The Lord of the Rings- The Rings of Power: Shadow and Flame

 "You are their prisoner, Sauron. Lord of the rings..."

I know, this is two blog posts in succession and both on the same show. But I wanted to get this season of The Rings of Power finished. And wow, what a dramativ finale. So much happens, and so much is set up. It's a wild ride.

We begin with the confrontation between the Durins, both father and son, as the King continues to mine, despite the risk of awakening what the subtitles reveal to be indeed the Balrog. His heroic death is nicely done- unexpected, shocking yet appropriate. Durin, I assume, is now king... but it seems his succession is not uncontested? The dwarvesare at last able to assist in the siege, but does civil war await them?

Equally dramatic is the confrontation between the Stranger and the Dark Wizard, who seemingly seeks not to join Sauron but to supplant him. Yet he responds to the Stranger's refusal to join him by destroying the Stoors' village, meaning that they, like the Harfoots, must wander. Yet there's a twist; Bombadil intended him to choose friendship, so he gets his staff after all... and his namre. This, again, is very nicely done. No wonder Gandalf is so fond of Hobbits.

At Numenor things get even worse. Pharazon declares all followers of the Valarto be traitors, and we end the episode with poor, blind Mirielin chains. Yet she orders Elendil to leave, and "reclaim your lordship". Isildur, meanwhile, and the displaced southlanders, also learn of the new regime and its harshness. Yet I sense Numenor, at this point, is irreversibly bound to sink between the waves. Isildur's future lies in Gondor... ad, I'm sure, with Estrid, taken though she is.

Celebrimbor's death, tortured tro death by Sauron, is indeed grimly horrible. He may have been at fault, an eager dupe, but he didn't deserve this. Charles Edwards, though, is again extraordinary.

Adar's death, a horrible twist, also shocks- betrayed by his own Uruks who turn instead to Sauron. He is, perhaps, as tragic an eff as Celebrimbor, noble in his way,and on the cusp of allying with Galadiel.

His flaw was love. He loved ad cared for his orc... and yet they spurned their loving father for an evil master, because evil is what they are. That, to put it mildly, is dark.

Galadriel's combt with Sauron is epic, although perhaps it goes on too long. We end with her barely alive... and, I trust, confined to Lothlorien if she wishes to live?

An extraordiunary episode. And, after a mixed first season... this season has been extraordinary.

The Lord of the Rings- The Rings of Power: Doomed to Die

"Forgive me..."

"Win!"

More than seventy minutes for this penultimate episode, and there's not a Man, Wizard or Harfoot to be seen. It's all an epic chronicle of the siege of Eregion, with all its twists, turns and impressive CGI hill troll(!)... and we end on a very bleak note, with Adar triumphant, and Arondir seemingly dead.

And the dwarves, despite Durin's promise, cannot come to the elves' aid, lest Durin's ring-addled father continue to mine and awaken the beast beneath- the Balrog? The show likes doing these kinds of impossible dilemmas, but they're effective. Can Elrond's friendship with Durin survive? Surely this will cause the enmity between elvesand dwarves; I'd assume so.

The parlet between Elrond and Adar is nicely done too, with Elrond refusing Adar's terms even at the apparent cost of Galadriel's life... and that parting kiss. For this show, usually all about the epic scale and not the humanfor once we have a lot of effective character drama here.

Most horrifying of all, though, is the full force gaslighting of Celebrimbor by Sauron. Yes, he wins, sort of, by entrusting the nine rings to an escaping Galadriel, but what he suffers is truly horrid. Charles Edwards is simply extraordinary here.

The Rings of Power has at times been inconsistent, but this extra-long episode is a trimph of both visuals- it looks amazing, cinematic- and storytelling. I have high hopes for the finale.

The Lord of the Rings- The Rings of Power: Where Is He?

 "Your friend or your destiny? The choice is yours."

Perhaps the finest scene in this excellent episode is the two hander between Adar and Galadriel about how Sauron manipulates. Yes so much else happens... not least Celebrimbor whinging in iambic pentameter. 

What else? We see Sauron'sincreasing manipulation of a Celebrimbor coming apart at the seams... yet not only him. Yes, Adar and Galadriel ally against him, using the elven ring and Mordoth's crown, or hoping to. Yet, as Galadriel realises, even this is exactly what Sauron wants- the thought in the viewer's mind as the siege of Eregion begins in Earnest.

Our two Harfoots begin to learn the meaning of home as peril awaits, while Tom Bombadil would have the Stranger choose a staff, a test he MUST pass . And yet, the situation parallels that of Luke now in The Empire Strikes Back, with Nori and Poppy in danger. If he leaves now, help them he could but... well. The scene is a cliche, it must be said, but it works dramatically.

