Initial Thoughts On The Rings Of Power Finale (spoilers):

Initial thoughts on the rings of power finale (spoilers):

- the dynamic between sauron and celebrimbor is by and large the best part of the season. I’m gonna miss charlie edwards so much 😭

- the balrog slayed (literally)

- WHERE IS MY ELROND/DURIN REUNION FUCK

- fuck kemen seriously don’t you dare threaten berek king of the horses i will fuck you up myself

- i love narrative symmetry/parallels and apparently so do the writers cause oh boy there were a bunch but adar’s death? perfect

more to come

wait elrond and durin are going to see each other again right??? RIGHT?!?

sauron dragged celebrimbor’s broken and bleeding body to prop him against that pillar and then gently stroked his cheek.

Listen I am a simple person I just wanna know what sort of conversations Frodo would have with all the First Age legends in Valinor and if they would be healing for him—

Would he talk to Fëanor about not giving up something despite knowing you should, and would he realize that he isn’t a monster for his mistake? Would he and Fingolfin talk about facing evil alone and would Fingolfin point out to him that he set out because of hope instead of despair, and that is why he was able to survive? Would he bond with Maedhros over their physical injuries—a missing finger and missing hand respectively—and would Maedhros tell him from personal experience that he was lucky to have someone who loved him beside him even when he sank to his lowest? Would he talk to Finrod about giving their lives for those they care about, and would Finrod tell Frodo he fought Sauron just as fiercely as he did? Would he meet Eärendil and would Eärendil share his own trauma sustained from setting out with only the monstrously foolish hope that he would be able to save everyone he loved?

Would he receive an apology from Celebrimbor, whose head is bowed in shame, for all that he has been through, and feel his body let go of something when he tells him there’s nothing to forgive????

A few more observations from ep. 7:

!!!spoilers!!!

Angbang folks we're living well. I'll be chanting for a flashback to the days of "pain became a game" at some point next season.

Celebrimbor's horror when he realized the "mithril ore" was Sauron's pitch black blood. "What is this?" What is this stuff, Annatar, that's all over every surface, on my hands, and in my hair? I put mithril ore in my coffee this morning, did I drink your blood? (This is great insight into the wraith phenomena and the rings' effects on Men but fuuuccck.)

The pattern, the cycle. Sauron's illusion can only mimic life, and he's trapped in the cycle of abuser and abused. Does he get it? He's choking on it but doesn't quite understand what's caught in his throat, so to speak.

Mirdania's horrifying, tragic end. Another thing I didn't see coming! I love it when shows surprise me. Once disembodied she'll be back in Mandos' Halls, and she'll eventually be reunited with Celebrimbor in Aman.

Gil-galad looks fabulous in armor. Now he needs a floppy asymmetrical haircut like Elrond's. Benjamin Walker is such a good-looking man, let's style him up! (Yes I'm shallow.)

Galadriel is drawing strength from three people in this ep: Elrond, Celebrimbor(!!!), and Adar. She's beginning to see Adar as a reflection of what could be if she ever gives in to what I'm calling the Sauron-effect: Adar is ruined and corrupted, so obsessed it might kill him and enslave the Uruk again; Celebrimbor is the other side to that, someone who broke free but is still broken, he turned back toward the light and now he has turned around to face the consequences.

Or maybe four people: that scene with Arondir got me good.

I wrote this post about Adar and the possible implications of using Nenya yesterday, @baddybaddyadardaddy wrote this amazing post about the idea that final confrontation this season might be a three-person fight, and when I watched the ep again the way they frame Adar as being caught between darkness and light was so apparent. Crossing my fingers for this because damn, that would be some fine storytelling.

Poor Durin. And Elrond waiting for him on the battlefield was just so awful. I really hope Durin can resist the call of the rings but this confrontation with this father will make him emotionally vulnerable. BUT if he is tempted to put on his father's ring I firmly believe that Disa will chop off his hand. They better not do ANYTHING to Disa; I'm really enjoying Rings but if they use Disa's life to make Durin susceptible to Sauron's influence I might drop it like a hot rock, just saying.

this may not be a popular opinion but i would have loved to hear more about the technical ring making process and lore in rings of power. how the combination of will and intent affects the power and abilities of the rings. how the rings interact with the souls of the bearers. why sauron needed celebrimbor in order to complete the rings (or was it just his desperate need for a partner- but that’s another post).