We’re in the end game now, Tony.

Fuck off.

Blurry figures make their way through a narrow, angular tunnel.

2:57Harfoots?

It’s Prince Durin & Narvi who enter a cave where Disa is tending a wounded Dwarf. She starts wailing about the Ring controlling King Durin and Prince Durin heads off after him, telling Disa not to follow him, no matter what she hears.

We see the big cavern with lights around the edges that generally represents the mining this season. King Durin has a mini-battering ram swinging from chains in a framework that he is using to bash a wall.

3:53 Is this an actually sensible means of digging tunnels? Also, what is going on here? The narrative to this point has been that King Durin, thanks to the Ring, is consumed with greed and the desire for gold and such. So why isn’t he gathering gold? Why is his focus entirely on tunneling?

Because that’s the danger the writers want – they want him to free the Balrog. Whether the plot that results in this makes sense, is of much less concern to them.

And by the way, this makes a fourth time-line mishap. Assuming, as many do, that Meteor Man is Gandalf or Saruman, we have his arrival in Middle Earth, the forging of the Rings of Power, the reign of Ar-Pharazon in Numenor, and the freeing of the Balrog. The forging of the Rings was around 1500 SA. Ar-Pharazon took the crown of Numenor in 3255 SA. The Second Age (SA) ran until 3441. Gandalf arrived in Middle Earth around 1000 TA. Durin’s Bane, the Balrog in Moria, was awakened and freed in 1980 TA. So the major events of each plotline in this show take place 1755 years, 1186 years, and 980 years apart. Durin’s acquisition of the Ring is separated from the awakening of the Balrog by almost 4000 years!

These writers are such incompetents, that they cannot possibly write a good story without leaning heavily on the major historical events of the legendarium.

On the other side of wall the king is bashing, the camera pans down deep chasm with a red glow at the bottom and a growly noise.

4:08 And of course, there’s the Balrog...

Prince Durin comes in, and yells at his father to take off the ring or he’ll cut off his hand. The king pauses and turns. He says “You’re strong enough to use an axe, but are you strong enough to use it against your father?” Durin looks sad, and says he isn’t because King Durin has always been stronger, and goes on to remind his father how they would arm wrestle when he was a kid, and the king would let him move his arm just a little bit, before slamming it down, and that’s how he knew that King Durin was super strong, so can’t he be strong enough to take off the Ring. King Durin tells the prince a Dwarf should never beg and turns back to work.

5:42 That whole conversation was totally reliant on the sophistry of conflating physical strength and strength of will. And it was pointless. It did not advance the plot nor tell us anything that every one of the last three episodes has not already attempted to pound into our heads – Prince Durin loves his father too much to actually DO anything directly against him, and King Durin is deaf to all reason beyond the compulsion of his Ring.

Prince Durin shouts No, the king gives the wall another bash, and it punches through. King Durin goes into the hole he has just made, into a space with sparkly walls and calls for his son to come see the true wealth of their mountain. Prince Durin joins him, and he says, “Behold the dynasty of Durin."

6:27 What is that even supposed to mean? The dynasty of Durin is personified in these two Dwarves at the moment. It’s the royal line of Durin I, who rule Khazad-dum and will go on to rule the Grey Mountains and Erebor in the future. It is not a cave of precious metal. Are these geniuses perhaps confusing “dynasty” with “legacy”?

There are silvery veins running through all the walls and stalactites and such. King Durin smugly points out that he found this because of the Ring. He sounds affectionate though, and has since breaking in. In response to the king calling the mountain “our”, Durin says it’s not their mountain, and his father taught him that. The king says, but Rings, like he’s trying to persuade his son, instead of being all obdurately certain. A light begins to glow over his face and there is more growly noise.

7:22 I have been self-criticizing this whole way, thinking that at some point on this show, they will do something to avert the issue of the Balrog, to preserve the continuity, so that it rises up to drive out the Dwarves thousands of years later, after they have forgotten the foreshadowings discovered in this season. But nope, it’s RIGHT BELOW them, so that its fire is lighting up Durin’s face.

Down in a chasm in front of the Dwarves, there is more firey glow. Prince Durin starts backing away, telling his father to run, but then the Balrog whip comes up and wraps around King Durin’s ankle. It drags him a bit before letting go. The rest of the Balrog climbs up and holds up its sword like it’s going to stab the king.

Prince Durin charges out, but is knocked back by the Balrog’s sword. The Balrog starts pulling the walls of the cavern down around it, and drops down and jabs its sword into the ground.

King Durin climbs up, shouting for his son, who is staring down in horror. Turning back to look at the flames, King Durin takes off his Ring. He has gold nail polish, on the bottom of each nail. He says, in what sounds like a voiceover, that he never let his son lift his hand, that it was just his own strength growing. Durin is staring dumbfounded, as his father gets to his feet and picks up Prince Durin’s axe. His son sees that his finger is bare. We see the Ring lying on a rock where the king left it. He asks for his son’s forgiveness and addresses him as King Durin and then turns to face the Balrog. It rises up, the king charges, his son rushes after him shouting no, no, but Disa appears to grab him from behind. The King slo-mo jumps at the Balrog, and we see Narvi has joined the effort to hold back Prince Durin. A white haired Dwarf also pops into frame, holding Narvi.

9:30 Hi, third Dwarf! You seem like an especially relevant character!

The Balrog’s sword smacks into King Durin in midleap, and there is a concussive effect, and the tunnel to the cavern starts to collapse. The screen goes black.

9:50 What I thought was going to be the resolution of this plot, that I mentioned above? This was worse! By “they” I mean the writers, that they were going to have some power of the Ring bury the Balrog or cause an avalanche or something, but no. It’s just convenience making the Balrog go away. Durin took off the Ring before charging the Balrog, so why the avalanche and explosions when they clashed? Why did the Balrog bury itself? Why is the Balrog so powerful in a cavern full of mithril, whose own properties in this show cancel out and drive back evil? The answer is, they wanted to have the Balrog to titillate the simple-minded, and didn’t want to deal with the consequences to the story. So they created a problem just for spectacle, and made it go away.

