Episode 207 | The Rings of Power Season Two Breakdown & Reaction
Please note that this blog entry contains spoilers for episode seven of season two.
Episode Seven: Doomed to Die
The Rings of Power Season Two Episode Breakdown and Reaction
Plotlines in this Episode:
Khazad-dûm
The Army of Orcs and the Elves on the Battlefield
Eregion under Siege
Celebrimbor and Annatar in the Forge
No Pelargir or Rhûn in this episode.
Let’s begin by discussing Khazad-dûm because it’s the least entangled with the other storylines. The rest of the storylines all converge in this episode so it’s more difficult to discuss them separately. There is also a lot of incredible dialogue in this episode that I want to highlight, so hopefully this video won’t be too long. There are also several core Tolkienian themes at work in this episode that I want to expand upon and do some deep analysis, but this video is moreso meant to be an initial breakdown and reaction so we will have to wait until I can find the time to do a few more re-watches before I’m ready to get too deep into analysis mode. Afterall, with an anticipated two years before season three, we’ll have plenty of time for that.
Khazad-dûm
In the beginning of this episode, Durin III learns that the elves of Eregion are now fully under siege. Rather than feeling the pull to assist them, however, the King insists that the dwarves must continue to delve even deeper. Durin IV and Disa hold the mine against King Durin for fear of whatever creature may lie beneath the stone, and the other miners join the prince in this effort.
Elrond arrives at the west-gate to plead with Durin IV for dwarven aid in battle. Durin initially agrees to fight alongside the elves and rallies the dwarven armies, but is forced to turn back when it becomes clear that the King has been driven completely mad by the Ring after turning his axe on his own men.
“Defeat, without your aid. Thousands of lives are at hazard, Durin. Celebrimbor is among them. I know I ask too much of you, Durin, but I need your ax, old friend. I need it now.” - Elrond
Adar’s Army Marches upon Eregion
As the siege of Eregion continues, Adar’s forces dam the river surrounding Ost-in-Edhil in order to allow their army to march across on dry land. Elrond leads the cavalry charge alongside Gil-galad against the orcs, but halts upon seeing Galadriel held in a cage by Adar’s army.
Elrond enters the orc camp to negotiate with Adar. Here, we learn a little more about Adar as he seems to be very familiar with Elrond’s reputation as well as the legacy of Melian the Maia.
Adar: “The Ring you carry: show it to me.”
Elrond: “A foolish act if I had brought it here.”
Adar: “If she speaks again, cut out her tongue.”
Adar: “Sauron is my enemy as much as yours. Give me what I need to defeat him and let us all be rid of him.”
Adar: “Eregion has fallen into shadow. It belongs to the Deceiver now, as does every Elf within its walls.”
Elrond: “Not Lord Celebrimbor.”
Adar: “It was Celebrimbor himself who welcomed Sauron in. You cannot save him. You can save Galadriel. It is an earnest offer. I suggest you take it, and leave Sauron to me.”
Adar: “You have the beauty of your foremother, Melian of the Valar. If even a fragment of her wisdom is in your veins, you must know you cannot defeat me in battle. I will outmaneuver you, my forces outfight yours, and you will fall.”
Elrond admonishes Adar that many of his children will die in the process, which draws Glûg’s attention.
Adar: “My children have endured cruelties your bravest couldn’t bear to hear spoken aloud.”
Elrond: “Are you prepared to spend their lives so freely, Adar? Are they?”
Adar presents an earnest offer: the Ring for Galadriel’s life. Elrond refuses, to which Adar responds that Galadriel will be executed.
Elrond pulls a pin from his cloak, asking if he may be permitted to bid Galadriel farewell if she is to die. It is now that we witness perhaps the most insane moment of this entire series because Elrond then kisses Galadriel, his future mother-in-law.
Elrond: “Forgive me.”
Galadriel: “Win.”
Now this is a “strategic, platonic kiss,” as I’ve been promised by the series showrunners, meant to distract the orcs from the fact that Elrond is slipping the brooch from his cloak into Galadriel’s hand. Much like Sauron’s proposal to Galadriel on the raft was not meant to be romantic, I am told this moment was also not intended to be romantic. (Make of that what you will.)
However, there are at least a dozen ways that the pin-passage might have been executed without kissing, Elrond is looking extremely into it, the camera zooms in on their faces and the music swells in this moment… so I do wonder if some sort of miscommunication may have occurred between departments in terms of the romance level being dialed up to a 10 for this scene. At the same time, however, it’s a very sweet scene so I can’t find it in me to be mad about it.
The Needlegate Controversy
Now this was a moment that was, for better or worse, leaked or at least alluded to several weeks ago so much of the core fandom has been preparing for it. According to one of the original leaks, Elrond passes a “needle” to Galadriel, so this entire situation has been dubbed “Needlegate.” If you’d been one of the lucky ones to hear about this scene beforehand, how are you feeling now that it’s finally here?
At the end of the day, it’s moments like these that affirm my position that The Rings of Power is indeed an original story set within Middle-earth, which strives to communicate Tolkien’s core themes whilst forging a new path of its own. Last I checked, Elrond isn’t kissing with Galadriel in the books, so we’re all good on that front. I’m sure that the fandom at large will handle this moment extremely maturely and responsibly.
It has also been discussed whether this is, in fact, meant to be Elrond’s first kiss and what the implications of that might be as well… but maybe it’s best if we move on.
Back to the Battle
Elrond is confident that the Dwarves are on the way, so he sends Vorohil to check in with them and then returns to the battle. Meanwhile, Galadriel uses the pin Elrond passed her to unlock her chains.
Once she has escaped, Galadriel dresses up in an orc cloak to escape the orc camp. As she's walking through the orc camp, she witnesses a pyre for the fallen orcs. Adar says a blessing type of thing for the fallen orcs: “In flames they return to darkness.” Adar seems genuinely moved by their deaths, which I think was very important for the audience to see.
Galadriel is discovered by a few orcs who note her “pretty hair”, but is rescued suddenly by Arondir. He initially insists on remaining in the camp to fight against Adar, who he holds responsible for the death of Bronwyn, but is persuaded by Galadriel to take the secret passage into Eregion.
Galadriel: “Come, I know a hidden way into the city. We must find Sauron.”
Galadriel warns Arondir that if he tries to kill Adar now, he will take his life.
Arondir: “He can have it. He has taken everything else from me.”
Elves on the Battlefield
On the battlefield, Elrond fights against many orcs. His horse is killed by an orc which enrages Elrond, and we can see a moment where he may be considering using the Ring he carries to heal the horse but ultimately decides to allow the horse to die. This battle lasts well into the night.
Rian, played by Selina Lo, finally has her moment to shine in this scene. However, her character’s death follows almost immediately which was a disappointment. Essentially, she gets Boromir’d but is able to destroy one of the siege-machines before her death.
In the orc camp, Glûg begs Adar to retreat but Adar refuses and calls out Damrod instead. Glûg views this as a betrayal because Damrod will kill indiscriminately. It’s in these decisions that we can see Adar once again acting as a mirror for Galadriel: he is losing himself to his single-minded pursuit of Sauron, much like she had in the first season.
Glug: “You told us you loved us.”
Adar: “With all that is left of my heart. Too much to let you become Sauron’s slaves.”
In this short but fun scene, Damrod ravages the battlefield, killing indiscriminately as Glug foresaw. Gil-galad arrives and faces off against Damrod, which is quite a fun moment because it was Ben Walker who both plays Gil-galad and voices Damrod.
Adar himself marches into Eregion as dawn approaches; as the sun rises, Elrond cries out that the Dwarves have come to bring them aid, but instead only one messenger arrives with news that Durin had recalled his army. My heart broke at this moment for Elrond who seemed in shock for the rest of the battle. He has clearly been thrust into a situation he was nowhere near prepared for, our poor sweet Kind as Summer boy.
The remaining elves of Eregion prepare to stand against an army of orcs. Unfortunately, it appears that there are perhaps less than 20 elves left to defend Eregion in total. Whether this was an intentional choice to display Eregion’s unpreparedness for war, or another example of The Rings of Power never hiring enough supporting actors for large-scale scenes remains to be seen.
Now I personally find battle scenes to be very boring, but I did love Gil-galad’s twirly spinny fight moves. I also want to take a moment here to recognize the incredible supporting orc actors in this scene, as I’ve read that there were over a thousand of them in full prosthetics and makeup. From what I’ve heard, these are very uncomfortable and take quite a long time to apply and remove, so I want to thank anyone who may be watching this that played any kind of role as an Orc this season. You’re incredible.
