![]() Every war is fought both without and within. “It gives place for evil to thrive inside us. Galadriel, who’s eloquent in a way that even Tolkien purists would admire (even if many of them will refuse to admit it) delivers the episode’s most memorable line while telling Theo why there’s nothing admirable about how many orcs she’s slain: “It darkens the heart to call dark deeds good.” she says. But despite the fact that the show’s most endearing buds are parting for now, Elrond insists it isn’t goodbye - it’s “namárië,” an elven farewell meaning “go toward goodness.” He’s also finally asked (or forced, rather) to leave Khazad-dûm with naught to show for it, which is sure to displease High King Gil-galad. ![]() Knowing that Elrond (and, by extension, many of his people) live for several thousand more years saps this subplot of some of its urgency, but he’s still caught between a mythical rock and a hard place. The latter “hungers for the eternal, resisting the pull of time,” while the former embraces the truth “that all things must one day be consumed and fade away to ash.” If that sounds like a long-winded way of saying no, that’s because it is - but it’s not like there’s any love lost between dwarves and elves, as anyone who knows how unlikely Legolas and Gimli’s friendship was. It’s said that the dwarves are crafted of two elements: fire and rock. ![]() What would you take in exchange for said ore, which may or may not be mithril? If your answer is “game, grain and timber from the elder forests of Eriador for the next five centuries,” you’re in luck - that’s just what Elrond offers King Durin III in a desperate bid to save his fellow elves without betraying his dear friend Prince Durin IV. The hobbitses weren’t the only characters not featured in last week’s “Udûn.” Let’s say, purely hypothetically, that you and your people have recently struck upon perhaps the most precious substance in the world and an emissary of your greatest rivals is asking you to grant them access to it in order to ensure his people’s survival. ![]() They just do that to the entire hobbit caravan, erupting the would-be village in flames before it’s truly been settled. There’s little time to celebrate, alas, as the trio of spooky, otherworldly beings we were briefly introduced to in “Partings” are hot on the hobbitses’ trail - and they have the ability to both teleport and control fire without being harmed by it. Next morning, the entire area is lush with apples and The Stranger is gone. He’s exiled as a result, but not before Sadoc offers him a kind of star map, Nori gives him an apple and a tiny, unnoticed flower begins growing on the tree he just tried to save. The Stranger - whose true identity has yet to be revealed, though fan theories abound - finally overstays his welcome when his attempt to restore one of the fallen trees to its original state backfires, nearly killing Nori and her little sister. Some old wives’ tales are more than just old wives’ tales. ![]() According to stories his gran used to tell him, some mountains in the south have the ability to “spit fire rock” before “going to sleep” for hundreds of years, a dormancy that only ends when “a new evil” is rising. Everyone is bewildered except for Sadoc, the group’s leader. Our halfling friends are apparently close enough to the blast zone for a few pyroclasts to have landed in the vicinity, melting several trees in the process. It’s a perilous trek to be sure, but the peaceful, verdant land they’re traversing is a stark contrast to the one we’ve just witnessed - until it isn’t. The desolation wrought by Mount Doom becomes even more stark following an abrupt transition to the hobbitses’ migration after a one-episode hiatus. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |