Home » TV & Streaming » The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Recap (S01E02): Adrift

Posted by Noetta Harjo | Sep 1, 2022 | fantasy, Recaps, TV & Streaming | 0

Where there is good, there is also evil in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power . In “Adrift,” the rumored threat becomes a reality for Arondir (Ismael Cruz Cordova) and Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi) . Nori (Markella Kavenagh) attempts to help a stranger. And Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) finds herself in a new battle on the Sundering Seas.

RELATED: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season Premiere Recap (S01E01) Shadow of the Past

After the comet landed, Nori found a man at the crash site. The Stranger (Daniel Weyman) did not move until Nori touched him. He yelled something at her and fell back to the ground. Nori makes Poppy (Megan Richards) swear to secrecy and asks for her help moving the Stranger.

The Harfoots are planning a festival before they migrate again. Sadoc (Lenny Henry) saw the comet fall and his advisors think it’s a bad omen. They suggest that the camp move now. Sadoc says they will be okay and sends his advisors to bed. 

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Description: Megan Richards (Poppy Proudfellow), Markella Kavenagh (Elanor “Nori” Brandyfoot) Credit: Ben Rothstein/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios

Nori and Poppy take a wagon and load up the Stranger. He’s much larger than the Harfoots, so the girls wonder what species he is. Man? Dwarf? Elf? Whoever he is, they have to get rid of him. Nori plans to give him some food the next day and send him on his way. Nori believes she was meant to find the Stranger and help him. She just wants to make sure he’s safe. 

The next morning, Nori surprised the Stranger, causing him to yell at her again. When he yells, his voice booms. The wind picks up and the trees bend. Nori yells back that she’s trying to help him. The Stranger stops yelling when he gets tired. Nori tries to introduce herself, but it’s clear the Stranger does not speak her language. She keeps talking anyway. Nori gives him food and has to show him how to eat it. 

Largo Brandyfoot (Dylan Smith) looks for Nori when he is called to help set up a heavy pole. He helps in her place and ends up slipping and twisting his ankle. At the same time, Nori asks where the Stranger is from. He turns to draw something in the dirt, but Nori doesn’t know what it is. The Stranger starts speaking to her in another language and gets frustrated when she doesn’t understand that either. She’s only a Harfoot. Poppy shows up to tell Nori about her father’s injury. Nori feels really bad about the injury because she was supposed to help set up the pole.

Arondir and Bronwyn investigated a nearby town set on fire. The town is in shambles and the people are all missing. They find a large hole int he ground and decide to investigate it. Bronwyn returns home to warn the town. Arondir jumps into the hole and finds a tunnel. He follows the tunnel to see where it leads. 

Arondir crawls through a small tunnel and eventually comes to a fork. He hears movement in front of and behind him. When he hears a growl, Arondir quickly moves with the rats that are running his way. He falls into a pool of water and swims to the bank. He pulls out a dagger and waits to see what followed him. A pair of hands reach out from behind Arondir and pull him backwards. 

Bronwyn tries to warn the townspeople about the evil that is coming, but they don’t believe her. They know about her friendship with Arondir and assume she wants the elves to return. Waldreg (Geoff Morrell), the tavern keep says they won’t invite the elves back. Most of them are relieved that the elves are gone. 

Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) is home alone and hears the mice under the floorboard. He starts hitting the floor with the fire poker, tearing a hold in the wood. He looks down into the hole and an eye looks back at him. 

Bronwyn returns home and sees a large hole in her floor. Theo is nowhere to be found. She calls out to him and he reveals his hiding place in the walls. He tells her to run and get help. They hear a rumbling from the floor Bronwyn runs. She gets to the door and turns around. Bronwyn hides in a cabinet and watches an orc come out of her floor. 

The orc goes to the hole in the wall where Theo is hiding and then moves around the house. It opens the cabinet where Bronwyn is hiding and she screams. Theo jumps out and stabs the orc in the back. Bronwyn and Theo try to kill the orc as it chases Theo around the house. Bronwyn grabs a sword and cuts off the orc’s head. She takes it to the tavern and tells everyone they are leaving for the Elf tower at first light. 

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Description: Charles Edwards (Celebrimbor), Robert Aramayo (Elrond). Credit: Ben Rothstein/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios

Elrond (Robert Aramayo) goes to Eregion, the Realm of the Elven Smiths with Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards). They discuss Celebrimbor’s latest project. Celebrimbor is ambitious. He says true creation requires sacrifice. He wants to fill the world with beauty and devise something with real power. The plan is to build a tower that hosts a forge more powerful than any ever built. And he wants to complete the tower by the spring. Elrond thinks the task would require a large workforce. He asks Celebrimbor if he thought of seeking partners outside of the Elven realm. 

They go to Khazad-dum where Elrond’s friend Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur) resides. Celebrimbor is a huge fan of the dwarves’ craftsmanship and is looking forward to seeing the inside of the mountain. Elrond promises Celebrimbor a grand reception, but they are  refused entry into the mountain. Elrond invokes a challenge to gain entry. The challenge is a test of endurance. Two challengers are given a task to show their strength.

The dwarves lead Elrond to Durin, but the prince is not happy to see the elf. Durin explains the challenge. They will lift their hammer and break stones until one cannot break the rocks anymore. Durin decides if Elrond forfeits, he will be banished from all Dwarfin lands forever. If he wins, Elrond will be granted a single boon. 

Large rocks are brought out and set in front of each challenger. Druin lifts his hammer first, then Elrond. They go back and forth, smashing rocks. After some time, Elrond grows tired. He lifts his hammer one more time and the hammer breaks. The dwarves give him a replacement hammer to finish the task. He hesitates taking another swing and ends up yielding to Durin. Durin tells Elrond to leave and Elrond asks him to escort him to the exit. 

