The Rings Of Power Fans Can't Get Enough Of This Durin Scene From Episode 5
Amazon's "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" is set during Middle-earth's Second Age, thousands of years before the events of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings." It tells the story of how Sauron re-emerged as the Dark Lord and created the Rings of Power.
One of the show's most popular storylines so far has been the political maneuverings between Elves and Dwarves. Mainly, this plays out through Elrond (Robert Amayo) and Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur), an Elf and a Dwarf who are longtime friends despite years of mutual mistrust between their people. Their friendship gets tested when they have to negotiate on behalf of their kingdoms, Lindon and Khazad-dûm.
In Episode 5, King Durin III (Peter Mullan) sends Prince Durin IV, to Lindon, to determine why Elrond (Robert Aramayo) was originally sent to Khazad-dûm. For lots of fans, this storyline had their favorite moment of the entire episode.
Fans loved the moment when Durin stole High King Gil-galad's table
"Y'all can say your fave grand moments but Durin stealing the High King's dining table is mine. And his kind, forgiving nature. I love him lots," wrote fan u/daveycarnation.
The moment happens about halfway through the episode when the High King holds a banquet in Durin's honor. When Gil-galad asks Durin pointed questions about reports that the Dwarves have been building weapons and armor, Durin redirects the conversation to the stone dining table.
Durin explains that it's made of a certain type of stone that the Dwarves hold sacred and use as burial monuments. Gil-galad apologizes for the oversight and agrees to send the table back to Khazad-dûm with him.
Later, Durin tells Elrond that it was all made up. His wife, Princess Disa (Sophia Nomvete), wants a new dinner table, and this was a convenient way of getting one.
One fan had another take on the scene. "I think getting a nice table was a bonus, but the main objective was shutting up Gil Galad, so he would stop asking uncomfortable questions," wrote u/Supreme1337.
The scene is a snapshot of the main themes of the show
It's definitely a fun scene, but it also hits on many of the themes that The Rings of Power is about.
One is how relationships are affected by having different lifespans. During the scene, Elrond mentions the elves' famously long lifespans. It's a reminder that Elrond is going to live a lot, lot longer than his Durin and Disa.
Fan u/Book31415926 agreed with the original poster that the dinner table scene was the best in episode, adding, "Problem now is that I deeply care about [Durin] and his family and I know that they aren't immortal as Elrond and Galadriel."
Another is the deep-seated conflict between the Dwarves and Elves. The show spends time exploring why the fissures between the two races exist, and how it affects the relationships between them. In this case, Gil-galad immediately caves because he doesn't want to upset the fragile agreement that currently exists between the Dwarves and the Elves. The rivalry between Dwarves and Elves affects nearly everyone in Middle-earth, but a clever dwarf can also use it to bag new furniture.