After the credits, it is night, and Meteor Man walks through a canyon and finds a horse, whose tack is marked with the eye of Sauron. Meteor Man emerges into the desert Harfoots’ village. It’s all dark and we don’t see anyone. A distinctive voice says “Manwe promised you would come.”

12:25 Now we get to watch Ciarin Hinds (finally) being wasted on RoP dialogue.

The Dark Wizard continues, saying that he was getting impatient, but he had faith in his old friend, meaning Meteor Man. Meteor Man asks if he knows him and DW says they’re like kin. He tells MM that there were five of them, but MM was the one who convinced DW to come to Middle Earth, because none of them could defeat Sauron alone. MM says he was told DW wants to ally with Sauron. DW says he’s come for answers, and can get them if he comes with DW. That he will tell him his past and his name and get him a staff

13:18 I feel like Hinds is doing his best Christopher Lee here. Since he cited the two of them as included in a group of five, they have to be two of the Istari. Is this guy Saruman and Meteor Man Gandalf, or are they going to Shock Us by revealing they are the opposites, or even different wizards?

MM says he came with two halflings, and DW knows their names and says he’s made sure they’re safe. He calls for them and one of the bronze stormtrooper dudes leads them out with a knife at their throats. DW says he said they were not to be harmed. The stormtroopers are holding them until DW gives what he promised (it was a cure for the skin condition that makes them wear masks, if you forgot). DW apologizes to old friend, MM, saying he thought the stormtroopers would help him find MM, but he sees now he was dumb to trust them. The stormtrooper spokesman objects that his people were once kings, DW gestures with his staff and the stormtrooper goes flying. He seems dead, and the guy with the knife on Nori & Samantha Gamgee runs away, along with the others.

The Harfoots run up to MM. They all look at DW, and the Gund calls him Dark Wizard. He says that’s not his preferred name, but ignorant Men called him that, and he hopes his actions have proven that he’s okay. Nori looks at the dead stormtrooper and asks if that’s the action he means. DW points out that they were threatening her, but she still says she pities him. Possibly because she knows the fate of anyone who falls, injured and surrounded by her kind.

DW is trying to remain focused on needing to beat Sauron, but MM wants to know what happens when they defeat Sauron, is DW going to take his place? DW says help him out and they can share the power. MM says he rather wander in the desert forever.

15:36 Are they forgetting that Meteor Man and the Harfoots have had nothing to do with the rest of the plot? How has any of this been earned? Where has this aspect of Meteor Man, that he would rather give up everything than walk in Sauron’s footsteps, been established? His only association with Sauron is that it is a name the creepy women from last season mistook for his, and that he has been told by a weird goat herder who claims to be the oldest being in Middle Earth that Sauron is a threat. He has no actual, personal knowledge of Sauron, and this is coming in the midst of a scene where another bad guy has claimed to be the victim of rumors, and denied responsibility for evil done in his name, and also been judged by his actions, however dubiously.
Like, Nori is skeptical of the Dark Wizard, because of how he smashed the stormtrooper against the wall, which is not something a wizard she herself labels as good would ever do several times already on this show. The point the show has JUST MADE is that actions speak louder than words, and by your fruits you will know them. This is a very Tolkien-esque philosophy (however shoddily executed in Nori’s case), which they have completely failed to apply to Meteor Man versus Sauron. He has no experience of Sauron or his works, just words. But he’s already defying the Dark Wizard, because the horrible pacing of this show has drawn this plotline out until the finale and there is no more time for him to get the necessary knowledge or familiarity. He should have met the Dark Wizard in his second episode, and tried to work with him for a bit before recognizing the truth and rejecting him.

DW says sadly that his old friend gives him little choice, and immediately starts ripping apart the stone walls of the village, making the cliff their smials are dug into collapse. As the Harfoots all begin screaming and running. DW says he only hopes that by seeing his friends suffer, MM will realize how all Middle Earth will suffer under Sauron. He says he will be waiting for MM when his senses have returned. He strides out of the village in a huff as rocks begin to fall.

16:20 I am rooting so hard for CSS Virginia to die here.

Some of the rocks stop falling as MM calls Nori’s name. They make eye contact before she and the Gund turn to run.

16:29 “Nori, get to the Falcon! I have remembered my name! It’s Rey! Rey Palpatine Skywa (HELL, NO) Mithrandir!

The rest of the rocks fall out of the sky, revealing a constellation above. Probably the one he sketched out with fireflies last season.

In a new scene, we see a big yellowish-looking tree and bells are ringing.

16:54 There are so many stupid trees on this show – is this the Durin family sunshaft tree? The evil-barometer tree in Lindon? The tree from which Meteor Man will obtain his staff? Nimloth?

A woman pulls levers to make the bells stop.

17:01 Ugh, Missildur.

A group of people are in the middle of the throne room, one of whom demands answers, but Missildur says she was only ordered to gather them and doesn’t have any answers.

17:18 Ar-Pharazon is supposed to be King of Numenor now, so why is Missildur doing half the jobs of the regime?

A bunch of soldiers march in and surround the people. R-Pharazon and Belzager enter behind the soldiers. Ar-Pharazon addresses the crowd as leaders of the Faithful. He says he has summoned them to reveal that it turns out Miriel did witchcraft on the sea and has an ally who is their enemy. The spokesman scoffs saying she has no allies by the Valar. Belzager hands the leader of the leaders a paper covered with writing, but all he appears to have read on it was the name Sauron.

Belzager announces that all the Faithful are now declared traitors. We cut to a couple of soldiers nailing a letter to a door, while Belzager’s voiceover calls on all loyal Numenoreans “to oppose this threat.” Cut to a couple of people reading the nailed up note, I can’t tell if it’s the same or a copy elsewhere. Then we cut to soldiers manhandling people in the street and kicking down doors and dragging people out of their homes. Back in the throne room, soldiers pull the spokesman of the Faithful out of the crowd and start herding the rest. Ar-Pharazon watches, but as he looks across the room, he sees Missildur leaving.

18:57 You know, one thing that would have made sense in having Missildur be the one to summon the gathering would have been that her loyalties are suspect due to her affection toward her father, and this is a sort of test, or at least that he wanted to keep her close at hand when he attempted this new purge, which means, someone should have had orders to take her in hand the minute she shows any sign of objection or protest.

