S02 E06: Where Is He?

[Erestor Arcamen]

Discussion of Season 2 Episode 6: Where Is He?

"The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" Episode #2.6 (TV Episode 2024) | Action, Adventure, Drama

| TV-14

www.imdb.com

 

[Halasían]

As much as I was looking forward to this episode, I have to say I was at many points disappointed. Too much lazy writing where they used lines from the PJ movies and were out of place with their original use from the books. I thought Tom would be above that. And the Harfoot/Stoor kiss ... really? This series would have been so much better had they left out the Harfoot/Gandalf... I mean the Stranger... Stoor/Tom story line out completely. Instead they hurry through the other parts. Had they concentrated on the rest it could have been so much better.

The People of Numenor ... at least the fifty or so that are always around... they are so fickle and change their minds with the tides. I guess because ... you guessed it ... 'the sea is always right'. I was hoping that wasn't going to rear its head again. That said, I do like Elendil and his storyline. Not book-accurate, but as accurate as Peter Jackson was to the Lord of the Rings books with his big-budget inspired fan-fiction adaptation of them. I am really hoping the writers get the Numenor dynamic right through the rest of the series. I could share my hopes and predictions, but maybe elsewhere. This is about Episode six. Pharazon is another character I see coming into his own as we go. With the sparing of Queen Miriel and Pharazon's glimpse of Halbarad and Sauron in the Palantir, I'm hoping these three's dynamic together comes to fruit.

The Halbarad/Annatar/Sauron character played by Charlie Vickers has yet to really disappoint. Cunning and manipulative... of just about everyone... this portrayal of Sauron is the best part of the series in my opinion. As harsh as I was on the casting of Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor, I have to say he is bringing his A-game to the script (such as it is), and the interaction between he and Annatar is quite good. Add to it the dwarves and especially the interaction between the two Durins, and Durin IV and Disa; it makes the series.

My surprise S2 performance of an original character would be Mirdania played by Amelia Kenworthy. It was always assumed (by me at least) from reading what little there is of Celebrimbor and Ost-in-Edhil and all, that there were many Noldorian Elves living and working there. She and the other smiths really portray that well. She is a bit star-struck by Annatar, and it is clear that Annatar is playing her like a fiddle, but I like her part. I even think she would have made a better Galadriel than Morfyyd Clark.

Moving on, the scenes in Ost-in-Edhil were mostly good, but I again thought it was a lazy leach off the PJ Minas Tirith scene of utter panic. Personally I don't see the people of Minas Tirith acting that way, and most certainly not elves. Being portrayed as panic-stricken and being so clumsy they stumble and fall all over the place was pure laziness.

I will add that Annatar's manipulation of Adar in getting him to bring an army to attack Ost-in-Edhil is golden! I loved Annatar's smirk.

Anyway, I'm rambling and a bit all over the place here. I enjoyed the episode, but shook my head way too many times over the lazy writing and dialog.

 

[TrackerOrc]

I've never watched ROP, as I don't have any streaming services, so I've been waiting for the DVD's, yet it doesn't seem to have been released anywhere. Is this an Amazon thing? Do series such as these ever get a dvd release?

 

[Rivendell_librarian]

Sadly this episode reverted to the type of some earlier episodes: re-using phrases or words from either the PJ films or the books. Particularly inappropriate was Bombadil using the words about the importance of pity from Gandalf to Frodo (re Gollum). Instead here Tom uses these words for the Stranger choosing between saving the lives of his hobbit friends versus learning to use his wizard powers. A closer parallel would be Yoda's words to Luke about not rushing to save his friends and face Vader too soon. In fact it would have been cool if they had used those words but would that provoke a letter from Lucas' lawyers?

On the plus side another strong character (Elendil) gets an excellent scene where he tells Pharazon and the new order what he thinks about them. This leads to the surreal trial by sea monster scene: visually impressive but faintly ridiculous? Earien and Miriel have been reading the small print and Miriel claims the right to take Elendil's place as he was under her command. The sea monster spits her out declaring her innocent. In medieval witch trials she would be deemed guilty and burnt at the stake!

Sauron has got inside Celebrimbor's head now even able to delude him that all is peace and serenity in Ost-in-Edhil when in fact they are under orc attack. in another strong scene the Uruk Adar gets Galadriel to tell him that Halbrand is Sauron and that Elrond is riding to the rescue of Eregion carrying her ring Nenya. Adar plans to use Nenya and Morgoth's crown to do for Sauron once and for all. However, I think Galadriel is right to think Adar is playing into Sauron's hand. Both Celebrimbor and Adar look doomed. Durin father and son continue their feud.

