Summary: The story jumps 10 years in the future. Rhaenyra has given birth to 3 sons and Alicent notes that they are not Laenor's. The children are Harwin's and everyone knows it except Viserys, still alive, who is in willful ignorance. Alicent's sons train with Rhaenyra's sons under Criston Cole who is biased towards Alicent now. Harwin takes notice and is upset, Criston provokes him and Harwin attacks him in public. As punishment, Harwin loses his position in King's Landing. Lyonel goes to Viserys and tries to resign but he isn't allowed to do so. Lyonel asks for leave to take Harwin to Harrenhal. Alicent tells Larys what happened and expresses desire for Otto to return. Larys takes matters into his own hands and arranges for some men to create a fire in Harrenhal, killing Lyonel and Harwin. Feeling her grip on her power slipping, Rhaenyra decides to take her children to Dragonstone along with Laenor and his paramour Qarl. Meanwhile, Daemon has married Laena and they have two children. Daemon is happy to live in Pentos but Laena points out that he is unhappy. They return to Driftmark where Laena gives birth. It goes wrong and Laena takes her own life by dragon fire.
The Good: The opening scene of the episode was a magnificent way to re-introduce the characters and story after such a long time-skip. We are treated to a wonderful cinematic feat with the long-take oner as Laenor and Rhaenyra go to meet Alicent. This scene is so effective because it brilliantly introduces us to Emma D'Arcy's Rhaenyra and illustrating how she behaves while simultaneously showing us how her relationship with Laenor has evolved over the years with Laenor being a bit of an ignorant man, but he is honest in his attempted support at the least. Furthermore, we get a good introduction to the change within Alicent without even meeting her. Her demand to see Rhaenyra's baby immediately tells us that Alicent has embraced her ruthless side, and that much is confirmed when we finally get to meet her and see how she has changed. Seeing how these characters have evolved in the most enjoyable aspect of this episode. Rhaenyra is surprisingly quite similar to before despite becoming a mother. She maintains that same strong-willed fiery personality as she makes increasingly poor decisions out of lust. Namely, she and Laenor both decide not to force having sex with each other, and Rhaenyra ends up bearing Harwin's children, a decision that really hurts her in this episode. We also get to see a new version of Alicent, and I think that the timeskip worked best with her. Alicent was beginning to go through a transformation in the previous episode, and when we catch up with her now, she has become a ruthless politician just like her father. It's a natural development which feels earned and logical. Laenor is another character who aged up well. We didn't know him too well before, but this episode takes what we knew of him and shows how those traits have amplified. Laenor is a glory-seeking, vain, individual who indulges in the finer acts of life (hooking up with other men). He's still likeable, primarily because he is quite funny, but he is a product of a society that glorifies the roles of men. While Rhaenyra fights the political battle for her future, Laenor is out drinking and dreaming of going out to a glory-filled war, just like what he did when he was younger. I like this added depth to the character, it makes him feel more real. Some characters change without having to change actors, and these changes feel more natural since the character feels the same. Viserys is one such example. He looks horrible physically, like he's barely clinging on to life, and his characterization furthers that idea. Viserys used to have some fire to him when he was younger, but now he comes off as increasingly passive. He no longer troubles himself with whatever chaos Rhaenyra is causing, and he delights in the simplicity of peace, such as when Rhaenyra makes a proposition to Alicent. As he has aged and his health has worsened, Viserys has gained a newfound appreciation of peace. Daemon is a character who returns in a very surprising position. Following the last episode, he has kept quiet for 10 years, married a woman he loves, and started a family in Pentos. This was totally unexpected but it works pretty well. Daemon managed to find a satisfying new adventure through Laena, and it has kept him busy, unlocking a new part of Daemon. The time has come for the rogue Daemon to move on to something new, but newfound love for his family is holding Daemon back, and he bristles when Laena suggests that they return to Westeros, wanting to continue his current life. Though that quickly becomes impossible when Laena dies in childbirth, and it appears that the door has opened for Daemon's return. I like the idea of this story a lot, and it almost works very well. Larys is the star of this episode for sure. He went from a forgettable background character to a terrifying psychopath over the course of this episode. Larys seems innocuous and unthreatening because of his demeanor, but he proves that he is the terrifying Littlefinger-esque politician that is here to cause chaos to further his own agenda. Larys' decision to murder his own family based off of a mild suggestion from Alicent that she wants her father back was horrifying, and my reaction was the same as Alicent's when I realized what Larys was doing. The ending speech is superb, and Larys' utter lack of emotion is genuinely terrifying and gripping to watch. Also terrifying is the scene where Larys recruits some prisoners, cutting out their tongues so that they can't tell anyone who sent them. This is uncomfortable to watch, but it further establishes the psychotic extent that Larys goes to in order to further his agenda. The Bad: If you've read enough of my reviews, you know that I am not a fan of time skips, and this one caused a lot of issues for the story. It is jarring to continue the story with new actors coming in. While they do a good job, there is a certain suspension of disbelief that is always present when dealing with these new actors who are clearly not the grown up versions of the characters we knew. But this is not the biggest issue. The biggest issue is that the time skip has ruined the emotional impact for much of this episode. Three major characters die by the end of this episode, and none of their deaths hits hard because these characters' stories were rushed and all of the characters felt undercooked by the time of their death. It felt like there was much more we should have learned about these characters to make us care about them, and the show did not succeed at making these deaths feel impactful. Laena's death is the biggest offender of this. We hardly knew who Laena was until this episode, making it impossible to care when she died. But even worse is that her relationship with Daemon had zero development before her death. They briefly flirted last episode, but that is not enough to convince me that these two would be married in 10 years, exploring the world together. We don't get even a hint of why these two hooked up, and how it affected both of them. Laena brings up that she was a second choice for Daemon, and I wish that we got to see Daemon make this choice, giving more context to their relationship. Since we don't get that context, it is hard to feel for Daemon when Laena dies since we hardly know how they feel about each other. I wish that we had more time to spend with these two characters together. Harwin was similarly disappointing, and I was left underwhelmed by his character arc. He was a non-factor in the story up until this episode, and now we suddenly find out that he's in a relationship with Rhaenyra and is happy to be the father of her children. This comes right out of nowhere, and it was jarring to me. Looking back, we see hints of this relationship in previous episodes, but hints are not enough to justify this development and make me care. It's frustrating that this episode tries to make me care about Harwin being a caring father to make his death feel more painful when the character has not been built up or developed at all. It's a damn shame because there is a really good scene between Lyonel and Harwin in this episode that makes me wish that Harwin was a fully realized character so that this story could have more meaning. It should have been absolutely tragic when Harwin and Lyonel die in Harrenhal, but I felt nothing because the story was undercooked, just like Laena's. Much of these problems that I've outlined above could have been rectified if this episode had been split into two separate episodes. The stories felt rushed, and had the show taken the time to develop the storylines and characters in more depth, the plot beats would have landed much better. This makes me wish that this first season had received 13 episodes instead of just ten, so that it could have further developed some of the storylines that were raced through. I've expressed how I wished that certain characters and storylines were given more time (Criston, Crabfeeder, etc.), and extending the season would have fixed this. It's a shame that this show wasn't quite given the time it needed to breathe. The Unknown: Who will be the next Hand of the King? Will Otto return? Viserys has aged significantly, so it is realistic that he may opt for the familiarity of Otto instead of appointing a new face as Hand. What will happen with Rhaenyra returning to Dragonstone? Does she have a plan to keep hold of her power? Will Daemon return to Westeros now? How will his return be handled? What will become of his children with Laena dead? Daemon doesn't strike me as the type to settle down as a father with his wife out of the picture. What are Larys' intentions and motives? He just killed his own family on a whim. What is he trying to accomplish? Will Rhaenyra be able to maintain her narrative about her children? If she can't, then will Alicent's children be able to ascend to the throne? It should be very interesting to see who succeeds Viserys. Best Moment: The magnificent oner early in the episode was quite the spectacle to open with, re-introducing us to these characters perfectly. Character of the Episode: Larys. Conclusion: Easily the weakest and most disappointing episode so far. The massive time jump and a rushed narrative hurt the story badly and could very well cause significant narrative issues down the line. Despite all that is done well, these major problems cause this to be a weak episode. Score: 55
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Summary: The Harfoot migration continues. Nori stumbles upon some wolves and The Stranger saves her. The Stranger becomes loved by the Harfoots, but scares Nori after he accidentally hurts her while practicing magic. In Lindon, Elrond learns that Gil-Galad and Celembrimbor sent him to find mithril from the dwarves. The elves are going to die since their tree is poisoned and they need the mithril to stop it. Elrond shares this information with Durin who agrees to help him. In Numenor, the community readies to ride for war. Kemen tries to convince Pharazon to shut down the war, but Pharazon refuses, seeing opportunity to profit. kemen tries to burn the ships instead but finds Isildur who is trying to stow away since he has not been selected. The ship burns but Isildur saves Kemen and is allowed to join the fight. Galadriel opens up to Halbrand and he decides that he will live up to his name and help out in the war. Half of the men at Ostirith leave and bow down to Adar. The remaining group starts losing hope.