Also, the way this is shot suggests that the proclamations get nailed up and the soldiers start going house to house following Ar-Pharazon’s news to the Faithful, that this is something done over a period of hours and days, but then we go back to the meeting and it’s all happening simultaneously.

Nimloth is shedding blossoms again, but no one cares. In the streets below, Missildur picks her way through the commotion of mass arrests and police brutality. She arrives in a quiet part of town, where Elendil seems to be cleaning up dishes on an outdoor table. She calls out to him and by his expression he hears her but does not respond or even turn to face her, and moves away as she approaches. She tries telling there is no time to explain, instead of getting to the point, but a crash in the distance draws his attention. She whispers that they are coming for him. We see soldiers marching into the area the same way she came, calling orders.

19:40 None of this makes sense! The gathering of the leaders and simultaneous door-to-door arrests, suggest a level of coordination and intelligence-gathering beyond belief on the part of the crown, that they are all over this and carrying out surgical strikes to gut the leadership of the opposition. But no one is anywhere near Elendil, a military leader, who has been the right-hand man of the queen, and an unreconciled adherent of the Faithful. He should have been first on the list. There should have been someone outside his door the moment the summons went out, to grab him if he did not go with the other “leaders of the Faithful” to meet Ar-Pharazon. For that matter, what was the mechanism of that invitation? Missildur is shown operating the bells, the Faithful leaders question her about the reason and she replies that she doesn’t know and was merely ordered to summon them. That suggests her ringing the bells WAS the summons. But how did it only go out to the leaders of the Faithful and no one else came, not even out of curiosity? If the summons was a different method, why was Elendil omitted?

I know, I know, the answer is, because they wanted this scene, that is about to take place, to happen.

One soldier approaches Missildur, who has turned to face them. He asks if there are any Faithful “in there” and she says “No, move along.” When he starts to look past her anyway, she threatens to tell Ar-Pharazon of his insolence. From another angle, Elendil is hiding around the corner and the guard peers again, but he can’t see him. Missildur repeats the order to move along and he goes. She then turns and looks around the corner, but Elendil is gone. No one notices her going back in the area where she just refused to let the guards check.

20:02 “No, move along” is just about the most suspicious answer to a question about whether anyone is in somewhere. Also, either Missildur is known to this guard as a person of rank, in which case, he should have used more casual or familiar phrasing, denoting they are working together on the mission. If he doesn’t know who she is, he should immediately be pushing past her to check for himself. And then to threaten to tell Ar-Pharazon of his insolence when he hesitates, that does not make any sense whatsoever. The only way that works is if Ar-Pharazon has an established reputation for harsh punishment of anyone who questions his underlings for any reason. Even if the guard does not know of the suspicion I theorized might explain her part in the earlier scene, it makes no sense that Ar-Pharazon would disapprove. Missildur is not a member of some high-status caste that Ar-Pharazon has an interest in protecting, or connections to any group or power to which he is beholden. Even if she were his absolute favorite henchwoman, everything we know would indicate he prioritizes results over the ego of any other person. “How DARE you not take the word of my henchwoman that there was no one you were looking for in one particular building!” is not a credible line from even the most arrogant tyrant.

And WTF is the guard doing? How does he not know where Elendil is likely to be? If Elendil is not even greeting Missildur on her appearance, I doubt he would have left her his new or secret address. So if she knew where to find him, it should be general knowledge, and Elendil’s daughter standing outfront insisting “NOPE, no Faithful here” should have them immediately surrounding the place. Is the only information the guards have about Public Enemy # Two, a rough estimate of his neighborhood? Or is this just an extension of the general sweep of the population for Faithful and there really is no specific effort targeted at the most martially experienced Leader of the Faithful.

And how are they identifying the Faithful anyway? Is it a political party, with voter registration lists? This whole plotline reeks of writers who have decided that the Faithful are Just Like the Jews in Nazi Germany and are just writing a concentration camp roundup in Numenorean costume.

Before the camera moves away from that scene, we hear Elendil voice-over saying they have to leave for the West where there are Faithful. Presumably he means the west of Numenor, and not the Undying Lands. Among the Faithful in the West is Elendil’s son, Anarion

20:25 Anarion exists! Now, why, if his mother is dead, is he living alone in the West, away from his family, who, from what we saw in the first season, were living rather ordinary lives, with no indication they felt endangered or persecuted and might want to send their younger child away. Because Anarion is the younger brother of Issildur. That’s why Issildur’s line reigned in the north of Middle Earth, while Anarion’s line ruled in Gondor in the south. Isildur, as the elder brother, was the heir to the kingdom Elendil founded in the north, and as his heir, Aragorn’s claim to Gondor supersedes that of any southerners, who, even if they can claim some remote descent from a King of Gondor, would at best be claiming to be heirs of Anarion. But I have a feeling, he’s going to be older somehow.

He is in Miriel’s room, getting a cloak and putting on her while he talks. He discusses their travel plans, Miriel starts adding advice, making it clear she is talking only about Elendil going, not herself.

20:35 What a shocker. Elendil has an idea that has nothing obviously wrong with it, and Miriel is not going along. And how is she alone and unguarded when Ar-Pharazon is purging all her followers? How is Elendil able to get to her? If she has guards or retainers to prevent her own arrest or isolation, why is Elendil talking about fleeing instead of protecting their allies?

Forget the deviations from Tolkien’s made-up lore. One could argue (not plausibly or credibly) that his imagination is not superior to that of anyone else, the altered lore of the screenwriters is just as valid to use in the story. But ignoring his mythology and whatnot, there is still the fact that he understood how human beings interacted and how human societies functioned! There might have been a lot of idealized stuff in there, people acting more nobly than realistically, but he did indicate an awareness of basic workings of civilization and human nature.

She takes off the cloak, so Elendil will get the hint. They use pompous metaphors and made-up aphorisms, that mean he doesn’t want to leave her, but she can’t/won’t leave. He asks where is his place if not with her and she nods her head toward an object she supposedly can’t see, leaning against a nearby couch, saying “It is called Narsil.” Elendil is surprised, and looks at her, but she’s blind, so she keeps staring at where she thinks Narsil is. He picks up the sword and she tells him to reclaim his lordship and use the sword to reclaim his destiny. He keeps pointlessly looking at her to make eye contact and then finally draws the sword and looks at the blade and scene.