Then we have Elendil, accused of treason for his loyalty to his old faith and queen, and having to face an ancient form of trial by CGI sea serpent. And... with Miriel risking her life for him so beautifully, this scene is damn good. Miriel 1, Pharazon 0, as the crowd cheers her. And it seems she and Elendil are falling in love, does it not? Even as Elendil and his daughter grow further apart.

Then there's King Durn, his greed, and the ring. Brrr. This is good stuff. Yet what lingers in the mind is the true manipulative power of Sauron, which is so very well done indeed.

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 Lord of the Rings- The Rings of Power: Eldest

 "Harfoots, living in holes! It doesn't feel natural."

This seasoin has already kicked up a gear... but now this. We have Tom Bombadil, and he;s Rory Kinnear! Barrow Wights, which look amazing! ENTS!!!

But mostly we focus on a party of elves which foreshadow the Fellowship: we also have a Caradhras moment. And we end with Galadriel, foreshadowing Boromir, using herself as bait so Elrond and the others can escape from the orcs and warn Gil-Galad that Adar's orcs are coming.

Except... that means their mission to Celebrimbor is delayed, leaving plenty of time for the forging of rings...

And then we have the Stranger finding Bombadid, about whom we learn a few things- he is the "eldest", older that the stars, yet he can only offer wisdom, not act. The Stranger is rapt with respect for him, realising his own purpose: to defeat both Sauron and this Dark Wizard, who could simply never be allowed to join forces.

And then we have Nori and Poppy who discover more halflings, the Stoor. And they discover tragedy: the Harfoots once split from the Stoors looking for some non-existent Eden... and are wandering still. Ouch! One day, I hope they find their Shire. All this is beautiful, fairy tale stuff.

But then we have Isildur, Estrid and Arondir. Isildur and Estrid draw closer... until Arondir discovers the truth: despite their real attraction, she is one of the Wild Men. We have a brilliant moment with a CGI swamp monster... but the drama is palpable. We share Isildur's disappointment when she finds her betrothed.

And yet... ENTS!!!

This season gets better and better

The Lord of the Rings- The Rings of Power: The Eagle and the Sceptre

 "You're not my father..."

More good stuff here as Sauron's dark persuasive powers continue to bear rotting fruit. He convinces Celebrimbor to lie to Gil-Galad about the rings, but convincingly, playing on Celebrimbor's artistic pride like a lute, or whatever stringed instrument elves prefer to use. And the rings are the reason Durin finally makes himself apologise to his father. We end with the five Dwarven rings about to be forged- no doubt to save Khazad-Dum from the volcano. Yet at what cost?

We also return to Isildur. His adventures are many, not least with a convincingly horrible Shelob-like arachnid. Yet he meets a girl and connects with her- future wife, from whom Aragorn will, surely, be descended?

He also meets Arondir, who struggles to connect with the orphaned young Theo... unlike Isildure, who also lost hs mother at a young age. And the circumstances of how this happened tell us much about his drive to greatness. All of this is very good writing.

Yet the true drama is in Numenor, where we return for the first time this season. All episode we hear rumours about the unpopular, blind, Queen Regent, only for uproar and revelations to derail the coronation... and for the traditional eagle (why does it not speak?) to choose Pharazon instead. 

As with every episode this season so far, this is exciting, dramatic writing, and it's about a series of character who are all flawed in their own way. Compared to the first season, a lot seems to be happening, amd fast...

The Lord of the Rings- The Rings of Power: Where the Stars Are Strange

 "I'm going to open a First Age bottle!"

Another fascinating episode here, which makes it very clear, seemingly, where the main narrative thread is going. Galadriel is, of course, right that Sauron will seek out Celebrimbor and make more rings- we even get THAT rhyme about seven rings for the dwarves- next on the list- and the nine, those nine, for men.

Yet Gil-Galad is right that Galadriel is vulnerable to Sauron's deceptions. Perhaps Elrond is right about the elves taking the rings,perhaps Cirdan is. We shall see. But poor Celebrimbor comes across asso very naive and gullible here.

Elsewhere, things look bleak for the dwarves of Khazad-Dun, struggling to maintain their home amongsta changing environment- perhaps their seven rings will save them for a while, as did the three rings of the elves. And I'm sure Durin and his royal father, both right stubborn gits, will reconcile... eventually. Durin's being bullied in the mine issad to see.

... And then there's the wandering wizard, who knows not his own name. Yet he explains to his very patient Harfoot friends that he cannot just be given a name: it is his already, and he'll know it when he hears it. This, it seems to me, would not have been said if his name were not known to us.

These scenes in the desert, with bounty hunters searching for them on behalf of some evil widard, feel very Mandalorian, but they're fun.

As, indeed, is the episode. Compared to the first season, a lot is now happening, and the characters are likeable. I hope this streak continues.

The Lord of the Rings- The Rings of Power: Elven Kings Under the Sky

 "If, as you say, these rings have so quickly turned elf against elf, it would seem he has succeeded".

The first season of The Rings of Power was not always perfect- episodes were overlong, which is a worry here (77 minutes???!), and the season dragged at poinrs. Yet I enjoyed it overall and feel the critics were somewhat harsh. While Amazon Prime dropping three episodes at once(!), just as with The Boys, again plays havoc with my schedule, I'm glad it's back.

And this is an intriguing start. One subplot involves Nuri and the Stranger on their travels, as it becomes clear that the Stranger is indeed a wizard ("But perhaps wizards are not always fair") of some kind, memories or at least impressions beginning to return. I'm sure we shall learn more as the season goes on. Gandalf? Perhaps too obvious. A young, uncorrupted Saruman? We shall see.

We also have the beginning of what promises to be a protracted power struggle between Adar and the being he knows not to be Sauron... yet Sauron, despite his apparent humbling, is ever weaving his webs, from Mordor to the halls of the elves. For we see conflict between Gil-Galad, Galadriel and Elrond, none of whom are quite in harmony. And we see, of course, the three elven rings being finally worn- including, as we would later see in the films, by Galadriel. And, if we did not already know that rings mean temptation, we see a scene in which it literally proves impossible for even the wisest of elves to destroy them....

This episode is superb, visually gorgeous... and deeply ominous. Things are beginning to move towards a Second Age of which we have heard glimpses...

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: The Eye

 "We move at first light."

"What light?"

After last week's triumphant victory, all is lost after an unnatiral volcano which sees Adar and his Orcs claiming the Southlands for themselves, reneming it, inevitably, as Mordor.

And all is entropy and decay. The Queen of Numenor is blinded. Elendil has lost his favourite son, and Isildur his brother. He is bitter and wants no more to do with Middle-Earth. The Dwarven king refuses to dig for Mithril and save the elves, and proudly disinherits his son after a row. The Harfoots are ruined and have sent away the Stranger, who briefly gave new life to their forest before three evil cloaked woman arrive and destroy everything... who are they?

Yet, in the land of Mordor, there is yet hope. Durin plots with his lovely wife. The throne will be his. The Numenoreans will return. The enemies of Sauron have lost, if not the battle, the context. Yet there is time and space to regroup. The war goes on. Again, this is very mythical, very Tolkien.

This episode is not quite so exciting as last week's, but after some shaky early episode the first season seems to have found its stride. The directing is enormously impressive especially the early scenes, which feel like a very orange disaster movie.

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

 "New life... in defiance of death!"

Wow.This is when Rings of Power really comes alive. I may not be a huge fan of battle scenes, but this is a proper, awesome, cinematic, Lord of the Rings battle scene. And I love it.

The men of the Southlands fight well, with Bronwyn and Arondir being real heroes. The tactics, and the ebb and flow of battle, work well narratively. It's hard to do this, yet the episode does it with aplomb. And verve. And CGI,

Yet the characterisation is superb, too. Isildur getting to fight as a soldier, and imprressing Elendil. The nobility of Bronwyn. Her romance with Arondir, Leo's attachment to the artifact- like Smeagol. The arresting interrogation of Adar by the deeply charismatic and awesome Galadriel- we learn that orcs were once elves, and that he claimed to kill Sauron. 

And then there's Halbrand... I don't think he's a king at all. We shall see. Yet he and Galadriel seem to find love in battle. Like Spartans without the gayness...

The conclusion is shocking, if CGI heavy. We know Galadriel, Elendil and Isildur must survive the eruption. But the others?

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

 "We set sail!"

This episode, and a fine episode it is- the start has been uneven, but there was much to establish. Thois iscan episode, a pivotal episode, one in which the forces of hope start to amass against the orcs, Adar, Sauron... and it's all about loyalty. Loyalty as a test.

The Stranger- now very clearly a proto-wizard, ahem!- proves his loyalty to the poroto-Hobbits by scaring away the Wargs. Others have it less easy. Elrond is torn between the honour of his oath to Durin and his Elven loyalty because mithril, apparently, is the ghost of a Silmaril (I know what they are!) and is needed to save the Eldar... yes, it's a word coined by Tolkien. but it makes me think of Space Marines and such. Bah.

