family to prevent any danger from falling upon the tribe. She is then approached by Nori and Poppy and report to her the wolf tracks they found. At that moment, they are chased by wolves, causing them to sprint back to camp.
Nori is unsuccessful as one wolf manages to catch her. The stranger then appears and saves his friend by pounding on the ground and causing a tremor to throw the wolves away. Shortly after, the stranger's forearm turns purple.
Back in Numenor, Elendil is monitoring a sword fight between Valandil and Ontamo. He tells Galadriel to share her expertise in battle as she goes up against five trainees. To raise the stakes, Elendil offers to promote anyone who can beat the elf to lieutenant. Out of the five, only Valandil succeeds in landing a mark on Galadriel's arm. He is then promoted by Elendil shortly after. Meanwhile, Kemen speaks to Pharazon so he can stop the expedition. Pharazon pays attention when Kemen mentions that he would rather die than take orders from an elf. Pharazon then replies that when all of this is over, elves will be taking orders from them.
With the stranger saving Nori, Poppy, and Malva, the Harfoot tribe changes their treatment of him, as mentioned by the former. While his friend is talking, the stranger is making a remedy for his wound by turning a puddle into ice. The frost climbs up the stranger's arm as the chill spreads to Nori. She asks him to stop but the stranger's incantation continues as Nori is thrown away. His memory of falling to Middle-Earth flashes in the stranger's mind. He becomes aware of what happened as Nori cowers back from him.
Over in Lindon, Gil-Galad, the elven high-king, throws a celebration to commemorate the union of elves and dwarves. He commends King Durin III and his son, Durin IV, for this occasion. Shortly after, Elrond and Durin IV accuse each other of lying for their own interests.
Gil-Galad then summons Elrond and tells him sending Galadriel away didn't work out as planned. The shadow in Middle-Earth is growing and the light of the Eldar is slowly fading away. Celebrimbor later adds that only Mithril, the newfound ore discovered by Durin IV, can save the world from evil and bring their light back. Elrond is left to choose his vow to Durin or help save the light of the Eldar.
After getting promoted, Valandil is approached by Isildur who petition to get him on a boat to Middle-Earth. Valandil refuses, an act that leads Isildur to escape into a ship. As he does, Kemen lights the boar he's on fire and fights Elendil's son. The boat explodes and Isildur drags Pharazon's son back to the dock and delivers him to Elendil.
As he is cleaning the armory, Halbrand is approached by Galadriel. The elf apologizes and asks him to help him fight in Middle-Earth. The Southlander replies that he is still haunted. Even without knowing why he ended up floating in the middle of the Sundering Seas, Galadriel tries to open up by sharing an important lesson she learned from her brother – that to find the light, they must first touch the darkness. Halbrand apologizes but it isn't enough for Galadriel as she prefers action over sympathy.
Those who deserted Bronwyn return to their village and pay homage to Adar. Waldreg pledges loyalty to him and mistook him for Sauron. At the mention of that name, Adar becomes ferocious and throws the man down to the ground. Out of fear, Waldreg pledges loyalty to him. Still not satisfied, Adar takes Rowan and makes him kneel. He orders Waldreg to kill Rowan as a sign of loyalty.
Back in the tower, Theo shows Arondir the hilt he found in the village. The elf recognizes it and reveals it to be a key. He tells Bronwyn that this hilt is something Adar needs to become like a god. For her part, Bronwyn feels her resolve weaken further and tells Arondir that she will give up.
Durin is on his way back to Moria as an elven escort carries a stone table Gil-Galad has given him. He knows that Elrond has broken his vow but chooses to keep faith with his friend. Elrond admits that he came to Moria for mithril and he did not know it at that time. He adds that this new ore is the only choice for elves to stay in Middle-Earth. Durin ponders about this and agrees to convince his father to mine this material.
Before the episode ends, Halbrand chooses to join the expedition. Miriel looks on as the procession moves onto the Numenorean ships with Isildur among its number. Galadriel joins as she and Halbrand clasp arms together for the coming battles. They sail off for Middle-Earth and war.
What just happened? A Rings of Power episode 5 recap
In this Rings of Power episode 5 recap, we see several aspects of the show getting more attention. The first of which is Galadriel's actions to spur Numenor to war. Meanwhile, the paths of Adar and Arondir are bound to cross again in battle. Elrond and Durin's part of the story has progressed, making it an integral part of the construction of the Rings of Power while the stranger is slowly knowing how he came to Middle-Earth.
With all of these plot points slowly progressing, it's only a matter of time before they all converge. Better keep an eye out for upcoming episodes as the fate of Middle-Earth hangs in the balance.
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