The Rings of Power delivers a loud, passably meaningful battle scene in Episode 207

We're reached the penultimate episode of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2. It's the big battle episode, and it's...okay. With Amazon's money behind it, the spectacle cannot be gainsaid; Adar's army of orcs besiege the Elven city of Eregion and it looks fantastic. The city walls are battered by catapults, an elven cavalry charges over the hill, and a massive troll drums at the defenses in a night full of blood and fire.

But the show has the same problem it always has: the characters aren't as deep as I'd like, the dialogue not as clever as it thinks it is, and the storytelling a little too loose and sloppy for me to really lose myself in the thrill. For example, there's one moment where Elrond, who's leading an army of elves from Lindon, gives an inspiring speech to a female archer, promising that one arrow from her could turn the tide of battle. Her chin up, she looses a flaming arrow and ignites a pot of pitch, which explodes and takes many orcs with it. Then she is peppered with arrows and dies in slow motion.

I've seen enough action movies to know this is supposed to be a powerful moment, but mainly what I thought was: 'Are we supposed to know her?' This episode has all the markings of a big important turning point, and it is quite entertaining to watch. But it doesn't have the heft it wants to have.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2, Episode 7 review

That's not to say there's nothing to enjoy here. The best stuff is given to Celebrimbor, who labors to create the nine rings meant for mortal men even as Eregion is besieged right outside his window; Sauron has kept him ignorant of this by trapping him in a Matrix-like time loop, which Celebrimbor breaks out of once he notices how weirdly the mice and candles are behaving. I think this gives us too much detail on the limits of Sauron's power, which works better when it's vague and undefined. That's how J.R.R. Tolkien approaches it in his writing, but I've long since given up hope that The Rings of Power will try to capture the essence of his books.

And yet this is The Lord of the Rings and I can't quite let it go. I also didn't like how Sauron, who's tormenting Celebrimbor, talks about how he himself was tortured by his former master Morgoth. This speech frames Sauron's struggle as one of generational trauma. Tolkien conceived of these characters as existing on the level of myth, and trying to give them psychological dimensions familiar to modern audiences diminishes them. I just don't see why the showrunners wouldn't want to embrace what was unique about Tolkien's work, rather than making the show smaller by bringing in these modern perspectives. It's J.R.R. Tolkien, people; he's famous and beloved for a reason. Go with it.

I started this section intending to praise the show. Let's bring it back: despite all that complaining, it's fun to watch Celebrimbor break out of his magic prison and try to take the reins as the lord of Eregion again, even though Sauron has poisoned his followers against him. I like Sauron best when he's a high camp villain, pious behind smirking eyes as he conspires to execute on his sinister designs. He gets some good moments like that here. And I liked seeing Celebrimbor repent of his errors, even if I rolled my eyes as he gives an inspirational speech about how light is stronger than strength, or something. I can feel the writers reaching for poetic weight with stuff like this, but I don't think they quite carry it.

Sound, fury and The Rings of Power

As usual, I enjoyed the scenes set in Khazad-dûm, as more dwarves join Durin and Disa in their attempts to block further mining lest it awaken the balrog. Durin is such a likable character that I want him to succeed in whatever he does, even if it's overthrowing his greed-cursed father. As the new de facto power in Khazad-dûm, Durin promises to send a dwarven army to shore up Elrond's forces at Eregion, but his father the king throws a wrench into that plan by digging so greedily and deep that the dwarven army will be needed here to fight whatever awakens. Tune in next week.

I was less interested in the dramatic scenes with Adar. I'm looking side-eyed at the way the show rearranged the siege of Eregion in general. In Tolkien's telling, Sauron attacks Eregion because he has beef with the elves — nice and simple — but the show turns it into a complicated double-bluff where Adar attacks Eregion but only so he can get to Sauron, and Sauron takes over the elven forces of Eregion but only to hold off Adar long enough for Celebrimbor to finish making the rings of power, and maybe Sauron has some other plan that has yet to unfold. This might be an example of "more complicated isn't better, it's just more complicated."

Much could depend on what happens next week. For now, we get a scene where Adar makes Elrond a weird offer: he'll let Galadriel go, and in return Elrond will...I dunno, not bother trying to stop the destruction of an elven city because everyone in it is under Sauron's power and he can't beat Adar's forces anyway? Who's taking that offer? Galadriel escapes Adar's imprisonment, possibly after Elrond slips her a lockpick when he kisses her? With his mouth? I feel there are too many moments in this show when I'm unsure what I'm supposed to take from it.

But the battling is fun, and I'm glad Celebrimbor is free, and I'm happy to see Sauron be his villainous self, whether he lays it at the feet of mean old Morgoth or not. Onto the finale!

The Bullet Points of Power

• I think one of the reasons I chafe at Sauron recounting his torture at the hands of Morgoth is because, in the books at least, he will go on to spread the worship of Morgoth as a religion, not to mention imitate Morgoth as he rises to become a new dark lord. I guess that all fits with the psychological explanation for Sauron's behavior The Rings of Power has offered us — he becomes the things he hates — but I still think it brings him awkwardly down to earth.
• Arondir shows up to the Siege of Eregion, confronts Adar and gets his ass beat. Arondir hasn't had much of a story this season, and Isildur almost nothing. And the hobbits and the Stranger haven't gotten up to much in Rhûn. In some ways it feels like not much has happened since the start of the season.

Episode Grade: C+

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