Amph One Thread To Rule Them All: The Rings of Power, The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings & Middle-earth films

By the end of the episode, I realized it was about the pin, and the "forgive me" was to give the kiss.
But... it so took me out.
If it wasn't for that, this was honestly one of my favorite episodes.
I think I need to rewatch now, I got so distracted by the kiss.

Also, I liked the Celebrimbor callback to Maedhros. And Manwe in the next episode is interesting.

 

Well, other than the names of some characters and places, that episode had sweet FA to do with Tolkien's books.

 

i'm sorry

 

the score is the main offender. well that and the lighting. and that it happened at all.

still not sure what to make of it.

 

Master Bacon. I have waited a long time for your return.

 

Mirdania, Rian, Arondir, Melkor, Galadriel, Adar. and the others

Spoiler

I was 90% sure Mirdania would be a goner (or she's be the designated named survivor when they flee to Rivendell)... but I actually got more emotional at her death than I thought I would. It was absolutely brutal. Also, I shouldn't have put it past Sauron to do in that was, I wasn't surprised, but I was still shocked. I had been afraid Sauron was leading to a more formal coup, but she (and the other guards) were still trying to just take care of Celebrimbor to the end. It was just very brutal.

Rian had barely 2 minutes of screentime... but her death was also very moving,

Arondir and Galadriel... I hope this may be a case of "the pity of one might rule the destiny of mine." Similar to Bilbo's party to Gollum. But I wonder how much longer Adar will last. He's been such an amazing character.

I also really hope Arondir isn't dying. I'm pretty sure any actual death scene would have more focus on him, and that he isn't dead yet. But I feel, if he goes, there needs to be a strong conclusion and I'm not sure how they'd pull it off next episode.

Sauron talking to Celebrimbor about Melkor, and basically quoting Tolkien's commentary on their differences, was great to hear on screen. As was them quickly showing how it's nowhere close to a justification. Celebrimbor's line about Sauron truly being the Great Deceiver, as he has deceived even himself, was great. And I already mentioned it, but so was Celebrimbor remembering Maedhros and Fingon, and having the willpower to best Sauron.

Until we saw Sauron actually angry in the tower, I really was thinking Galadriel was Sauron that entire scene. I wonder how the Sauron-Galadriel confrontation will go.

Damrod the troll was great. As was the Orcish grumbling about Adar, seeing he was more concerned with the freedom of his children than their lives. I can see Adar experience a reversal of what Adar did to Sauron in the season's opening flashback. Then Sauron finally getting his crown.

I'm curious how they're going to wrap-up Numenor, the Wizards, Isildur/Theo, and especially Khazad-dum. I know the Dwarves will eventually make it to help cover the retreat, whether in this finale or the Season 3 premiere, but not sure about King Durin (and what he may wake up... but I really doubt they have time for that in the next episode.)

 

So apparently there's gas-lighting in this series?

Sent from my Lenovo TB125FU using Tapatalk

 

why aren’t you angry that Galadriel is cheating on Saur Ron

 

I just watched the episode. I thought it was really great; as this season has been overall. Some pretty intense battles out there.

A few questions that came to mind.

Spoiler

1. I was a tad confused at how Celebrimbor caved in so quickly to get back in the ring making after pushing Mirdania to her death. I mean I guess it was about how he already had a plan in motion. It just seemed a tad sudden.

2. More of a legacy question, but is it safe to assume that the fact that the Durin's dwarfs didn't come to assist the Elves will be the beginning of that grudge between the Elves and Dwarfs that lasts through the LOTR era?

 

she WHAT?!!

. . .

. . .

I am only partway through episode one. I was taking my time because I thought she would be faithful.

 

Rarely does the left hand strike when the right is raised. You don't even know what the Faithful are and yet you proclaim Galadriel to be one of them.

 

Saur Ron Weasley?

 

It was clearly just a distraction so they wouldn't notice him passing her the pin (gives his "I'm sorry" a great layer of humor). Not to mention that Galadriel is not his mother-in-law yet, as Elrond isn't married.

This was great—and often brutal and tragic. The Sauron-Celembrimbor arc was almost pitch-perfect, and that battle just looked great. The cinematography was stellar—better than most films.

 

You know one thing that I was thinking about throughout today, whatever happened to Isildur? It seems like he's had all but about two minutes of airtime this season so far.

I guess he's not really all that important to the story...

 

No, that grudge is already millennia old. Aside from being fundamentally different kinds of people, there was the whole Nauglamir incident back in the First Age.

 

That was incredible. This season has been great.

