Awesome / The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Season One

Episode 1 - A Shadow of the Past

• It is brief, but glimpsing the War of the Jewels (specifically Finrod apparently fighting the Battle of the Sudden Flame) is a hell of a sight.

Episode 2 - Adrift

• The very first Orc we see proves to be extraordinarily formidable. He emerges from the ground, Theo and Bronwyn hit him with everything and the kitchen sink, with all manner of object, improvised bombs, knives and impaling him with a blade, but he just keeps going. And that's just one of them.

Episode 3 - Adar

• Arondir and the Watchwarden both do their best to fight off the Orcs keeping them captive. A particular highlight is Arondir wielding a branch from the tree he was forced to cut down to kill the orc who forced him to cut it down.
• During the same fight the orcs and the captives become locked in a tug-of-war over the captives’ chains. Arondir picks up an axe, runs across the taut chains like they’re tightropes, and leaps to split the orcs’ canopy open, exposing them to the sun and forcing them to drop the chains.
• When Halbrand is faced with a number of angry Numenorean Men, they smack him around at first, including a punch that sends him to the ground. Halbrand proceeds to stand up, let out a fearsome war cry, then proceed to utterly beat the shit out of every single one of them, breaking one man's arm and slamming the leader's face hard into a stone wall. Even him getting arrested immediately afterward doesn't do anything to dampen the moment.

Episode 4 - The Great Wave

• Arondir rescuing Theo from orcs, even catching their arrows and firing them back.
• Disa's effortlessly brushing off Elrond's questioning of where Durin is is both this and a moment of funny:
  Disa: Have you tried the Golden Stairs, or the Three-Doored Guard? [sighs] I'd forgotten - these weans are turning my brain to mush! He was off to mine Quartz Chasm today. [smiles and continues her housekeeping]
  Elrond: [setting his glass down] You know, Disa, there is no secret worth concealing with deception.
  Disa: [she stands, her smile gone] Calling a dwarf dishonest in her own home? That's a recipe for strong gravy!
  Elrond: If Durin was mining quartz, why would he leave without taking his chiselling axe? And why would you be preparing his favourite meal if he's gone to a chasm that takes two full days to descend to? [Disa freezes, her face gone stony]
  Gerda: [singing] Rich crone, kiss the stone, polish your gems and gold!
  Disa: [sharply] Gerda, I'm warning you! [she sighs, then chuckles and turns back to Elrond, smiling] Durin didn't bring his axe because the quartz he's mining isn't chiseled, it's pried. I am making mole tail stew because it needs a wee while to set before he's home. And while it may take several days for an outsider - such as you - Dwarven climbers like my husband can make the descent to Quartz Chasm in just a few hours. [her smile no longer reaching her eyes] Was there anything else you wanted to ask about, dearie?
  Elrond: No, thank you.

Episode 5 - Partings

• Galadriel shows a group of young Numenorean army recruits how to fight orcs (something they have no experience with as there are no orcs in Numenor) and effortlessly sword fights five of them in one go in a graceful and athletic display of elven agility and skill.
• The recruits are promised whoever can actually land a hit on Galadriel will be promoted. After defeating Valandil, Galadriel looks at her arm and sees a minor cut.
  Galadriel: Well done...Lieutenant.

Episode 6 - Udûn

• Numenors' Big Damn Heroes moment when they rescue the Southlanders from the orcs.
• The Southlanders hailing Halbrand as their King.
• The episode ends with the mountain of Orodruin undergoing a cataclysmic eruption...and the birth of Mordor.

Episode 7 - The Eye

• When the three beings come to the Harfoot camp searching for the stranger. When they threaten Nori, Largo brandishes a torch and threatens to beat these creatures if they hurt his daughter. It didn't work, but he's got guts and it's clear these are the ancestors of the Hobbits.
• Seeing Miriel blinded and Elendil now hostile, on top of Theo picking up her worse inclinations, Galadriel is understandably feeling guilt and despair.
  Miriel: Do not spend your pity on me, elf. Save it for our enemies, for they do not know what they have begun.
• Halbrand has been injured, and his only hope is access to elvish medicine, preferably quickly while he can still ride. It would mean leaving his people, and while he promises Galadriel he will not abandon his new subjects he hesitates in stepping out of his tent and letting them see him leave. Instead, Bronwyn leads the people into chanting “Strength to the king!” Her son later rouses them to shout “Strength to the Southlands!” Reassuring the people’s morale.
• This is contrasted by the villainous version with the orcs, who now chant, “Hail Adar, Lord of the Southlands!” Adar corrects them, it’s not the Southlands anymore, it’s Mordor.

Episode 8 - Alloyed

• Despite a dagger to the gut and falling into a pit, Sadoc crawls his way up to use that very dagger to stab one of the Dweller's sisters.
• Nori manages to get The Dweller's staff away from her and tries to give it to The Stranger. He's reluctant to take it after hearing The Dweller and her sisters telling him the evil they expect him to do. Nori once again assures him that he's good. The Stranger takes up the staff and snuffs out The Dweller's fireballs before she can attack Poppy, Sadoc and Marigold. He summons a wind that puts out all of their flames and then turns the staff against its former owner, casting a spell that turns the three women into a flock of ghostly moths.
  The Stranger: From Shadow you came. And to Shadow I bid you return!
• Followed by the reactions of the Dwellers.
  The Dweller: He is not Sauron. He is the other, the Istar, he is…!
• Halbrand takes chilling delight in revealing his identity to Galadriel. He transforms from the scruffy rogue Halbrand to the immortal sorcerer Sauron with just body language.
  Sauron: I have been awake since the breaking of the First Silence. In that time - I have had many names.
• The final scene, where Sauron stands on the precipice of Mordor surveying his future kingdom with dark ambition. Mordor itself has changed from the orange haze in the previous episode into a proper shadowland, possibly a reaction to Sauron's malice.