"Partings" | |
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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power episode | |
![]() Cover art for the episode's soundtrack album | |
Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 5 |
Directed by | Wayne Che Yip |
Written by | Justin Doble |
Featured music | "This Wandering Day" by Megan Richards |
Cinematography by | Aaron Morton |
Editing by |
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Original release date | September 23, 2022 |
Running time | 72 minutes |
Cast | |
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"Partings" is the fifth episode of the first season of the American fantasy television series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power . Based on J. R. R. Tolkien's history of Middle-earth, primarily material from the appendices of the novel The Lord of the Rings , it is set thousands of years before the novel in the Second Age of Middle-earth and shows several groups preparing for conflict with emerging evil forces. The episode was written by Justin Doble and directed by Wayne Che Yip.
The series was ordered in November 2017. J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay were set to develop it in July 2018. Filming for the first season took place in New Zealand, and work on episodes beyond the first two began in January 2021. Yip was revealed to be directing four episodes of the season that March, including the fifth. Production wrapped for the season in August 2021.
"Partings" premiered on the streaming service Amazon Prime Video on September 23, 2022. It was estimated to have high viewership and received generally positive reviews.
Nori Brandyfoot and Poppy Proudfellow are attacked by a pack of wolves. The Stranger uses magic to scare the wolves off, but injures his arm in the process. He uses more magic to heal himself and nearly hurts Nori, frightening her. Meanwhile, three mysterious women find the location where the Stranger fell from the sky.
At the tower of Ostirith in the Southlands, Bronwyn attempts to prepare for an attack from the Orcs. Waldreg thinks they will be better off joining the Orcs and convinces around half of the humans to leave with him. Waldreg is disappointed to learn that Adar is not Sauron, but still chooses to serve him. Adar orders Waldreg to kill one of the other humans, Rowan, to prove his loyalty. At the tower, Theo shows Arondir the broken sword and Arondir says it is a key designed to enslave the Southlanders.
Elendil denies his son Isildur's request to join Númenor's expedition to the Southlands. Galadriel tells Queen Regent Míriel that Halbrand will be accompanying them to claim the throne of Southlands. He accuses Galadriel of using him and says he wants to remain in Númenor. Chancellor Pharazôn's son Kemen attempts to convince his father to cancel the expedition, but Pharazôn sees potential in turning the Southlands into a tributary state. King Tar-Palantir warns Míriel not to go to Middle-earth.
High-King Gil-galad reveals to Elrond that he knows of the existence of mithril, an ore that contains the light from a lost Silmaril that he believes can counteract the fading power of the Elves in Middle-earth. Elrond refuses to confirm that the Dwarves have discovered the ore, out of loyalty to Prince Durin IV, and Gil-galad accuses him of putting the Dwarves before his own race. Elrond discusses the issue with Durin IV and the latter agrees to help. The pair return to Khazad-dûm to try convince King Durin III.
Kemen attempts to destroy the expedition ships and discovers Isildur stowing away. Isildur prevents the destruction of three of the five ships and saves Kemen's life. When questioned by Elendil, Isildur lies about Kemen's sabotage. He subsequently receives a spot on the expedition crew as a stable sweep. Galadriel apologizes for using Halbrand and opens up to him. He eventually decides to go with the expeditionary force, and the remaining ships depart for Middle-earth.
