By Ben Wright (@iamzavagno | www.xgeeks.co.uk)
This review contains spoilers.
In the Southlands, Adar rouses his forces as they march on Ostirith. However, upon arrival they find the fort abandoned – all except for Arondir of course! The trap is beautifully sprung and the tower collapses, and the orcs that remain are now trapped in the fort. While all this chaos ensues, Bronwyn has led the refugees back to the village and started to muster their defences for the inevitable second wave to follow. This was a fantastic opening sequence to the episode and really set the tone for everything that was to follow. The village is fortified and Arondir rallies those able to fight ready for the remains of Adar’s army. Despite all the impending danger, Arondir and Bronwyn are still able to converse with each other and have a very sweet scene – the music of which really helped to elevate it!
Out on the high seas, we are treated to a nice exchange between Galadriel and Isildur before the stunning wide shot featuring the edge of Middle-Earth and the rising sun. It was a great moment, but also a sign that they need to make haste in order to help the villagers, as their time is running out!
Night has fallen in the village. The tension is palpable. What I loved most about this scene was the silence of everything but the whistling wind. Then, to disrupt this tranquillity, we slowly start to see the torches emerge in the distance and the soundtrack starts to build. This was the perfect triple threat of the visual, sound use and edit – just sublime! The battle for the Southlands has begun…
The villagers spring yet another trap and cut off the orc’s retreat. What ensued was a really brutal, but visually well-executed, battle. The lighting really added to the scene and there were some incredible stunt performers on display, who took some really heavy falls! I also finally got my wish of a one-shot fight, not once but twice, as Arondir fought off a giant orc. This was a great and brutal fight. The cheers of victory were soon followed by the cries of despair, as the villagers soon realise that most of the ‘orcs’, that had been slain, were, in fact, their neighbours, the ones who left the fort with Waldreg. I always felt like this was going to be a small victory followed by a massacre, and that turned out to be the case, as arrow fire reigned down on them from the darkness of the forest. Many villagers’ lives were lost, and Bronwyn took an arrow to her shoulder. While they tried to build this as her end, the fact they showed the arrow so clearly in the position it was, I was never really worried – but the fake-out scene with her ‘death’ was still well acted and an emotional moment. With the remaining villagers now Adar’s prisoners, and Adar in possession of the hilt, all hope looks lost…
Galadriel leads the Númenor riders across the hills. The use of the main theme and the wide-shot visuals really gave this moment an epic feeling. The thunderous noise of the hooves that echoed inside the inn as the orcs rushed out in panic was fantastic. As the riders charged into the village a mesmerising battle ensued. This was some of the best fantasy action I have seen in a long time, at least on this scale. Galadriel with her hose acrobatics, Arondir with his swooping swordplay and Halbrand with his pole action. It was such a great scene. I also loved the colour contrast of the white armour amongst the browns and dirt of the village landscape and orcs. It just made the action really ‘pop’ on screen. As Adar flees, Galadriel and Halbrand pursue, and Bear McCreary kills it with the orchestral score here – the man has yet again given me all-over chills! With Adar captured, I appreciated them showing the horse was ok and trapped, Galadriel has to talk Halbrand down from killing Adar. Joseph Mawle is SO good! I loved to the way he is playing Adar. There is so much sorrow, pain, and torment behind those eyes.
Back at the Village, Valandril informs Isildur that he’s got his friends a spot in Galadriel’s company so that they can track down the remaining orcs. Ontamo, however, decides to stay as he’s had his fill of fighting. I actually quite like this scene being included as it gives another viewpoint to the battle. He wants to aid people in the village and help secure it. Showing that not all of the ‘warrior characters in the show lust for battle and glory. The understanding and compassion from his friends for his decision made a really heart-warming, yet subtle, scene. After all, friendships or ‘fellowships’ have always been at the heart of Middle-Earth. We learn that Adar claims to have slain Sauron and that he does not act under his orders. We also find out that Adar was not in possession of the hilt, in fact, he had given it to Waldreg who uses it at Ostirith to unlock the dam, flooding the lands below and all the way into the lava-filled heart of the mountain, a mountain we know that one day becomes known as Mount Doom. Well, doom is the word, as the mountain erupts causing untold death and destruction, and as the clouds and fires consume Galadriel, the episode ends…
Wow. What an episode! Don’t get me wrong, I have loved every single episode of the show so far, but just like the eruption at the end, this feels like a huge release of action after weeks of tension and story build-up. To see characters from different narratives finally interacting with one another is also hugely rewarding. The action was fantastic from start to finish, but there was still so much emotion packed within the episode, be it the loss of Isildur’s mother, Arondir and Bronwyn and even Galadriel and Halbrand, pulling each other back from the darkness. There was so much trauma and vulnerability weaved into the action that just made the entire episode much stronger for it. The music once again played a huge part in heightening the onscreen visuals and with the story kicking up another notch again, thanks to the ending, it is over to the Harfoots and Elrond and Durin to pick up the baton and takes us to the next big twist in this highly entertaining series!
Oh, and on a final note, my ‘who is Halbrand’ has once again shifted and returned to my initial guess the first time we met him. So let me know who you think he truly is… or if he is just who is says he is, I’d be very interested in hearing what you all think!
What did you think of the latest episode of The Rings of Power? Let us know in the comments or find us on social media!
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