‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ Season 3 review: Where’s the fellowship?

TV review

“The enemy relies on forces. Let us trust in fellowship.” 

So says Morfydd Clark’s determined Galadriel to Ismael Cruz Cordova’s troubled Arondir in the narratively expansive, occasionally quite thrilling, yet ultimately emotionally empty third season of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.” Her proclamation, intended to convey the value of friendship in a world that can seem insurmountably grim, leaves a clear impact on Arondir. As he turns and looks off into the distance, seemingly glad to be considered a friend in these uncertain times, it marks a key emotional turning point for the character. Unfortunately, both for Arondir and us as an audience, the words are not backed up by much in the way of meaningful action in this sweeping yet scattered season. For all the ground that gets covered and the many developments that occur, little proves resonant. 

It’s disappointing as this is a moment that, on paper, has the potential to leave a profound impact. Indeed, much of this season is full of elements that, in theory, could be fantasy gold. There are kinetic battle sequences and shadowy scenes of plotting galore, with various forces all jostling for power. There are complicated reunions and painful betrayals, many of which are genuinely surprising in how they are revealed to us. It even initially contains a compelling journey that sees Galadriel and Arondir going on a quest that mirrors the one that Frodo and Samwise will go on thousands of years from now. 

Unfortunately, this journey, while including a character that speaks not all that differently from Gollum, the memorable Hobbit who was cursed when he came into contact with a magical artifact, goes little of anywhere interesting and is mostly drowned out by a whole lot of noise. There is plenty happening at all times, but little that makes you care about how it unfolds. 

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After a largely improved second season, this season, which again takes place long before the events of Peter Jackson’s masterful movie adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien’s books, leaps ahead five years in time and throws us into Middle-earth at war. The primary factions that could stand against the cruel Sauron (Charlie Vickers), namely the elves and dwarves, are either on their heels against his orc forces or hiding away from them. However, while Sauron currently seems to be winning said war, he remains fixated on creating the One Ring, a powerful magical artifact that will make him unstoppable. There remain many more narrative threads playing out alongside this, most of which can feel defined by characters entering rooms to deliver exposition before exiting them again, but this is the central throughline that represents an existential threat. 

But for this existential threat to have any weight, the series has to feel alive in the first place. While you feel the more visceral stakes of the fight sequences, which include a dynamic early one that creates unexpected ripples the characters will have to reckon with, “The Rings of Power” only has brief sparks of emotional life. Despite Galadriel proclaiming that it’s fellowship that remains most important in the world, the series never gives the sufficient care to these aspects to make you feel them. Even when it brings in some promising newcomers, such as Jamie Campbell Bower of “Stranger Things,” they get little to do. When there are then major losses, it barely leaves an impact before we’re whisked away to the next narrative development. The series boasts spectacle and scope but is lacking in a soul. 

Thus, at a key turning point later when Arondir repeats Galadriel’s fellowship line back to her in an attempt to cut through all the noise, it going unheard proves revealing of how “The Rings of Power” misses the mark. The series is speaking all the right words and contains all the potentially compelling fantasy elements, though it assembles them in a way that just bounces right off. When Galadriel then later sings a lament, mourning something she now knows she can no longer get back, you’re left to similarly lament for what this season could have been. It brings in plenty of forces, but loses sight of the fellowship it was seeking.

‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’
The first four episodes of Season 3 begin streaming Nov. 11 on Prime Video, with new episodes dropping in batches on Nov. 18 and 25.