In the battle, there is a moment where it seems unclear whether or not Arondir is going to die. He is stabbed quite hard by Adar and is left lying in the mud, so I certainly hope that is resolved in the finale and I do hope he’s not dead.
Ultimately, Eregion is completely overrun and Elrond bows before Adar in what appears to be a surrender. He tries to stab Adar, who overpowers him and takes Nenya.
Adar: “Have you forgotten your Rúmil? “Never make war in anger.”
Celebrimbor and Annatar in Eregion
The final area of this story that we’ll discuss is, of course, my favorite but also the most painful to watch: Celebrimbor in Eregion. Here we will begin back with the opening scenes of this episode then journey through the rest of it as it pertains to Eregion.
The first ten seconds of this episode are perhaps the dearest to my heart out of anything in this series because we see Celebrimbor drinking a cup of tea, and we are going to pretend that they added that into the episode specifically for me. For legal purposes this is a joke; for silly purposes: thank you McPpayne, love you too!
While a lovely moment, we soon realize that it is in fact all a part of the vision that Annatar crafted for him and he is essentially trapped in this illusion. Outside on his balcony, he sees a pristine and idyllic Eregion. However, the “spell” is soon broken when Celebrimbor begins to notice small errors in the vision: the ruby in Feanor’s hammer is missing, the candles are not burning down, and the mouse scurries across the floor in a repeating pattern. One fun fact that I recently learned at the finale screening about this mouse is that they did indeed film with a real mouse and her name is Peachy.
This scene also featured Celebrimbor doing some actual forging, which felt like a treat after so much was done off-screen previously. The Nine rings are nearly complete, and Annatar remarks that it will be a sad occasion when their time together is ended.
“These past few weeks I have known such clarity, a focus I have not known in years, and I have you to thank for that. When the world is still, then the ideas can flow freely.” - Celebrimbor
Annatar: “It will be a sad occasion. I have so enjoyed our time together.”
Celebrimbor: “Well, all things must end.”
Annatar: “A pity, is it not?”
Annatar seems distraught over the thought that their time together may end soon, but Celebrimbor seems to be feeling relief. In this scene, they are once again acting very domestically which has been a delight to see. After Annatar leaves the forge, Celebrimbor continues to work but is distracted by the mouse as it continues to scurry. Here, we then see him take the first step into breaking himself free from Sauron’s illusion: he places a mark on the candle as a way to track time.
In Eregion, outside of the Forge, Annatar advises the soldiers to prepare for a ground assault as they realize Adar’s army is damming the river which protects their city. By this point, Annatar has all but assumed command of the entire city after convincing all of the smiths and soldiers that Celebrimbor’s mind has gone.
In a chilling moment, Annatar tells Mirdania that she has proven her quality and will be duly rewarded. I cannot help but wonder what this could have meant had his plans for her not changed a few moments later.
“You have proven your quality, Mirdania. When the time comes, I will see to it that you are… duly rewarded.” - Annatar
Returning to the forge, Celebrimbor has realized that he has been trapped within an illusion. And it is here that we begin one of the most painful scenes of the season.
Annatar: “You sought peace, I gave it to you.”
Celebrimbor: “No, whatever this is, this is hardly a gift. What have you done to me?”
Annatar: “Done to you? You welcomed my instruction. You practically begged for it. Now a mouse scurries by, and you fly to pieces. Listen to yourself.”
Celebrimbor: “Oh, what have you done to me? No Emissary of the Valar would do this. Who are you… truly?”
Here we see the brilliance in Charlie Vickers’ acting as Annatar where his anger seems to be boiling under the surface as his face twitches in rage over Celebrimbor’s accusation. Annatar responds with one of the best lines from this episode, “I am the one keeping the storm at bay, balancing the very sun above your head, all to give you this one chance to prove your worth! Now, I want the Nine!”
Celebrimbor throws Feanor’s hammer across the room toward Annatar, shattering a window which allows him to hear the sounds of the siege outside. With the window, the illusion is finally shattered.
Celebrimbor steps out onto the balcony and sees, for the first time in weeks, the reality of Eregion. Explosions, elves screaming and running; his realm burning. Celebrimbor begins to sob. Here I am having to seriously consider whether I can bear to finish watching this because it’s so sad.
He returns into the forge to see the reality of it as well. The forge has already been partially destroyed. Celebrimbor is weeping, as Annatar cruelly stands and watches.
He discovers that the “Mithril” he had been using to craft the Rings was actually a black liquid, which is apparently Sauron’s blood.
Celebrimbor: “What… what is this?”
Annatar: “I have learned so much from you, since I came to Eregion. But no lesson is more lasting than this: True creation requires sacrifice.”
It is then that Celebrimbor finally realizes who Annatar is: He is Sauron.
Celebrimbor: “You are He, are you not? You are…”
Annatar: “I have many names.”
Celebrimbor leaves the forge and enters out into the burning city, calling out for Mirdania. He attempts to explain everything to Mirdania, but she has already been so manipulated by Sauron that she does not believe Celebrimbor.
There is a bit of dialogue in this moment that reminds me of the short story, “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. This short story tells the plight of a woman who has been diagnosed with postpartum hysteria and has been essentially imprisoned in a room by her physician husband who treats her like an infant. The walls of this room are covered in a strangely sinister yellow wallpaper which depicts a pattern that the narrator becomes obsessed with; she eventually comes to believe that there is a woman trapped inside of the wallpaper. Then that there are many women, and ultimately that she is the woman who had been trapped and is now free as she tears the wallpaper down. At the end of the story, Perkins Gilman writes, “I've got out at last," said I, " in spite of you and Jane? And I've pulled off most of the paper, so you can't put me back! "
Whether or not this was intentional at all, the similarities between the narrator’s husband essentially placing her in a prison in which she is driven mad, and Annatar’s treatment of Celebrimbor felt quite applicable to me when Celebrimbor says to Mirdania, “He planned all of this, to force me to forge the Rings. He put me in some kind of a prison. A prison of the mind, but I am out. I am out…. You must believe me.”
Naturally, Mirdania does not believe him and Annatar manages to appear out of nowhere to take control of the situation. Appearing even more mad, Celebrimbor recommends that they cut Annatar open to prove that he is Sauron by revealing his black blood. Of course, this backfires when Annatar simply presents his hand from which flows red blood. Another illusion.
“No, he is Sauron! If you do not believe me, cut him open. Look at his hand, look at his blood. Black as pitch.” - Celebrimbor
Mirdania is moved to tears by Celebrimbor’s display of apparent insanity and she tries to help Celebrimbor back to ‘where he belongs’, but as Celebrimbor argues against this action Annatar flicks his hands which results in Mirdania being thrown from the city walls by what appears to be Celebrimbor. She is then killed by orcs.
Annatar seems a bit bothered by Mirdania’s death, despite being its cause. It’s a sad day when you’re forced to kill your new girlfriend who looks like your ex-girlfriend Galadriel. He says to Celebrimbor, “All this can end. Finish the Nine, and I will spare your city.”
Annatar: “All this can end. Finish the Nine, and I will spare your city.”
Celebrimbor: “What will you do to them?”
Annatar: “Create perfect and lasting peace.”
After this, Celebrimbor is forcibly returned to the Forge and chained to his desk in order to finish the Nine. I feel like I might have said this already but here we have a bit more of the most Tolkienian dialogue of the series.
“Be not afraid. This too shall pass. I promise you when Middle-earth is healed, and its people see what you and I did here, all our sufferings will be worth it.” - Annatar
Annatar continues to manipulate Celebrimbor in such an intense way that it almost feels, at times, a little too on the nose. It’s almost like you could go down a checklist of 10 red flags to watch out for in an abusive relationship and he’s just ticking each one off as he goes. Annatar insists that it pains him to torment Celerbimbor but that his hand was forced into doing so.
But the most interesting moment here is when he begins to open up about his relationship with Morgoth.
Annatar: “You must know it pains me, treating you like--”
Celebrimbor: “Like you’ve treated countless others?”
Annatar: “Like Morgoth treated me. Do you know what it is to be tortured at the hands of a god?”
Celebrimbor: “I cannot imagine.”
Annatar: “I see the end, Celebrimbor. So clearly. I have seen it from the moment I awoke. But his end, it was different from mine. For what he wished to destroy, I wished… to perfect. Sometimes, the pain almost became a reward. Became a game. A contest, to see whose will was the mightier.”
