Really liked this episode though it definitely had some bumps.
-I liked the battles though I got rather confused about how exactly the fight between the Elves and the Orcs actually started and progressed after Elrond exited the negotiations tent and how weirdly we never got to see the cavalry actually attack the footsoldiers. Also, where did Gil-Galad disappear for so much of the hour?
-For such a promising new character, Mirdania felt wasted. They seemed to be building towards her becoming Sauron's lover and I was wondering if she'd remain at his side even after the reveal.
-I think you're right on the money about the theme of sacrifice and I had no idea about the Sauron dagger thing from the film trilogy! The reveal of his black blood being the 'mithril' in this case was pretty cool. Really, all the stuff with Celebrimbor works so well. I wonder how they will finish his story. Like, can they do his death as in The Silmarillion?
-I kinda wish in hindsight, they'd never done the Stranger/Nori storyline. Like, there is clearly not enough real estate for it and the show as a whole would benefit from devoting more time to everything else, like Numenor.
Yeah, I think the staging of the battle was not as smooth as it could have been. Still great, but a tad unclear at points
Agree that Mirdania felt like she didn't quite reach her full potential. Was waiting for more there and...there just wasn't
I agree, enjoyed the blood reveal. Annatar/Celebrimbor is the heart of this season and it does work so well. Not sure how mature/graphic they want to go, but I think they may go the Silm route...
Completely agree with the Stranger/Nori stuff. Feels more like something you introduce later when you can focus more on it and it's more immediately relevant to the rest of the plotlines
"Elrond needs a hug" I will take it!! I will take the hug to Elrond--I mean, the ring to Mordor!!
This episode was devastating, absolutely here for it. I agree that the halt of the charge was very frustrating, and I'm disappointed that we never got to experience that cathartic moment of the armies meeting. I was very glad that this episode didn't waste any time on subplots--the focus on the battle and on the Celebrimbor/Sauron interactions was great. And that kiss, I screamed at my TV!!
Something else that shook me about this episode was the way Sauron's manipulations of Celebrimbor read as textbook narcissistic abuse: blaming it all on him, telling him it was all his fault, etc. I like how you pointed out the almost anti-Christ parallels (i.e. spilling his blood for the sake of domination) and the way Celebrimbor calls him out as ultimate deceiver because those moments felt shockingly similar to the way Satan is described in the Bible. I know elsewhere one of the showrunners mentioned that he draws from sacred texts here and there and I was wondering if that was his goal here.
Totally agree with all your thoughts on the devastation of the episode, its focus, and the manipulations being classic abuse.
Glad you were picking up on those anti-Christ parallels! He's clearly trying to position himself as the savior of Middle-earth but he's no Suffering Servant, he's a Dominator and Deceiver
Love these thoughts!! That whole conversation between Galadriel and Celebrimbor—their admission of wanting what Sauron offered, the insufficiency of just strength alone to drive out the darkness—really cemented for me that the writers do understand and love Tolkien's vision of the world. For all the various pacing and plot flaws in RoP, these last few episodes have turned me into a fan. I can't get over Charlie Vickers' and Charles Edwards' acting either.
Yes! Totally agree that you can just feel the love the showrunners have for Tolkien and their understanding of his works. So glad these episodes have "won you over" -- they're definitely some of the strongest of the whole show so far!
Agreed also about Charles and Charlie's acting. They're just exquisite, especially playing opposite each other as they do most of the time.
Definitely has its faults, but they did a great job of capturing the tragedy and despair of the thing. Little baby Elrond just can’t catch a break.
I’m holding on to a sliver of hope that things will look up a little by the end of the season, but at this point they’ve hurt me so much I wouldn’t put it past them to end the season with Sauron victorious.
Adar’s character is pretty fascinating. I find myself almost feeling bad for him… but if he and his orc babies wanted to live in peace maybe they shouldn’t have made a habit of being evil? I don’t know, I might be crazy.
Poor Elrond! And we know that things don't really get too much better for him based on the lore either... *sigh*. But it makes him establishing "The Last Homely House" as a refuge all the more powerful and poignant! To be one who suffered so much and yet dedicated himself to healing and sheltering others....love it!
"Sauron victorious" may very well be where we end after this next episode...hopefully we get that sliver of hope though!
