The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power Season 3 Episode 4 Recap — Sauron Strikes A Deadly Blow

"The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" Season 3, Episode 4 deals a handful of devastating blows to Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and the Elves in the war against Sauron (Charlie Vickers), and it's only going to get worse from here on out. Episode 3 was all about moving pieces into place around Middle-earth, and now the action is really kicking off — not least for Team Galadriel, who are going to have to recover after a brutal confrontation with Sauron and the Nazgnagôl. (That would be a great band name.)

Prime Video switched up its usual weekly release schedule for "The Rings of Power" to a batch model, and Episode 4 is the last episode of the first batch. So, it's no surprise that this chapter holds a few major twists, especially since it also marks the midpoint of the season. In particular, Galadriel, Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova), and Marnûkh (Adam Young) have traveled a long way since "The Rings of Power" premiere, as they hope to reach Gundabad to find and save the Elf-smith Maitalle ... but has it all been in vain?

Since most of the action in Episode 4 takes place all the way up north in Gundabad, Sauron is forced to take a backseat for most of this chapter. But the writers still squeeze in a dastardly scene at the start, as his orcs struggle to get a saddle on that pale, leathery fell beast that circles Barad-dûr. Sauron evilsplains to his subjects that the creatures were originally Great Eagles, which were corrupted by his old boss, Morgoth.

Just in case you need a reminder, Morgoth was a villainous entity who was defeated at the end of Middle-earth's First Age; "The Rings of Power," meanwhile, takes place in the Second Age. Anyway, Sauron quickly figures out why his steed isn't complying: The orcs have been feeding it dead meat, when it prefers "living flesh." As soon as he says this, of course, it's very clear that the orc lieutenant who failed to get a saddle on the creature will be first on the menu, and, sure enough, he gets munched when Sauron throws him off the tower. With the beast's hunger satiated, the Dark Lord boards his Air Mordor flight to Gundabad.

Tensions are running high in Khazad-dûm, as Durin IV (Owain Arthur) comes under fire for handing Marnûkh over to the Elves. Thrain II (Eddie Marsan) uses this vulnerability as his moment to strike, questioning his brother as to whether their father was of "sound mind" when he named Durin as his heir. Yikes. Because of his ring's influence, it's decided that he wasn't, and Thrain officially makes a play for the crown.

Even after challenging his brother, Thrain tries to get into Durin's head by offering to withdraw his claim to the throne if he gets his hands on all seven of the Dwarven Rings. Not only that, he also attempts to blackmail Disa about their fling, which happened "decades ago." Initially, it looks like he fails, with Disa immediately telling Durin about their past dalliance — but their son, Gamli (Lee Braithwaite) later tells his father that he walked in on them back in Episode 1. Uh oh.

While we know nothing happened between the pair that time, this is enough to rattle Durin, who goes into his fight in a blind rage. It isn't long before Thrain gets the jump on his brother, and he specifically chooses to knock him out with the butt of an axe rather than killing him. Unfortunately, this means Durin and his family are no longer the rulers of Khazad-dûm ...

Númenor briefly gets the spotlight in Episode 3, as Kemen (Leon Wadham) attempts to intimidate and/or interrogate Elendil (Lloyd Owen) in the back of the wagon. He explains how his mother was secretly a sex worker, and that he has no idea who his real father is. Apparently, Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle) "smothered" Kemen's mother when he learned the truth about her, but chose not to kill Kemen. The young man tells Elendil that his devotion to his father comes from this "act of mercy." Clearly, Kemen has been drinking the Númenórean Kool-Aid, because a father not killing his son is a very low bar to meet.

Regardless, he sees capturing Elendil as a way of repaying his apparent debt to Pharazôn. But Elendil tries to plant the idea that Kemen isn't as free or as privileged as he thinks, and questions "what a lad like you would do, if he knew true freedom." For the briefest moment, it seems like he might have got through to Kemen ... and that's when Anárion (Andrew Richardson) strikes, freeing his father from the carriage and shooting Kemen through the hand for good measure.

Although Anárion comes close to killing Kemen, Elendil points out that he's actually worth more to the Faithful alive due to the leverage they now have over Pharazôn. Of course, it's also possible that Kemen may yet be turned to the Faithful cause.

Let's be honest, heading into an orc prison was never going to end well. But the Fellowship of the Orc probably had no idea just how bad things were about to get. At first, Marnûkh pretends to have handed over Galadriel and Arondir to the orcs. He quickly breaks Arondir free after he's separated from Galadriel, but the pair soon discover that their quest might be in vain after all — because the Elf-smith Maitalle is already dead. Awkward.

However, they do find Celeborn (Jamie Campbell Bower), Galadriel's husband! He announces himself with no small amount of grandeur; Arondir, hilariously, has no idea who he is, but brings him along anyway because Celeborn can help them escape. As you might expect, Galadriel is completely blindsided by Celeborn's reappearance, and she even drops her sword in shock. The arrival of Sauron and three of the Nazgnagôl cuts their reunion short, however.

Marnûkh causes a prison break in order to spark chaos in Gundabad, kicking off a frantic battle to escape. At the same time, Sauron implies that he would have talked to Maitalle about the Rings given the chance, which means Maitalle's death isn't a total disaster for our heroes. Things take an even more unfortunate turn, however, when Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) unmasks himself as the third Nazgnagôl. We knew it! Arondir almost persuades him to take off his ring ... but, as Sauron walks out, Theo fatally stabs his former friend through the chest. It's a heartbreaking moment considering how much Arondir has been worrying about Theo. In the frenzy, Celeborn flings himself off the cliff with Galadriel, allowing them to make a getaway using a Great Eagle. It's going to be a long wait for Episode 5.