Amazon acquired the global television rights for J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings in November 2017. The company's streaming service, Amazon Prime Video, ordered a series based on the novel and its appendices to be produced by Amazon Studios in association with New Line Cinema. [1] It was later titled The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power . [2] Amazon hired J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay to develop the series and serve as showrunners in July 2018. [3] [4] Justin Doble had joined the series as a writer by July 2019, [4] and Wayne Che Yip was revealed to be directing four episodes of the first season in March 2021. [5] The series was originally expected to be a continuation of Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies, but Amazon later clarified that their deal with the Tolkien Estate required them to keep the series distinct from Jackson's films. [6] Despite this, the showrunners intended for it to be visually consistent with the films. [7] Amazon confirmed in September 2019 that filming for the first season would take place in New Zealand, where Jackson's films were made. [8]
The series is set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, thousands of years before Tolkien's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. [9] Because Amazon did not acquire the rights to Tolkien's other works where the First and Second Ages are primarily explored, the writers had to identify references to the Second Age in The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and its appendices, and create a story that bridged those passages. [7] The first season focuses on introducing the setting and major heroic characters to the audience. [7] [10] Written by Doble and directed by Yip, the fifth episode is titled "Partings". [11]
The series' cast includes Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Míriel, [12] Robert Aramayo as Elrond, Owain Arthur as Durin IV, Maxim Baldry as Isildur, Nazanin Boniadi as Bronwyn, Morfydd Clark as Galadriel, Ismael Cruz Córdova as Arondir, Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor, [13] Trystan Gravelle as Pharazôn, [12] Lenny Henry as Sadoc Burrows, [14] Ema Horvath as Eärien, [12] Markella Kavenagh as Elanor "Nori" Brandyfoot, [15] Tyroe Muhafidin as Theo, [16] Lloyd Owen as Elendil, [12] Megan Richards as Poppy Proudfellow, [14] Dylan Smith as Largo Brandyfoot, [17] Charlie Vickers as Halbrand, [13] Leon Wadham as Kemen, [12] Benjamin Walker as Gil-galad, [18] Daniel Weyman as the Stranger, [15] and Sara Zwangobani as Marigold Brandyfoot. [17] Also starring in the episode are Beau Cassidy as Dilly Brandyfoot, Joseph Mawle as Adar, Ian Blackburn as Rowan, Geoff Morrell as Waldreg, Peter Tait as Tredwill, Thusitha Jayasundera as Malva, Maxine Cuncliffe as Vilma, Anthony Crum as Ontamo, Alex Tarrant as Valandil, Ken Blackburn as Tar-Palantir, Edith Poor as the Nomad, Kali Kopae as the Ascetic, Bridie Sisson as the Dweller, Edward Clendon as Grugzûk, and Ella Hope-Higginson as Mairen. [19] : 1:07:20–1:07:31
Filming primarily took place at Kumeu Film Studios and Auckland Film Studios in Auckland, [20] under the working title Untitled Amazon Project or simply UAP. [21] Production on episodes beyond the first two began in January 2021, [22] [23] and Yip confirmed that he had begun filming his episodes by March. [5] Filming for the season wrapped on August 2. [24]
Visual effects for the episode were created by Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), Wētā FX, Method Studios, Rodeo FX, Cause and FX, Atomic Arts, and Cantina Creative. [25] [19] : 1:08:57–1:09:02
A soundtrack album featuring composer Bear McCreary's score for the episode was released digitally on Amazon Music on September 22, 2022. [26] McCreary said the album contained "virtually every second of score" from the episode. It was added to other music streaming services after the full first season was released. [27] A CD featuring the music from the episode is included in a limited edition box set collection of the first season's music from Mondo and Amazon Music. The box set was released on April 26, 2024, and includes a journal written by McCreary which details the creation of the episode's score. [28] All music composed by Bear McCreary: [26]
No. | Title | Length |
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1. | "This Wandering Day" (featuring Megan Richards) | 2:09 |
2. | "The Perils of Migration" | 6:19 |
3. | "Númenor Prepares" | 7:18 |
4. | "Wolves" | 5:29 |
5. | "The Fading Light" | 8:13 |
6. | "The Saboteur" | 7:22 |
7. | "Only Blood Can Bind" | 4:03 |
8. | "Destined for the Darkness" | 4:42 |
9. | "The Confession and Sailing Into the Dawn" | 7:14 |
10. | "This Wandering Day" (featuring Janet Roddick) | 2:19 |
Total length: | 55:08 |
"Partings" premiered on Prime Video in the United States on September 23, 2022. It was released at the same time around the world, [29] in more than 240 countries and territories. [30] For two weeks leading up to the premiere of the second season on August 29, 2024, the episode was made available for free on the streaming service Samsung TV Plus in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, the United Kingdom, and Germany. [31]
Whip Media, which tracks viewership data for the 21 million worldwide users of its TV Time app, calculated that for the week ending September 25, two days after the episode's debut, The Rings of Power was the fifth-highest original streaming series for U.S. viewership. [32] Nielsen Media Research, which records streaming viewership on U.S. television screens, estimated that the series was watched for 977 million minutes during the week ending September 25. This placed it fourth on the company's list of top streaming series and films. Fellow fantasy series House of the Dragon was third for the week, the first time it was ahead of The Rings of Power on the chart. [33] Parrot Analytics determines audience "demand expressions" based on various data sources, including social media activity and comments on rating platforms. During the week ending September 30, the company calculated that The Rings of Power was 29.3 times more in demand than the average U.S. streaming series, placing it ninth on the company's top 10 list for the week. [34]
