[Formendacil]

I had time to watch this yesterday... but it didn't motivate me as much as doing the other things I could do, which continues to suggest this show doesn't super motivate me.

Again, my various reactions:

• That glove Adar wears is pretty Mordorian...

• Night generally seems believable as night in this show.

• Trap them in the falling tower is somewhere between shield surfing and The Hobbit movies for plausibility.

• Isildur, that apple was not finished enough to waste throwing to the sea.

• It is very unclear how long this voyage was--and that was a problem with the outbound voyage too: Númenor isn't clearly distant from Middle-earth.

• It is not at all clear to me that this ruined village is a better stronghold than the tower was.

• I still don't buy "Bronwyn, Leader of Men." She's more convincing as 21st century mom.

• The seed-planting tradition is completely made-up for this show, but I do like the parallelism between Adar and Arondir.

• The approach of the enemy in the dark--and the anticipation of them--is good. It reminds me tonally of Strider and the Hobbits waiting for the Black Riders to approach at Weathertop.

• Bronwyn, there are torches everywhere--surely, some flame could have been prepared in advance. A light under a bushel basket, so to speak.

• The horror of realising Men were sent in against Men is well done--as is the dying orkish delight in the same.

• If Bronwyn actually dies here, with the proverbial arrow through her shoulder, that's actually quite gutsy of the writers--otherwise, rather trite.

• Well, they're hitting GoT levels of bloodiness or trying to.

• Looks like they've chosen gutsy!--nevermind. Trite it is (though all the gore is definitely helping them earn it a bit).

• Ummm... for the size of those ships, this many horsemen seems improbable. Also, has no one read "The Disaster of the Gladden Fields"? The strength of the Númenóreans was largely in infantry.

• Horse-tail helms? Come on! These are Númenóreans!

• What kind of military nonsense is Míriel engaging in sending Isildur in solo? He has a duty--he should be hying to it. And Míriel seems like she ought to be quite competent--and strict.

• Stopping mid-battle to stare in awe seems a good way to get yourselves killed, boys.

• Well, there's some confirmation of a theory: Adar is a progenitor of the Orks.

• Adar's recounting of Sauron's history is actually rather good.

• As is his defence of the orks' worth--a very Tolkienian topic to grapple with.

• Actually, Adar in general is pretty fascinating. A pity I can't say as much for Galadriel or Halbrand.

• Fighting at someone's side seems... kind of a weird moment for deciding you are a different person. I'm not sure how I take this.

• Also, why did Míriel come to observe what, at the scale of Númenor, is a mere skirmish? It's like the President of the USA doing a ribbon-cutting a new grocery store...

• Your people are alive, Bronwyn? How many? Like... the scale of this world is inconsistent and weird, and a lot of people looked like they went over to the enemy and/or died.

• I'd like a longer look at Halbrand's sigil.

• You don't even stay to watch what he does with it, Arondir?

• Evil Barliman, my beloved, you're alive!

• I'd like to know how geologically accurate this is.

• Well, that's definitely a cliffhanger.