The Good: Durin and Elrond are my favourite part of this show. Amongst some pretty bland writing, the show has created an easy to enjoy relationship between these two characters, one that has been earned through character exploration in these first five episodes. We have a good sense of who Elrond and Durin are, and a good sense of what they like about each other. This makes their relationship by far the most effective aspect of this show. I was beginning to get concerned that this show was going to use the typical trope of miscommunication to make Durin and Elrond's relationship fall apart, but I was thrilled to find out that this wasn't the case. Elrond thankfully told the truth to his friend instead of hiding it from him, and Durin thankfully understood that Elrond had simply intended to meet him as a friend and was unaware of the larger plan at work. Having both of these characters be truthful and honest with each other makes you truly believe that these are two friends, and I'm glad that the show allowed them to act like this instead of opting for melodrama by having them keep secrets and fight with one another. This was excellent stuff, and both characters were handled brilliantly. Elrond having to deal with choosing loyalty to a friend and the fate of his race was a brutal choice, and I'm pleased with his decision to inform Durin about his dilemma. Meanwhile, Durin remains a lot of fun as he speaks bluntly to the elves and offers to help Elrond, all the while reveling in the fact that he has total power over the Elvish race. The latter was easily one of the highlights of the episode, both comedically and as a beautiful moment of connection between Elrond and Durin. The Numenor story has its moments. Halbrand and Galadriel being honest with each other was a needed moment to make the connection between these two characters feel more realistic. We needed to have them open up to each other, and it does help inform us more about each character's individual struggles. Galadriel struggles with how her desire for vengeance has taken over her entire being, while Halbrand struggles with making peace with his own mistakes. It's nice to see them both help each other in this moment. Pharazon gets a very good scene too when we understand that the only reason he is cooperating is because he sees an opportunity for Numenor to profit by making an alliance with the Southlands. This is the exact sort of selfish motive that a man in Pharazon's position would abide by, and I'm pleased that he isn't just a wet blanket and instead has an underlying goal that he is trying to achieve. The ending of the episode is nice because it shows the plot finally moving as Numenor has officially left to join the war in the Southlands. Hopefully this takes the show in an engaging direction. The singing montage while the Harfoots migrated was a fun moment, evocative of an animated Disney film. It is a bit out of character to be sure, but it's a fun injection of energy and creative film-making into the otherwise bland Harfoot storyline. I smiled while I watched it. The Bad: As I just said, the Harfoot storyline is not doing anything for me. It has less plot progression than all of the other storylines, and has very little relevance over all. The Stranger was interesting when he first appeared, but as episodes have gone by and other storylines have emerged, I find myself caring less and less about him. His relationship with Nori is quite perplexing to me. I'm confused by the fact that he seems to be learning to speak from her, which is all the more unbelievable because she is not speaking to him in a way that would help him grasp a language. I'm confused why Nori trusted him so much this entire time, especially after he killed those fireflies. Surely she should be at least a little scared. This makes her final scene of the episode all the more infuriating when The Stranger accidentally hurts and scares her, and she runs away from him. Either have her be totally accepting that he accidentally hurts others, or have her be afraid of him for it, you can't have it both ways. The story does not make much sense with the way it has been written. The Ostirith storyline is building up to a battle and I really could not care less about it. These characters are beyond bland, and I'm not invested in the upcoming conflict at all. Bronwyn in particular has become an irritating character who embodies the predictable strong woman stereotype that is all over Hollywood TV shows these days. I find it hard to believe that she managed to make herself the leader when multiple villages gathered in Ostirith, and I find it even harder to believe that people would listen to her. This is still a medieval world where women are looked at as inferior to men, so why does this not play a factor in the story here? This inclusion of modern rules in historical times is immersion-breaking and stupid. Furthermore, I despise how this show is portraying crowds. An important character can say a single sentence and sway the opinion of an entire crowd, which is ridiculous and unrealistic. Crowds develop mob mentality, and one line from a leader is never going to be enough to completely sway the opinion of a mob. Yet that is what "The Rings of Power" depicts every time characters interact with a crowd. I've seen a lot of Isildur's story now, and I can safely say that it is completely stupid. The problems start with last episode where Isildur was inexplicably dismissed from the Sea Guard because he made a mistake. The claim that it was intentional was laughable, and throwing out his friends alongside him was equally absurd. The rules of this society seem like they are built to allow for plot conveniences. Anyways, Isildur ends up regretting his dismissal because now he needs to have a strong position to be selected to go to war. So Isildur spends the rest of the episode trying to manipulate his friends into giving him a position, which is disingenuous and selfish. Am I supposed to connect with this character? The height of stupidity happens afterwards when Kemen burns down one of the ships and the guards find Isildur with him in the water. Instead of suspecting both of them for burning down the ship like any sane person would, they take his story at face value and allow him to join the soldiers because of his heroism. What???? What an unsatisfying ending to this character arc because Isildur has quite literally done nothing to earn his place, and this feels completely undeserved. Galadriel training the soldiers ended up being a poor scene. Not because it's badly written or unrealistic that she would train the soldiers. But because the elf-hating Numenor is now suddenly gathering around to enjoy the spectacle of an elf inaction. Are these guys with or against the elves? Let's have some consistency please. Furthermore, Galadriel showing off how awesome she is feels like blatant fanservice and is ultimately unnecessary. Perhaps I missed something, but how did Halbrand get a guild's crest? He says that he sold out Galadriel for a crest, but I have no clue when this happened. Perhaps this is my fault, but I don't think the show ever showed this happen on screen. There's no way that Halbrand should be able to get out of imprisonment for murder (or at least attempted murder) just through a simple trade. This has been in previous episodes too, but since the show only directly mentioned it now, I've saved my criticism until this episode. But the show has completely changed Tolkien's world by making it that orcs are hurt by the sunlight. This is an absurd change. Orcs are not vampires, they don't burn in the sunlight. They simply do not like it, and so they avoid it. The idea that they get burned by the sun is laughable, and begs the question of why they don't just use umbrellas and armour to travel in daylight. The Unknown: Who are the guys that found the crater left by The Stranger? Is this Sauron and his men? What is the decay on the Elvish tree? What is causing it? Why would the Silmarils fix it? What exactly was in Halbrand's dark past? Did he ally with the orcs in the past? Is he still allied with them? What is Theo's sword supposed to unlock? Apparently it is a key. To what? Can this power be used by people other than orcs? Did Waldreg kill to join up with Adar? It seems like he did. Is Adar not acting under Sauron's will? He took a lot of offense to Waldreg calling him Sauron. Gil-Galad has seen Elrond make peace with Durin. Will he take issue with this? What is he going to do? Will Durin be able to convince his father to help the elves? Best Moment: Durin and Elrond steal the show again. I'll give this to the scene where Durin decides he will help Elrond save the elves. A sweet moment between two friends, and you get the sense that things are about to go horribly wrong. Character of the Episode: Durin. Conclusion: This episode moved the show in the right direction, yet it still fell for the same trappings that hurt the first four episodes. The writing just is not up to the standard that it needs to be. Another disappointing effort. Score: 54 Summary: In the past, Maarva finds Cassian raging in the ship. She takes him with her. In the present, Luthen arrives in Ferrix and goes to an abandoned warehouse where Cassian is camped out. The Empire's forces arrive in Ferrix and investigate Maarva's place. They get scorned by the community. Cassian contacts Maarva and Mosk tracks him. Cassian tries to sell the box to Luthen, but Luthen wants more from Cassian: he wants him to join his group to fight the Empire. They are interrupted when Mosk's men surround the warehouse. The two manage to kill the forces and escape. Bix realizes Timm sold out Cassian and goes to find him. She gets caught by some officers. Timm tries to save her but is shot and killed. Cassian and Luthen escape the city, killing many officers on the way. Karn is shocked by all of the loss. Luthen and Cassian leave Ferrix on a ship.
The Good: This was a much more eventful episode than the first two, and that corrected many of my criticisms. There was momentum throughout this episode as the Empire closed in on Cassian right when he was meeting with Bix's contact Luthen, and there was some suspense created through the editing. This was much more engaging than watching several random conversations on Ferrix, which is what we got in previous episodes. The episode built up nicely to a meeting between Luthen and Cassian. That scene delivered on what it needed to: an interesting, well-acted scene that serves as a hook for this show. Luthen is smart, he's resourceful, and he's a veteran. And you can tell that he's taken an interest in Cassian, who at this point is only looking to make this deal. But Luthen wants more, and it appears that he's working on founding the rebels to fight back against the Empire. Cassian of course doesn't know this, so it's engaging to see how he responds to Luthen when he starts giving an offer. Of course the negotiations are short lived and this quickly becomes an action sequence. But I am not complaining about that because this action sequence was terrific. The community of Ferrix and its disdain for the Empire created a surprisingly tense environment for the imperial officers, especially with the constant banging which suggested that there was about to be some sort of uprising on this planet, ratcheting up the suspense. While that didn't quite happen, the episode still ended with an excellent climax as Cassian and Luthen escapes in dramatic fashion, killing several officers on their way out. What I really liked about this is that these nameless officers dying in battle was treated as a big deal. "Star Wars" has so often glossed over the lives lost in war, and I was pleased to see that they did not do that here. Mosk and Karn came here to do justice, and they look devastated to have failed and lost lives in their attempts to save Cassian. Mosk in particular is fantastic as he is evidently pained any time his men are killed. I like that these antagonists are being humanized by showing us that they care about their men and do not wish to see them killed in the line of duty. This is much more interesting moral territory than the stereotypical antagonist who cares so little about his men (Darth Vader, Kylo Ren, Moff Gideon, etc.). It's nice to see "Star Wars" breaking out of its shell to find new thematic points to explore. The flashbacks worked much better in this episode. I think it would have been better to get the flashback story in just a single episode since breaking it up only made the story more tedious and less interesting. This episode sees Maarva take Cassian to save him, and there was an excellent parallel at the end of the episode where Maarva taking young Cassian out of Kenari was juxtaposed with Luthen taking adult Cassian out of Ferrix. Maarva's action completely changed the course of Cassian's life, changing him from a tribe member to a crook. Now it looks like Luthen is going to do the same, changing Cassian from a crook to a rebel. The Bad: Cassian is struggling a little bit as a main character. He was interesting in the previous episode since there was not much else going on, and that made Cassian look good by comparison. But in this episode he struggles. Cassian doesn't have quite enough charm and charisma to work as a loveable rogue, and it's hard to see what this character can do that will be interesting enough to build this show around him. Han Solo has already done the story of a rogue transformed into a rebel, and I'm not particularly interested to see this story play out again. The Unknown: How did Cassian get the Starpath? Was it really as easy as he said? Or was that story a lie? Will Cassian choose to join the rebellion now that he has escaped with Luthen without any recourse? Will he ever return to Ferrix? What happened to Cassian after Maarva took him as a child? How did he learn to communicate? What will Karn and Mosk do after their failure? Best Moment: The final montage of everyone left in the devastation of the battle was surprisingly effective. These moments are so good because they show us the characters reacting to the horrors they just witnessed, making the events mean so much more because we see how they affect the characters. Bix having to watch Timm die became horrifying because the episode showed that she had to remain handcuffed looking at his dead body with nobody around. Karn's rage at the end of the episode is made more palpable because we see how the deaths of all of his men are affecting him. These moments are only made effective because the episode took the time to show us how these big plot events affected the characters. Character of the Episode: Luthen. Conclusion: This was a much stronger episode. There was some quality suspense and action, plus the story finally got moving in an interesting way. A solid effort from "Andor". Score: 65 Summary: Flashbacks show the Kenari people investigate the spacecraft and one of them is killed. In the present, Timm reports Cassian to the investigators. Cassian makes moves to escape the planet, trying to calm his mother Maarva in the process. Karn brings in Mosk, another ambitious officer, to help with the investigation. They prepare to send men to Ferrix to find Cassian. A new character arrives on Ferrix.
The Good: I continue to enjoy the investigation. Karn's new ally Mosk is fairly fun, and it's amusing to see the confident Mosk clash with the socially awkward Karn. Karn's "inspiring" speech was quite funny. Cassian continues to be a fairly entertaining main character. He's an opportunist like Han Solo, so he is relatively fun to watch. The Bad: If the first episode was slow, then this episode was painfully slow. Precious little in this episode felt like it mattered. This was just a case of pieces being moved an inch, and that was the episode. It was wholly unsatisfying, painfully slow, and it feels like we have got nowhere. This felt more like an extension of episode 1 than a complete episode in its own right. If plot isn't moving much, we should at least be getting quality characterization and development. Somehow we are getting neither. I was extremely disappointed by this and I expected more to happen in this episode. Stellan Skarsgard is introduced in this episode and I have no clue who he is supposed to be in the context of the plot. This show has not done a good job of introducing characters. Bix and Timm are a total snooze. These characters do nothing for me and I'm not interested in them at all. Their presence in this episode is a transparent attempt to surprise the audience by suggesting sex, something that hasn't happened in "Star Wars" before. Showing us two characters making love is not good television, and it is pointless to have these characters get together just to say that this show is more mature and realistic. The Unknown: What is Cassian's plan? Will he be able to lay low and survive this manhunt? Who is Stellan Skarsgard's character? Is this Bix's contact? What happened to the men in the flashback? What killed them? A gas attack? Best Moment: Karn's hilarious speech. Character of the Episode: Karn. Conclusion: This was a remarkably flat episode where nothing of note happened. I don't even have much to write about. Score: 45 Summary: Flashbacks show Cassian living on Kenari until a spacecraft lands on the planet. He goes to investigate with a group. In the present, Cassian is looking for his sister at a brothel and is accosted by two officers. He accidentally kills one, and then kills the other before running. Cassian returns to Ferrix, his home planet, and makes an alibi for himself. He meets with Bix and begs her to contact someone who he can sell a valuable item to. Inspector Hyne wants to leave the case of the two dead officers be, but his deputy, Karn, is relentless and continues to hunt down the killer.
The Good: This show immediately sets its tone as a gritty, dark show that is set in the "Star Wars" universe and I'm all for it. With no fanservice, quips, or meaningless moments of humour, this episode feels like it is separate from much of what I hate about the new Disney+ TV shows. This is a fresh story that takes place in this universe, and I hope that it stays this way. The opening scene is very effective. The confrontation between Cassian and the guards is quite fun, and it took an unexpectedly dark turn as Cassian kills them both and spends the rest of the episode on the run. This is an engaging plot and I hope that it gets more and more interesting as the show goes on. The scenes surrounding the investigation into the murder were quite good. I am enjoying the intensity within Deputy Karn, who looks to be unflinching in his quest for justice. This is in stark contrast to Chief Hyne, who is looking to sweep this case under the rug when looking at the bigger picture. The guards were assholes who deserved it, and he gets to submit a better report if their deaths were a tragic accident instead of murder. But Karn is too righteous and he goes out of his way to continue the investigation. I like how this character has been written so far. The Bad: This episode is extremely slow. Despite running almost 40 minutes, the pacing really drags at times and I found myself itching for certain scenes to end so that I can see what this show is really about. Most conversations went for too long, the flashback scenes were uninteresting, and there was no real sense of narrative urgency despite this first episode being about a man trying to get away before he is caught by law enforcement. The pacing was wrong, and it disrupted my enjoyment of this episode. I was displeased with much of the dialogue in this first episode. We meet a lot of characters, but the dialogue between them and Cassian does a poor job of letting us know who these new people are, what Cassian's relationship with them is, and why they are important. This makes it needlessly tough to follow this first episode. Furthermore, there is an overload of "Star Wars" terminology in all of the conversations between characters, and that makes it hard to understand what is happening in the plot. Cassian visits a number of people in this episode, but I found it hard to follow what his motives were when meeting with these people. Eventually I figured it out after rewatching some scenes, but it was an impossible task for me to understand the plot in real-time. These scenes could have been written much better. The Unknown: Who has Cassian's sister become? Why is he looking for her? Was that flashback scene the last time they saw each other? What was that ship that landed on Kenari? Who are all of these side characters to Cassian? What is his relationship with them? The episode left me confused with who a lot of these people were supposed to be. Why is Karn so desperate for justice? Is there a greater motive that is driving this character? Will Cassian be sold out? If he is, who is going to sell him out? Best Moment: The look on Cassian's face when he realizes that he's killed the guard and has to kill another guard to get away with it. Diego Luna is superb here, and this scene is an excellent catalyst for the main plot. Character of the Episode: Cassian. Conclusion: This was an alright first episode, hurt by slow pacing and confusing storytelling. Score: 57 Summary: Daemon returns to the Vale and kills Rhea, framing it as an accident. Otto leaves King's Landing and tells Alicent that she has to stop Rhaenyra from going on the throne to protect her children. Viserys goes to High Tide where he proposes a wedding between Rhaenyra and Laenor to Corlys and Rhaenys, who accept. Rhaenyra meets with Laenor and they agree to do their duty but continue their own side relationships. Laenor is gay and involved with Joffrey, a knight. Criston proposes that Rhaenyra run away with him but she refuses, wanting things to continue as normal. Alicent learns from Larys that Rhaenyra had moon tea and she asks a conflicted Criston about it. Criston admits to having sex with Rhaenyra, surprising Alicent. The Velaryons arrive in King's Landing for the seven day wedding. Daemon is there too. Alicent arrives late dressed in green. Joffrey uncovers that Criston is Rhaenyra's lover and tries to make a peaceful arrangement with him. Criston snaps and murders Joffrey, causing chaos. The wedding is done on the spot that day. Viserys collapses afterwards.
The Good: This was a thoroughly entertaining hour of television with a focused narrative. This entire episode centered around the marriage between Rhaenyra and Laenor, and the episode's story hinged around this development. The first half featured a lot of fun politicking as Viserys goes to visit Corlys to propose this marriage, and the episode heavily teases that Corlys might refuse. Corlys is really great in this section of the episode, as he plays up his wounded pride, taking pleasure in the fact that Viserys has no choice but to all-but beg Corlys to accept this proposal. Viserys is understanding of the games he has to play, and it's fun to see how he handles the prideful Corlys, who falls just barely short of arrogance in his interactions. On the other hand, we have Rhaenyra and Laenor who are amicable in their interactions, and surprisingly they understand each other really well. Both are already engaged in other romances, and so they make a sensible agreement to wed each other and paint an image for the world, but continue their romance on the side. I like seeing these detail-oriented conversations in this show, as they enrich character dynamics and make the story feel more realistic. All of these negotiations culminate in the episode's climax as the realm comes together to celebrate a seven day long royal wedding. Now seeing that this is a "Game of Thrones" TV show, a wedding is not nearly as fun and exciting as one might expect. Instead, the climax of this episode is packed with dread and suspense. We know that weddings can be the kiss of death in this show, and the stakes have been raised because every character is present at this wedding. All of the major players have gathered to celebrate this union, and you get the sense that something is going to go wrong. The scenes are dripping with tension, with every conversation capturing your imagination, making you wonder what is going to go wrong. Will Daemon do something reckless? Will he hook up with Rhaenyra in the middle of this wedding? Will Joffrey's conversation with Criston go wrong? Will Alicent make a unexpected, bold move? This sequence captures our imagination through these possibilities, and the direction brilliantly escalates the tension with how the episode is shot, with the relentless background noise only adding to the anxiety. Then, when all hell finally breaks loose, it is earned and it is terrifying as we try to figure out what has caused the panic, culminating in a horrific scene as Criston bludgeons Laenor's lover to death at his own wedding. Criston is a key character in this episode, and thankfully he is written quite well. He is the perfect definition of a gray character. Here is someone who you can easily sympathize with, and yet also condemn for the awful things that he has done. It's easy to relate with this poor guy as he gives in to temptation to have sex with Rhaenyra, and he is guilt-ridden as a response, having stained the honour of his white cloak, the one thing that he has accomplished in his life. His guilt and pain is understandable, and it's quite sad to see him so willingly accept death as a consequence for what he has done. I feel sad for him that his attempt to find success in King's Landing has gone so badly. And yet, I also despise Criston for the things he has done. He gave into temptation with Rhaenyra, but he could always have said no to her, avoiding this problem entirely. I sympathize with him, but his problem is one of his own making. And there is no excusing the fact that he murdered poor Joffrey for absolutely no reason, just to let out some emotion. That was an awful thing to do, and no amount of heartbreak that he may have experienced makes it acceptable. Alicent is another key character, and she is given some fantastic stuff in this episode. Her conversation with Otto was a tremendous way to start the episode. I've been hard on Otto as I've found him to be an insufferable manipulator who is working solely for his own gain. And yet I totally understood where he was coming from when he tried to make it clear to Alicent why he was so persistent about Rhaenyra not being the heir. He genuinely believes that he is doing it for the good of the realm, and has to give Alicent a reality check, letting her know that if she doesn't move against Rhaenyra, it will mean the death of her children. The acting from both Rhys Ifans and Emily Carey in this scene is terrific, and elevates it to the next level. Alicent takes this revelation deeply and we see how it affects her in the rest of the episode. Following the realization from Larys that Rhaenyra had lied to her and betrayed her trust, Alicen takes matters into her own hands. She gets the unexpected truth out of Criston in another excellent scene, and when she reappears after that, she is dressed in green for the first time in the series, declaring that the character has transformed and is no out for self-preservation. Now that she's all alone in King's Landing, it's time that Alicent starts looking out for herself. This character transformation was beautifully realized, and the full emotional impact of Alicent's choices landed. The other characters all remain interesting in this episode. Before arriving at the wedding, Daemon has a fantastic opening scene when he murders his wife. Daemon is so fascinating to watch because of his unpredictability. We don't know if this murder was pre-planned or if it was opportunistic, so it is engaging to see what Daemon does to poor Rhea when they finally meet again. Rhea's role in the show was brief, but meeting her does give us more depth on her relationship with Daemon. She's actually quite good looking, suggesting to us that the only issue Daemon had with her as his wife may have just been because she was not powerful enough to satiate Daemon's ambition. Rhea did not seem like such a bad person, and it looks like it was Daemon who was the problem in this relationship. Joffrey's stay in the show was also short-lived, but he was given a decent amount of character and personality. His attempted deal with Criston is a reasonable move, and he would have had no way of knowing that Criston would have snapped because of this. Larys is an intriguing character. His motives remain mysterious (see: The Unknown), but I enjoyed his monologue to Alicent. The character is the closest this show has to the manipulations of Varys and Littlefinger, and I'm excited to see more of him. Lyonel continues to be great as he offers Viserys an unbiased opinion. I wonder if Lyonel's loyalty will last, or if the power will inevitably corrupt him as well. The Bad: Criston's arc is very well written and well acted, but it feels rushed. There is so much to what this character goes through, but it is lacking in emotional significance because it all happens so quickly. We hardly get to know who Criston is in previous episodes, so we don't fully understand how traumatized he will be about the stain on his honour until his outburst in this episode. If we had a better understanding of who Criston was going into this episode, then this would not be an issue. The show needed to spend more time building up this character before having his entire world fall apart in the way that it did so that it would have an emotional impact. A result of the show skipping over introducing us to Criston is that this entire arc feels rushed. It is still well-written, but it is done too quickly, and that has sapped away the emotional impact of his despair. Criston murdering Joffrey openly in the middle of a wedding is very problematic. I'm not saying that Criston can't get away with this; he definitely can. He is a Kingsguard, which gives him a lot of authority, and I'm certain that if Alicent chooses to help him, she can use her power to come up with a reasonable excuse (Joffrey attacked him maybe) to protect Criston. This is not the issue I have with this scene. The issue is that this moment feels frustrating because it is the third scene in this show in just five episodes where we have seen murder occur in a public location with seemingly no consequences. If this was one incident in isolation, that's forgivable, but with this being the third incident, it continues to make Westeros feel like a place where murder has no consequences, which is completely untrue. This world has a legal system, so murders can't just happen in public locations without consequence to the murderers! The Blackwood boy in the previous episode should have faced major consequences, and Criston should in this episode as well. Furthermore, I suspect that we will not get to see or hear about how Criston gets out of being responsible for this death. Considering that next episode has an enormous time-skip, it looks like we are glossing over this detail. So nothing can be done to prevent this incident from continuing to make it seem like murder has no consequence in this world. The exchange between Harwin and Larys about Alicent wearing green is the one example of bad dialogue in this episode. I see why it was done, but I don't think that it was necessary to explain the significance of the colour. Astute viewers and book-readers will figure it out, and those who don't will understand from the tone of the scene. The Unknown: Did Daemon return to The Vale with the intent to murder Rhea? Or did he just cash in on a golden opportunity? Is he actually going to inherit Runestone? What's his next move? Pursue Rhaenyra further? Or will his flirtation with Laena become something more? What's in Rhaenyra and Criston's future? Will they continue to see each other or has that bridge been burned? What is Alicent going to say to Criston? I don't imagine that she is going to let him die. Will she use her power as Queen to absolve Criston of the crime he committed at the wedding? Will she try to turn him against Rhaenyra? Larys is a curious character. He seemingly intentionally drove a wedge between Rhaenyra and Alicent. Why? Who is he working for? Or did he do this off of his own volition? Does he have a plan for the future? What is his end goal? Is he working for his father Lyonel? Lyonel seemed honest and reasonable, but perhaps he has machinations in play now. What will Rhaenyra and Laenor's relationship be like? Will Laenor hold a grudge against her because of Joffrey's death? Did Viserys die at the end of the episode? I don't think he did, but it's possible. He has become badly sick. Does he have an illness? Or is somebody at court worsening his condition to get him to die soon? Perhaps Mellos? Best Moment: As tense as the wedding was, my favourite scene had to be Viserys reflecting on if he has been a good king. It's so sad to see the man agonizing on how his mettle was never tested in the same way it was for his predecessors; completely oblivious to the fact that he is being tested, just in a different way. It's so easy to feel bad for Viserys, who fails to understand that he is letting his legacy slip through his failure at handling the political aspect of the realm. Character of the Episode: Alicent. Conclusion: Another very good episode that continues to explore the deeply layered characters and their relationships with one another, with a tense wedding climax elevating this further. There are some problems, particularly surrounding Criston, which prevent this from being the next-level experience that it could have been. But overall, I enjoyed this a lot and this was the most memorable hour of the show so far. Score: 69 Summary: Miriel has a dream that Numenor is destroyed. Galadriel asks Miriel to join her in war against Sauron but she refuses. Later, she changes her mind and announces to Numenor that they will be joining the fight against Sauron. Isildur is kicked off of the cadets and volunteers to fight. Arondir meets Adar who sends him back with a message. Bronwyn's village arrive at the Elven tower Ostirith. Theo goes for a food run and gets found by an orc. When he pulls out his sword, the orcs hunt him down. He is saved by Arondir and manages to get back to Ostirith. Arondir gives the message that they will all be allowed to live if they swear fealty to Adar. Elrond figures out that Durin is hiding something, and discovers him in the old mines after investigating. Durin tells him that the dwarves have discovered mithril, but that his father doesn't want to mine it. After an argument with his father, Durin is upset but Elrond comforts him. Durin reconciles with his father and tells him that he's been invited to Lindon by Elrond.