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The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 73% of 30 critics gave the episode a positive review, with an average score of 7.1/10. The website's critics consensus reads: "The scenery is gorgeous as ever and the nods to Tolkien lore still dense, but The Rings of Power's momentum feels stuck as a Harfoot's caravan in the mud." [35]
An episode of the official aftershow Deadline's Inside the Ring: LOTR: The Rings of Power for "Partings" was released on September 24, 2022. Hosted by Deadline Hollywood 's Dominic Patten and Anthony D'Alessandro, it features exclusive "footage and insights" for the episode, plus interviews with cast members Clark, Vickers, Addai-Robinson, Gravelle, Horvath, and Wadham, as well as Yip, Doble, and McCreary. [36] [37] On October 14, The Official The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Podcast was released on Amazon Music. Hosted by actress Felicia Day, the fifth episode is dedicated to "Partings" and features McCreary, Payne, and McKay. [38] [39] On November 21, a bonus segment featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the episode was added to Prime Video's X-Ray feature as part of a series titled "The Making of The Rings of Power". [40] [41]
Elendil is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's legendarium. He is mentioned in The Lord of the Rings, The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales. He was the father of Isildur and Anárion, last lord of Andúnië on the island of Númenor, and having escaped its downfall by sailing to Middle-earth, became the first High King of Arnor and Gondor. In the Last Alliance of Men and Elves, Elendil and Gil-galad laid siege to the Dark Lord Sauron's fortress of Barad-dûr, and fought him hand-to-hand for the One Ring. Both Elendil and Gil-galad were killed, and Elendil's son Isildur took the Ring for himself.
Bear McCreary is an American composer of film, television, and video game scores. His work includes the scores of the television series Battlestar Galactica (2004), Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., Black Sails, Outlander, The Walking Dead, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, The Serpent Queen, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Halo, the video games Call of Duty: Vanguard, God of War and God of War Ragnarök, and the film Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
Isildur is a fictional character in J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, the elder son of Elendil, descended from Elros, the founder of the island Kingdom of Númenor. He fled with his father when the island was drowned, becoming in his turn King of Arnor and Gondor. He cut the Ring from Sauron's hand, but instead of destroying it, was corrupted by its power and claimed it for his own. He was killed by orcs, and the Ring was lost in the River Anduin. This set the stage for the Ring to pass to Gollum and then to Bilbo, as told in The Hobbit; that in turn provided the central theme, the quest to destroy the Ring, for The Lord of the Rings.
Sauron is the title character and the primary antagonist, through the forging of the One Ring, of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, where he rules the land of Mordor and has the ambition of ruling the whole of Middle-earth. In the same work, he is identified as the "Necromancer" of Tolkien's earlier novel The Hobbit. The Silmarillion describes him as the chief lieutenant of the first Dark Lord, Morgoth. Tolkien noted that the Ainur, the "angelic" powers of his constructed myth, "were capable of many degrees of error and failing", but by far the worst was "the absolute Satanic rebellion and evil of Morgoth and his satellite Sauron". Sauron appears most often as "the Eye", as if disembodied.
Maxim Alexander Baldry is an English film and television actor. He began his career as a child actor in the film Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007). More recently, he is known for his roles in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks (2016–2017) and miniseries Years and Years (2019), and the Amazon Prime fantasy series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022–).
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is an American fantasy television series developed by J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay for the streaming service Amazon Prime Video. Based on J. R. R. Tolkien's history of Middle-earth, primarily material from the appendices of the novel The Lord of the Rings, the series is set thousands of years before the novel and depicts the major events of Middle-earth's Second Age. It is produced by Amazon Studios in association with New Line Cinema.
House of the Dragon is an American fantasy drama television series created by George R. R. Martin and Ryan Condal for HBO. A prequel to Game of Thrones (2011–2019), it is the second television series in Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire franchise. Condal and Miguel Sapochnik served as the showrunners for the first season. Based on parts of Martin's 2018 book Fire & Blood, the series begins about 100 years after the Seven Kingdoms are united by the Targaryen conquest, nearly 200 years before the events of Game of Thrones, and 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen. Featuring an ensemble cast, the show portrays the events leading up to the decline of House Targaryen, a devastating war of succession known as the "Dance of the Dragons."