21:52 If you haven’t watched a bunch of irrelevant movies, based on books Amazon does not have the rights to, written by people with a deep respect for an author these writers could not give less of a shit about, or even if you did watch the movies, but not religiously so, or only have a casual recollection of their lore, WTF is the name “Narsil” supposed to mean that an argument about who is escaping and who is staying should be disrupted by the revelation of this sword, and the scene end on it being drawn?

Hell, some people assumed the sword she gave Elendil last season was supposed to be Narsil. Also, if the sword that proves the right to the throne of Gondor was originally given to their ancestor by the Queen of the Sea, it makes that retarded Monty Python line even more applicable to Gondor than to Arthurian Britain. How can the line of Elendil expect to wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at him? (King Arthur, for Dennis’ information, wielded supreme executive power because he found a sword stuck in a rock; the watery tart hucked a different sword at him after he was already established as king)

Smoke-filled sky, and fireballs shoot past.

21:55 Projectiles whooshing across the sky can only mean we’re back at the siege of Eregion (and for the record, Eregion was the name of the country. Ost-in-Edhil was the name of its capital city), but last episode, we saw the trebuchet crews abandoning their engines to take up arms and march beside Adar. So how is there whooshing?

Orcs climb over the battlements of Eregion, cut down Elves and try to run without moving fast as they swarm through the city, opening gates for their fellows. Elven archers get shot, until one of them is left, shooting and moving and doing Elf leaps down to the street, being all badass, until he get killed.

A couple of Orc start down an alley and fall back, slain by Galadriel, who leads a group of Elf civilians to safety. The camera pans over a thoroughly trashed and burning Eregion. Really no different than at any point last episode. Now, the camera move through a tunnel into daylight. And we see the Elf civilians emerge only to hear weapon sounds, and they turn and there are Orcs leering at them above the cave. Oh, no! They are NOT safe, after all.

23:32 I burst out laughing. This is so ridiculous.

Galadriel comes out last and then moves to the front – sort of, they’re more of a mob than a line – of the civilians, and says that she is the one Adar wants and will go willingly in exchange for the civilians’ freedom. The lead Orc says “give me one reason” and she replies, “I will give you Nine,” withdrawing the pouch of rings Celebrimbor charged her with carrying to safety.

23:53 You suck, Galadriel.

Sauron is shooting arrows into Celebrimbor as he lies in the ruins of his workshop.

24:14 This is also pathetic. Sauron being the one to shoot Celebrimbor undermines the idea of him visiting unspeakable torments to break him. This is just goofy. If you are going to have him riddled with arrows, it should be because Sauron left it to the Orcs, letting them have fun with him as a form of degradation. It’s a greater statement of power and it’s more evil.

Sauron approaches Celebrimbor and says “Look what you’ve done to yourself.”

24:40 I would not be surprised to read or hear that they are deliberately writing Sauron’s interactions with Celebrimbor as those of a domestic abuser.

Sauron tortures Celebrimbor with the arrows sticking out of him, threatening him with the oncoming Orcs, but offers to end his suffering for the location of the Rings. Celebrimbor won’t tell him and Sauron says he tried to help Celebrimbor and only wants to share the smith’s creation with the world. Celebrimbor says they’re gone and he’s going to die soon, so tough luck. He’s going to the shores of the morning, where Sauron can’t follow.

26:15 Why is Valinor “the shores of the morning”? It’s in the west, where the sun SETS. It should be noted that the Halls of Mandos, where the spirits of dead Elves come, is in the western part of Valinor, so, even further west.

Sauron picks up a spear and threatens to keep Celebrimbor alive. Celebrimbor says all he does is treachery, that is so pure it will betray him. I think. He’s being all poetic. Sauron scoffs, but Celebrimbor gets to his feat and prophesies that the Rings will destroy him and one of them will prove his ruin. Sauron loses his temper and stabs Celebrimbor with the spear, lifting him up on the point, saying he is their master, but Celebrimbor says he is their prisoner, and addresses him as Sauron, Lord……………. of the Rings.

27:58 He said the line! He said it, guys!

Celebrimbor dies, and Sauron works his face and sheds a tear.

28:19 Uh, poor…Sauron, I guess?

Several Orcs enter the room. One asks if he is Sauron.

28:38 Is this Family Orc? He has the coif. Is he about to ask Sauron to save them from the tyranny of Adar?

Sauron says he has many names, then turns to Family Orc and asks “What is yours…….Uruk?”

29:00 That was a BIG pause, before he said “Uruk”. Is that how he wins them over, by showing respect for their culture?

And we don’t get to learn Family Orc’s name, because we have a commercial break.

In Pelargir, Isildur is sitting in a house looking at a knife.

29:20Isildur has been gone for a while. I can’t, for the life of me, remember what significance that knife has.

Theo comes in and says it’s bad luck to pack a dagger, but Isildur says it has already stabbed him once, so I guess it belonged to Astrid, and packs it anyway. They yammer a bit about their dead mothers and coping with dead mothers. Isildur says he didn’t deal with it well until he came “here” Because “here” there are grander things than he thought, that made him realize how small he let the trauma of a dead mother make him.

30:36 What “here” is Isildur talking about? Middle-earth? The Southlands? Pelargir? Theo’s house?

Isildur invites Theo to come with him, but Theo says he likes it better being a low man. Isildur says he liked it too.

30:54 Theo, you would still be a “low man” if you went to Numenor. That’s the term for all Men who are not of the blood of Numenor.

What I think they wanted to convey was that he’d rather remain in Middle Earth where he is ordinary, than go to Numenor, where he would be a mere low man.

By Isildur’s agreement, I guess we are supposed to understand that you are a low man if you are grubbing about all filthy in Middle Earth but you are a high man if you are chilling with the Numenoreans. But how does Isildur’s happiness at being a low man fit with his characterization in Numenor? Was he feeling all constrained by his higher duties and free as a refugee in Middle Earth? How does that fit with his needing to come “here” to discover something grander?

