So, let’s get the big reveal – the one everyone assumed was coming, and that was more or less confirmed earlier this season – out of the way up top. The Stranger is Gandalf (or a Grand Elf . . . but really Gandalf). And yes, per Tolkien, Gandalf shouldn’t be in Rhûn at all […]
Tag: Lord of the Rings
Rings of Power – Doomed to Die Review
And there we have it: The Siege of Eregion, the major battle this season has been leading to from the moment Sauron first arrived there, disguised, and convinced Celebrimbor that it would be an absolutely exceptional idea to forge some rings to send out to the Dwarves and Men. Because those three Elven rings turned […]
Rings of Power – Where Is He? Review
This week’s installment of Rings of Power felt a tad overstuffed – even if it desperately needed to hit on all those plot points and locales in an attempt to draw the various storyline threads together as the series approaches the end of the season. And while that’s not necessarily a bad thing from a […]
Rings of Power – Halls of Stone Review
There we go. This week’s episode of Rings of Power may have been heavy on the plot (and light on the fighting), but it centered Sauron – sorry, make that Annatar ::wink:: – which helped to make the talking and plot development go down much smoother. As I mentioned in my overall season review, the […]
The Rings of Power – Eldest Review
This week’s Rings of Power episode was an encapsulation of what works within the series and what is much less successful. We had our introduction to Tom Bombadil – the first time the hermit with a heart of gold has appeared on screen in live action form (with the great Rory Kinnear playing him) – […]
The Rings of Power – Episodes 1-3 Review
Listen, I know it will ultimately result in death and destruction throughout Middle Earth, but you really can see how tempting Sauron’s pitch to Celebrimbor was, right? Especially if one doesn’t know one is currently part of an epic saga entitled The Lord of the Rings where your actions spark an epic conflict. All I’m […]
The Rings of Power Season Two Review
When The Rings of Power premiered back in 2022 (yes, it’s been a full two years since we saw that initial run of episodes), it was greeted with mixed reviews (and a host of review bombing from a particular subset of the internet who has since moved onto MCU properties to express their ire with […]
The Rings of Power – Alloyed Review
Well, that was a finale that delivered on all the promises the series set forth in its premiere. We were shown the identity of Sauron (which I was wrong about last week, although I’ll give myself partial credit for outlining all the ways Halbrand could be Sauron in a previous review), we learned that The […]
The Rings of Power – The Eye
“The Eye,” the penultimate episode of The Rings of Power’s first season, had the tricky task of bridging between the best episode of the season (the epic Battle of the Southlands) and the season finale. And, on the whole, it did a serviceable job wrapping up the devastation of the battle, setting things in motion for […]
The Rings of Power – Udûn Review
Well, color me surprised. I didn’t think we would be getting the Númenoreans battling with the Southlanders against Adar and the Orcs, well, ever. I was assuming that by the time Galadriel and Númenor reached the Southlands, the Men would have been overrun. But boy, was I thrilled to be wrong, as “Udûn” turned out […]