The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power
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Happily, showrunners J.D.
It wouldnt be J.R.R.
The episode does not pick up where the previous season left off, at least not immediately.
It doesnt go well!
Thats no doubt in part because he acknowledges many Orcs will die.
Know your audience, Sauron!
Although Sauron effectively puts down an assassination attempt, his victory proves to be short-lived.
But what happens next proves you cant keep a good man down.
(Well,goodandmanarent exactly accurate, but the point still stands.)
Sauron first turns into a rat- and bug-devouring sludge.
This will come in handy when Sauron and his new acquaintance experience the shipwreck that brings Sauron to Galadriel.
But not before he receives some tips on morality from the Southlander.
You are alive because you have chosen good, the Southlander tells Sauron.
You have to choose it again.
And the next day.
Until it becomes a part of your nature.
To put it simply, this will not happen.
And after the title screen, wedopick up where we left off before.
Theres a lot going on.
The chase brings both Galadriel and Elrond into the presence of Gil-galad, the high king of the elves.
When the truth comes out, the accusations begin.
Elrond yells at Galadriel.
Meanwhile, over in Mordor, Mt.
Theres obviously more to this story.
Whats more, theyre lost.
Panic is the fools meal, Nori.
We would be wiser to sup on patience, the Stranger tells her.
He does this successfully, even if Nori, unlike her companion, seems happy eating bugs.
(Theyre probably not friends.)
This doesnt work out too well in the long term.
Sauron has returned in a new form, he tells Adar, and technically thats true.
This earns Sauron his freedom but not before arranging for Waldreg to be eaten by his Warg.
Point: Sauron (and the Warg, I guess).
He also instantly discerns that Elrond has in his possession something louder than the sea.
To those alert to them, the rings announce their presence wherever they go.
Elrond is counting on Cirdans wisdom to bring the ring problem to an end by destroying them.
This, too, doesnt quite play out according to their plan.
Well, most of the elves anyway.
Celebrimbor might not know it, but this does not bode well.
But wait, never mind its Poppy!
So who knows what awaits our trio within its borders?
The series has the sometimes unenviable task of filling in those sketches without losing the original vision.
On that front, its pretty successful.
And, as ever, the showlooksgreat, and the cast keeps the action grounded in human emotion.
Well, not human exactly.
But you get the idea.
Lets press forward to Rhun and beyond.
Mithril Links
One of the biggest changes between seasons took place behind the scenes.
Just how little progress did Nori and the Stranger make before Poppys arrival?
She cant have walked very quickly.
Look at those legs.
Who are those figures following the Stranger and Nori?
To be determined, but the symbol on their saddle looks eerily familiar.
And what to make of the Strangers only in dreams memories of having been to Rhun before?
So where are all the other characters?
