Yes, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is an epic fantasy adventure based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. It’s also a show with major horse girl energy.
That’s not a bad thing! The original Lord of the Rings film trilogy, directed by Peter Jackson, was also bursting with horse girl vibes. Who could forget Aragorn’s fierce devotion to his horse Brego? Or Shadowfax, the coolest and fastest horse in all of Middle-earth? Heck, most of the Riders of Rohan were played by women wearing beards to pass as men. Horse girls gave us the Ride of the Rohirrim — we owe them our lives.
The Lord of the Rings horse girl tradition proudly lives on in The Rings of Power, mainly in two characters: Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Isildur (Maxim Baldry). The show unleashes their horse-loving natures upon us at full tilt in episode 3, “Adar.”
Credit: Ben Rothstein / Prime Video
First up is Isildur, a young Númenórean sailor who yearns for adventure. But more importantly, he yearns for his horse. When he returns to shore after a boating excursion, he greets his sister Eärien (Ema Horvath) with open arms. “There you are!” he exclaims. Turns out he’s not talking to Eärien, but to his horse, Berek. He rushes to Berek, leaving Eärien rolling her eyes. She should know better than to stand between a horse and his boy.
But the horse love doesn’t stop there. Later in the episode, Isildur’s father Elendil (Lloyd Owen) and Galadriel discuss traveling to Númenor’s Hall of Laws. At the mention of riding there, Galadriel’s eyes light up. “Did you say ride?”
Cue Bear McCreary’s majestic score, along with sweeping shots of Galadriel and Elendil riding across fields and beaches. The pièce de résistance is a slo-mo sequence of Galadriel and her horse galloping along the sand. In this moment, with her billowing blue dress and her joyful expression, Galadriel is the pinnacle of horse girl. And honestly, she deserves it. She’s been doggedly hunting evil for centuries, her fellow elves mutinied against her, and she was practically exiled to Valinor, shipwrecked, and imprisoned. Galadriel deserves to experience happiness again. If all it takes to get her pumped is a horse, then give her all the horses she wants!
The horse girl goodness is not limited to episode 3. Episode 5, “Partings,” sees the Númenóreans preparing to set sail for Middle-earth. In one of his last-ditch attempts to join the expedition, Isildur learns from one of his friends that Berek will be going to Middle-earth as well. “Berek’s going?” he says, his eyes filled with sorrow. Someone please reunite Isildur with his horse, this hurts too much.
Thankfully, we don’t have to endure the hurt too long because Isildur is allowed to join the trek to Middle-earth… as a stable sweep. The moment plays like a minor humiliation for Isildur, but we know better. Isildur is a horse girl through and through. He’ll probably have the time of his life hanging out with the horses — or at least with Berek.
More importantly, Isildur is now on the same journey as fellow horse girl Galadriel. And while the prospect of these two titans of Middle-earth lore teaming up for a heroic adventure is exciting, you know what is doubly exciting? The thought of them bonding over their shared love of horses. Because there’s only one thing more powerful than a horse girl: two horse girls, working together to rid Middle-earth of Sauron.