TRoP: Moar dysfunctional families
Dec. 7th, 2024 10:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shallownessThe Rings of Power - 2.6 Where Is He?
Nearly everyone was in this episode, which meant that it was very scattered at first. When we first saw Arondir, I thought they were replaying Elrond running to warn Lindon, but no. Arondir killed some Orcs and got a better look at a map than I did.
The Stranger was having visions of Nori in danger. Tom Bombadil told him that this was his last chance to get his staff as he kept failing his tests, what with wanting to wield the fire or something. I am not convinced by this Tom as the first Istar thing. It would boil down to the Stranger choosing his friend or his destiny, Tom told him, before vanishing. (From the sofa, it’s obvious: pick your ‘friend’ and you’ll get the staff and destiny will take care of itself.)
Poppy is such an afterthought for the Stranger. Fortunately for her, she wasn’t for Nobody. They had a cutesy first kiss. Nori, feeling guilty she was putting the Stoors in danger, tried to get them to move, got nowhere because this was their home (yeah, but it’s no Shire). Despite being loved up, Poppy said that they’d fight (or something. Mainly I was staring at the Harfoots’ hair, thinking they didn’t do it like that in the first season.)
The first of the three main strands were at Numenor (speaking of hair, Pharazon’s has been tamped down disappointingly since he became king.) Elendil’s wrong-headed daughter was trying to get her father to recant, he really wouldn’t, and it looked as though the rift was too great between them because he had principles that hadn’t been passed on to her. She tried to use Miriel to influence him, I was disappointed in Miriel descending to ‘you have to lie, because I can’t lose you’. Elendil reminded her that being faithful meant being faithful, not just saying you were, whatever the cost, and his daughter and I witnessed some poignant forehead leaning.
He would not recognise Pharazon as king at a mock trial, and so it was decided to test him by sea monster to see what the Valar made of him. Horns blew to raise the monster. And then Miriel turned up in a very wafty gown saying by rights she should go through this trial. Lots of noble ‘No, I should put myself in danger, no, I should,’ between them, but it seemed that Elendil had reminded Miriel to have faith, so into the water she went. The material of her dress and hair floated prettily. The monster took a good look at her, she obviously couldn’t do likewise. Just as the usurper’s party was celebrating the success of their cunning plan, the sea returned her, showing that the Valar found her innocent, and Elendil was the first to call her queen. (Would like an explanation for the business with the Eagle, please.)
Nice little moment at court where Pharazon grumbled at his troublemaking son for being so heavy handed at the shrine. Parental relationships not so good on Numenor.
Celebrimbor was getting testy and forgetting the Blonde Galadriel Stand-In’s name (as do I, I’ll call her Lady Smith.) Instead of saying he should take a rest, Annatar!Sauron said Celebrimbor should go further in, and gained Celebrimbor’s permission to take charge of Eregion, where there was a bit worry, because the dwarves weren’t delivering their mithril and messengers were not coming back, apart from one mutilated body, marked by the question (in the dark tongue?) ‘Where Is He?’
Annatar!Sauron had a little moment with Lady Smith, which was partly about exerting control, partly about him indulging himself because she too is short and blonde like Galadriel, and then he was off to Moira.
Durin was finding his ring-wearing dad difficult. Durin senior did not give Annatar!Sauron what he wanted (he seemed to be threatening the Balrog, while Durin snr thought he was striking a hard bargain, but it looks like Annatar!Sauron nicked some mithril anyway). We had a pretty nasty scene where he attacked Durin for trying to take the ring off him.
Durin was a sobbing ‘I can’t go against my Daaaa’ mess after that, while Disa was a lot tougher, even though she apparently thinks of King Durin as more of a father than her own (should have shown that, show, screenwriting 101.) She was the one who stood up to the dwarves sent to mine where they should not, singing down some bats to stop them in a very cool moment. Durin was suitably hearts in his eyes at his wife, but she knew this was just the beginning. WARRIOR PRINCESSES!
Galadriel was brought to have a chat with her captor (would have been better if they hadn’t had to recast Adar), who seemed to be suggesting they fought together to bring down Sauron. He just wanted a leetle information. It felt like the crown of Morgoth ought to have had more impact, really. By talking about how Sauron ‘bores inside you and slithers inside’, Adar went big on the ‘common enemy’, but even though I am heavily influenced by knowing how Sauron is ultimately defeated, apart from the power of the three rings, what new was Adar bringing? He’d failed to destroy Sauron before.
But he wore Galadriel down. I thought she was spouting too much before he unchained her. Turned out Adar had just wanted confirmation that Halbrand was Sauron and was in Eregion, but the mighty commander of the north had given him more intel by revealing that Elrond had her ring. Of course, the viewers knew that some of what Galadriel believed to be true wasn’t, and when she realised Adar’s betrayal and real plans, she also realised that Sauron wanted Adar to take his Uruk army into Eregion, because he planned to take it for his own. Which makes emotional sense, though I’m not sure HOW he’s going to do that. Yes, we know some of the Orcs aren’t too impressed with Adar’s current schemes, but…
We were reminded of the power of Annatar!Sauron (who had very impressive robes in this episode) as he used his magic (creepily) to convince Celebrimbor that all was well, it was daylight in Eregion (where there were LOADS of elven children) and he hadn’t heard the alarm, and should just go back and try harder to forge the nine rings. Of course, there had been an alarm, and the Orc army was about to attack.
(So, presumably Sauron will gain the Orc army by MAGIC!)
We returned to Numenor at the end of ep, where the hypocrite Pharazon got a vision of Halbrand!Sauron in the Palantir. (So, has Sauron picked up a Palantir somehow now, or is that just an indication of how things are falling the powerful grandmaster’s way?)
