The Great Wave spreads its attention across three main threads in Númenor, the Southlands and Khazad dûm, delivering revelations that start to move the larger story forward while occasionally pausing too long on political manoeuvring and quiet conversations. The production values remain consistently high, the performances committed, and the sense of impending doom palpable, yet the episode struggles to find any urgency across its parallel plots.
The episode opens in Númenor with Queen Regent Míriel experiencing a vivid and terrifying vision. She stands among mothers and infants in a ceremonial blessing when the ground trembles and an enormous wave rises from the sea, crashing over the city of Armenelos and sweeping everything away. She wakes with a start, the image lingering as a clear omen of catastrophe. This scene is striking, both in its scale and in the way it establishes the weight of prophecy that will hang over her decisions. Outside, discontent runs through the citizens. A speaker stirs the crowd against elves, claiming they threaten livelihoods and traditions. Chancellor Pharazôn appears among the people, offering free drinks and measured reassurance, carefully positioning himself as a man of the people while keeping the temperature from rising too high. His political skill is evident, and the scene effectively conveys the undercurrent of isolationism that defines much of Númenórean society at this point.
Galadriel, still determined to secure aid against the rising threat in the Southlands, presses her case with Míriel. She reveals that Halbrand may be the lost heir to the Southlands throne and urges an alliance to confront the forces gathering there. Míriel remains resistant, wary of involving her people in distant conflicts and of the consequences of drawing closer to elves once more. Galadriel grows frustrated and forces an audience with the long unseen King Tar Palantir, who lies bedridden and frail in a high tower. There Míriel finally opens up. She explains that her father once sought to renew ties with the elves, believing Númenor had strayed from the favour of the Valar. This stance provoked unrest, leading to his effective removal from public life and her own elevation as regent. She then shows Galadriel a palantír, one of the seeing stones. When Galadriel places her hand upon it she experiences the same vision of the great wave overwhelming the island. Míriel interprets the vision as a warning that Galadriel’s presence itself sets the path toward ruin, and she resolves to send the elf away.
This central confrontation forms the emotional core of the Númenórean thread. Cynthia Addai Robinson brings quiet gravity and conflicted authority to Míriel, conveying a ruler burdened by knowledge she cannot fully share. Morfydd Clark’s Galadriel remains fierce and single minded, though her impatience comes across as abrupt and cold. Their exchanges carry genuine tension, and the revelation of the palantír adds a new layer of mythic dread. Yet the pacing is becoming glacial. The political discussions and personal history lessons occupy significant screen time, and while they deepen the world they also slow the momentum that the series has been struggling to building.
Meanwhile in the Southlands the story turns darker and more immediate. Arondir is brought before Adar, the leader of the orcs who have been ravaging the villages. Adar is revealed as a scarred and unsettling figure who appears to be an elf, or at least something that was once one. He speaks the elven tongue, recalls Beleriand, and treats the orcs with a mixture of paternal care and ruthless command, even ending the suffering of one of his dying followers with a quiet stab. He releases Arondir with a message for the human refugees sheltering in the old elven watchtower of Ostirith. They may live if they renounce their claim to the land and swear fealty to him. Refusal will bring destruction.
At the same time Theo, Bronwyn’s son, sneaks back to the abandoned village of Tirharad with a friend in search of supplies. He retrieves the mysterious broken black sword hilt he has been hiding. Orcs attack, recognising the artefact at once. Theo narrowly escapes into a well, and Arondir arrives in time to rescue him in a well staged action scene involving arrows caught mid flight and a desperate flight through the woods. Back at the tower Arondir delivers Adar’s ultimatum. Later the tavern keeper Waldreg approaches Theo, revealing himself as one who still honours the old loyalties to Morgoth and anticipates Sauron’s return. He sees the hilt as a sign and encourages the boy to embrace what is coming.
These Southlands scenes provide the episodes best moments. The introduction of Adar carries genuine menace and ambiguity. Joseph Mawle invests the character with a weary, almost sorrowful authority that makes him more interesting than a simple dark lord proxy. The action involving Theo and Arondir is kinetic and well choreographed, with action veteran Vic Armstrong shooting second unit, offering a welcome burst of tension after the slower palace intrigue. The discovery that the orcs have been searching specifically for the broken blade ties earlier mysteries together effectively and raises the stakes for the human survivors. At the same time, there is no depth to the orcs and their scenes can feel slightly repetitive in its depiction of brutality and human desperation.
In Khazad dûm, the quieter thread continues between Elrond and Prince Durin. Elrond grows suspicious of the secrecy surrounding a particular mine. He eventually discovers the truth. The dwarves have found a new ore, lighter than silk yet harder than iron, which in the elven tongue would be called mithril. It glows with an inner light and promises great wealth and power, but the old tunnels are unstable and prone to collapse. King Durin III, wary of the dangers and of the attention the discovery might draw, orders the mine sealed. He also tasks his son with learning more about the elves’ true intentions in seeking alliance. The friendship between Elrond and Durin remains one of the series’ warmer elements. Owain Arthur and Robert Aramayo share an easy chemistry that makes their conversations feel real and situation believable. The reveal of mithril is handled with appropriate wonder, and the tension between ambition and caution among the dwarves adds useful texture. Still, this plotline feels somewhat sidelined in the episode, advancing just enough to maintain interest.
As Galadriel prepares to depart Númenor by ship, the white tree Nimloth begins to shed its petals in a sudden flurry that blankets the streets. The people interpret this as the tears of the Valar, a sign of divine displeasure. Míriel’s resolve shifts. She addresses the assembled citizens, declaring that she will personally escort Galadriel to Middle earth and aid the people of the Southlands. Volunteers step forward, including Isildur and his friends, despite earlier setbacks that saw them dismissed from the sea guard.
Where the hour falters is in its uneven rhythm. The Númenórean political and personal history occupies a large portion of the runtime and sometimes prioritises exposition raher than showing. Certain character choices, particularly Míriel’s rapid reversal upon seeing the falling petals, feel slightly abrupt even if the symbolic weight is clear. The Southlands material, while more urgent, still leaves the human characters with limited agency beyond survival and reaction.
Overall The Great Wave strengthens the series’ sense of converging threats and moral complexity. It tries to balance spectacle with quieter introspection and plants seeds that promise larger confrontations ahead. At the same time it does not entirely escape a sense of deliberate pacing that occasionally undercuts the tension it works so carefully to establish. While it is still all nice to look at, hopefully there is sharper focus and greater urgency in the episodes to come.
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Where to watch The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power – Season 1, Episode 4: The Great Wave: