Probably the best or second-best episode of the season, with the main defects being a couple of mildly bad turns of phrase(1) and some weird plot contrivances going around Galadriel. Keep in mind, though, that the middle of season 1 of this show really lowered the bar for all the other episodes before and since, so “best/second-best episode of the less flawed of the two seasons of Rings of Power made to date” is not the biggest compliment ever.

The Dwarves Are Revolting

Well, actually the Dwarves are pretty cool as usual, from what little we see of them. It’s the influence of the First of the Seven Rings on Durin III that’s revolting. Narvi continues to improve; and it was nice to see Elrond and Durin IV interacting again, if only briefly. Due to the show’s characteristically bad editing, I was unclear as to whether Durin IV’s big speech was supposed to be about rebelling against his father or raising an army to go to Eregion. The crowd responding with the warcry of the Dwarves (“Baruk Khazad!” – “Axes of the Dwarves”) makes more sense if it’s the latter scenario. In spite of his best efforts, Durin IV doesn’t get a chance to help Elrond this episode because of the turmoil at home, but maybe the Dwarves will show up next week in time to save the last remnants of Celebrimbor’s and Gil-Galad’s people. Certainly hoping for it.

Siege of Eregion

-This whole thing of charging straight at the enemy and then pulling up because the enemy has an Elvish VIP as a hostage is just stupid(1.5), and Elrond’s reactions to seeing her only feed the flames of the Elrondriel shippers (all three of them).

-Speaking of which I guess we need to talk about the kiss. I’d rather they’d not have gone there, but the actors do a good job of selling this as strictly a fakeout for the orcs’ benefit. Composer Bear McCreary appears to have not gotten the memo, putting aggressively sentimental and melancholy music on top of something that required more ambiguous scoring (see also my complaints about his decision to score Pharazon’s triumph over Miriel in ep 203 as unambiguously triumphant, as though we’re supposed to be rooting for Ar-Iznogoud Pharazon.)

–I liked the scene leading up to that part though, with Adar for once having a convo with an elf who can sass him back effectively. Probably Elrond’s finest moment since he wheedled his way into Durin IV’s house back in season 1.

–Random trivia that may or may not become important at some point: Adar’s familiarity with Elrond’s great-great-grandmother Melian strongly implies that he was a Sindar(2) of Menegroth. If you go by the Silmarillion, the most likely scenario for him having been captured by Sauron’s then-boss Morgoth would have been during the Dagor Bragollach; when a small company of Sindar joined the forces of Galadriel’s brother Finrod.

-Battle scenes were fine. Not on the scale of the movies, but perfectly acceptable for tv. Disappointed at how little Elrond and Gil-Galad we got.

–I would be more resentful of series original character Arondir getting all the battle glory if it weren’t for his inglorious and unsuccessful attempt to bring down Adar. Ouch, dude.

-Galadriel just so happening to meet Arondir was an acceptable coincidence. Galadriel knowing a secret passage into Ost-en-Edhil, and just so happening to meet Celebrimbor and convince the guards not to arrest him, and have a big emotional moment with him and receive the Nine from him…more contrived than the stuff with Elrond earlier.

–That being said, the big emotional moment was very sweet, and gave me the impression that Charles Edwards was familiar with the version of Celebrimbor’s backstory where he was an unsuccessful suitor for Galadriel’s hand, before she chose Celeborn.

-The bit where the Elf’s horse jumps up and kicks the orc is called a capriole, a type of dressage move. Some believe that this and other dressage moves were intended for mounted combat; others believe that the “airs above the ground” (the category to which the capriole belongs) leave the horse’s underbelly too vulnerable to attack. I dunno; executed fast enough, I could see the capriole being pretty dangerous to the enemy in a battle.

-I get that the orcs were supposed to be in shadow during the initial daytime conflict with the Elves, but it wasn’t conveyed well.

-Are there really people nitpicking the idea of Adar ordering a bombardment of the nearby mountains to start an avalanche to dam the river? Some people will complain about anything, I guess.

-Cowboy moment of the episode: the dying Vorohil lurching into view on his horse to deliver bad news represents a trope you sometimes see in cavalry-themed westerns.

Mad Science and Sorcery over Ost-en-Edhil

-I liked Celebrimbor’s use of logic and observation to break out of the illusion set upon him. Jolly good show, old boy.

-As with most Celebrimbor material from his first meeting with Sauron onward, I’ve been pleased by Charles Edwards’ performance but not swept away. Just a solid, generically theatrical performance from one of many theatrically trained British actors out there. That being said, I think he’s actually one of the elfier-looking elf-actors on the show. Yeah, yeah, lined face(3), yeah, yeah, the Godiva fetishists think he ought to have long hair(4). Whatever, guys. Edwards has one of those quirky but elegant English faces that just make you think, maybe Tolkien wasn’t making this up, maybe there was a mortal man once, who married an elf-woman. Maybe it even happened more than once.

-Charlie Vickers is of course excellent and disturbing as Sauron. His control of the Elf guards looks more like telekinesis than mind control.

–underlined by our Star Wars moment of the episode, where he apparently force-chokes the leader of the Elf guards.

-Welp, Mirdania is definitely not Celebrian using an epesse instead of a father-name or a mother-name. Poor thing. Definitely more deceived than corrupted by Sauron though, so neener neener to the ones who were slandering her.

Notes

(1)For instance, using “at hazard” because some moron thinks it sounds more old-timey than “at stake”

(1.5) Just have the Elves ride out into the clearing at traveling speed, see Galadriel in the cage, and cut to Elrond parlaying with Adar. Save the charge for sometime when it matters.

(2) Grey-Elf; the subculture of Elves to which Legolas, Thranduil, Thranduil’s father Oropher, and (in some version of his multiple choice past) Celeborn belong.

(3) it’s not like a smith who alternates between playing with fire and squinting at stuff up close is going to have the most flawless skin ever seen in Elfdom.

(4) seems like a liability in a forge, but whatever, Mirdania and I think some of the male smiths wear theirs long.