The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power
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What do elves drink in the morning?
Some kind of elvish concoction thats far more satisfying than any drink mere humans could concoct?
Does it matter that hes living in a dreamworld of Saurons creation?
We quickly learn that it does.
When Celebrimbor gets a fleeting glimpse of his true, bedraggled self, hes quite alarmed.
As the glitches stack up, the chaos and destruction going on outside intensifies.
Adar has Eregion under siege, but its elves arent his true target.
Celebrimbor, he tells Mirdania and the head of Eregions security, doesnt want to counterattack, buthedoes.
Instead of taking the fight to the orcs, the orcs will come to them.
From a vantage not too far away, Arondir looks on with concern.
These story lines are seemingly destined to converge.
News travels fast in Middle-earth.
Its a short and not particularly mirthful reunion.
Elrond has come to plead for help for Eregion.
Its survival might depend on whether or not the dwarves show up to help.
You are he, are you not?
Celebrimbor asks Sauron before taking his first steps outside in weeks.
Seeking out Mirdania, Celebrimbor tries to tell her what hes discovered.
But Mirdania isnt sure who to believe when Sauron shows up.
(No one catches Sauron willing the fall to happen himself.)
Whats more, hell use it to create a perfect and lasting peace.
And when has he lied before?
But maybe all this will be irrelevant?
Or, more accurately, he has an elf at knifepoint, specifically Galadriel.
Rather than a battle, they have a sit-down.
Maybe, Adar suggests, they should team up to take down Sauron.
And, as before, Adar has a point, but perhaps not the unanimous support of his minions.
Telling him to win, Galadriel signals shes supportive of his choice.
Then, confirming this is a far smoochier season than the first, they kiss.
However worried he might be about Galadriel, Elrond feels like this wont end well for the orcs.
Why is Elron so confident?
Elrond knows something the orcs dont: The dwarves will be arriving soon to help.
And it sure seems like they will, too.
He fights well, but its a tough struggle in which he loses his beautiful horse.
Things dont look great for Eregion, but they dont look great for Adar, either.
Because the walls are proving difficult to breach, hes starting to lose the faith of his followers.
You told us you loved us, one asks.
He does, he replies, and too much to let you become Saurons slaves.
Fortunately, a nearby Arondir rescues her.
(Remember what we said before about story lines converging?)
Durin III has lost his mind and seems intent on letting loose the Balrog.
After listening to a short inspirational speech, she agrees to take the nine rings with her.
In the end, the gains prove pretty modest.
The troll fails to breach the walls, thanks in large part to the efforts of Elrond and Arondir.
While this unfolds, Celebrimbor confronts Sauron.
This doesnt look good, nor do the developments outside Eregions city limits.
And those dwarves Elrond promised were coming?
Theyre nowhere to be seen.
Instead, he gets a message that the dwarves have shut themselves off inside Khazad-dum.
Durin will come, he insists.
But as the battle resumes, this doesnt look too likely.
Whats more, Adar gains the upper hand.
And to think this episode began so peacefully!
Its a big episode, the best of the season so far.
That it doesnt top Jacksons film isnt surprising.
Thats one of the best action sequences ever shot.
Mithril Links
My heart sings to see you, old friend.
The Elrond-Durin IV team consistently gave the first season some of its best moments.
And yet its taken seven episodes to reunite them, and then only for one scene.
Will next weeks episode change that?
It looked like shed end up working for Sauron for a bit there.
Instead, he threw her to the orcs.
She might have been a fine smith if shed lived.
Instead, she spent her final days serving as an unwitting pawn.
The Elrond-Galadriel kiss doesnt come out of nowhere.
There have been hints of feelings developing between them all season.
Yet it seemed unlikely to go anywhere because a relationship isnt part of the Tolkien canon.
Not only are they not together, Elrond marries Galadriels daughter.
Tolkien purists, beware.
