makes no sense … no Keyser Söze moment here … one of the dumbest red herrings I have ever seen.

REVIEW CONTAINS PLOT SPOILERS

The season finale of Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power finally reveals the identity of Sauron, we see the forging of the eponymous rings, and we (probably) find out who the Harfoots’ Stranger friend is.

one of the dumbest fake reveals ever

The episode starts with the reveal that the whole season has been centred around and building up to: the identity of the dark lord Sauron. Except there’s no Keyser Söze moment here; this is one of the dumbest, most see-through red herrings I have ever seen.

Michael Palin lookalike Celebrimbor

That’s not the only thing that’s impossible to believe in this episode. The greatest smith in history, legendary Michael Palin lookalike Celebrimbor, doesn’t know about alloying metals(!) I am an English teacher with almost no practical skills so to speak, and yet even a lowly bug such as I know about the concept of alloying metals, and how this can be a beneficial process.

The three witches, or whatever they are

The dodgy acting that has been a hallmark of this show continues. Sadoc tries to save Nori from, something, in a quite unbelievable way. Celebrimbor seems to be becoming seduced by powah. The three witches, or whatever they are, have a final stand-off with Probably-Gandalf, and it’s totally ridiculous again.

Galdriel suspects … that Halbrand isn’t the king that, err, Galadriel made him out to be

The characters and plot are still weak. Galdriel suspects what most people have suspected for a few episodes now: that Halbrand isn’t quite the king that, err, Galdriel made him out to be. Indeed, he might be thoroughly naughty. So gets a spy to look into Halbrand’s past but then talks to her super-duper-secret-spy in front of everyone, Halbrand included. Dumbest. Sh*t. Ever.

This is a kind of “Darth Vader” situation, isn’t it?

The show ends on two big reveals. Probably-Gandalf is, indeed, probably Gandalf. And Halbrand is… hang on a sec. Halbrand. Hal Brand. Hal. Hell. Brand. Like fire. Literally, his name is “Hell Fire.” This is a kind of “Darth Vader” situation here, isn’t it? Yes, Halbrand is Sauron. Dumber than that is how Galadriel doesn’t tell anyone. Dumber still is how The Artist-Formerly-Known-as-Halbrand-Currently-Known-as-Sauron doesn’t kill her when he has the chance, merely opting to scarper.

the disappointing and fairly nonsensical ending that this poor first season deserves

Bad plotting, a lack of characterisation, poor acting, shoddy dialogue, stuff that just doesn’t make sense. The disappointing and fairly nonsensical ending that this poor first season deserves.

2/5

© 2022 Bryan A. J. Parry

featured image from https://static1.cbrimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/sauron-and-ruler-ring-from-lord-of-the-rings.jpg

makes no sense … no Keyser Söze moment here … one of the dumbest red herrings I have ever seen.

REVIEW CONTAINS PLOT SPOILERS

The season finale of Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power finally reveals the identity of Sauron, we see the forging of the eponymous rings, and we (probably) find out who the Harfoots’ Stranger friend is.

one of the dumbest fake reveals ever

The episode starts with the reveal that the whole season has been centred around and building up to: the identity of the dark lord Sauron. Except who he is revealed to be makes no sense. For a second I was like “No!” in open-mouthed astonishment at the scriptwriters’ genius. And then a moment later, I was like, “Oh, actually, no” in open-mouthed astonishment at their stupidity. No Keyser Söze moment here, I’m afraid. This is one of the dumbest fake reveals / red herrings I have ever seen. It’s supposed to make the actual reveal of Sauron at the end of the episode all the more shocking as we are meant to think we now already know who Sauron is. But Sauron so obviously isn’t the person the episode opening would have us believe, that we simply don’t believe it.

Michael Palin lookalike Celebrimbor

That’s not the only thing that’s impossible to believe in this episode. The greatest elven smith in history, and therefore the greatest smith in history, the legendary Michael Palin lookalike Celebrimbor, doesn’t know about alloying metals. I am an English teacher with almost no practical skills so to speak, and yet even a lowly bug such as I know about the concept of alloying metals, and how this can be a beneficial process. Also, the plot point that the elven race will die if the tree dies, and that somehow the metal mithril will stop this, makes less and less sense the more you think about it.

The dodgy acting that has been a hallmark of this show continues. Sadoc tries to save Nori from, something, in a quite unbelievable way. Celebrimbor seems to be becoming seduced by powah. The three witches, or whatever they are, have a final stand-off with Probably-Gandalf, and it’s totally ridiculous again.

Galdriel suspects … that Halbrand isn’t the king that, err, Galadriel made him out to be

The characters and plot are still weak. Galdriel suspects what most people have suspected for a few episodes now: that Halbrand isn’t quite the king that, err, Galdriel made him out to be. Indeed, he might be thoroughly naughty. So she does her usual thing of rushing around and causing chaos. This time she gets a spy to look into Halbrand’s past. But then she has her top secret spy simply walk in in front of everyone, Halbrand included, and present her a scroll. Not suspicious or attention-drawing at all. Everyone looks around at her, as well they might. Dumbest. Sh*t. Ever.

This is a kind of “Darth Vader” situation, isn’t it?

The show ends on two big reveals. Probably-Gandalf is, indeed, probably Gandalf. And Halbrand is… hang on a sec. Halbrand. Hal Brand. Hal. Hell. Brand. Like fire. Literally, his name is “Hell Fire.” This is a kind of “Darth Vader” situation here, isn’t it? Yes, Halbrand is Sauron. Dumber than that is how Galadriel doesn’t tell anyone. Dumber still is how The Artist Formerly Known as Halbrand Currently Known as Sauron doesn’t kill her when he has the chance, merely opting to scarper.

the disappointing and fairly nonsensical ending that this poor first season deserves

Bad plotting, a lack of characterisation, poor acting, shoddy dialogue, stuff that just doesn’t make sense. But apart from all the show, the show isn’t half bad. Honestly, this is the disappointing and fairly nonsensical ending that this poor first season deserves.

2/5

© 2022 Bryan A. J. Parry

featured image from https://static1.cbrimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/sauron-and-ruler-ring-from-lord-of-the-rings.jpg