Nearly everyone was in this episode, which meant that it was very scattered at first. When we first saw Arondir, I thought they were replaying Elrond running to warn Lindon, but no. Arondir killed some Orcs and got a better look at a map than I did.
The Stranger was having visions of Nori in danger. Tom Bombadil told him that this was his last chance to get his staff as he kept failing his tests, what with wanting to wield the fire or something. I am not convinced by this Tom as the first Istar thing. It would boil down to the Stranger choosing his friend or his destiny, Tom told him, before vanishing. (From the sofa, it’s obvious: pick your ‘friend’ and you’ll get the staff and destiny will take care of itself.)
Poppy is such an afterthought for the Stranger. Fortunately for her, she wasn’t for Nobody. They had a cutesy first kiss. Nori, feeling guilty she was putting the Stoors in danger, tried to get them to move, got nowhere because this was their home (yeah, but it’s no Shire). Despite being loved up, Poppy said that they’d fight (or something. Mainly I was staring at the Harfoots’ hair, thinking they didn’t do it like that in the first season.)
The first of the three main strands were at Numenor (speaking of hair, Pharazon’s has been tamped down disappointingly since he became king.) Elendil’s wrong-headed daughter was trying to get her father to recant, he really wouldn’t, and it looked as though the rift was too great between them because he had principles that hadn’t been passed on to her. She tried to use Miriel to influence him, I was disappointed in Miriel descending to ‘you have to lie, because I can’t lose you’. Elendil reminded her that being faithful meant being faithful, not just saying you were, whatever the cost, and his daughter and I witnessed some poignant forehead leaning.
He would not recognise Pharazon as king at a mock trial, and so it was decided to test him by sea monster to see what the Valar made of him. Horns blew to raise the monster. And then Miriel turned up in a very wafty gown saying by rights she should go through this trial. Lots of noble ‘No, I should put myself in danger, no, I should,’ between them, but it seemed that Elendil had reminded Miriel to have faith, so into the water she went. The material of her dress and hair floated prettily. The monster took a good look at her, she obviously couldn’t do likewise. Just as the usurper’s party was celebrating the success of their cunning plan, the sea returned her, showing that the Valar found her innocent, and Elendil was the first to call her queen. (Would like an explanation for the business with the Eagle, please.)
Nice little moment at court where Pharazon grumbled at his troublemaking son for being so heavy handed at the shrine. Parental relationships not so good on Numenor.
Celebrimbor was getting testy and forgetting the Blonde Galadriel Stand-In’s name (as do I, I’ll call her Lady Smith.) Instead of saying he should take a rest, Annatar!Sauron said Celebrimbor should go further in, and gained Celebrimbor’s permission to take charge of Eregion, where there was a bit worry, because the dwarves weren’t delivering their mithril and messengers were not coming back, apart from one mutilated body, marked by the question (in the dark tongue?) ‘Where Is He?’
Annatar!Sauron had a little moment with Lady Smith, which was partly about exerting control, partly about him indulging himself because she too is short and blonde like Galadriel, and then he was off to Moira.
Durin was finding his ring-wearing dad difficult. Durin senior did not give Annatar!Sauron what he wanted (he seemed to be threatening the Balrog, while Durin snr thought he was striking a hard bargain, but it looks like Annatar!Sauron nicked some mithril anyway). We had a pretty nasty scene where he attacked Durin for trying to take the ring off him.
Durin was a sobbing ‘I can’t go against my Daaaa’ mess after that, while Disa was a lot tougher, even though she apparently thinks of King Durin as more of a father than her own (should have shown that, show, screenwriting 101.) She was the one who stood up to the dwarves sent to mine where they should not, singing down some bats to stop them in a very cool moment. Durin was suitably hearts in his eyes at his wife, but she knew this was just the beginning. WARRIOR PRINCESSES!
Galadriel was brought to have a chat with her captor (would have been better if they hadn’t had to recast Adar), who seemed to be suggesting they fought together to bring down Sauron. He just wanted a leetle information. It felt like the crown of Morgoth ought to have had more impact, really. By talking about how Sauron ‘bores inside you and slithers inside’, Adar went big on the ‘common enemy’, but even though I am heavily influenced by knowing how Sauron is ultimately defeated, apart from the power of the three rings, what new was Adar bringing? He’d failed to destroy Sauron before.
But he wore Galadriel down. I thought she was spouting too much before he unchained her. Turned out Adar had just wanted confirmation that Halbrand was Sauron and was in Eregion, but the mighty commander of the north had given him more intel by revealing that Elrond had her ring. Of course, the viewers knew that some of what Galadriel believed to be true wasn’t, and when she realised Adar’s betrayal and real plans, she also realised that Sauron wanted Adar to take his Uruk army into Eregion, because he planned to take it for his own. Which makes emotional sense, though I’m not sure HOW he’s going to do that. Yes, we know some of the Orcs aren’t too impressed with Adar’s current schemes, but…
We were reminded of the power of Annatar!Sauron (who had very impressive robes in this episode) as he used his magic (creepily) to convince Celebrimbor that all was well, it was daylight in Eregion (where there were LOADS of elven children) and he hadn’t heard the alarm, and should just go back and try harder to forge the nine rings. Of course, there had been an alarm, and the Orc army was about to attack.
(So, presumably Sauron will gain the Orc army by MAGIC!)
We returned to Numenor at the end of ep, where the hypocrite Pharazon got a vision of Halbrand!Sauron in the Palantir. (So, has Sauron picked up a Palantir somehow now, or is that just an indication of how things are falling the powerful grandmaster’s way?)
