LotR: The Rings of Power 1.07
Oct. 8th, 2022 09:19 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
selenakIn which one does not simply go into the Southlands. Or leave it. Also, the Dwarves and the Harfoots are back.
And I'm glad, as the show got me really invested into those storylines and characters. Durin/Elrond/Disa OT3, I say. But seriously, there was so much meaty stuff not just re: the friendship between Elrond and Durin (IV), but for Durin's and Disa's marriage. I love that Disa isn't just supportive of Durin (and friendly with Elrond), she has her own clear ideas about how the kingdom should be run, and wants her and Durin to do it. Ambitious female characters who aren't villainous or pressed into leadership positions by external circumstances are still very rare. And her anger! The smithing while she's angry! Truly, Disa is a Queen. Lots of good stuff for Elrond, too, not just re: his fondness for Durin, but also his diplomatic smarts and indication of a perspective on the Elves which isn't "jiust" from the inside but also from the outside. In the season opener, there was a brief hint that Elrond's hybrid status means he's not at the original meeting, but in this episode it was the first time Elrond himself brought up the fact he's half human. He did so to convince Durin III, but I didn't have the impression he was lying with what he said.
As for the Harfoots, the Stranger/Surely Gandalf attempting to help the Harfoots and seemingly failng, with only the next day showing he did in fact succeed, Nori giving him an apple on the way despite her new fear/distrust and then later her decision to go after him, with Poppy and Nori's mother signing up and the Trailfinder being drafted were all like a lovely hurt/comfort fic. Now I hope they reunite in the finale, because I need another hug and don't want to wait a year. (Or however long it takes for the next season to arrive.) The white priestesses or whatever they are menacing the Harfoots were truly creepy, with the kind of casual, pointless destructiveness that is always extra chilling to me because it happens so often in rl without the fantasy gear.
Meanwhile, where the Shadows lie: Galadriel and Theo were an unexpected and very effective character combination. Helping one person - not a big cause, not a potential King, just a being in distress in the middle of the apocalypse whom no one else at this moment could pay attention to - was, I suspect, what Galadriel needed both to get out of her own shock in the short term and to start (just to start) dealing with her inner darkness in the long term, as Theo's wish to kill Orcs was clearly meant to echo Galadriel's from last week, and her reply was aimed at both of them. And hey, she even told him about Celeborn, thus establishng that yes, he does exist in this version, and yes, they're married already, while providing an explanation for his absence (she believes him to be dead, just as Elendil now thinks Isildur is dead, meaning they're both alive, if not necessarily well). BTW, because it's been so many years since my last LotR (and appendices) reading, I'm not sure, but, re: the backstory - Celeborn seeing Galadriel first when she's dancing - wasn't that Beren and Luthien in the book? Am amused at Theo's scepticism re: Galadriel and dancing. Conversely, Theo's reunion with Bronwyn and Arondir by the end was lovely. Miriel having gone blind, Elendi's guilt and wish he'd never helped Galadriel out of the sea, and then Galadriel's kneeling before Miriel with Miriel turning out to be not accusatory or crushed but resolved and the two women taking strength from each other was all excellent fanfiction in the best way.
Is Halbrand Sauron indication of the week: being found en route with a wound. Note that no one saw him actually getting hurt, or what exactly he was doing after the volcano eruption.
The Southlands/Mordoer switch in the titles at the end was superflous, we got the point already, scriptwriters. Weary Adar enjoying his moment of Orc homeland providing was earned, from his pov, but won't last, as Sauron, whoever he is, will presumably screw him over soon.
And I'm glad, as the show got me really invested into those storylines and characters. Durin/Elrond/Disa OT3, I say. But seriously, there was so much meaty stuff not just re: the friendship between Elrond and Durin (IV), but for Durin's and Disa's marriage. I love that Disa isn't just supportive of Durin (and friendly with Elrond), she has her own clear ideas about how the kingdom should be run, and wants her and Durin to do it. Ambitious female characters who aren't villainous or pressed into leadership positions by external circumstances are still very rare. And her anger! The smithing while she's angry! Truly, Disa is a Queen. Lots of good stuff for Elrond, too, not just re: his fondness for Durin, but also his diplomatic smarts and indication of a perspective on the Elves which isn't "jiust" from the inside but also from the outside. In the season opener, there was a brief hint that Elrond's hybrid status means he's not at the original meeting, but in this episode it was the first time Elrond himself brought up the fact he's half human. He did so to convince Durin III, but I didn't have the impression he was lying with what he said.
As for the Harfoots, the Stranger/Surely Gandalf attempting to help the Harfoots and seemingly failng, with only the next day showing he did in fact succeed, Nori giving him an apple on the way despite her new fear/distrust and then later her decision to go after him, with Poppy and Nori's mother signing up and the Trailfinder being drafted were all like a lovely hurt/comfort fic. Now I hope they reunite in the finale, because I need another hug and don't want to wait a year. (Or however long it takes for the next season to arrive.) The white priestesses or whatever they are menacing the Harfoots were truly creepy, with the kind of casual, pointless destructiveness that is always extra chilling to me because it happens so often in rl without the fantasy gear.
Meanwhile, where the Shadows lie: Galadriel and Theo were an unexpected and very effective character combination. Helping one person - not a big cause, not a potential King, just a being in distress in the middle of the apocalypse whom no one else at this moment could pay attention to - was, I suspect, what Galadriel needed both to get out of her own shock in the short term and to start (just to start) dealing with her inner darkness in the long term, as Theo's wish to kill Orcs was clearly meant to echo Galadriel's from last week, and her reply was aimed at both of them. And hey, she even told him about Celeborn, thus establishng that yes, he does exist in this version, and yes, they're married already, while providing an explanation for his absence (she believes him to be dead, just as Elendil now thinks Isildur is dead, meaning they're both alive, if not necessarily well). BTW, because it's been so many years since my last LotR (and appendices) reading, I'm not sure, but, re: the backstory - Celeborn seeing Galadriel first when she's dancing - wasn't that Beren and Luthien in the book? Am amused at Theo's scepticism re: Galadriel and dancing. Conversely, Theo's reunion with Bronwyn and Arondir by the end was lovely. Miriel having gone blind, Elendi's guilt and wish he'd never helped Galadriel out of the sea, and then Galadriel's kneeling before Miriel with Miriel turning out to be not accusatory or crushed but resolved and the two women taking strength from each other was all excellent fanfiction in the best way.
Is Halbrand Sauron indication of the week: being found en route with a wound. Note that no one saw him actually getting hurt, or what exactly he was doing after the volcano eruption.
The Southlands/Mordoer switch in the titles at the end was superflous, we got the point already, scriptwriters. Weary Adar enjoying his moment of Orc homeland providing was earned, from his pov, but won't last, as Sauron, whoever he is, will presumably screw him over soon.