And I love Adar, such a great character, especially to be almost a wholly new character!
I'd be really surprised if the Rhun story wrapped up next week -- my guess is that the Harfoots and Gandalf (no, I'm not calling him "the Stranger") won't return from the east until sometime during season 4. Their storyline has always moved slower, because there's less of it (and there's nothing wrong with that!). Probably won't get the full fall of Kazad Dum until next season either -- it'll start, but the balrog will retreat somehow and Durin will rush his men out to the battlefield to help Elrond.
oh yeah, by "wrap up" I just meant even for this season! Just fitting in some sort of conclusion with the succession in Numenor and the Dark Wizard vs the Stranger (I won't call him Gandalf until it's absolutely necessary haha) and Khazad-dum as well PLUS Eregion? I am not sure how they'll balance it all! (But would be happy to be proved wrong!)
I thought the really strong part of this episode was the performances. For a show that has been called out for supposed clunky dialogue and stilted acting, this was a tour de force from the cast. Yes, there was the large scale battles but a show lives or dies on what happens in the quiet moments and this had great scenes of angst and conflict. Special mention has to go to Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor who loses everything but still shows flashes of power and pathos. A great performance. And, if anyone doubts the emotional connection a Tolkien fan can have to this show, then hopefully the tears that sprang to my eyes when Durin met Elrond again would dispel such an idea. Brilliantly done 👍🏼
You're so right on, Daniel! The quiet moments are the ones that really make or break a show! Why should we care about the big battles, the spectacle, and all that if we don't get those moments with the characters to really make us understand them, care for them, etc.
I found myself getting teary-eyed at that reunion too!
I loved everything about this episode, except that kiss. It really disgusts me knowing that that's his mother-in-law. 😅 But your meme was hilarious! 🤣
Despite that one moment, this episode was intensely incredible, and I'm very excited to see how everything comes together (or apart) in the finale next week!
Really liked this episode though it definitely had some bumps.
-I liked the battles though I got rather confused about how exactly the fight between the Elves and the Orcs actually started and progressed after Elrond exited the negotiations tent and how weirdly we never got to see the cavalry actually attack the footsoldiers. Also, where did Gil-Galad disappear for so much of the hour?
-For such a promising new character, Mirdania felt wasted. They seemed to be building towards her becoming Sauron's lover and I was wondering if she'd remain at his side even after the reveal.
-I think you're right on the money about the theme of sacrifice and I had no idea about the Sauron dagger thing from the film trilogy! The reveal of his black blood being the 'mithril' in this case was pretty cool. Really, all the stuff with Celebrimbor works so well. I wonder how they will finish his story. Like, can they do his death as in The Silmarillion?
-I kinda wish in hindsight, they'd never done the Stranger/Nori storyline. Like, there is clearly not enough real estate for it and the show as a whole would benefit from devoting more time to everything else, like Numenor.
Yeah, I think the staging of the battle was not as smooth as it could have been. Still great, but a tad unclear at points
Agree that Mirdania felt like she didn't quite reach her full potential. Was waiting for more there and...there just wasn't
I agree, enjoyed the blood reveal. Annatar/Celebrimbor is the heart of this season and it does work so well. Not sure how mature/graphic they want to go, but I think they may go the Silm route...
Completely agree with the Stranger/Nori stuff. Feels more like something you introduce later when you can focus more on it and it's more immediately relevant to the rest of the plotlines
"Elrond needs a hug" I will take it!! I will take the hug to Elrond--I mean, the ring to Mordor!!
This episode was devastating, absolutely here for it. I agree that the halt of the charge was very frustrating, and I'm disappointed that we never got to experience that cathartic moment of the armies meeting. I was very glad that this episode didn't waste any time on subplots--the focus on the battle and on the Celebrimbor/Sauron interactions was great. And that kiss, I screamed at my TV!!
Something else that shook me about this episode was the way Sauron's manipulations of Celebrimbor read as textbook narcissistic abuse: blaming it all on him, telling him it was all his fault, etc. I like how you pointed out the almost anti-Christ parallels (i.e. spilling his blood for the sake of domination) and the way Celebrimbor calls him out as ultimate deceiver because those moments felt shockingly similar to the way Satan is described in the Bible. I know elsewhere one of the showrunners mentioned that he draws from sacred texts here and there and I was wondering if that was his goal here.