The Good: Elrond's storyline returning was a definite plus. His relationship with Durin and Disa remains engaging to watch because we get to see why they enjoy each other's company so much. It's an unlikely relationship, but we are given backstory on how they met, we understand their dynamic, and their banter is fun to see. Of all of the relationships in the show, this one is by far the best. The scenes with these characters are quite good. It's engaging to see Disa lying to Elrond, who knows that something is amiss. It's endearing to see Durin realize that Elrond does not have malicious intent and share his secret discovery with him. And it's sweet to see Elrond share a personal story to help Durin mend fences with his father. Theo's mission back to the village is decently tense. There is a thrilling sequence as he fights an orc, and a very suspenseful sequence as he escapes from the orcs at night, shot as a brilliant oner. I enjoyed the action and suspense, and we got the important reveal that Theo's sword is what the orcs have been looking for. I also quite liked the twist that Waldreg is an open Sauron supporter. It's easy to forget that these men were loyal to Morgoth, and I think it's exciting to think that not all of the men inside the walls are going to be willing to fight against the orcs. I suspect that most of these men might be willing to swear fealty to Adar, and it should be interesting to see this unfold and how the likes of Arondir and Bronwyn will react. The Bad: This show is still flat, and I'm really perturbed by the amount of TV tropes and cliches that are present in this show. Any sense of surprise is sucked away because of the use of typical TV moments that hurt my immersion. I'll give some examples to make it clearer how this is affecting my enjoyment of the show. Take Theo's escape from the orcs. As it was happening, it was a tense sequence where Theo tries to stay out of sight. But then in such a predictable manner, Theo, while still in a dangerous position, lets his guard down only for a random orc to jumpscare and attack him. You can see it coming from a mile away since Theo inexplicably does not look behind the wall he's hiding behind, and it's such a manufactured moment of drama. Even worse is that Arondir arrives as a convenient deus ex machina to save Theo and help him get away. I predicted it all moments before it happened, and it is shot in a way that it doesn't even attempt to subvert my expectations. This is not just one isolated moment. So many scenes in this show falter because they align with easily predictable tropes which lessen the quality of the show. These repeated moments frequently break my immersion when watching the show. I continue to have big problems with Numenor as a community. We finally learn that the people of Numenor are the ones who do not like the elves, and that's why the previous king was deposed. This answers questions, but it still is not written well. Why? Well we don't know why the men of Numenor turned on the elves to begin with! It's inexplicable, and especially problematic considering how quick the men are to protest the castle when they wonder if Miriel has become an elf-friend. We need to know why these men hate the elves so much. The worst part about this however, is that this angry mob is so easily influenced by people in power, which is shockingly unrealistic. One short speech from Pharazon and the protesting mob is suddenly cheering for their rulers. What??? That is unbelievable. Even worse is when Miriel declares that Numenor will fight alognside the elves against Sauron. Surely this should cause an uproar amongst all of the men who will have it confirmed that the Miriel is an elf-friend. But instead they go alogn with it for no reason and I was stunned. The inconsistent writing of this community and the way it functions has destroyed any sense of immersion in believing that Numenor is a real place. It's disappointing to see this kingdom written so poorly. It seems that Numenor is doomed to be destroyed, but I don't care currently because the kingdom has been so poorly written that I don't buy into it as a real location to care about. Galadriel remains a poor main character. She is annoying, immature, and consistently stupid in most scenes. She should be quite old and intelligent by this point, but she continually has to be told simple things by Halbrand, and it makes her come off as needlessly stupid. Galadriel is also still able to get around Numenor easily without anyone catching her, which I find to be wholly unrealistic. The show conveniently chooses not to show us how she evades the guards, which makes it all the more unrealistic. Our other main characters remain uninteresting. Halbrand doesn't do much this episode, and is inexplicably released into the public despite his crimes. Elendil and Isildur are very uninteresting in this episode, and I have a hard time connecting to them as characters. Adar ended up being a generic villain with very little that interested me about him. It seems that he's an elf, but that isn't enough of a hook to make him an exciting villain. Having him release Arondir is super convenient, and inexplicable from the villain's point of view. This is the one guy who was skilled enough to survive, and you let him go free? A shocking decision. Furthermore, sending a messenger with terms for a surrender is another one of those predictable tropes that I was talking about earlier. The meeting with Adar went exactly how I expected it would, with nothing that gripped me. It is stupid of Durin to give mithril to Elrond when he wants to keep it secret. All it takes is for one elf to find it wherever Elrond keeps it, and the secret is out. The Unknown: How did Numenor get a palantir? Is this one of the palantirs that we see in "Lord of the Rings"? Why does it have a vision of Numenor's destruction? How will Numenor fall? When will this happen? What's going on with Earien and Kemen? It's an uninterestin side story so far, but I imagine that it's going somewhere. Adar is as elf. Why is he helping the orcs? Did he get corrupted by Sauron? Why is he looking for Theo's sword? Why did Celebrimbor forget what Elrond's father said to him? Is that part of his powers of foresight? How is Elrond going to play a key role in Celebrimbor's future? Is there more to the old king than what Miriel let Galadriel know? I wouldn't be surprised if it was all a ruse by her to hide the actual truth. Why has Elrond invited Durin to Lindon? What else are the elves planning to do with the dwarves? Best Moment: The nice moment in the caves between Elrond and Durin. Character of the Episode: Elrond. Conclusion: This was another slow and unsatisfying episode. Writing problems are popping up more and more and the show is still struggling to engage me. It's not bad television yet, but the show is starting to test me. Score: 54 Summary: Rhaenyra cuts short her tour of Westeros to find a suitor, upsetting Viserys. Daemon returns to King's Landing and is forgiven by Viserys. Alicent and Rhaenyra begin to reconnect. That night, Daemon sneaks Rhaenyra out of the Red Keep and they have a good time in the streets. Daemon takes her to a pleasure house and he starts to kiss her. Rhaenyra gets into it but Daemon pulls away and leaves. Rhaenyrs goes back, upset, and has sex with Criston instead. The next morning, Otto's spies report to him that Daemon and Rhaenyra were together and he tells Viserys that they had sex. Viserys is furious at the allegations. Alicent overhears and confronts Rhaenyra who denies it. Viserys confronts Daemon and banishes him again. Viserys scolds Rhaenyra and tells her that he is forcing her to wed Laenor. Rhaenyra agrees on the condition that Otto is removed as Hand. Viserys, no longer trusting Otto's judgement, agrees and strips Otto of his position.
The Good: What I'm enjoying the most about this show is how varied all of the characters are. There are no traditional good or bad characters in this series, and viewers will be finding different characters to sympathize with. Some, like myself, will really connect with Viserys and his plight, while others will despise him for his weakness as king. Some will love Rhaenyra and find her relatable, while others will think she is bratty and too immature to be a good ruler. Some will love Daemon for being an entertaining rogue, while others will despise him for causing so many problems whenever he is around. Every single character in this series has upsides and downsides, and it is up to the viewer to decide who they want to support in the story. It's impressive that this show has managed to create interesting, compelling characters without allowing any single character to feel like the true protagonist of this story. This makes the show feel wholly unique, and it's going to be exciting when the conflict finally breaks out to see who we end up siding with. The stories in this episode are excellent and many relationships are given thorough explorations. Rhaenyra gets the most screentime here and she is excellent. Milly Alcock has been brilliant so far and I am going to miss her when she is replaced by an older actress. Rhaenyra has great scenes with every character in this episode. Her relationship with Viserys remains strained, and for every step forwards there are multiple steps back. The two of them worked out a deal in the previous episode, and yet Rhaenyra's inability to fit in with the expected role of women in the realm continues to be a thorn in Viserys' side. We don't ever see him explicitly scold Rhaenyra, but pointed remarks and looks make it crystal clear how angry Viserys is that Rhaenyra is still not finding a husband, even after he organized an entire tour for her. But Rhaenyra isn't wholly unsympathetic here. We see that she has a desperate urge for freedom and control in her life, and it frustrated when she realizes that she can't find it. That quality is relatable and it ensures that we still connect to Rhaenyra in spite of everything she does. Rhaenyra's relationship with Alicent is given more time in this episode as well. We haven't seen enough of these two since Alicent's marriage to Viserys, so I'm glad that we have a better idea of their relationship now. They are awkward around each other, but they still have a connection there, a connection that emerges again in a nice scene where Alicent opts to console Rhaenyra when everyone else ignores her. We see them finally starting to reconnect until it all goes wrong when Rhaenyra's actions go a step too far against Alicent's personal morality. Where Rhaenyra challenges the system, Alicent accepts the way things are and bears the consequences. This opposition forms a very natural conflict between them which occurs in this episode when Alicent hears the salacious rumour that Rhaenyra had sex with Daemon. Daemon is quite the loose cannon in this show. Early on it seemed that he was a misunderstood rogue, but this episode shows us that he's every bit as depraved, power-hungry and desperate for attention as he had initially seemed. After Viserys forgives Daemon following his return to King's Landing, Daemon wastes no time in trying to win over Rhaenyra to elevate his position and secure a new marriage. It's shockingly depraved for Daemon to do this, and he even throws the idea of marriage right at a fuming Viserys to make things worse. Matt Smith has done a magnificent job painting the charismatic awfulness of this character, and he is always gripping when he is on screen. From Daemon's creepy and uncomfortable seduction of Rhaenyra, to his blunt anatagonism of Viserys, the character elevates the show and is a genuine hook whenever he appears. Viserys has a good episode again, and he continues to be the most fascinating character on this show. We see him continuing to drink and run away from his problems, further proving that this man is not a good king. But at the same time, he manages to show a real fire for protecting his family. He shows genuine love in reconnecting with Daemon, making it that much more brutal when he realizes that Daemon betrayed him and was after Rhaenyra all along. Furthermore, Viserys has several fantastic scenes when he realizes how duplicitous Otto really is. Now that time has passed, Viserys has a full picture of how Otto has profited from being Hand of the King, so when Otto has a convenient gossip to discredit Rhaenyra, Viserys is wisened to his tricks. Seeing Viserys viciously tear down Otto for following Rhaenyra for his own selfish motives is superb, a great scene that lets us know how Otto has overstepped his bounds. And the scene is followed up with another cracker as Viserys gives Otto a final dressing down, telling him exactly why he can't be Hand of the King anymore before removing him from the position. Paddy Considine is amazing in both of these scenes, and it is so satisfying to see Otto's scheming finally backfire and he faces some very big consequences. Lastly, I want to talk about Criston Cole. Criston is given the unfortunate role of being Rhaenyra's second choice after Daemon spurns her. He tries to resist, but it's clear that he does have feelings for her and he eventually gives in to having sex with her. It's sad to see because this is clearly genuine for Criston, who had to break his vows to be with Rhaenyra, whereas Rhaenyra likely just sees the night with Criston as a bit of fun. Despite his poor choices, it's again easy to sympathize with Criston because his decisions are relatable. The Bad: I'm not a fan of how this episode handled Corlys. Corlys hasn't done much since allying with Daemon, and it feels like the character has been underserved significantly. This episode delegates him to being discussed at small council meetings, with his actions and decisions being treated as exposition. I'm not a fan of this, considering how important the character has been up until now. Surely we deserve to spend more time with the Velaryons than this. Some relationships in this show aren't quite as well fleshed out as they should be. For example, Rhaenyra and Criston's relationship could have used a lot more depth to build up to the moment of them having sex. It would have been nice to see what exactly Criston sees in her, and how Rhaenyra feels about him. We don't have much to go off of, and while it is fun to speculate, I feel that this relationship needed more clarity for their hook-up to be more impactful. The same goes with Rhaenyra and Daemon's relationship. Outside of the obvious chemistry between them, we don't know much about their relationship. I also wish that we spent more time with Alicent and Viserys. Alicent has a good scene where we see her dutifully having uncomfortable sex with Viserys, but I find myself craving for more insight on this relationship. It would be great to understand more about how Alicent feels about her current situation and if she regrets listening to Otto when he told her to visit Viserys the night his wife died. The show has got the broad strokes right, but some of these little relationship details haven't been nailed down just yet. While I was happy to see the famous Blackwood/Bracken rivalry on screen, it is absolutely ridiculous that a brutal fight and killing would ever happen in a major castle like Storm's End like this. Furthermore, it seems that there were no consequences for Willem murdering Jerrel and that's pretty shocking. Westeros can't possibly be this lawless, or we would be seeing much more murder than what we currently are. I feel similarly about this violence as I do to the deaths in the tourney from the first episode. The Unknown: Why did Daemon try to have sex with Rhaenyra? Was it to get back at Viserys, to attract more attention to himself, or because he genuinely does want to marry her? I'm can believe all of these reasons. Why did he leave her? Is it because he realized that what he was doing is wrong? Or could it have something to do with arousal issues, calling back to the first episode? How will Otto's demotion affect him? Will he return to King's Landing again? Who is going to replace it? Will it be Lyonel Strong? Will Rhaenyra drink the moon tea? Will this accelerate rumours that she slept with Daemon? Is the tea only for Viserys to uncover if she actually did it or not? Will there be consequences if she drinks the tea? Is Mysaria the White Worm? Was she working for Otto all along? Or did she recently ally with him once Daemon left her to fight in the Stepstones? Did Viserys imply that he suspects that Otto or is family played a role in Baelon's death? Is that true? Has Otto always been motivated by selfish interests? Or did he become corrupt over time? Best Moment: There were lots of excellent moments in this episode. I'll go with the immensely satisfying moment of Viserys stripping Otto of his position. It was great to see Otto finally get what he deserves, and yet Viserys still makes sure to honour the many great things that Otto accomplished as Hand of the King. A well-written, well-acted scene that perfectly encapsulates the greyness within the characters. Character of the Episode: Rhaenyra. Conclusion: A very good character-centric episode that deepened the characters and story through some well-written drama that makes excellent use of the established characters and their relationships with each other. The strongest episode so far. Score: 67 Summary: Arondir is captured by orcs and made to dig in the Southlands. He and some others try to escape but fail. Arondir is the only one to survive and he is confronted by an orc chief, Adar. Galadriel and Halbrand arrive in Numenor where they are permitted to stay. The captain who saved them, Elendil, is tasked with watching Galadriel. He takes her to the Hall of Lore where Galadriel realizes that the symbol she has seen is not a sigil - it's a plan to transform the Southlands into an evil realm. Halbrand gets himself arrested trying to create a new life for himself. Galadriel meets him and uncovers that he is the heir to the Southlands running away from his life. Nori finds the constellation for The Stranger in Sadoc's books, but The Stranger accidentally reveals himself to everyone that night. Nori's family is banished to the back of the caravan and seem to be doomed to be left behind. But The Stranger arrives and helps them migrate.
