Season 1, Episode 6: “Wooden”
Peter Jackson’s “Lord of the Rings” films were hailed for their lengthy battle sequences, filled with fantasy beasts and spectacular backdrops unlike anything seen in a multiplex before. These scenes inspired some of the most talked-about episodes of ‘Game of Thrones’ that spent all their time on warring armies. There is an initial “battle episode” that includes about two-thirds of the running time spent in a nighttime invasion by two hordes of orcs into a human fortress, followed by a turn of events. Daytime arrival of the Numenor army.
Nearly 45 minutes of non-stop combat rivals both “Game of Thrones” and “The Ring” movies. Each episode of the show so far has featured impressive action choreography, with scenes that last for just a few minutes standing out. The daredevil stunts and dynamic camera moves in this week’s episode are equally good. But when there are so many of them, they become less special.
That said, it’s always exciting to see the likes of Halbrand, Galadriel, and Arondal fight with skill and courage. Plus, the stakes in their skirmishes are always perfectly clear…which makes the final outcome of this week’s battle all the more devastating.
Here are five takeaways from the series’ intrigue-fueled episode, with a cruel twist.
power of darkness
Part of what made this week’s action a little tiring is that much of it takes place at night or indoors. ‘s setback not only made fights harder to watch, but it also felt let down by going back to visual clichés, mimicking every pitch-black “Game of Thrones” combat.
Explore the world of The Lord of the Rings
The literary world constructed by JRR Tolkien, now adapted into a new series on Amazon Prime Video, has inspired generations of readers and viewers.
However, when broken down into individual moments, the orcs and their minions first storm a largely abandoned tower fortress, and then after a frustrating defeat (and a short respite from all the fighting), the night scene has many. is happening. en route to a nearby village where Bronwyn and her people have retreated to regroup and strengthen. But he also shows off his savage strength when he has to go hand-to-hand with orcs.
In classic “when all seems lost” pulp fiction fashion, a nighttime battle ends in a series of seemingly insurmountable losses. Arondir almost gouged out his eyes. After saving Arondir, Bronwyn is hit by an arrow and nearly bleeds. The villagers made the mistake of peering under the attacker’s helmet and realized that many of the “orcs” they killed were actually humans. And, worst of all, Theo attempts to save the day by handing over the hilt of the coveted evil sword… when a horse’s hooves are heard in the distance.
A cavalry rides in.
These horses, of course, belonged to the Numenoreans, led by Galadriel, who were able to cross the sea to reach Southland and save the day. I could question the timing of all of this, but unlike ‘Game of Thrones’, which took a long time to travel in the first few seasons and ended in a blink of an eye, the ‘ Given that Ring of Power doesn’t have a particular sense of where all these characters have been in their respective timelines throughout this season. Before, we may have started our expedition months ago.
Anyway, it’s better TV when the Numenoreans arrive when they arrive. It also makes for some great action sequences. This time it was taken in daylight. Galadriel and Halbrand are particularly impressive, dodging arrows or crouching off the side of their horses to get a better slashing angle. not. When Galadriel passes by.
make me king
Halbrand’s whole story arc is one of my favorites from Season 1 so far. Still, I appreciate his reluctance to accept his status as the true King of Southland.
He even faces his old tormentors this week when his army defeats the Orcs and captures Adder. Despite the human emphasis on killing enemies, when the King looks Adar straight in the eye and asks, “Do you remember me?” “No.” Humans have their own agendas. But as you can see in the final minutes of the episode, this hardly matters to his Adar and his Orcs.
Adder’s question
After all the sword fighting and archery that took place in the first two-thirds of this episode, the lengthy scene in which Galadriel interrogates Adar is a welcome change of pace, and a major advance for this season’s larger plot. Adar confirms that he was part of the race of elves who were turned into “Sons of Darkness” by Morgoth and became the first Orcs. He also shows once again that he is not Sauron, and that Sauron has immersed himself in the study of “the powers of the unseen world”, abandoning his responsibility to heal Middle-earth and hold its ravaged land together. Adder even says that he actually killed Sauron. (Perhaps he meant this as “Darth Vader killed Luke Skywalker’s father.”)
Adar is actually sympathetic throughout this conversation as he talks about loved ones killed by Sauron’s ambitions and reminds Galadriel that Orcs “have names and hearts” too. And Galadriel tells Adder that when he says “those like you were a mistake,” he doesn’t exactly cover himself with glory, but intends to exterminate all orcs except him. Tell you. Galadriel was banished from Lyndon because he felt that Gilgalad was as much a source of elven problems as a solution. ’ I reflect these feelings when I tell her.
And they lived happily ever after… oh wait.
When I hit the hour mark for this episode, I thought I might have mistaken it for Season 1 of The Rings of Power, which contains eight episodes. This week was without Dwarves, Halfhut, and Elrond, but it seemed that we had reached a well-deserved end. Time to reset for Season 2.
But remember when Arondir described Theo’s stolen sword hilt as something like a key? Plunging it into a ground rock, it sets off a series of events including avalanches and floods, pushing water into underground tunnels that the orcs have been busy building, and nearby mountains spewing lava and ash, blocking the sun.
Fans of the movie The Ring may have noticed that the Elven Tower Stronghold in Southland bears some resemblance to Sauron’s Dark Tower. Now the exploding volcano resembles Mount Doom, the central landmark of Sauron’s evil kingdom of Mordor. These may not actually be the same place, like Adar or, as he claims, not Sauron. The orcs seem to move, just as they’ve been trying to warn you. She was finally consumed by the darkness she had spent her whole life hunting.