**Spoiler Warning** Rings of Power S2E5 - 'Where Is He?'

[Oddwen]

You are correct!

[Huinesoron]

Commenting out of order, because we watched this one last night; but also in no particular order because last night was a long time ago:

• Oh hey the Harfeets are back.
• Whyyyy is there a flagrantly straight scene with Poppy of all people? She just followed her "friend" across half the map purely because she missed her!
• Oh, it's to offset the Energy of the scene with Nori immediately after. That doesn't make it better, gang!
• It was pleasant to see Bombadil again. The Stranger's talk about mastery makes me wonder whether he is Saruman after all. (They're doing this on purpose, obviously.)
• My wife yelled "this is the test!" at the Stranger when Bombadil was saying "you can spend as much time as you want looking for a stick if you just let your friend die". She's not wrong.
• King Durin going full dragon-fever is quite fun.
• "Put your beards into it" is another one of those mangled idioms Form keeps pointing out. Made hilarious by the subtitles going for "put your bread into it".
• I'm frustrated that Durin and Disa have the same interaction every time. "The King is doing the wrong thing!" "We can't go against him." "Yes we can!" All that's changing is who's on which side.
• But I did enjoy Bats Outta Nowhere.
• Elendil's trial and prison scene hit a lot of very cliche notes, though at least "Miriel just wants everyone to surrender" is fairly new.
• Pharazon.
• Pharazon what.
• Pharazon when you usurp a sceptre, you a) do not take no more than five seconds to decide to execute the person you stole it from, and b) do not send the person the Valar sent an Eagle for to face a test of faith in the Valar. That may be the single stupidest decision in the entire show!
• Oh! It's the sea-worm from episode 1! Confirming that it was totally about to eat Sauron until Galadriel showed up and ruined its appetite, I guess? Well done, Team Ulmo, ya nearly got him.
• So Miriel is... queen again? GOOD JOB PHARAZON ya numptynorean.
• Galadriel is more willing to tell Adar that Halbrand is Sauron than she was Celebrimbor.
• Actually, at what point did Adar figure it out? He let the guy go; did he just think about that later and go "***".
• I mean he was sending messages-carved-in-chests fairly recently, so I guess he wasn't very sure.
• THE IRON CROWN OF MORGOTH oh my gods I love it it's so stupid. Sauron didn't just get ganked by a hat; he got ganked by his boss's hat with the bling removed.
• I don't think I'd clocked the Feanor-with-Silmaril statue in Eregion before; it's pretty cool.
• Unsure why Celebrimbor is losing his memory. Last time, Sauron was lying to Mirdania about Brim being spiritually wounded; now it's true?
• It's fun to compare Galadriel's scenes, where she's all about "this is Sauron's plan; he's behind everything; we are puppets on his strings", to every scene featuring Sauron, where things just keep going wrong. His keynote look is frustration that the Elves aren't doing what he wanted, and that's when he's right there with them.
• I said to my wife, "I hate the way he tells the truth". Sauron almost never lies - that's what's made him actually very good in this season. (I was disappointed that the writers didn't commit to this with Adar's line: "It is not his lies that must be crushed" should have been followed with "It is his truths".)
• The vision of Eregion was a good reminder of the power Sauron used on Galadriel at the end of last season. It will be hilarious if the season ends with a whole bunch of people thinking they've met up, but they're actually all in Sauron's head. Brim, Adar, and Galadriel at least are people he could do that to.
• Shortly before the end I said "I'm expecting something profoundly stupid to happen". It didn't, so I expect it at the start of next episode.

I feel like the silliness is starting to ramp up again, like it was with the blood-sword that led to random river-into-volcano action at the end of S1. If we end up with bats-vs-balrogs in the finale I will do quite the face.

hS

[Oddwen]

Originally Posted by Huin

My wife yelled "this is the test!" at the Stranger when Bombadil was saying "you can spend as much time as you want looking for a stick if you just let your friend die". She's not wrong.

He'll show up just in time for something or other and the Stoor's tree will gladly give him a branch.

Originally Posted by Huin

Oh! It's the sea-worm from episode 1! Confirming that it was totally about to eat Sauron until Galadriel showed up and ruined its appetite, I guess? Well done, Team Ulmo, ya nearly got him.

Not quite. The E1 sea-worm has a smaller horn and no tentacles. Also, Galadriel showed up well after the wreck survivors had built a raft. What the heck, Team Ulmo?

Originally Posted by Huin

Actually, at what point did Adar figure it out? He let the guy go; did he just think about that later and go "***"

I can't remember what happened between he and Raftwurst last season. Did he make the connection between this years' "King of the Southlands" and last years "Halbrand"?