The Good: The introduction of Numenor is lovely. As a casual fan of Tolkien, I am excited to see that Numenor will be a major location in this show, and without spoiling anything, I am interested to see how this TV show depicts the events that occur in Numenor around this time period. The location was a beautifully realized paradise and it was fittingly grandiose and impressive, as befits a kingdom created by the gods for the men who fought on the right side. Galadriel and Halbrand were enjoyable in the first half of the episode. Galadriel was brash, reckless, and prideful, unwilling to work with the Numenoreans and simply wishing to leave. Meanwhile, Halbrand was cunning and clever, attempting to soothe things over with the Numenoreans in order to hopefully carve out a new life for himself. I enjoyed this dynamic, though it does not remain consistent throughout the episode (see: The Bad). The Numenor story also had a few big reveals which I liked. Introducing Elendil and Isildur was a surprise, and I hope that this show has a compelling story to tell with these characters which can better inform who they were when they were mentioned in the history of "The Lord of the Rings". I'm happy that we finally got some plot movement through the reveal of Sauron's sigil being a symbol of his plan to transform the Southlands into Mordor in the event of Morgoth's defeat. This scene was exciting and was a rare moment in this series where the show stepped on the gas to move things along. Finally this show has given me a hook, which I have been begging for in the last two episodes. Lastly, I like the reveal of Halbrand's identity. You always got the sense that he was somebody important, and the reveal that he is the lost king of the Southlands is pretty good. We know that he is doomed to lose his seat, but it should be interesting to see where his story goes. The Bad: I have my problems with Numenor, and with the entire story as a whole. One big factor that has been missing in this series is the sense of wonder within Middle-Earth. In the Peter Jackson trilogies, the settings and locations would take your breath away, and this was amplified when the characters themselves would react in awe to what they were seeing. Some examples include that spectacular reveal of Dwarrowdelf in "The Fellowship of the Ring", and Aragorn appreciating the beauty of the Argonath in the same movie. In this episode, Galadriel and Halbrand arrive in Numenor, perhaps the most beautiful paradise in all of Middle-Earth and... nothing. We get hardly a reaction out of them, and that severely undersells how much of a worldly beauty Numenor is. This show already operates at a slow pace, so it is unacceptable that we do not get to see the characters appreciating the beauty of their own world. If the characters do not think that this place is a magnificent, unique beauty, then why should we? Galadriel had more of a reaction to riding a horse than walking the glorious paths of Numenor, which is laughable. Another problem comes from this show's attempts to shove in more diverse actors wherever possible. The show has received a lot of backlash on this, and I do not think that it is entirely undeserved. Now to be clear, I'm not at all bothered by having greater diversity in the show; in fact I always appreciate efforts to have a more diverse cast. It only becomes a problem when the diversity breaks my immersion when I'm watching the TV show. A prime example is Arondir being a coloured elf with a contemporary haircut being completely against what elves should look like in this story, and against what they have looked like in the Peter Jackson films. Likewise, I was bothered by the fact that Numenor is portrayed to be multicultural with a person of colour as their ruler. This goes against the grain of what anyone would have expected Numenor to be like, and yet the show treats it as if it is completely normal. Multiculturalism only recently emerged in our world, so how can this show expect us to believe that this medieval fantasy world has a multicultural realm without any explanation? What bugs me is that an easy explanation could have been made where Numenor was a kingdom of combined races who all fought against Morgoth, meaning that the kingdom is the only multicultural area in Middle-Earth with people from all parts of the world meeting here. But if that's the case, surely the characters would be fascinated (or in Halbrand's case, confused) at the fact that different cultures are living together in this kingdom. But nobody brings up that this is the case and the show treats it as normal. That's a good message about all races being equal and all that, but it's completely unrealistic within the established world and it breaks my immersion to see that nobody is addressing the fact that this community contains different kinds of people. This is my problem with diversifying the cast. It's obviously better to have a more diverse cast, but that diversity needs to be explained in-universe for it to be accepted. Had this show taken the effort to do that, I'm sure that there would have been less backlash. I do think that fans have been overreacting with the review-bombing; the show is not unwatchable because of its diversification. But I do have sympathy because of the lack of an in-universe explanation for why people of colour are popping up in places where they should not exist in this world. Anyways, I will not harp on this for too long, and I doubt I'll repeat this sentiment in future reviews, but I stand by the fact that the diversification of the show should have been handled much better. As for the actual story, this is still very flawed. The Numenor story started off as promising and it quickly fell off into absurdity once the characters started to split off. First we have Galadriel. The ruler of the kingdom informed her that she is not to leave the palace, and yet somehow she is able to go around the whole island freely without any issues. No guards notice her absence, it seems that nobody is even watching her, and to make things even worse, Elendil inexplicably manages to take her outside of the city on horseback without a single soul wondering where they went. How incompetent are these people? It's so unrealistic that any of this could happen in a functional kingdom, and I'm baffled that Elendil did not face serious consequences for doing this. The Queen was suspicious that he was still an elf-friend, so surely a trip to the Hall of Lore would be really bad for Elendil. Halbrand is even worse. The episode's beginning painted him as clever, cunning, and opportunistic. He follows this up by making some of the most bone-headed decisions imaginable. First, he steals a weapon from Elendil to give to Galadriel. Why? I have no idea at all, this seems like a needless risk for him to take. Even more stupid is the fact that Elendil does not even notice that this happened, and neither does anyone else even though Halbrand does this in full view of literally everybody. What's Halbrand's follow-up? He wants to forge a new life in Numenor by becoming a smith, but he learns that he needs to get a Guild Crest to forge steel. His solution? Steal it from someone and hope that nobody notices. Seriously, what the hell!? Even if nobody notices what he did, in what world would the smith accept him back, knowing full well that this guy stole the Guild Crest since there's no way that he earned one in a day. Then Halbrand gets in a fight, and things get even more absurd. It seems that the victim he stole from was going to let him off with just a punch, but then Halbrand goes crazy, breaks arms, and attempts to murder these people. Again, what the hell man!? This is completely against what the character initially seemed like, and I went from liking him to hating him because he's a reckless, prideful idiot that managed to go from being a guest of honour to being an imprisoned murderer in 20 minutes. Am I supposed to like this character? He would be a horrible king, no wonder he left. Furthermore, the man running away from his position as king because he's scared of the weakness within his blood is a literal copy/paste of Aragorn's story. Let's see something more original please. I've hardly mentioned Arondir and Nori's stories much and I don't intend to talk much about them because they are dull. Arondir working for the orcs is pretty uninteresting, and there are a lot of bland scenes where the episode squeezes in some gory action, which has never been a necessary aspect of "The Lord of the Rings", but we get it here anyways. I dislike how this story portrays the elves. Arondir looks to be the only capable elf, and all of the others are just men with pointy ears instead of the legendary warriors that elves should be. Isn't it great when the main character is inexplicably way better than everyone else? All of the elves dying was portrayed and shot as a devastating moment for Arondir, but I did not care at all. Nori's story is starting to frustrate me. It's so disconnected from everything else, and it kills the pacing of the episode whenever we cut to her. The Harfoots have quickly gone from a fun nod to hobbits to irritating. Hobbits were a well-rounded culture where they had no taste for adventure because they had so much fun with their farming, eating, drinking, smoking, and partying. Even though they were gossips that frowned upon those who did not fit in with everyone else, there was enough upside to make them loveable. The Harfoots ham up all of the bad aspects of hobbits with none of the good. I find myself massively irritated by them and their culture, which is clearly being hammed up so that Nori can get more "empowering" moments where she stands up to the society. The Harfoot society doesn't feel realistic, and I struggle to connect with the story being told because of this. I was also perplexed that nobody was doing anything about The Stranger. Where was he staying? How did Nori ensure that he did not leave? What were the Harfoots planning to do with him when he revealed himself? We have no answers to these questions. The Unknown: Who is Adar? What are the orcs digging for? Are they creating a safe world for themselves, or are they actually looking for something of significance? Could it be connected with what the dwarves have found? Could it be Theo's sword? Why did the Numenoreans break the alliance with the elves? Who is the old king that has been imprisoned? Is it the current queen's father? What is their relationship like? How does rulership of this kingdom work? Including Elendil and Isildur in this story is a curious choice, especially considering how this breaks the timeline. Surely there is a reason that these specific characters were brought in. What story will be told with these characters? Is the South Lands going to become Mordor? How will the orcs manage to turn these lands into a barren wasteland? Will the Harfoots allows The Stranger to stay with them? What will they do with him after they migrate? Best Moment: Galadriel finally uncovering Sauron's plan. It felt like the story finally got underway with this moment. Character of the Episode: Halbrand. Conclusion: This was more of the same: slow-paced storytelling with many problems, but a few redeeming qualities that make me hope that this show can maybe become stronger as it goes on. There could be a promising future, but so far, this has been underwhelming and unsatisfying. Score: 53 Summary: Galadriel swims and is met by some shipwrecked men who have been terrorized by a giant worm. The worm attacks and only one survives, Halbrand. Galadriel joins him on his raft. They are found by a ship. Celebrimbor introduces his project to Elrond. Elrond suggests involving the dwarves and goes to meet them. His old friend Durin is upset with him for being absent so long, but he eventually comes around when Elrond apologizes. Elrond gives a proposition to Durin which he passes to his father, King Durin. Nori wakes up The Stranger and struggles to communicate with him. The Stranger uses magic and Nori realizes that he wants help finding a constellation. Nori's father breaks his ankle and is a concern for the Harfoot migration. Arondir and Bronwyn find a tunnel under Hordern. Arondir follows it and ends up being captured by an unknown creature. Bronwyn returns home but nobody believes the threat. After killing an orc that attacks her and Theo, the village agrees to evacuate.