Totally agree with all your thoughts on the devastation of the episode, its focus, and the manipulations being classic abuse.
Glad you were picking up on those anti-Christ parallels! He's clearly trying to position himself as the savior of Middle-earth but he's no Suffering Servant, he's a Dominator and Deceiver
Love these thoughts!! That whole conversation between Galadriel and Celebrimbor—their admission of wanting what Sauron offered, the insufficiency of just strength alone to drive out the darkness—really cemented for me that the writers do understand and love Tolkien's vision of the world. For all the various pacing and plot flaws in RoP, these last few episodes have turned me into a fan. I can't get over Charlie Vickers' and Charles Edwards' acting either.
Yes! Totally agree that you can just feel the love the showrunners have for Tolkien and their understanding of his works. So glad these episodes have "won you over" -- they're definitely some of the strongest of the whole show so far!
Agreed also about Charles and Charlie's acting. They're just exquisite, especially playing opposite each other as they do most of the time.
Ok, this show is devastating. lol
Definitely has its faults, but they did a great job of capturing the tragedy and despair of the thing. Little baby Elrond just can’t catch a break.
I’m holding on to a sliver of hope that things will look up a little by the end of the season, but at this point they’ve hurt me so much I wouldn’t put it past them to end the season with Sauron victorious.
Adar’s character is pretty fascinating. I find myself almost feeling bad for him… but if he and his orc babies wanted to live in peace maybe they shouldn’t have made a habit of being evil? I don’t know, I might be crazy.
Yeah it really is this season, isn't it? haha
Poor Elrond! And we know that things don't really get too much better for him based on the lore either... *sigh*. But it makes him establishing "The Last Homely House" as a refuge all the more powerful and poignant! To be one who suffered so much and yet dedicated himself to healing and sheltering others....love it!
"Sauron victorious" may very well be where we end after this next episode...hopefully we get that sliver of hope though!
And I love Adar, such a great character, especially to be almost a wholly new character!
I'd be really surprised if the Rhun story wrapped up next week -- my guess is that the Harfoots and Gandalf (no, I'm not calling him "the Stranger") won't return from the east until sometime during season 4. Their storyline has always moved slower, because there's less of it (and there's nothing wrong with that!). Probably won't get the full fall of Kazad Dum until next season either -- it'll start, but the balrog will retreat somehow and Durin will rush his men out to the battlefield to help Elrond.
oh yeah, by "wrap up" I just meant even for this season! Just fitting in some sort of conclusion with the succession in Numenor and the Dark Wizard vs the Stranger (I won't call him Gandalf until it's absolutely necessary haha) and Khazad-dum as well PLUS Eregion? I am not sure how they'll balance it all! (But would be happy to be proved wrong!)
I really appreciate the spoiler free section and the spoiler section. Thank you!
Oh you're welcome!
I thought the really strong part of this episode was the performances. For a show that has been called out for supposed clunky dialogue and stilted acting, this was a tour de force from the cast. Yes, there was the large scale battles but a show lives or dies on what happens in the quiet moments and this had great scenes of angst and conflict. Special mention has to go to Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor who loses everything but still shows flashes of power and pathos. A great performance. And, if anyone doubts the emotional connection a Tolkien fan can have to this show, then hopefully the tears that sprang to my eyes when Durin met Elrond again would dispel such an idea. Brilliantly done 👍🏼
You're so right on, Daniel! The quiet moments are the ones that really make or break a show! Why should we care about the big battles, the spectacle, and all that if we don't get those moments with the characters to really make us understand them, care for them, etc.
I found myself getting teary-eyed at that reunion too!
I loved everything about this episode, except that kiss. It really disgusts me knowing that that's his mother-in-law. 😅 But your meme was hilarious! 🤣
Despite that one moment, this episode was intensely incredible, and I'm very excited to see how everything comes together (or apart) in the finale next week!
Yes, it really was a great one, wasn't it? And glad you could at least laugh a little about it via the meme lol
Great recap! This episode ripped my heart out. 😭
Thank you! And yeah, it really was a devastating one, wasn't it?