Needless to say, this is all very un-Tolkien. Low people who go to the realms of the great and powerful are happy and delighted, if they are good people. It’s only the venal and selfish, who would be proud and arrogant if they were not humbled by their surroundings, who are discontented in a great and glorious place with Numenor or Gondolin or Lindon or Nargothrond or Doriath. The Hobbits never feel out of place or shamed by the splendors of Minas Tirith or Lothlorien or the beauties of Rivendell. The attitude that it’s better to be with one’s own kind in crappy circumstances, than at the bottom in a great and wonderful place, is the sort of materialistic attitude Tolkien loathed.

Isildur offers a handshake, but Theo hugs him and leaves. The door opens and Isildur asks if he changed his mind, but its Astrid, returning something Theo loaned her. They discuss how her betrothed started building their future home. Isildur is happy for her, but she says the kindness that used to make her love now makes her sick. Isildur is like “Overshare” before he takes the hint and starts making out with her.

32:54 Wow, going to town on her like she’s your future mother-in-law, buddy!

When they break for air, Isildur invites Astrid to come back to Numenor with him.

33:13 Should someone tell Astrid that she’s his second choice, and she’s only getting an invite because Theo turned him down?

Out on the dock, Numenor troops are disembarking from a boat and Phara-son is with them, his arm still in a sling from when Valandil broke it. He greets the crowd condescendingly. Theo introduces himself as the son of Bronwyn, which makes no impression on Phara-son. Astrid’s fiancé tries to set him straight, and Theon mentions the agreement the colony has made with Miriel, but Phara-son says the agreement’s changed.

33:40 For the record, by the time Ar-Pharazon came to power, Pelargir was a stronghold of the Faithful, because that’s where a lot of them emigrated to, to escape the persecution they suffered over generations at the hands of the Kings’ Men. Phara-son wouldn’t set foot in the place without a large army. Even here, I don’t see how far his authority is going to go if he doesn’t have a lot more troops out of frame.

Phara-son is preoccupied with his building plans, which don’t include any respect for people already living there. He turns to see Isildur approaching, who asks if he’s Kemen. No, that’s Phara-son. The name Kemen has never been said on-screen as near as I can recall (IMDb says he’s Kemen). Kemen – screw it, Phara-son – moves his face a lot before awkwardly saying Isildur’s name.

33:55 Duh duh DUH! They know each other’s secrets! Except I can’t see revealing that Isildur tried to stow away on the fleet being all that big a deal these days, or that anyone is going to care that Phara-son blew up a ship. Anyone who would have been upset is already out for his blood, and his own people have no reason to care.

Phara-son hugs Isildur saying his sister will be pleased. The hug gets awkward and he lets Isildur go, claiming he never gave up hope, despite the reports that no one survived. Isildur says he wouldn’t have survived if not for Beric, his horse, who is standing in an alley behind some raggedy locals, not, apparently preparing to embark with Isildur.

34:17 Beric is turning his head like “Don’t bring me into this. I’m staying and that’s the end of it. Imma go check out those fillies in the Riddermark.”

Isildur confirms there is plenty of room, and says he wants to bring one more. Astrid looks into the crowd where her betrothed is still with Theo. He emerges to walk up to them and stares at Isildur, who is looking at Astrid, who is looking back, but before we get any love triangle drama, Phara-son says low men can’t come. Isildur points out that he survived an eruption (so did everyone else who made it back, if that’s relevant to the rules against low men coming to Numenor, which it isn’t) and his sister is in the guild and his father is important, so maybe make an exception, but nope. Phara-son informs Isildur of the change of rulers and that his father is now wanted for treason. He smirks and adds that he wanted to kill him.

34:59 Phara-son is denouncing Elendil in a town full of people who owe Elendil their lives. Let’s see if the writers remember this.

Also, he said Elendil is “wanted”. When last he saw him, Elendil was under arrest. The wanted thing only happened after the trial resulted in Elendil going free. So, Phara-son must not have left on his rather lengthy sea voyage to Pelargir until after the events shown in this episode. And after all this time, his arm has still not healed?

Isildur lunges at Phara-son, but the guards intervene. He starts to remind Phara-son that he saved his life, and Phara-son threatens to have his horse killed and fed to the hungry-looking crowd. He threatens Isildur if he is disrespected again, then steps up on a nearby ledge to address the crowd.

Phara-son announces that Pelargir is no longer a colony but a fortress for Numenor’s soldiers and he is the commander. Astrid’s fiancé gives Isildur a regretful look while Phara-son is talking.

35:44 Okay, what the hell is going on with Astrid’s betrothed. It’s like he ships her and Isildur more than anyone. That look seems like he legit regrets that she can’t go with Isildur and he is more interested in commiserating over this new commander.

Phara-son goes on to say that anyone who wants to stay in Pelarigr has to meet a timber quota and the food supplies they have been promised for the winter are also contingent on timber deliveries to build ships for Numenor. Phara-son leers at Theo that the timber should not be a problem, after all, the surrounding forests are only trees, like he knows about the Ents and is being spiteful.

Back in Eregion, Orcs lead Galdriel through the woods to where Adar kneels before a stone, on which sits the crown of Sauron, his back turned the whole time. The lead Orc tosses her sword to Adar saying she turned herself in. Without turning around, he dismisses the Orcs, and Galadriel says she accepts his terms, even addressing him as Uruk. She says she’ll help him destroy Sauron if he ends the killing. Adar, still with his back to her asks how she will do that without the Ring. He moves his hand out to the side to show Nenya, which he took off Elrond last episode.

Adar goes on to say that even wounds that have lasted a long time can be healed and the camera cuts away as he turns to face her. We get a subdued reaction shot of her and then see his face. He basically looks the same, with less scar makeup.

37:27 The actual sight of his face was rather anti-climatic after that build up. It should have been, his face is revealed, and when she looks shocked, that’s when he says the line about being healed.

He says he used to have another name, she asks what it was, he says, who cares, he’s Adar and asks her to help him earn his name back. He takes off the Ring, and offers it to her, asking her to help him defeat Sauron with it, and he will take his Orcs make to Mordor and never make war again. The ick is creeping back onto his face. Galadriel says she has slain more of his children than any Elf alive.

38:18 She sounds apologetic about it! Also, she probably didn’t.

Also, have we forgotten that despite the proximity of Sauron, all the horrors we were seeing in Eregion were Adar’s work?