The Good: There is a lot of fun to be had in this episode despite its issues. Nori and Poppy debating about what to do with The Stranger is quite fun. Both of them have wildly different opinions with Nori the adventurer being curious about who he is and wanting to help him. Meanwhile Poppy is a more traditional member of the Harfoot society and is constantly echoing that this is a bad idea. However she doesn't seem to be afraid of anything bad happening, rather she is afraid of being blamed for anything bad that happens. It's a great dynamic that shows the way that the Harfoot society forces its members to limit their adventurous instinct for fear of ostracism. The Stranger is quite mysterious, and while I'm quite sure that I know who he is (see: The Unknown), it is interesting to see what he does and how he interacts with the world around him. Elrond and the dwarves was a very fun storyline. Last episode told us that Elrond had become more political but we didn't quite get a good idea of how it has affected how he acts. This episode does a much better job through the introduction of the dwarves. Elrond's motives going into this meeting are clear: get the dwarves to accept his proposal no matter the cost. And under the guise of an apologetic friend who feels bad for missing much of Durin's life, Elrond is able to figure out why Durin is so hostile, address the problem, and give his offer so that he can leave successfully. It's very engaging to watch Elrond at work in these scenes. Furthermore, it's interesting to see the mines of Khazad Dum in their glory days, well before they become the abandoned mines that we see in "The Fellowship of the Ring". The dwarven community is beautifully realized and I enjoyed seeing the many aspects of it. I also liked seeing the relationship that Elrond had developed with Durin and Disa as they do appear to have a genuine friendship that has built over the years. Arondir and Bronwyn's story was problematic (see: The Bad), but there was one very good sequence where Bronwyn and Theo battled an orc. Orcs were treated as more comedic in the Peter Jackson trilogies, but the orc here was treated as a genuinely terrifying threat, an excellent way to establish how significant of an evil they are. The fight scene was tense, well choreographed, and well directed. I really enjoyed it. The Bad: The same issue of engagement is still present in this episode. With so many disconnected plot lines that move at a glacial pace, it's difficult to fully engage in this show. It feels like little of interest has happened, and it's difficult to remain invested throughout the entire episode. The length of the episode also works against it. 67 minutes is much too long for an episode where not much actually happens. Especially considering that I'm not invested in the characters or story yet. There still hasn't been any real hook to get me interested in this story. Just a bunch of intrigue and mystery on what's actually happening in the world. We know Sauron will return and the orcs will return, so this "intrigue" feels like stalling before the real story begins. The most enjoyable storyline has been Elrond and the dwarves, specifically because it doesn't waste my time with this uninteresting mystery. All of the other storylines are hampered by adhering to building up a mystery that the show does not need. As for the characters, they have been disappointed. Barring Elrond, nobody has interested me so far. The characters are quite flat, simplistic, and unengaging to watch. Galadriel's story was weak. The problem of her deciding to jump in the ocean remains from the last episode. It's hard to buy that she is able to swim for so long without trouble, and yet is still capable of getting exhausted on the raft. The swimming is too great of a feat for it to be plausible, and it detracts from other moments where Galadriel is in trouble. I don't know what to make of her new connection with Halbrand, but I was displeased with how the shipwrecked humans treated her. Surely they would want the help of an elf who can swim for miles instead of casting her aside so bluntly. Elrond evoking the Rite of Sigin-Tarag is a pure fantasy idea that doesn't work well in an established story. It feels like a convenient plot device since we aren't getting any cultural significance for this Rite, and I doubt that it will have any significant consequences. Elrond has been "banished" yet I'm sure that he will be able to come back whenever necessary. This is a failed attempt to raise the stakes that makes the entire story feel meaningless and phony instead. The Unknown: What dug the hole in Hordern? Why was a hole dug anyways? What captured Arondir? What is the forge that Celebrimbor plans on building? Will this forge create the Rings of Power? If not, what else might it be used to create? What have the dwarves found that makes King Durin suspicious of Elrond's motives? Why is Durin keeping it secret from Elrond? What's in the box? Who is The Stranger? He has magic powers and can communicate with animals. Is this Gandalf? What is he asking of Nori? What does "Ure Mana" mean? What's going on with Theo's sword? Did the blood make it start to reforge? Will carrying the sword make Theo a target? Who found Galadriel at the end? Is it a ship of men? Is this from Numenor, or somewhere else? Best Moment: Elrond making to leave Durin's home, subtly manipulating him into allowing him to stay. Elrond has been a likeable character so far, but this shows how he is politically motivated. He has a fondness for these dwarves, but isn't above manipulating them for his own gain. Character of the Episode: Elrond. Conclusion: This was a fine episode of progression. The story is still messy, but the show is well put together and enjoyable enough to watch. Score: 59 Summary: Three years have passed. Viserys is at a hunt for his son Aegon's second name day. He is having more strife with Rhaenyra, who storms out after arguing Viserys over her marriage. Criston follows her and they go into the woods where Rhaenyra lets out her frustrations. She is attacked by a boar but Criston saves her and she kills the boar. Viserys is heckled by Jason Lannister and Otto over Rhaenyra's marriage options. Lyonel gives the most reasonable option of marrying her to Laenor. Viserys is conflicted between backing Rhaenyra or naming Aegon as his heir. In the end, Viserys and Rhaenyra have a heart to heart and he allows her to choose her groom and tells her that he intends to back her as heir. Otto tells Alicent that they need to make Aegon the heir over Rhaenyra. After speaking with Alicent, Viserys decides to send help to Daemon in the Stepstones. Daemon and Corlys are fighting a losing war. Daemon reads that Viserys is sending help and is furious. He makes a bold move to be bait to get the Crabfeeder and his men out of their caves. Corlys' men ambush them and Daemon kills the Crabfeeder.
