4 hrs ago·edited 3 hrs agoLiked by Mikhail Skoptsov
"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.
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.
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.
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.
"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.
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.
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.
I really appreciate the spoiler free section and the spoiler section. Thank you!
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.