The series is stronger when making its own way and weakest when reusing PJ material.

 

[Halasían]

The series is stronger when making its own way and weakest when reusing PJ material.

You got that right. Ep 6 is the 2nd weakest ep after 4. Just when the series seems to be reaching for a new height of brilliance, it bellyflops into the shallow end of the pool with PJ movie references. I think the series as a whole would have been stronger without the whole stranger/hobbit sub-plots, but that is just me.

 

[TrackerOrc]

Sadly this episode reverted to the type of some earlier episodes: re-using phrases or words from either the PJ films or the books. Particularly inappropriate was Bombadil using the words about the importance of pity from Gandalf to Frodo (re Gollum). Instead here Tom uses these words for the Stranger choosing between saving the lives of his hobbit friends versus learning to use his wizard powers. A closer parallel would be Yoda's words to Luke about not rushing to save his friends and face Vader too soon. In fact it would have been cool if they had used those words but would that provoke a letter from Lucas' lawyers?

On the plus side another strong character (Elendil) gets an excellent scene where he tells Pharazon and the new order what he thinks about them. This leads to the surreal trial by sea monster scene: visually impressive but faintly ridiculous? Earien and Miriel have been reading the small print and Miriel claims the right to take Elendil's place as he was under her command. The sea monster spits her out declaring her innocent. In medieval witch trials she would be deemed guilty and burnt at the stake!

Sauron has got inside Celebrimbor's head now even able to delude him that all is peace and serenity in Ost-in-Edhil when in fact they are under orc attack. in another strong scene the Uruk Adar gets Galadriel to tell him that Halbrand is Sauron and that Elrond is riding to the rescue of Eregion carrying her ring Nenya. Adar plans to use Nenya and Morgoth's crown to do for Sauron once and for all. However, I think Galadriel is right to think Adar is playing into Sauron's hand. Both Celebrimbor and Adar look doomed. Durin father and son continue their feud.

The series is stronger when making its own way and weakest when reusing PJ material.

Maybe I'll be ok not getting to watch RoP; Bombadil again? Trial by sea-monster? Yikes!

 

[Maeglin]

I'm finally watching this episode (3 months late, I know), and I have to say I agree with some of the sentiments put forth already in this thread. It is perhaps the most cringey episode of the season so far.

The dialogue in the series has never been good, but I was finding season 2 to be much improved over season 1 so far. Not the case with this episode.

I don't always mind the recycled lines (at least in the case of the Gandalf and Bombadil arc), because, well, isn't that how traditional sayings and proverbs get passed down? So Gandalf having heard those lines from Bombadil about "many who live deserve death, etc." and whatever other pithy sayings thousands of years earlier and then repeating them to Frodo doesn't bother me too much. In fact I find it a bit clever, though I recognize that it takes some mental gymnastics to view it that way, so maybe I'm just trying too hard to give the writers the benefit of the doubt, because I really want to like it!

The Numenor stuff is mildly interesting, but they're really trying too hard. I enjoyed it in this season up until this episode, and I was actually angry when Valandil was murdered by whatever the little punk's name is. I'm not buying Elendil's daughter actually wanting to save him, nor a father being that cold toward his daughter when she's pleading for him to live. The whole Muriel / Elendil dynamic feels too forced and artifical, and the trial by sea had potential but then just fell flat and felt anticlimactic.

I still haven't finished the episode, as I was watching it while on the treadmill earlier, which I only mention for this reason: I turned it off. On the treadmill. I hate the treadmill. It is endless drudgery. I do it to try to maintain my health and it gives me an excuse to watch some mindless TV or movies. And mindless this episode was. But, I repeat, I turned the episode off.
And the reason was this: Disa turning into Batwoman. I like Disa as a character, but she is so poorly written. Followed by Durin's painfully awkward "I love you" in response to her shouting / singing the bats to life at the other dwarves. Really? That's all the writers could come up with for dialogue? I put it up there with Anakin Skywalker's, "You're soo....beautiful" in terms of awful writing and delivery. I feel like sometimes the actors just need to stop, read the lines, think, and then yell at the writers about how stupid the lines are and refuse to say them.

I'm done ranting now. I'll eventually finish the episode, and I'm hopeful for the rest of the season, as I really have enjoyed it much better than season 1 so far (Halbrand/Annatar/Sauron is by far the best performance, IMO, and I enjoy most of his scenes, as well as all of the non-Disa dwarf scenes).