Elrond is curious to know why Durin is angry with him. Durin says it’s been 20 years since he last saw Elrond. Since then he got married and had kids. And Elrond missed it all. He can’t barge into Durin’s mountain and demand an audience with a friend he discarded. Elrond congratulates his friend on his family and asks for his forgiveness. He asks to apologize to Durin’s family as well.

Durin takes Elrond to his home to meet his wife, Princess Disa (Sophia Nomvete). Disa is very happy to meet Elrond. Elrond asks for her forgiveness for not visiting sooner. Disa immediately forgives him and invites him to dinner. Durin’s kids, one of them named Gambling, are running amok in the house. The dwarves put them to bed so they can visit with Elrond.

During dinner, Disa tells Elrond about how she met Durin. Durin is still a little upset that Elrond missed his wedding. Disa says all that matters is that his friend is there now. Durin thinks the High King sent Elrond to take the mountain. Elrond says it was his idea to come to the mountain, but Durin doesn’t believe him.

Durin planted a tree in his quarters. It came from a seedling from the Great Tree of Lindon. Elrond gave it to him. He’s pleased to see it grow. Disa says people laughed at Durin for planting it because they didn’t believe something could grow in the dark.  Elrond says it will grow where there is love. Where there is love, it is never truly dark. 

Elrond gets up to leave, thinking he overstayed his welcome. Disa gives Durin a look and a grunt. Durin sighs and tells Elrond to sit down. He asks him about the King’s proposal so he can decide to present it to his father.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Description: Morfydd Clark (Galadriel). Credit: Ben Rothstein/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios

Galadriel started to swim back to Middle Earth and came upon a group of people on a raft. The people are scared of something. They ask Galadriel why she was in the water. She says she got separated from her ship. She observes the fear in the people’s eyes. They say they encountered a worm. Some of the people are very suspicious of Galadriel and get angry when they find out she’s an elf. 

They see a ship approaching them and call out to it. As the sails get closer, they see that it’s not a ship at all. It’s a sea monster. A woman pushes Galadriel into the water, thinking she led the monster to them. Galadriel sees one of the men untie a rope and push away on a smaller raft. At that moment, the worm decimates the other raft. 

Galadriel continues to swim and stops to look around. She sees the man who pushed away from the others. He approaches her and helps her on to his raft. His name is Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) and he wears an interesting pouch around his neck. The pouch has a sigil on it. 

The two new companions discuss the real reason Galadriel was in the water. The reason Halbrand would abandon his companions. And what the sigil on his pouch means. Halbrand isn’t one to talk much. He only says that he abandoned his companions to survive. And the sigil symbolizes where he is from. Halbrand also says orcs chased him from  his homelands. He lost a lot of family and friends and doesn’t really want to talk about it.  Galadriel thinks the sigil is a symbol of Halbrand’s king, but he says they have no king.

Halbrand asks Galadriel if she got separated from her ship or is she running from something. She tells him that she gave up resting in glory to seek the enemy that is responsible for his suffering. He tells her to leave his suffering alone. She can’t leave it alone because she lost many people too. She demands to know where Halbrand is from. Halbrand is from the Southlands. Galadriel asks him to lead her there so she can continue her duty. Halbrand refuses. He says he has his own plans. 

A storm approaches. It’s a powerful storm too. Halbrand pulls out rope to tie himself to the raft. He tells Galadriel to do the same. She ties herself to a pole and when it looks like Halbrand may not survive, she reaches for him. Lightning strikes the raft, sending Galadriel into the water. She is tied to a weight and quickly falls into the deep of the sea. Halbrand dives in after her, finding her dagger and cutting the weight away. They emerge and return to the raft to ride out the storm.

Nori and Poppy visit the Stranger later that night. They carry lanterns filled with fireflies. The Stranger is looking at the stars. Nori tells him that they are leaving soon. She thought she could help him but she couldn’t. He gives them a menacing look and stares at the lantern. Poppy’s lantern breaks, releasing the fireflies. The Stranger pulls the fireflies into his hands and whispers to them. The fireflies fly to the sky and form constellations. Nori thinks he wants them to help him find those stars. 

The Stranger collapses and looks at Nori. She says she’s never seen those stars before but she’s sure she can find them. Poppy watches the fireflies’ lights fade. The flies fall dead to the ground, making Poppy cry.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Description: Owain Arthur (Prince Durin IV). Credit: Ben Rothstein/Prime Video. Copyright: Amazon Studios

Durin tells his father about Elrond’s visit. The King is suspicious of the elves. Durin says Elrond is a friend he can trust, but the King says they can’t trust any elf. The two dwarves walk to a box. The King opens the box and a bright light shines from the opening. They stare at what’s inside.

Theo packs his things, including the sword hilt. His hand was injured in the fight with the orc. He watches his blood travel to the hilt, as if the sword were drinking his blood. The hilt lights up and we see Sauron’s symbol. Theo watches the sword grow in his hands. Bronwyn calls for Theo and they leave their home. The rest of the town follows one another to the tower. 

Galadriel and Halbrand sleep on the raft when the sun rises. A shadow comes over them. Galadriel wakes up and sees a man walking back and forth on a boat. 

RELATED: Here’s Your First Look at The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Watch the first two episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Amazon Prime

Contact: Noetta.Harjo@geekgirlauthority.comNews Editor, Senior Contributor, and Press Editor. Coordinate breaking news, trailers and press releases. I also contribute reviews, recaps and interviews. Creator of the Indigenerd Wire, a column dedicated to the Indigenous creatives in pop culture.GGA's resident Indigenerd, a little bit rez, a little bit classy...with a love for all things Star Wars, zombies, science fiction, and Indigenous. My ultimate goal is to start my own podcast.

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