1x04: The Great Wave

Once Arondir is released to deliver a message to the Southlands people, that theme returns. As we learned last episode, it's a theme that represents both the people of the Southlands and their rightful ruler, Halbrand, but in this episode the theme is used only for the Southlands, due to the later's smaller role in the story. The other significant theme in this storyline is the Bronwyn and Aronir theme, which gets featured only twice, first when Arondir rescues Theo from certain death. After a long tracking shot where Theo tries to escape the village infested with orcs, he suddenly gets captured and when he is about to be executed. McCreary supports this sequence with brass and chopping strings, with hints of the Orc's Theme, before Arondir appears and saves the day, with a noble statement of his theme (shared with Bronwyn), which can be heard at 6:20 of "Theo in the Shadows". Then the theme gets played again in its romantic setting at 5:06 of "Father Figures".

This storyline features 4 distinct ideas, already introduced, which undergo a couple of interesting variations. Durin's theme is the most prominent one in this episode, having a lot of emotional variations, being of especial note the soft variations that accompany Elrond and Durin's conversations at 4:59 of "A New Ore", and at 1:35 of "Father Figures". Here, Elrond's theme also offers a soft relief to the harsher dwarf music that represents the realm of Khazad-dum. I especially love the soft variation of that theme at 0:38 of "Father Figures".

The Khazad-dum theme in this episode is used not as much to represent the realm but its sovereign, Durin III. It gets extended development in the sequence where Durin talks to his father, and both sections of the theme get featured in emotional variations at 2:40 of "Father Figures" (the same as 1:21 of "The Secrets of the Mountain"). And finally, the other theme of note in this storyline is the Rings of Power Theme. This has been quite an elusive theme right from the start, but its repeated appearances have made clear that is a motif intended to represent the forge of the Rings of Power. So far, McCreary has only played a simplified variation of the theme, which only includes the chords from the theme, but not featuring the melody just yet (which was featured in the end credits of episode 1, "Where the Shadows Lie - Instrumental"). A great choral apearance of the theme is featured at 7:27 of "A New Ore", and then it gets mingled with the Khazad-dum Ostinato at 4:35 of "Father Figures"

And at last, but not least, we have the Númenor storyline, which features some great narrative developments, with Galadriel finally being able to talk to the Regent Queen, culminating in a great montage sequence, where the people of Númenor get enlisted to fight for the freedom of the people of the Southlands, per Galadriel's request. This storyline features 3 different themes, all of them experiencing extended variations during the final sequence.

Galadriel's theme is not featured much, but manages to shine in the "White Leaves" sequence, in powerful statements at 0:13 and 3:32. Then we have the Númenor theme, which is the one with more screen time during the episode. It is both noble and somber during "Civil Unrest in the Island Kingdom", it turns a bit more tragic at 3:07 of "The King in the Tower", with a gorgeous choral statement of the theme at 5:37 of that track, and finally explodes in all of its magnificent glory during "White Leaves", leaving room for both the main melody and the "Finale" section of the theme suite to be featured extensively.

The other prominent theme in this episode is the Elendil and Isildur theme, which earns new interesting associations. It plays under many scenes with Earien, solidifying the idea that is a theme for Elendil himslef, and both of his children (Isildur and Earien). But the connections don't end here, because the theme plays extensively in scenes not featuring any of the family members, especially as the white leaves start to fall, so it could be argued that it's a theme also for the White Tree, very much in line with what Shore did for Gondor. He had a noble theme associated with the realm, and then a more emotional theme which was associated with Minas Tirith, the White Tree and the return of a king to the throne, so this theme could be seen as a sort of opposite idea to that. It represents Elendil's family, the ancestors of the future king, Aragorn, and it also serves as a theme for Númenor's inevitable demise. This is just speculation so far, but I think McCreary is intending to develop this theme in some ways that perhaps help us connect the show and the movies. We'll see...

As I said, the episode culminates with the "White Leaves" sequence, which features one of the best cues so far. It starts with a gorgeous lament in the form of Galadriel's theme, as she apparently leaves the island. This then segues into a somber variation on Numenor's theme. As the white leaves start to fall, a guitar motif starts to play, which is then revealed to be a part of Elendil and Isildur's theme, as the theme starts to play in its most complete form so far. The strings carry the theme, joined by winds and choir, before the Númenor theme gets the center stage again, as the Queen talks to her people about the need to help those at the Southlands. Galadriel is revealed to be back with a striking statement of her theme, which will soon give way to an enormous statament of Númenor's theme (together with the finale section of the theme) to culminate the episode with a bang!