[Formendacil]

Yay, I'm... caught up? Posting on a Tuesday, anyway, with all the episodes behind me, though--once again--I watched a few days ago and thus have to decipher what I wrote:

1. The pile of cast away materials is good visual storytelling--as is the mouse.
2. Are you going mad, Celebrimbor?
3. Nice new dark out fit, Annatar
4. Is there a point to a mad Celebrimbor, I wonder?
5. Is that a statue of Fëanor?
6. Runes on the body--it's funny that they wouldn't be able to read them in Eregion, but it's an accurate use of them to gouge writing onto things--even corpses.
7. Annatar really is one of the joys of the show this season--which is a bit of a turn-around, given how I didn't love Halbrand last season and disliked him as the revealed Sauron. But as Annatar, it's been excellent.
8. Actually, I like this Adar scene too--I like that he calls Sauron the Deceiver.
9. Now that's a Minas Tirith shot in Númenor!
10. Is the plan to sending Elendil to sea--to give him the Amandil story? [answer: nope]
    in
11. I like the actor, but this isn't Tom.
12. I'm not sure the adventure with the Harfeet really fits the rest of the show this season, which has become a lot closer to the "real" events of the Second Age--but even here there's been a bit of a turn to the text with smials and Hobbits emigrating from the East.
13. I'm guessing right now that the Stranger is Gandalf if these are all going to be Gandalf quotes. Don't much care for "quotes we know well reappearing in a new prequel context" writing.
14. I'm not sure I like Tom suggesting friendship and destiny are opposed--that is certainly not Gandalfian, anyway.
15. Well, yes, Durin... armour of mithril IS a thing.
16. Mad King Durin is fun to watch. Sad Prince Durin less so.
17. I wonder if we're going to see a chronologically-dislocated founding of Erebor.
18. Blind Míriel is more interesting than Queen Míriel was. The hints of romance with her for Elendil is another theft from Amandil.
19. I'm not getting my Narvi/Celebrimbor bromance, am I? There just isn't enough time.
20. I doubt the book validity of this scene by the sea (trial by sea seems a bit barbaric for Númenor, but I like that the writers haven't shied away from including the Valar.
21. I don't love Míriel doing this--the place-taking from Elendil. Her motivations/character seem off from the book to me. There's a fundamental uncertainty in her loyalties in the book: she's not a traitor, like Pharazôn; she's definitely Tar-Palantír's daughter, but there's some suggestion that she doesn't entirely hie to her father's way, that there was some love or complicity with Pharazôn--some regret at least when things all come down. I dunno... she's a blank slate to be projected upon, but this isn't my projection, anyway.
22. Uínen the Craken?
23. Some definite Denethor vibes with the planting, Pharazon.<---not at all sure what I meant.
24. I guess we don't get to see Galadriel travelling through the Dwarrowdelf to Lórien for her first visit after being kicked out of Eregion--a vivid image to me from Unfinished Tales, but unlicensed, I suppose.
25. The Deceiver indeed (Annatar giving Celebrimbor the false vision)
26. I thought you might have stolen some<--Yeah, no idea.
27. "The Silmarils, well, they will merit little more than a whisper" --that's some meta commentary! The Silmarils--or the Silmarillion ARE quite overshadowed by the Rings (and by the Lord of the Rings).
28. Is that the Sauron theme from LotR movies playing--or can I not the music apart anymore? There are definite Isengard vibes here musically anyway.

[Huinesoron]

Originally Posted by Oddwen

I can't remember what happened between he and Raftwurst last season. Did he make the connection between this years' "King of the Southlands" and last years "Halbrand"?

I'm pretty sure they fought, and had a "you took everything from me"/"I don't even know who you are" moment (where Halbrand seems to be referencing his family being murdered but PSYCH it was actually him being stabbed with a purloined hat, who knew). I dunno, it would be quite clumsy writing if they expected us to get that Adar knew both the name and the face of Halbrand, but hadn't put the two together.

Maybe the wolf told him? Does Adar speak wolf?

Originally Posted by Form

23. Some definite Denethor vibes with the planting, Pharazon.<---not at all sure what I meant.

Pretty sure that's "the palantir"; Ar-Hypocrite goes to play with it and has a vision of... can't remember but it wasn't cheerful. We did get another go of the "reality shatters around you" version of using the palantir, which is a spectacular visual effect.

hS

[Formendacil]

Originally Posted by Huinesoron

Pretty sure that's "the palantir"; Ar-Hypocrite goes to play with it and has a vision of... can't remember but it wasn't cheerful. We did get another go of the "reality shatters around you" version of using the palantir, which is a spectacular visual effect.

Ah, yes--definitely!

Discerning what a forgetful poster meant in his own crabbed notes is no mean feat!