The Men of the Southlands have conflicting loyalties. half of them, led by Waldreg, are bloody traitors. Arondir, bless him, is true, and will fight for the humans even if they will not fight for themselves. Bronwyn, heartbreakingly, is torn.

On the doomed Numenor, the queen shows admirable steel. Thev loyalty of Galadriel is not in doubt, though her fanaticism fascinates. The loyalty of the political class is not without cynicism, but true.Idildur, though... we know his name, and that of his fathervElendil, as the first two kings of Gondor, meaning Numenor must be doomed in the very short term. Yet he is portrayed, with all due melodrama, as a ne'er-do-well made good.

I have no problem with that. t describes myself. This episode oozes character, restrained wit and narrative skill.

The Lord of the Rings- The Rings of Power: The Great Wave

 "You have been told many lies..."

Halfway through the season, already, and things are getting ominous. I liked this episode a lot. 

Evil tidings aboung everywhere. Arandir is freed by Adar- an elf who seems to command the orcs- to deliver an ultimatum to the humans in the elf tower- surrender the Southlands to him or be crushed. Young Theo, fresh from nearly getting heroically killed, is told by a fellow villager, a sinister individual, that the falling stars some nightsago mean Sauron is coming.

Meanwhile, Elrond learns the dwarves are tentatively mining a new mineral- mithril, previously unknown. Yet the efforts almost end in disaster, and I sense that Durin's royal father will not live long. And the Dwarves know that Elrond is hiding something. It's all very friendly, but everyone is hiding something.

Most fascinating are the events in Numenor, as Galadriel hears the reason for all the suspicion; the royals have a seeing stone, one foretelling the fooding end destruction of Numenor. Isildur disgraces himself at sea. And yet... we know that "Elendil" was a battle cry for Aragorn, his distant descendent. And Isildur will achieve legendary things... I think he was called the first king of Gondor? But Gondor is on Middle Earth. I suspect Numenor is doomed, and soon. All these revelations are thrilling. The series has build up slowly, at times, but this episode really delivers the goods.

And, unexpectedly, Numenor goes to war with Galadriel, the Queen and Isildur among the troops. I'm excited.

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.

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

 "The tides of fate are flowing..."

This episode, it has to be said, is a fair bit slower and less gripping than the promising opener. It really does drag, which is worrying. A slow pace is fine if you're having fun or lost in good characterisation, but a serious epic like this can't afford to drag. I hope this doesn't continue.

It's pity, as there's actually a lot going on. That strange tramp, fallen from the sky, being looked after by those Harfoot children... is he Sauron, or is this a bit of misdirection? Then there's this beautiful creation Lord Celebrimbor wishes to do... will this end up being the Nine Rings? The series title may, after all, be a clue.

Orcs, rot and entropy seem to be spreading into human and Harfoot lands, hence great migrations. Galadriel meets someone who finally challenges her in ways she may need. And Elrond learns a lesson in manners for those not so long lived as he, while we get to admire the drwarves of Khazzad-Dun, while secrets are kinted at.

There's a lot of good stuff here. But it all happened far too ponderously.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power- A Shadow of the Past

"We thought our light would never dim..."

 Fear not: Netflix problems are now solved and I'll be carrying on with Sandman alongside What If. However, I absolutely had to add this rather exciting little series to my schedule. I'll alternate all three until I reach the point, very soon, where I'm only able to watch one episode a week of this. That's the forseeable future.

I knew very little of this going in except that it was set well before the Third Age- the First Age, presumably?- and based on those appendices to Lord of the Rings that I last read at a very young age. So it was pleasing to see how well made this is, and hoe epic it feels, beginning with a bit of narration from Galadriel herself on the early days of Valinor, the centuries-long war (no doubt Tolkien's allegory for 1914-18), and the slinking away of Sauron and his orcs, leading to Galadriel's obsession. Galadrielis the main focus here, the Cassandra who insists Sauron is still a threat yet seems to be ignored, but we see lots of visual Elven awesomeness. We also get much of a very young Elrond... and finally get to meet the legendary Gil-Galad.

We also have some human villages, with elves still seeing humans as tainted from their erstwhile loyalty to Morgoth. So it's an interesting twist to have an elf- Arondir- in love with a human, Bronwyn, both of them going AWOL to investigate disturbing portents from the East of disease and decay.

Finally, we have the Harfoots, progenitors of Hobbits, recognisable similar but just a little wilder and less technologically advanced, with Lenny Henry excellent as their wise and troubled leader.

There's a lot going on, but the characters are alrewady distinct and clear, and thisall feels very big indeed. I'm already enjoying this.