Markella Kavenagh is an Australian actress. Her credits include Picnic at Hanging Rock (2018), Romper Stomper (2018), The Cry (2018), True History of the Kelly Gang (2019), My First Summer, The Gloaming (2020). However, her most notable work to date, is for her starring role as the harfoot Nori Brandyfoot in two series of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022-2024).
The first season of the American fantasy television series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is based on J. R. R. Tolkien's history of Middle-earth, primarily material from the appendices of the novel The Lord of the Rings. Set thousands of years before the novel in the Second Age of Middle-earth, the season depicts the emergence of the Dark Lord Sauron and the forging of the first Rings of Power. It was produced by Amazon Studios in association with New Line Cinema and with J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay as showrunners.
The second season of the American fantasy television series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is based on J. R. R. Tolkien's history of Middle-earth, primarily material from the appendices of the novel The Lord of the Rings. Set thousands of years before the novel in the Second Age of Middle-earth, the season depicts Galadriel's struggle against the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron and the creation of more Rings of Power. It is produced by Amazon MGM Studios in association with New Line Cinema and with J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay as showrunners.
"A Shadow of the Past" is the first episode of the first season and series premiere of the American fantasy television series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Based on J. R. R. Tolkien's history of Middle-earth, primarily material from the appendices of the novel The Lord of the Rings, it is set thousands of years before the novel in the Second Age of Middle-earth and depicts a time of relative peace. The episode was written by showrunners J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay, and directed by J. A. Bayona.
The music of the American fantasy television series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is composed by Bear McCreary, with additional music by Howard Shore and other artists. The Amazon Prime Video series is based on J. R. R. Tolkien's history of Middle-earth, primarily material from the appendices of the novel The Lord of the Rings, and is set thousands of years before the novel in the Second Age of Middle-earth. It covers all the major events of the Second Age from Tolkien's writings.
Ema Horvath is an American actress. She has appeared in the films Like.Share.Follow. (2017), The Gallows Act II and The Mortuary Collection, and What Lies Below (2020). Since 2022, she has played Eärien, the sister of Isildur, in the Amazon Prime fantasy television series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
"Adrift" is the second episode of the first season of the American fantasy television series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Based on J. R. R. Tolkien's history of Middle-earth, primarily material from the appendices of the novel The Lord of the Rings, it is set thousands of years before the novel in the Second Age of Middle-earth during a time of relative peace and introduces the Dwarven kingdom of Khazad-dûm. The episode was written by Gennifer Hutchison and directed by J. A. Bayona.
"Adar" is the third episode of the first season of the American fantasy television series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Based on J. R. R. Tolkien's history of Middle-earth, primarily material from the appendices of the novel The Lord of the Rings, it is set thousands of years before the novel in the Second Age of Middle-earth during a time of relative peace and introduces the island kingdom of Númenor. The episode was written by Jason Cahill and Justin Doble, and directed by Wayne Che Yip.
"The Great Wave" is the fourth episode of the first season of the American fantasy television series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Based on J. R. R. Tolkien's history of Middle-earth, primarily material from the appendices of the novel The Lord of the Rings, it is set thousands of years before the novel in the Second Age of Middle-earth. The episode was written by Stephany Folsom and showrunners J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay, and directed by Wayne Che Yip.
"Udûn" is the sixth episode of the first season of the American fantasy television series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Based on J. R. R. Tolkien's history of Middle-earth, primarily material from the appendices of the novel The Lord of the Rings, it is set thousands of years before the novel in the Second Age of Middle-earth and depicts a battle in the Southlands. The episode was written by Nicholas Adams, Justin Doble, and showrunners J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay, and directed by Charlotte Brändström.
"The Eye" is the seventh episode of the first season of the American fantasy television series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Based on J. R. R. Tolkien's history of Middle-earth, primarily material from the appendices of the novel The Lord of the Rings, it is set thousands of years before the novel in the Second Age of Middle-earth and explores the aftermath of the battle and volcanic eruption from the previous episode. "The Eye" was written by Jason Cahill and directed by Charlotte Brändström.
"Alloyed" is the eighth and final episode of the first season of the American fantasy television series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Based on J. R. R. Tolkien's history of Middle-earth, primarily material from the appendices of the novel The Lord of the Rings, it is set thousands of years before the novel in the Second Age of Middle-earth and introduces the first Rings of Power. The episode was written by Gennifer Hutchison and showrunners J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay, and directed by Wayne Che Yip.