In the past week tensions across Middle-Earth have risen sharply—almost a little again surprisingly, as the season finally decided that now as the time when everything should start to go wrong in each of its rows of thousands, far apart. Well, now that it’s all gone, what’s next? Everyone, hero and villain alike in Middle-Earth, is ready to be cast down, for now they must consider surrendering to the path they are set upon.
More from “Where Is She?”, episode six Rings of PowerSeason two, it’s about the build-up we’ve known was coming all season: culminating in the War Between the Elves and Sauron from Tolkien’s story, but with a twist that’s really, the War Between the Elves, Sauron, and the Adari. The episode, and most of the season so far, still has to use that interesting dynamic that Eregion is actually the third part of Adar’s beef with Sauron, but overall it does a solid job of having almost all of the different storylines come to a point where its characters must commit to the fight that lies ahead. theirs.
Just as given the large number of different threads that continue the show, we get this with only a small touch of a few stories, such as Nori and Poppy who undertake to help the Stoors defend their home from the forces of the Dark Wizard and Tom Bombadil who leaves the Unknown with the choice to face his fate and Middle-earth as Istar, or go find her friends. Arondir’s part in the episode is almost entirely to do a little running around and kill a few orcs, but at least it points him in the direction of Eregion, and his commitment to protect the world from this invading evil.
There’s still a lot to chew on in Númenor, but it’s also the weakest part of the episode. If last week was about how Pharazôn feels suddenly replaced, this week is about how his sudden temporary appearance feels. Or maybe it’s because everyone in Númenor is kind of an idiot and is willing to call out the government only for the existence of the Giant Animal, given how quickly everyone is in favor of Míriel’s right to rule as Queen when she survives the ordeal with the sea. and a giant, Watcher-in-the-water-esque monster. I can’t stress enough that this plot hinges on Pharazôn and his cronies, apparently masterminds of political intrigue, who can’t read by book, but again, this moves the pieces on the proverbial chessboard. Míriel is up, Pharazon is down, but hey he’s a hypocrite and touches the Palantir, giving him the vision of the Dread Charlie Vickers and setting us on that inevitable path to the inevitable destruction of the island nation. Everyone is on their own path, no matter how stupid it is to get there!
But no, “Where is He?” keeps its good take on this vision of the most connected plots of the season so far: the growing corruption of the influence of the rings of Khazad-dûm, and the war that comes to the door of the Eregion as Sauron/Annatar mainly directs Celebrimbor in making the final set. of rings. While the latter will be the focus as we head into the climax of this season, it’s Khazad-dûm there. Rings of Power in fact it is determined to resolve its major stakes and return to real human conflict. Well, The Dwarvenbut you know what I mean.
As King Durin’s selfishness and power in the ring became clearer and clearer, Prince Durin and Disa finally realized that they could no longer try to appeal to the man they knew, and stop his plans to dig deeper into Khazad-dûm’s gold. and the mithril mines will require them to actually take up arms, with difficulty, not just for their king, but for the man they love dearly and sincerely. It comes to a head in what could be a great scene Rings of Power Owain Arthur gives a poignant moment of vulnerability to the stubborn Durin, shedding tears to Disa as he tells him he doesn’t know if he can stand up to his father, amid Disa’s tragedy. looking at this man, he thought that he had just returned to his life, slipping in front of him. It’s not a great battle or a marching army, but an important reminder of the personal cost of the rings of power, the lives Sauron wreaked havoc on in his quest to rule them all. The war of the rings is more than nations against nations, species against species, one army against another: it is a battle for the very soul of Middle-Earth and its people, and what their lives mean to each other. That’s what Durin and Disa are willing to put on the line in their rebellion, and that’s more important than us knowing its inevitable end.
All of this, then, is combined with the growing tension that drives the episode in Eregion, as Adar makes his play to Galadriel in the group that can destroy Sauron forever, and Sauron himself realizes that he is running out of ways to deceive, cheat, or whore his way out of it. Well, after six episodes of Vickers enjoying the control Sauron/Annatar has over his energy ring systems, he actually has to deal with his own realization for now. everything he bends to his will. In fact, for a while it feels like he’s actually spinning a few plates, as Celebrimbor begins to succumb to the demands of work and his prideful drive to carve out his place in history, and dead Elven guards begin to appear horribly carved. messages from the treacherous Adar. As much as this season is about how Sauron gets into people’s heads to get what he wants, there’s a real tension in seeing him falter for a moment. Like everyone else in this episode, guided by his tactics or otherwise, Sauron must make the choice to commit to his creation and be ready to stand and fight as Adar’s forces begin to descend on Ost-in-Edhil, literally inviting the challenge. as the two duped Celebrimbor with the illusion of a peaceful city while he prepared to watch the first flaming weapons of the siege come hurling over the walls.
After slowly but surely (then quickly and less surely) reminding us of the stakes and scales in this era—news stories all over Middle-Earth, about the end of Middle-Earth, are getting bigger and bigger—it’s interesting that something that levels the playing field for everyone involved, and what brings them back down to earth, is a united sense of commitment to what they stand for, whether good or bad. Everyone has found their reason to fight… so now it’s time for the real fighting to begin.
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