 

The focus being on Eregion for the season, Isildur’s sojourn in Middle Earth took an understandable backseat. But in the next few seasons, the rise of imperial Numenor, its intervention in Middle Earth, its further corruption by Sauron, and its fall, will be central. And Isildur will play a central role in all of that.

 

I'd say that there's a lot more than just a layer of humour here. In my reading of the scene, Elrond's "forgive me" has a triple meaning: there's "forgive me for leaving you behind", which is what Adar is supposed to hear, there's "forgive me for not believing you when you said that all this was about Sauron", which is what Galadriel hears (hence her answer, "win"), and there's "forgive me for what I'm about to do", which is what Elrond truly means. There were several occurences this season where what a character says can be interpreted in many, very different ways; it's mostly been the case with Sauron of course, but this was another indication that, in this desperate situation, even Sauron's opponents end up using his methods.

With that being said, I feel that the shock value of that particular scene was unnecessary and even counter-productive. This was such a brilliant, brilliant episode, yet we're mostly talking about "the kiss" rather than all the rest. I for one am super-super impatient for the season finale.

PS: @Sarge, it looks like you were onto something when you mentioned the idea of the rings changing hands.

 

Great second finale episode.

 

How many seasons is this series supposed to go?

 

5

 

If keeping with the books..

Spoiler

the Dwarves help cover the retreat of the Elves, but they weren't able to actually "win" the battle for them in the books either

 

Actually, I thought it was changing mouths.

 

Episode 7 of season 2 was epic. Just wonderful. I wasn't expecting it to be so brutal and violent. Good times.

 

My guess is:
-finale episode: the end of the Eregion storyline, Sauron grabs the Nine, Miriel become co-ruler, Elendil go to Amandim & Anarion, Isildur plans to take the boat back to Numenor, Sauron takes leadership of the Orcs with a scene paralleling what happened to Sauron in the Season 2 prologue flashback but Galadriel finding him dying in the aftermath and giving her a rumor he heard that Celeborn is alive in Rhovanion somewhere, Blue Wizards or Gandalf reveal

-Season 3: giving of the Nine, we see the Entwives split to treat their gardens as springtime approaches, the Harfoots encounter the Entwives and learn farming/gardening from them, Galadriel’s search for Celeborn brings her to the Harfoots and Entwives, there’s Wizard stuff out east and we meet the Eastern Dwarves in the Red Mountains and a couple Dragons devour some of the Seven (which Sauron planned), Sauron forges the One Ring and attacks the Entwives, who hold off for the escape of the Harfoots as it becomes the Brownlands, Sauron declares himself king of Middle-earth, Pharazon builds Umbar and plans to challenge Sauron due to his palantir visions, Elendil and Isildur reconnect with Anarion and Amandil, the Balrog takes away Khazad-dum, Galadriel finds Celeborn imprisoned in Mount Gundabad or the Lonely Mountain by Orcs who are planning to move to the Misty Mountains

Season 4: Pharazon captures Sauron in episode 1, the whole fall of Numenor storyline with it sinking in episode 7, Dwarves travel to the Iron Hills and plan to go to the Lonely Mountain or the Gray Mountains, Orcs decide if they should still ally with Sauron or not if he returns from Numenor and cause some trouble for Pelagir, Galadriel and Celeborn try to get the Lothlorien Elves to ally with Gil-galad and end up ruling Lothlorien, Elrond meets Elendil in the last episode and agrees to escort those survivors to Lake Evendim (where he’ll found Arnor, Isildur and Anarion arrive in Pelagir and decide to go up the River (where they’ll found Gondor), the remaining Harfoots and Stoors encounter the Dallohides and decide to go west after and Nori splits from the Blue Wizard /Gandalf

Season 5: beginnings of Gondor and Arnor, Nazgûl cause trouble, Shire is founded, Dwarves settle in new home post-Balrog and send a small force south, disfigured Sauron dons the armor and builds Baradur in Mordor, most of the season is the War of the Last Alliance, Nori is the one hobbit to leave after the Shire is settled to rejoin her wizard friend in the Siege of Mordor, ends with Isildur’s death (and some of the Stoors who decided to stay by the river as they go west, like Nori’s friend and her boyfriend see the attack at Gladden fields), Wizard stays in Middle-earth after the war ends and welcomes the new Wizards to middle-earth then decides to return east to help the people there (if Blue) or to wander and help throughout the lands (if Gandalf), Gandalf is given Cirdan’s ring and Elrsnd claims Gil-galad’s, Nori’s friend witnesses Isildur’s death and finds him dying after he loses the ring and floats down the river and Isildur says something that gives us some final sympathy for Isildur so we see him more like how Frodo failed the impossible test rather than like Gollum