Summary: Adar's army arrive at the tower but it is a trap and Arondir collapses the tower on them. The villagers return to their village and prepare to defend it. The remaining orc force arrives and the villagers win. However, this army was revealed to be of the village men who turned, the real army rains arrows and many villagers die. Bronwyn is badly injured and almost dies. The orcs break into the tavern where everyone is hiding and Adar threatens to murder everyone unless Arondir gives him the key. Arondir refuses, but Theo knows where it is and gives it up. The Numenoreans arrive and defeat the army. Galadriel chases down Adar and captures him. The key is recovered. Halbrand and Galadriel question Adar and learn that he is an Uruk, one of the first orcs. Arondir gives the key to Theo but Theo realizes it is a fake. Waldreg stole the real one and activates it, causing Mount Doom to erupt, levelling the nearby area.
The Good: This was a more conventional and focused episode that was centered around a big battle. Because of that, this was easily the best episode of the show yet. The central focus made this event feel massively important, which is a big deal considering how unimportant and slow-paced the rest of this show has been. Finally it felt like I was watching something that was worth my time, and that added level of engagement made for a more fulfilling experience. The battle was a spectacle and was quite fun to watch. I especially liked the first part of the battle where there was a melee in the village. The action was very well choreographed, and I was especially thrilled by Arondir's fight against the huge orc, which was intense, gruesome, and thoroughly entertaining as an action setpiece. The highlight for me was definitely the moment when we learn that the "orcs" who the villagers thought they were fighting were actually their former allies and friends. The real army was still out there waiting to wreak havoc on everyone. This twist worked really well because of how it took the emotions from elation to despair in a matter of moments, and hope was snuffed out in the blink of an eye. Bronwyn taking such a terrible wound raised the stakes significantly, and the special effects were phenomenal, making the wound look really bad and making you feel like she has a good chance of succumbing to her wounds. The follow-up to the battle was also quite good. Adar in captivity is your typical imprisoned villain arc, but at least we have a better idea of who he is through this process. He managed to get under the skin of both Galadriel and Halbrand, creating more personal stakes between him and these characters, which you want to see between antagonists and protagonists. There is also some good mystery added in with Halbrand (see: The Unknown), which I'm excited to see more of. The ensuing eruption of Mount Doom was a visual spectacle and it looked terrific. I presume that this will be the creation of Mordor, which is bound to have enormous consequences on the story. The Bad: The writing in this show remains poor, and even a battle can not overcome this issue. I had a lot of writing-related problems with this episode, and that drags down my enjoyment of it significantly. Let's start with the battle itself and its logistics. There is an early twist where the orcs arrive in the tower fort only to find it abandoned, and Arondir springs a trap to collapse the building on the army. That's a cool idea, but logistically it does not make sense. First, how would everyone evacuate from this location without being noticed by the incoming army, an army that we could see closing in on the tower in the previous episode? That is a bit tough to believe. Even harder to believe is the decision to return to the village to fight there? In what world was that smart? These people had a fortified tower which increases their odds significantly, and instead they decide to set up to fight in a village that can easily be attacked from all sides? That's a terrible idea, and it's no wonder that they lost. The Numenoreans saving the Southlanders was a disappointing development. It took Frodo and Sam almost a year to make the trek from The Shire to Mordor, and yet we are expected to believe that Numenor took all of five days to get to the Southlands? That's ridiculous. Furthermore, their last minute save is a deus ex machina that I predicted early in the episode, and it had no impact when it happened. The deus ex machina was okay in "Lord of the Rings" because moments like the ride of the Rohirrim were so gripping and emotionally satisfying that they overcame the cliche. We get no such moment in this episode, so the last minute save falls flat and feels convenient. Furthermore, I'm highly confused about Waldreg's role. Where was he in this battle? If all the other men were forced to fight, why was Waldreg selected to do a special task for Adar? This doesn't make sense. It's also ridiculous that he somehow managed to find the key and replace it with a hatchet without anyone noticing. Did nobody think to check and make sure that the clothed item was actually the key? And did nobody notice that the key felt mysteriously like a hatchet underneath the cloth? This is absurd. Additionally, I was extremely unhappy with Arondir's decision to give "the key" to Theo to dispose of. Surely he wouldn't take such a big risk with such a significant item. Furthermore, I really hope that we learn more about the key's creation and why it was needed, because otherwise it is an enormous plot device. More small things that severely detracted from the episode include the time magically changing from the middle of night to early day after what must have only been 10-20 minutes when Adar entered the tavern. The time change made absolutely no sense. Further, it's hard to understand how Numenor knew where to go to fight this battle. How did they know to go to this one specific village? A lot of moments were written sloppily and fell flat as a result. Arondir and Bronwyn's kiss was uninspired and generic. Isildur being permitted to go into battle was an overdramatic, made-for-TV moment that would never happen in real life. There are many more moments like this throughout the episode, but I will not waste my time by listing them all. Oh, and I haven't even had a chance to address the poor dialogue which continues to be present in this show. Little things don't usually bother me in isolation, but when they add up like this, it breaks my immersion completely. The Unknown: Isildur's mother drowned. How? Why is this significant? Did Adar actually kill Sauron or is he lying about that? I suspect that he might believe that he killed Sauron when in reality he didn't. Unless Adar actually is Sauron and he is being metaphorical. I can't rule out any possibilities! What did Adar do the Halbrand? Why doesn't Adar remember him? Is this another hint that Halbrand might actually be Sauron? Was that a romantic moment between Galadriel and Halbrand? I was unsure if I read that scene properly so I'm putting it in this section and not "The Bad". If I am right and there is a romance starting here, then I have to roll my eyes because that is the least creative direction to take their story. The eruption at the end must have been Mount Doom. Is this how Mordor was created? This does go against Tolkien's lore, and I'm confused by how a volcanic eruption can make such a dark and toxic location like Mordor. Did Mount Doom have some magical properties to it? Why did the orcs do this anyways? Who created the key? Who set this up in such a convoluted way? Best Moment: The archers raining hell on the villagers was a fantastic moment. The twist that the "orcs" were not actually orcs was hugely effective, and seeing all of these brave soldiers falling one after the other was horrifying, especially with our main characters also caught in the crossfire. A really intense moment that made perfect use of slow-mo to help us perceive the way that the world seems to slow down in these life and death situations. Character of the Episode: Arondir. Conclusion: This was an intense, exciting episode, yet it can only rise so high because bad writing, choppy acting, and poor dialogue continue to plague this show. Score: 60
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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