Lady Galadriel attempts to make her way back to Middle-Earth, meeting a mysterious companion along the way. Lord Elrond makes his way to the Dwarven realm of Khazad-Dum as he seeks help for a ambitious new project. Nori tries to understand more of her enigmatic guest. Meanwhile, down in the southlands, an ancient evil stirs.
Tropes in this episode include:
- The Ace: Celebrimbor recalls Feanor being such a great blacksmith that Morgoth himself almost had a change of heart while watching the Silmarils.
- Act of True Love: Durin may be upset at Elrond for not visiting for 2 decades, but as Disa says, he tended the seedling Elrond gifted to him like it was his third child, and gave it so much love that it grew even in the darkness of Moria.
- Agent Scully: Waldreg dismisses al of Bronwyn warnings as just landslides, and gets angry when she tries to press the matters.
- Alliterative Family: Durin and Disa shares the initial D, while their children's name start with G, Gelda and Gamli.
- As You Know: Elrond and Celebrimbor are introduced in this episode recalling the history of Silmarils.
- Informed Attractiveness: Poppy considers Elves to be handsome.
- Badass in Distress: While investigating the tunnels under the razed village, Arondir finds himself being pursued by an orc. He dives into a pool of water, pulls himself through a narrow gap into a small cave on the other side, and watches with his dagger drawn as bubbles rise to the surface... only to be grabbed from behind and pulled into the darkness.
- Bait-and-Switch: Durin and Elrond are in a stone-breaking duel, with the Dwarves casually dismissing Elrond's chances at every turn, with stakes being: if Elrond wins, he will get one boon, if he loses, he will be exiled from dwarven realms forever. This is a obvious set-up for Elrond to triumph against all odds and prove dwarvish arrogance wrong...except he doesn't. Despite a valiant effort, Durin completely obliterates him in the duel and Elrond has to figure out another way to win his favour (and not be banished forever).
- Bear Hug: Disa gives one to Elrond after meeting him for the first time, showing that she is not upset that Durin's best friend didn't show up for 20 years.
- Blood Magic: Theo discovers that the broken, Sauron-symbol-emblazoned sword starts regrowing with fire after a drop of his blood is drawn to it.
- Blunt "No": The guard at Khazad-dûm reacts this way when Elrond requests permission to enter the dwarven fortress. For added humor it comes immediately after Elrond had assured Celebrimbor that they'd receive a warm welcome from the dwarves.
- Braids of Barbarism: Prince Durin sports a long and thick braided beard.
- Call-Forward: A character hypes up the hospitality of the Dwarves and gets disappointing results.
- Calling Out for Not Calling: Durin is upset with Elrond because Elrond has failed to be a part of his life for twenty years. Durin points out that while that may not be much time for an Elf, it means Elrond has missed out on major life events for Durin such as his marriage and the births of his children.
- Creepy Cave: Arondir finds a tunnel under Hordern and suspects it might have something to do with the destruction of the village.
- Curiosity Killed the Cast: Poppy in vain warns Nori not to approach the man in the crater because it could be dangerous. What does Nori do? Pokes his face, awakening him. When he grabs her hand, she scream for her life. Luckily for, he had no intention to harm her as much as just to scream from the top of his lungs and fall back to sleep again.
- Death Glare: Disa invites Elrond the make himself comfortable in her home. Durin comments "but not too comfortable" while starring daggers at Elrond.
- Decapitation Presentation: How Bronwyn proves the naysayers of her village wrong in their willful ignorance about her home town being attacked.
- Description Cut: Elrdond describes to Celebrimbor how Durin will receive them with open arms and will prepare a feast for them with salted pork and a lot of beer. Except, when he demand audience with Prince Durin, the dwarven guards cut him short with a Blunt "No". Elrond is very confused by their refusal to receive him with open arms.
- Don't Touch It, You Idiot!: Not knowing about the nature of the Stranger or why would a living being fall from the sky, Poppy makes the logical conclusion that he might be dangerous. Too bad Nori doesn't listen to her friend's warns to not approach the Stranger and pokes his face. He suddenly wakes up, grabs Nori by the hand and starts to shout. Luckily, he passes out before harming anyone.
- Eating the Eye Candy: For a few seconds, it seems that Halbrand is eyeing Galadriel's back while she tries to tie the ropes of their boat. Then again, she is wearing a see-through gown.
- Endurance Duel: When Elrond journeys to Khazad-dûm seeking Durin's help, his former friend receives him testily (due to feeling slighted that Elrond hadn't been in touch for 20 years) and demands that he best him in a rock-smashing contest before he'll consider speaking further. Elrond manages to keep up with Durin for a good while, but ultimately can't match the dwarf-lord's stamina.
- Extreme Omnivore: The Stranger eats snails — shells and all — due to not knowing better and hunger.
- Fanservice: On the ship to Valinor, the Elves have their armour and garments ceremonially removed, leaving them in plain white gowns, including Galadriel. The material becomes virtually transparent when she leaps into the ocean. The scene becomes prolonged as she swims and treads water, interspersed with underwater shots. A very brief glimpse of the wet gown clinging against her buttocks is shown when she is pulled onto the raft. Then she is shoved back into the ocean, pulled back up by Halbrand, who is then treated to a scene with the sunlight shining through her damp gown revealing her silhouette. Which becomes soaked again when a storm hits them, throws her back underwater, and she is pulled back up.