The Good: Viserys was again the star of this episode. His plight is shown to us thoroughly and effectively, and it's easy for us to sympathize with the struggles he has to put up with in his life. He is the King, but boy does he have problems. He's lost the love of his life, his daughter is in her teenage phase, he is uncertain about who his heir should be, and he's constantly being badgered by everyone because of the power he has. Much like "Game of Thrones", this show does a splendid job of showing how hard it is to be King and that the position isn't as comfortable as you might imagine. Viserys' frustrations throughout the episode are palpable as he has to listen to everyone around him blather on while trying to arrange marriages. Jason Lannister is snobby and arrogant, and it is very satisfying to hear Viserys dress him down for his proposal and firmly establish that he will not heed any discussion of naming a new heir. And after that frustrating encounter, he has to deal with the slimy Otto Hightower subtly trying to get his grandson on the throne, which Viserys sees through despite how calmly and logically Otto tries to act with Viserys. Viserys' frustrations build and build, and we can see him drinking more and more wine to run away from all of these problems. The show did a magnificent job of showing us how endlessly frustrating it is to be King, and it's easy to sympathize with Viserys, even when he does make mistakes. Paddy Considine has been terrific, and Viserys has felt so purely human throughout his reign. Rhaenyra also has a good episode. She has been an easy character to connect to, and that remains true here as she goes through a bit of an angsty phase, angry at the whole world and everyone in it. But unlike most series which turn this into useless melodrama, "House of the Dragon" does a nice job of showcasing Rhaenyra's struggles and relationships through her conflict. We learn that she has remained cold and distant from both Viserys and Alicent over the last three years, and it's easy to understand why. The conflict from the previous episode between Viserys and Rhaenyra remains here. Viserys tries to get through to her and doesn't know how, while Rhaenyra is so disgusted with him that she refuses to open up at all. Rhaenyra is too frustrated to ever open up to him currently. Following her talk with Rhaenys, it seems that Rhaenyra has internalized that she will never hold power, and realizes that Aegon will be heir, she will be sold off to some snobby rich guy, and she can't do anything about it. But of course she is wrong. She's misjudged her father, and as Criston reminds her, she is never going to be entirely toothless. She had the power to bring Criston into the kingsguard, so she is clearly being over-dramatic with how powerless she is in this world. Rhaenyra eventually gets out of her own head and finally has that honest conversation with Viserys at the episode's end where the two of them finally seem to understand each other. Viserys allows Rhaenyra control over her own life, and Rhaenyra accepts that Viserys is backing her to be his successor. It's a sweet moment that may finally resolve the issues between them that have resonated through this season, at least for now. Some other character relationships get a nice exploration. Rhaenyra and Criston seem to have developed a friendship since Criston is her protector. He seems to be an outlet for her to let out her frustrations. Lyonel Strong continues to be one of the most reasonably sound people at court. He once again gives Viserys good advice, free some selfish motivations, and it will be interesting to see if Viserys heeds it this time. The Stepstones story had many problems (see: The Bad), but it had its fun moments. The visuals were spectacular as ever, and it was a lot of fun watching Daemon seek his glory. His reaction to Viserys' message was terrific, and fits his motivations for starting this war. Daemon is here for personal glory and to prove himself, so accepting help from his brother defeats the entire purpose of his war. The Bad: The timeskips are disrupting the flow of the story quite significantly. We needed to see the aftermath of Viserys' decision to marry Alicent and how it affected Rhaenyra, but the story had to jump forward three years for this episode. What results is some awkwardness because the episode has to show us Rhaenyra's distaste for this decision three years after the betrothal has happened, making us wonder why she is holding a grudge for three years. It's also awkward that Viserys and Rhaenyra seemingly never tried to work things out with each other for three whole years, which is a very long time considering that they would have always been together. It's hard to believe that these frustrations would have been boiling for so long without any conflict. Furthermore, we miss out on the development of character relationships, and that makes us feel disconnected from the characters and their stories. The timeskip problem extends to the Stepstones too. This war has been going on for years and we never know what exactly has happened. Since much of the war is glossed over, it's hard to understand what the situation is and why we should care. Apparently the Triarchy are cornered on Bloodstone, and yet we are told that they are apparently winning. How? Why? We don't get fully fleshed out answers to these questions, and it makes the War in the Stepstones feel more like a plot device rather than an actual event occurring in this world. Further, it would have been exciting to see how Daemon and Corlys evolved throughout this war, and the decisions that they made in charge. We are told that Daemon is the figurehead of this war, and I would have liked to see why he commands such respect from his armies. I feel that this war had a lot of storytelling potential which got glossed over due to the timeskip. Another issue is that this entire war feels like filler. The Crabfeeder was built up so much only to be killed unceremoniously after doing nothing of note. I was very disappointed with how ultimately useless this character was and I wish that we got to see more from him. Furthermore, this entire plot ended up feeling like an unnecessary distraction, just to give Daemon something to do. I suspect that this entire story will feel frivolous when we look back at it, a waste of time that is only there to provide an action spectacle when we could have spent more time on the fascinating political drama. The battle itself was ridiculous. Daemon not getting hit by all of those arrows is absurd, and frankly there's no way that he should have survived this scenario. It ruins any chance of making this feel like a gritty and realistic war, making it blatantly clear that this just is a silly Hollywood production. Furthermore, the plan is ridiculous. Would the Triarchy really not have any scouts to watch for the approach of Corlys? The ambush should never have worked to begin with. Additionally, why did everybody come out to meet Daemon? Surely they should have stayed inside the caves and sent only a handful of men to take care of Daemon. The logistics of this battle are questionable at best, and we're not given enough context to appreciate the strategy in place. This universe continues to be overwhelming to newcomers because of how poorly it introduces characters. We are introduced to Laenor in this episode with no inkling of who he is. We hear his name mentioned earlier, but we are not given a face to match the name. Then he seemingly inexplicably shows up in the Stepstones with a dragon that we are never told that he has. This would likely be extremely confusing to new fans, and the show should have done a better job of introducing Laenor to correct this. The Stepstones story in general needed to be given more time for it to have any impact. The Unknown: Will Viserys stand by Rhaenyra completely? He has wavered in his decision at points, and I wonder if he will ultimately change his mind. Will Alicent support Aegon over Rhaenyra? Or will choose to back her childhood friend over her self-centered, ambitious father? Is the War of the Stepstones over? Did Daemon just win the war? How will this affect his relationship with Viserys? Who will Rhaenyra choose to marry? Will Viserys try to get her to marry Laenor following Lyonel's advice? Best Moment: Viserys getting frustrated after man after man seek him out to further their own ambitions. Character of the Episode: Viserys. Conclusion: Another solid episode of story progression that was hurt by some major issues in the Stepstones storyline. I enjoyed most of this episode, but I can't help but feel disappointed with certain aspects of this show. Score: 58 Summary: Galadriel is hunting for Sauron following his defeat in a war that claimed the life of her brother. Her group abandons her since she is defying orders. When she returns to the Elvish capital Lindon, she meets with Elrond who convinces her to accept Gil Galad's reward for her: to return to Valinor. Galadriel ultimately leaves but jumps out of the boat, choosing to stay in Middle-Earth. Gil Galad introduces Elrond to Celebrimbor. Meanwhile, Elanor is a Harfoot hobbit who lives in the forest in a small community. They spot travelers and take it as an omen. A meteor lands from the sky and Elanor sees a man lying in its crater. Elsewhere, Arondir is an elf watching over Tirharad, a town of men who supported Morgoth in the war. He is in love with Bronwyn, a woman who works as a healer. When it's time for the elves to leave, Arondir goes to say goodbye and he sees a cow that is badly sick with some sort of evil. Arondir goes to investigate at a town called Hordern along with Bronwyn and it is burning.
The Good: For a show that's been hyped up as the most expensive show ever made, this absolutely lived up to that expectation. The show looks gorgeous, at times having the same presentation as a movie. The locations, costumes, and cinematography was all excellent. It's exciting to see all of these new locations in Middle-Earth, and they are realized with the same beauty as "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" trilogies. It does not have the same atmosphere and feel as the Peter Jackson movies, but seeing how long ago this story takes place, it makes sense that the world will look and feel quite different. I was pleased to see that Harfoot hobbits will play a role in this series. It would be easy for the show to get lost in the grandiose acts of the Elves in Middle-Earth's history, but the show would have lost its relatable human element by doing that. So I'm very pleased to see a storyline involving a different community of hobbits, who carry that same sense of whimsical adventure that you feel while following the likes of Frodo and Bilbo. Despite being a prequel, this show does a good job of incorporating world-building in an intriguing and exciting way. I did enjoy most of Galadriel's story. Her revenge story is simple enough to connect with, and I liked seeing how reckless she was due to her determination to accomplish her mission. The character was written consistently well in this first episode, and I think that there is plenty of reasons for us to connect with her and Elrond with how they were presented and how different they felt from the characters that they will become thousands of years in the future. The Bad: The show is effective at making us connect with Elrond and Galadriel on a shallow level, but it does not accomplish more than that. This is a big problem because Galadriel and Elrond are part of just one of the three storylines that are introduced in this episode. The other major characters Elanor, Arondir, and Bronwyn are not compelling at all because they feel too familiar. We have yet another inter-race love story with Arondir and Bronwyn, which is familiar territory. Both characters are also completely uninspiring so far. Elanor is more likeable, but she feels too familiar to Frodo and Bilbo, who were also adventurous hobbits that didn't fit in with everyone else. I'm not interested in either of these storylines right now because the characters are uninteresting. Another reason that those two storylines failed to inspire in this first episode is how stagnant they were. Nothing happened in these stories. No exciting inciting incident, no plot development, and nothing of any note at all. It was a simple introduction that was missing a hook. I know some names and locations now, but I've been given no reason to keep watching. I liked Galadriel overall, but she had some significant problems in this episode. The first, and biggest, is that she feels too powerful to be an effective main character. The way she effortlessly dispatched of an ice troll made it crystal clear that she can solve pretty much any problem without any concern, making any problem presented to her in the course of this series much less interesting. I was interested to see how the ice troll would challenge these elves, but Galadriel killed it so easily, robbing us of any character drama or thrills. It's a moment that feels like it is written to be "empowering", which robs the story of its suspense and drama. I was not happy with that scene. I also did not like Galadriel's decision to stay in Middle-Earth. To be clear, I definitely buy that she would stay. But for her to do so in the middle of the ocean is laughably stupid, and it again makes the character feel too infallible when you consider that she will be able to swim all the way back to Middle Earth without any issue. I'm disappointed that Sauron is going to be the villain again. We've had two trilogies with him already and it's time to move on to somebody more interesting and exciting. Morgoth as a main villain could have shaken things up, but he is only mentioned in passing in this episode, which is a shame. I know a lot of people are going to be angry that the modern world's attempts for diversity will ruin the image of the world Tolkien created. I am not as bothered by this as most people, but I will admit that having a brown-skinned elf with a contemporary hair style was distracting and took me out of the experience of this episode. If there are going to be racially diverse castings, I would like for them to be explained within the world, or else it will break immersion. The Unknown: Where has Sauron gone? Was he in Forodwaith at that old fortress recently, or long ago? What was being done on the dead orcs there? What happened to the cow? What is that black substance? What is going on in the East? Why is Hordern burning? Who burned it down? Was it an attack? What's going on with Sauron's sword that Theo had? How did it get there? What will it do? Who is the guy that crashed from the sky? How will the Harfoots deal with him? Best Moment: Elrond forcing Galadriel to accept her return to Valinor was a great scene, the only emotionally effective moment in the episode. We can understand the perspectives of both characters: Galadriel wants to stay for vengeance, while Elrond is looking at the bigger picture for her sake. Their conflict was well acted and well written. Character of the Episode: Elrond probably. Conclusion: At best, this was an average pilot episode. This introduced things well enough, but it was slow and there was no hook that made me want to keep watching. I am all for slow television, but we needed more excitement in this episode for it to function as an effective pilot. Score: 56 |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
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