He instantly says he forgives her, and promises no more flames or darkness and to heal the rift between Elf and Uruk. His face is all crusty again. She takes the Ring and he says let’s create a lasting peace in Middle Earth.

38:34 I was hoping for a Dark Helmet style fake out. “Uruk shall always triumph over Elf, because Elves are dumb!”

A group of Orcs arrive, carrying one Orc on a litter.

38:58 Is that Family Orc? Sauron, you bastard! What did you do? He just wants to get home to his wife and baby!

It IS family Orc. Adar goes to check on him, while Galadriel touches the place on her shirt over the pouch of Rings, like she isn’t sure how they come into this.

Sauron kneels beside Family Orc asking what happened. Another Orc says they found Sauron, who tried to make Family Orc, named Gloog, betray Adar, but he resisted.

39:16 HIS NAME IS GLOOG? ROFLMAO.

The spokesOrc says that Sauron wounded Family Orc and ran off, and the other Orcs are chasing him. Adar asks Family Orc for forgiveness, he says it’s too late. Adar says it’s never too late, not for him or for Family Orc. Family Orc sits up a bit insisting that it’s too late, and stabs Adar. Galadriel stands staring and Family Orc’s dagger comes out and Adar gets to his feet, only to be surrounded by the other Orcs who go to town on him like he and the Orcs did to Sauron in the first episode.

40:00 It was all just a big false hope moment. Like the Starks picking out names for Robb’s unborn child at the Red Wedding. Oh, you poor stupid screenwriters. No one was let down, no one’s hopes were crushed, because everything has all been so ridiculous and inconsistently plotted and badly depicted that no one was invested in the false promise of peace between Elf and Orc.

Stab, stab, stabby stab stab.

40:02 Galadriel just looks so awkward. Like, what does one DO on such an occasion?

Dear Miss Manners,

After centuries of waging unrelenting warfare against a species of poor degraded creatures who, actually, were just victims of my real enemy, and then I inadvertently set that real enemy up with the means to create a superweapon, after I tried to make him a king, I finally made peace with the leader of that species and we pledged together to make things right and defeat our common foe. He even returned my special magic ring, despite the remarkable effect it had on him, only for moments later, to see my new friend getting betrayed and mass-stabbed by the very creatures he was trying to help, and to whom I had just made a commitment to reconciliation. How does a proper-elven lady behave in such a situation?

Signed,
Elven Commander of the northern armies, Unifier (briefly) of the lands of men, Nenya-bearer, Troll slayer

Dear Elven C.U.N.T.,

If it’s too late to speak up for your new friend, you should pay a visit in person to his next of kin to break the bad news and assure them of your assistance in their difficult time. It would be really bad form for you to use his demise as an excuse to relapse into your bad old habits. Maybe take a step back from leading the fight and try to contribute positively, by helping good people instead of slaying those you perceive to be evil. It sounds like you really need to work on your ability to perceive which people are which.

Signed,
Miss Manners

Focus on the crown sitting on that rock and Sauron’s hand reaches out and picks it up.

40:15 So was Sauron actually Family Orc? Where is the real Family Orc?

Just kidding. IDGAF.

Sauron says Galadriel’s name, but she is shocked at the Ides of March bit. He wanders over as they finish and let Adar drop, his breastplate all torn up with bloody wounds.

40:35 That breastplate wasn’t all that effective, was it? Do the writers not know what armor is actually for?

Adar lifts up a hand addressing “My children” but Sauron says they aren’t children anymore. He exchanges significant looks with Family Orc who kneels to deliver the coup de grace. Adar’s hand finally droops.

41:22 See, again with the bad direction. Family Orc, pardon me, Gloog, struck what was framed as the finishing blow. Adar’s hand should not have gradually lowered to the ground, as he slowly passed, it should have dropped as soon as Gloog’s stab hit home.

Family Orc asks Sauron for orders and is told to raze Eregion and kill all the Elves and bring him their leaders. He turns to look at Galadriel, who stammers that this was all his design.

41:59 She’s acting shocked, but that’s exactly what she was telling Adar when he ordered the attack on Eregion. Was she just lying to get him to stop?

While Sauron kneels over Adar, she retrieves her sword and attacks. He parries with the crown and admires her Ring, then demands she give it to him along with the Nine. They duel and blather about healing.

Back in the burning city, Gil-Galad is led into the main square with Elrond, in time to see the statue of Feanor toppled. An Orc with a torch approaches a pile of scrolls, and Elrond objects, saying those are the records of all the smiths who lived her and Celebrimbor and they are more valuable than jewels. He offers his life in exchange for sparing the scrolls but the Orc laughs and lights the pile anyway. Gil-Galad calls them cowardly traitors.

44:13 Whom are the Orcs supposed to be betraying? Adar, whom you guys were fighting against? Sauron, who, ditto? And what was the point of Elrond making that plea, other than to let the Orc know how much it will hurt him to see the scrolls burn? (and how did Elrond know the contents of a pile of scrolls he just saw this moment? ) This is the same stupid thing they did where the Elvish captives tried to object to cutting down the tree for the Orcs last season.

The Orcs throw Gil-Galad to the ground and hold a knife over him. Elrond shakes loose of his captor and starts punching Orcs. He grabs a torch and lights an Orc on fire, who goes up like he’s dosed in gasoline.

44:25 Can we get a firm answer on the question of whether or not Orcs are Buffy-Vampires? Sometimes, they burn in the sun but here they are in daylight, and yet, they catch fire from a simple torch.

Elrond is recaptured, but before he can be killed or Gil-Galad gets his throat cut, the book-burning Orc, still reeling from Elrond’s punch, orders them to hold off, because Sauron wants them unharmed. Just then, Mori is dragged in by more Orcs.

44:36 Mori! He’s alive! Oh, rapturous day!

Orcs hold Elrond’s head, making him watch as they throw more scrolls onto the fire.

Back in the woods, Sauron and Galadriel are now dueling in some ruins. They keep doing moves, and he keeps trying to persuade her to join him. She knocks him over the edge of a high place and drops down in pursuit, only to freeze, because now he has his brown Halbrand hair and outfit.