- Fire/Water Juxtaposition: The episode opens up with a scene of Galadriel in the vast ocean, than switches to the Meteor man being conjured by fire.
- Foreshadowing: When Disa explains to Elrond what resonating is, she mentions that if sing to the mountain properly, the mountain will tell them "what might be hidden, where to mine, where to make tunnel and where to leave the mountain untouched".
- Friend to All Living Things: Only Nori could befriend an amnesiac man that came from the sky and has dangerous powers.
- Ghost Town: Arondir and Bronwyn notice how there are no dead or wounded in Hordern.
- Happily Married: Durin and Disa tease each other a lot but it's clear they're extremely happy together.Elrond: A very happy match.
- Held Gaze: Happens several times between Galadriel and Halbrand.
- Henpecked Husband: Durin, a little, with Disa cheerfully steamrolling him into welcoming Elrond for dinner.
- Hostile Weather: Galadriel and Halbrand face off a typhoon of the Sundering Seas, barely surviving.
- Identity Amnesia: The stranger doesn't remember who they are, or what they are.
- Immune to Fire: Nori is not necessarily immune to fire, but she notices that the fire from the meteor is not burning her at all, hinting at the magic nature of the fire.
- Infodump: The first scene of Elrodn and Celebrimbor in this episode is about them infodumbing the audience about the history of the Silmarils, how Feanor created them, why he created them, and Morgoth's obsession for the Silmarils.
- Lazy Bum: Malva is helping by asking others to help while she sits nicely on a chair and gossips.
- Lost at Sea: Halbrand and his group got their ship destroyed by a sea creature called worm. And since then, they survive floating on a piece of driftwood.
- Odd Friendship: Durin, a Boisterous Bruiser Dwarf, and Elrond, a very erudite Elf.
- Off with His Head!!: After Theo manages to stagger it by lassoing its throat, Bronwyn sees an opening and hacks off its head, which she presents to the go smacked townsfolk in the tavern.
- Oh, Crap!: Everyone's reaction from he raft when they realize the Sea Serpent is about to attack them again.
- Playing with Fire: The old man from the meteor seems to have limited control over the fire.
- Plot Armour: Galadriel and Halbrand survive a violent typhoon in the middle of the ocean only because the plot says so. Realistically, that raft would have been destroyed by the huge waves.
- Pushed at the Monster: Halbrand separates his side of the raft from his fellows, who get eaten by the sea serpent.
- Rule of Symbolism:
- In the opening credits, the grains of sand vibrating and shifting to music in The Rings of Power echo the Ainulindalë's song of creation.
- Halbrand being introduced looking over his shoulder with a single eye.
- Sarcastic Devotee: Poppy would rather abandon the Stranger and avoid a potential danger, but calling out Nori on her Chronic Hero Syndrome does nothing, she still ends up helping Nori.
- Sea Monster: Galadriel finds a group of shipwrecked humans whose ship was destroyed by a sea-dragon called the Wyrm. When they discover she's an elf they throw her overboard hoping it will eat her instead, but it smashes their raft and devours them.
- Second Episode Introduction: Durin the IV, Disa, and Halbrand.
- Scenery Porn: We finally get to see Khazad-dum before its destruction.
- A Shared Suffering: After bickering with Galadriel, Halbrand confesses that the orcs destroyed his home. Galadriel empathises with him and his loss.
- Ship Tease: Halbrand chose to save Galadriel when he abandoned the others, he locks his gaze with Galadriel's, and their bickering comes off as Belligerent Sexual Tension.
- Skeletons in the Coat Closet: The lone orc who attacks Brownyn and Theo wears an animal skull for a helmet.
- Symbolic Serene Submersion: Galadriel sinks into the depths of the ocean after being knocked down by a huge wave. The underwater is shown being dark and calm, while Galadriel is unconscious.
- Take My Hand!: Galadriel urges Halbrand to grab her hand only to fall herself into the water and submerge.
- There Are No Coincidences: When Poppy asks her, why is helping the strange man, Nori answers she felt she was meant to find and nurse him.
- Threatening Shark: The Sea Serpent has a shark-like characteristics in some shots, with his head resembling the goblin shark.
- Toilet Humour: When Elrond compliments their traditions, Durin burps at Elrond to make him feel uneasy.
- Underground City: As expected from one of the oldest and grandest dwarven cities, Khazad-dum thrives with life. The city is flourishing and has it's own ecosystem maintained by dwarfs.
- Vapor Wear: While nothing fully frontal is shown (given her slender frame), Galadriel is clearly not wearing anything under her white gown, which becomes very transparent when soaked.
- Wham Line: Halbrand telling Galadriel that Orcs destroyed his home. She pays attention immediately given that in episode 1, it was established that nobody has seen Orcs for centuries.
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Elrond assures Celebrimbor that his work turned the heart of many Elves.
