Even Big Tolkien Fans Were Impressed By This Elven Detail In The Rings Of Power Episode 4
It's been clear ever since the first episode of the "Rings of Power" that Durin IV (Owain Arthur) and his father, Durin III (Peter Mullan) are hiding something, and the pair have shown differing opinions on Elrond's (Robert Aramayo) arrival. Durin III clearly feels that Elrond is their competition and after whatever the dwarves have been mining, whereas Durin IV thinks Elrond's arrival is a positive sign and they should trust him. Unfortunately, the older Durin III wins the argument, and Durin IV agrees to keep their secret from the elf.
But now that we've arrived at "The Rings of Power" Episode 4, Elrond is clearly more suspicious about his friend's whereabouts, and not even Disa's (Sophia Nomvete) sweet, innocent-sounding reasoning can convince him that the dwarves aren't up to something. After telling her husband the lie that she told Elrond about him going to Quartz Chasm, Durin IV commends his wife for her duplicity, telling her that she "could convince a water rat to wear a mink coat." She reminds him to keep his voice down as Durin IV whispers that they're making progress in the old mine. As the camera pans to show a far away Elrond watching the couple, fans were impressed that the writers remembered this key Elven detail.
Rings of Power showed Elrond listening to a conversation from a far distance
In Peter Jackson's "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, we're reminded that the Elves' senses are sharper than humans, which is why Gandalf (Ian McKellan) asks Legolas (Orlando Bloom) constantly what he can see. One of fans' favorite lines from "Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" is when Legolas exclaims, "They're [the Orcs] taking the Hobbits to Isengard." Fans were thrilled when a scene in Episode 4 of "The Rings of Power" shows just how keen Elrond's sight and hearing really are. "It was similar to Legolas in the films, which is fine by me," u/DetectiveFun69 wrote in a "Lord of the Rings" subreddit. "The way they showed elven sight and elven hearing was so cool!" wrote u/gamerv23 "Right!! Soo cool It was like oh wow this is what it feels like to be an elf," replied u/Space-Fishes.
As Disa and Durin IV are whispering to each other, we see Elrond intently watching them, listening. He discerns that the old mine they're talking about is below the Mirrormere, and proceeds to head there. After reciting "Rich crone, kiss the stone, polish your gems and gold" to open the mine, Durin III finally reveals what they've been hiding. It's exciting to see such attention to detail, and faithfulness to what we know of Elves from "Lord of the Rings." That attention to details makes us even more excited about the remaining episodes for Season 1.