46:06Wow, she really is hot for Halbrand, isn’t she? Like, he has the same face as the guy she has been fighting, all it takes is an instant change of hair & armor and she’s unable to land another blow?

He steps behind a rock and now he’s Galadriel, repeating her line from last season that “They could no longer distinguish me from the evil I was fighting” said in her most annoying voice, that sounds like she’s nibbling words. Real Galadriel looks pissed.

46:32 Don’t make a face, Galadriel. Now you know how stupid your dialogue sounds to us.

The Galdriels duel and Sauron turns into Celebrimbor. With another taunt. She falls when he smashes the stone they are standing on, and crawls to her sword, pulling herself to her feet while Sauron, now as Annatar, says he can still get into her mind, while she insists he can’t. They are fighting near the edge of a cliff with the fires and smoke of Eregion below them. Sauron is holding her sword trapped between the prongs of his crown and then rams those spikes into her chest.

48:35 Why did Nenya heal Adar’s face, but isn’t doing anything for the actual Elf wearing it?

Sauron gives her the whole “we could have been awesome together” and Galadriel gasps out that the free people of Middle Earth will always resist him.

49:04 That’s a tautology. Free people will resist Sauron, because otherwise they aren’t Free. Those who don’t resist Sauron are his slaves.

He yanks the crown out of her chest, and she falls to the ground near the edge.

49:22 Is she going to flop over the edge, rather than let him take the Nine from her? That would be the normal cliché, but he DOES have to get his hands on them eventually.

Sauron drops his sword and kicks hers away, stooping to take the Ring bag which has fallen out of her shirt. He’s just starting to gloat about it when a loud horn is heard.

49:46 Is this the Dwarves, finally?

Down in the city, Elrond & Gil-Galad hear the horn. Gil-Galad makes a hilarious expression and says “Dwarves.” The Orc leader takes a bolt to the chest. Elrond looks up to see Dwarves filling up the battlements with crossbowmen, like they are hosting a Game of Thrones wedding. A couple more Orcs get shot. Down on the ground level, several more crossbowDwarves cut down a group of charging Orcs.

50:00 Why were the Dwarves all in a line on the battlements? Why didn’t they just start shooting as soon as they arrived? They were not loosing in any sort of unified volley, since the Orcs are getting shot down one at a time, and the horns kind of killed any hope of surprise. Given how the Orcs are dispersed through the city sacking it, you’d think they would show themselves right off the bat to divert Orcish attention from pillaging and murdering, since there is no chance of catching them all by surprise.

Also, AFTER the arrival of the Dwarves would be a better time to say Galadriel’s line about the Free People of Middle Earth always being there to stop him. Because up until now, Galadriel has not dealt with anyone but Elves of those Free People this season. That line should come in close proximity to other Free People participating or her having experiences among the other Free Peoples to have earned that certainty.

Mori starts stabbing his captors who are paralyzed by the proximity of Dwarves and don’t react, then he throws a knife at Gil-Galad’s guard so the High King can fight free. A Dwarf with an axe trots onto the scene and Elrond shouts, “Durin”, but when he turns around, it’s Narvi. For a hilarious moment, two alt-Ned Starks from Game of Thrones(Elrond played Ned in the Tower of Joy flashbacks, and Narvi played the actor in Braavos who played Ned in the play Arya watched about her father’s death) make eye contact, and Narvi informs Elrond that the Prince is in mourning. Elrond just turns to watch Narvi run off.

50:18 Is he actually bummed that it’s a different Dwarf?

Sauron telepathically demands Galadriel’s Ring, and she stands up to face him.

50:37 Are we getting a backward no-surrender dive?

He insists, telepathically. She hold up her hands, removes the Ring and holds it out to him.

51:06 From the expression on his face, she’s resisting or refusing, not obeying.

Galadriel says “You wish to heal Middle Earth” in a voice like she’s tripping balls, and Sauron smirks like she’s finally getting it. Then she closes her hand over the Ring and says “Heal yourself, bitch” except for the last word, and does a backward no-surrender dive. Sauron grabs for her hand, but just too late.

Mori & Gil-Galad are killin’ Orcs. Gil-Galad looks up in the air after his kill. Then Mori does the same.

51:32 They’re all looking up like Galadriel falling off a cliff is more important to them than the current fight, but it’s probably going to be an “Eagles are coming” moment. Because, why not?

Way off in the distance, they see a speck drop below the trees and buildings in the way.

51:38 Okay, guess not. New guess – Nenya basically grants a healing factor, so she’s just going to regenerate her injuries from the fall.

Sauron is glaring down off the cliff, now holding his sword again. He walks the edge, like he’s trying to spot where she landed. A bunch of Orcs lurk behind him and Family Orc Gloog and another Orc approach, with Family Orc declaring that they are losing and the Dwarves are helping the Elves escape. He starts to whine about casualties again and Sauron doesn’t have Adar’s tolerance for whiners, stabbing him in the chest.

51:58LoL. Thus, passeth Gloog, the Family Orc.

As Family Orc dies, his companion decides he can live with that and runs back to join the other Orcs.

52:08 And with him perished all hope of Orcish freedom.
Alas.

Nah, still DGAF.

That look on Sauron’s face, as he made eye contact with the other Orc, like “any objections?” was funny though.

A blurry lens zooms down on Galadriel lying at the base of the cliff. Gil-Galad and Mori run up to check on her.

52:33 Yeah, Mori & Gil-Galad, both noticed, in the middle of a battle, Galadriel falling off a cliff miles away and they ran to get her back and got there faster than Sauron & co could climb or jump down.

Gil-Galad observes that her wounds are drawing her spirit into the shadow realm. He twists Vilya on his finger and starts chanting to exorcise the darkness from her. Elrond arrives and spots Nenya where she dropped it.

53:20 Is Elrond going to put the Ring on her to make the cure succeed? Is that his arc this season, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Rings?

Gil-Galad’s chant isn’t working. Mori says they are losing her. Elrond say he can save her, while holding Nenya, then says, “We can” and puts it on. Cut to black for several seconds.

54:11 Hello? Anyone? Did the Darkness win?

Nori sits in the ruins of the desert village, picking up trash.

54:14 When I ask if the Darkness won, and you show me Nori, that’s not a super-helpful answer.

