The Lord of the Rings- The Rings of Power: Halls of Stone

 "It will open with a password known only to friends..."

This episode is, perhaps, the most exciting yet to those of us who have read only The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings, pointing strongly towards the future we know. We have Durin's gate of course, but we see Sauron to continue manipulating Celebrimbor to makerings not only for Dwarves but also for Men... nine rings for the kind of the nive noble realms. We know well where this is leading.

We also have hints of the doom that awaits Khadad-Dum. Oh, King Durin III may have saved his realm in the short term, but he shows signs of the greed and the ring addiction that we shall soon come to know so well,charging a "ring tax" and forcing the other sixdwarven kings to make a tribute in return for their own rings. Worst of all, he wants to dig, despite the fact that ancient evil lies beneath.

Then there's Gil-Galad's dilemma between Sauron and Adar. Adar seeking an alliance with Galadriel. And the darkness beginning to envelop Numenor. Pharazon already threatens to be a tyrant, and his son seems worse. Elendil is not having a good time, and nor are his many friends. Even his daughter has betrayed him.

And yet... despite this series being more about epic events than character, what shines here is the detail of Sauron's manipulation of the proud but gullible Celebrimbor. The Rings of Power is on fire as never before.

The Lords of the Rings- The Rings of Power: Alloyed

 "He is not Sauron! He is the other! He is the Istatr!

Where to begin? This first series has struggled at times. Yet, having seen the whole design, IU'm full of admiration for its construction. The number of huge moments in this finale was staggering- not least the singing of "one Ring to Rule Them All" during the closing credits. 

It must be said, before we get excited about the revelations, that the episode is extraordinarily well directed by Wayne Yip, in every way fit for a finale.

We begin, cleverly, with a nice bit of misdirection: those three evil women from last episode hail the Stranger as Sauron and, well, that's that. Nori and the other Harfoots who went after him are doomed. He is the Dark Lord.

Except... he isn't. He's a wizard, it's explicitly stated. I'm guessing Saruman. And he saves the Harfoots, except poor Sadoc.And we end with Nori accompanying him on a quest for next season.

And then we have a bigger shock. I suspected Halbrand may not actually be the King of the Southlands... but he's Sauron! I had not a clue. This is very, very clever.

We also have what looks like the ruin of Numenor. The Queen and Elendil pledging to go on to the end. And, of course, the triumphant forging- visually brilliant- of the first three rings by Celebrimbor. This will save the elves in Middle Earth.

Yet it was Sauron who made the suggestions that made this happens. Sauron who now rules in Mordor. In the land of Mordor, where the shadows lie.

The Lord of the Rings- The Rings of Power: Adar

 "The sea is always right..."

Wow. This episode has blown it all wide open. We are suddenly immersed in charactewrs we know from The Lord of the Rings, both the novel(s) and the films. Last episode we had Gil-Galad. Now we find ourselves in Numenor, a name I recognise, a Western island kingdom. Yet Galadriel and Halbrand are introduced to Elendil, the captain of the ship, and his son is a cadet... Isildur. We know these names. My memory is shaky, but will not Aragorn cry into battle crying "Elendil"? Will not Isildur found the Kingdom of Gondor? This is epic stuff. I mean, yes, I read the appendices to Tolkien's masterwork. But that was in another century.

We have conflict. The people of Numenor fought amongst the elves but now hate them. Why? The king was deposed for suppoireting them. Oh, and we have the bombshell that Halbrand is the exiled king of the Southlands... and that Sauron is building a base there. Is this a proto-Mordor?

We have brutal enslavement of elves, including Arandir, by orcs who are certainly shown to be evil, but not stupid. Arandir proves himself to be pretty awesome...but has to face "Adar". Sauron?

Speaking of Sauron, I thought the stranger who appeared to the Hsrfoots was him. I'm now fairly sure he isn't, and another theory is correct. I Shall be discreet, though...

This episode is MUCH better. I'm very pleased.