Celebrimbor: “After all that, you would still choose to inflict the same pain upon me?”
Annatar: “No, you chose it. No I… All depends on the Rings. And since you forced me to torment you to bring them into being, I am but a victim of your obstinance. And you, the true author of your own torment.”
Celebrimbor: “You truly are the Great Deceiver. You can deceive even yourself.”
Annatar: “Finish them.”
This entire scene so perfectly encapsulates the differences and similarities between Morgoth and Sauron according to Tolkien. It’s in moments like this that the series really shines for me and I can almost forget that ten minutes ago Elrond was smooching his future mother-in-law.
Annatar leaves the forge once again and Celebrimbor throws all of the Nine into his furnace, though they cannot be destroyed. Planning his escape, he places the rings into a pouch and begins to wrestle against the chain that binds him. Ultimately, in another intense moment, he uses one of his forge tools to slice off his own thumb in order to free himself.
“Whose will is mightier?” - Celebrimbor
Namarië: Galadriel and Celebrimbor
Celebrimbor comes into the courtyard outside of his forge, where the guards attempt to return him to his tower, “by order of Annatar, Lord of Eregion.” By providential timing, Galadriel arrives and wrests him from the guards.
“That is Lord Celebrimbor, greatest of elven-smiths: release him… This is the Lord of Eregion!” - Galadriel
In this moment, Celebrimbor and Galadriel have a moment in which they reflect on the ways that Sauron ensnared the both of them.
Celebrimbor: “From the beginning, a part of me… knew. A part of me saw. But I, I wanted what he offered. So, I blinded myself to what he was.
Galadriel: “So did I.”
Galadriel urges Celebrimbor to escape through the tunnel but Celebrimbor says that he must remain in the city that he himself built, and insists that Galadriel must escape herself with the Rings.
Galadriel: “I won’t let you face him alone.”
Eregion: “I built this city. My place is here.”
Galadriel: “I am sorry I brought him here. I am sorry I wasn’t strong enough.”
Celebrimbor: “Neither of us is strong enough. There might not be anyone in Middle-earth who is. But perhaps, the Elves need only remember that it is not strength that overcomes darkness, but light. Armies may rise, hearts may fall, yet still light endures and is mightier than strength… For in its presence, all darkness must flee.”
Celebrimbor: “Namarië.”
Celebrimbor & Annatar
In the tower, Annatar is furious over Celebrimbor’s disappearance. The elven soldiers escort Celebrimbor back to his forge where he tells Sauron that his hand will never touch another ring again. Ultimately, Sauron manipulates the soldiers into killing one another and Celebrimbor is left to face Sauron alone.
“You think it was only you who put yourself in my power? - Annatar
Sauron’s line here felt very key because it reminds me of the way that a vampire in the traditional sense can’t enter into your home uninvited, or the same might be said for a demon. It suggests that one must open themselves up to the designs of Sauron in order for him to “slither in” as Adar phrased it. I think this might be a good line to hold onto and hopefully discuss in more depth later on after the season has wrapped.
Episode Seven Thoughts:
This is the best episode of the season, maybe the whole series. I felt that way after watching the fifth episode, but this one completely stole my heart. I’m about to make that image of Celebrimbor enjoying a cup of tea my entire personality. There was also banger after banger of dialogue here, which might explain why this entry is so long.
It’s unfortunate that the Elrond and Galadriel kiss will likely cause a lot of controversy - I hope it won’t overshadow the rest of the brilliant work done in this episode, but knowing the fandom it probably will. I’m not sure if it’s just because I’ve had several weeks to get used to the idea of this “non-romantic” kiss, or just because my baby was born last week and I haven’t slept more than three hours a at a time since so I’m too tired to get upset over something so silly, but I’m not as bothered by it as I thought I was. I do want to hear all of your thoughts on it though.
All of the small breadcrumbs pointing to Adar’s identity were incredibly intriguing and I hope a bit more about him will be revealed before the end of the season.
It’s sad to say now that we only have one episode left before the long wait until season three, but it’s also quite exciting because I really enjoyed the between-season period last time as it gave the story time to settle and all of us plenty of time to cook up the zaniest theories.
Once again, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this episode. How are we feeling about going into episode eight next week? Leave a comment here or get in touch via social media @teawithtolkien.