All over the place, Stoors are wandering in the ruins. We see two familiar faces.
Samantha Gamgee and CSS Virginia both survived.

The couple goes over to Nori, who says “We have to fix it.” Samantha responds by telling Nori that after her family died, Sadoc sat her down and gave her some words of wisdom.

54:57 “After my family … “ yes? What were you about to say? “After my family were eaten by the others…”

Samantha quotes Sadoc as saying that some things can’t be fixed and when lost, are lost forever. We see Durin and Disa in front of a crowd of Dwarves standing vigil before the cloth-draped throne. Then Elrond turning away from Eregion burning in the distance, to join a line of Elvish refugees. Theo is glaring helplessly at the Numenorean soldiers walking around at Pelargir, ignoring him, as a ship leaves the docks. Astrid and her betrothed watch it go and he gently tries to take her hand. She doesn’t respond, but doesn’t fight him, either.

56:00 “My declaration of love might make her sick, but with her new boyfriend sailing back to Numenor, I’ll settle for a pity relationship!”

On the ship, Isildur stares back at the town

56:17 Sending Isildur home, if they come remotely close to the canon story, is going to be just the latest in Phara-son’s string of fuckups.

Miriel stands before the throne, in shackles.

56:24 Are we about to get the most hilarious wedding proposal?

Elrond rides away from the city, fulfilling the vision he had in the palantir.

56:50 Why is Armenelos burning?

While all this was going on, Samantha was droning on and on, but it boils down to, sometimes you lose, you can’t do anything, because the odds are against you and you just have to accept it.

As Samantha talks about building something new instead of fixing what’s broken, Sauron still standing on the cliff, holds Feanor’s and Celebrimbor’s hammer.

In the Stoor village, the desert Harfoots are loaded up with packs, as Samantha hugs Meteor Man good-bye. Her boyfriend adds “Thank you kindly, Grand-elf.”

57:27 Fuck you, CSS Virginia, that wasn’t cute.

Also, Samantha’s monologue does not fit. All the bad stuff culminating in this episode was just stupidity, it was not people doing their best, but they were up against foes who were too powerful.

Just like it probably wasn’t fate that got her parents killed, but a genetic predisposition, shared with their daughter, to a degree of fleshiness, that made them so appetizing to the rest of the Harfoots. Sadoc was just gaslighting her to keep her around to feed another generation.

The Gund calls him Grand Elf as well, to his confusion and Nori explains the name. She goes on to say that she tried to help them pack but it’s their first migration and they didn’t know what to bring.

58:09 The “but” does not belong in that sentence. “I tried to help them pack, but it’s their first migration.” Yes, that’s WHY you help them pack, BECAUSE it’s their first migration and they can benefit from your experience! Do these writers really not know English?

Nori says she wants to walk with Meteor Man forever, but it’s time for her to walk her path and him to walk his. He says they are very different, when all is said and done, she says they’re not so different and walks off with a last look back at Meteor Man.

59:20 It’s a Harfoot arc, so I don’t really care, but I have no idea why she’s leaving Meteor Man, the Grandelf (GET IT?!?! ), or how the events of this season made her think that it was necessary. What does it mean that they are very different creatures, but also not so different? IDGAF.

Also, it makes no sense why the Dark Wizard would trash this place and kill no named characters.

As Meteor Man shuffles off, he comes across a stick that Nori had tossed aside during the cleanup effort earlier. He stares at the tangle of branches or roots at the top and walks off with it.

59:51 On the one hand, that looks an awful lot like the tangle at the top of Gandalf the Grey’s staff. On the other hand, how funny is it, that per Big Yoda Bombadil, he will find his staff when he is ready and his heart is aligned with the Secret Fire, and that is a condition that happens the very moment he is parted from the Harfoots for good.

At night, he is still walking with the staff. In his house Big Yoda Bombadil is pouring water from a kettle into two cups, as Meteor Man walks in.

Meteor Man says the whole thing was a test, that he actually had to choose friendship over wizardry and that he was meant to do what he did and find the stick. Big Yoda says a wizard doesn’t find his staff, it finds him.

1:01:08 Isn’t that what they said about the wands in Harry Potter?

Big Yoda Hagrid Bombadil adds, “Like his name.” Meteor Man says “Gandalf.”

1:01:24 Get fucked, show.

They sit down and sing a song from Fellowship of the Ring. The camera pulls out his window and up at the sky to show the constellation. Not-Saruman is also gazing up at the constellation from his sinister lair. No one sings “Somewhere Out There."

Still in front of the throne of Khazad-dum, Narvi is breaking the news of Eregion’s fall to Durin & Disa. He says that the survivors have fled to a valley to the North, led by Elrond.

1:03:15 Hey, everyone! Rivendell just got founded off-screen! But at least we got to see the Stoors begin their trek away from Rhun. That’s clearly something anyone would rather watch.

Durin says to let Rivendell know the Dwarves will help, but Disa says they have a lot of problems to deal with. The Dwarves King Durin extorted tribute from have paid up and are demanding their reward, and Narvi says there are other contenders for the throne challenging Durin’s accession, including the mention of a brother of Durin. All three turn to look at the pedestal with the Dwarven Rings on it.

1:04:09 Oh GREAT. Can’t wait to see them bringing their inept brand of political writing to Khazad-dum next season, all as an excuse for Durin to walk back his own anti-Ring stance.

Galadriel’s face is all white-looking in repose as she opens her eyes and clutches her wound spot.

1:04:12 Don’t try to tell me she wasn’t all lit like that to remind us of Frodo waking up.

Gil-Galad is watching over her and says it’s a pity because he was getting used to her being such peaceful company.

1:04:29 Sick burn, Gil-Galad. That’s why he’s High King of our hearts.

Galadriel seems to be in a nightgown, but everyone else is still wearing their battle gear. They tell her they are in a sanctuary protected by the Rings, and Elrond is all smiles, he’s on Team Ring now. Why? Who cares. He slides Nenya back on her hand, entirely too softly considering that kiss a ways back. Mori is also here, and he says everyone’s waiting on Gil-Galad’s decision. He tells Galadriel they have to decide whether to fight the forces of Sauron who are advancing or to fall back and prepare defense. Galadriel sums it up as the sword or the shield. Elrond adds that the survivors of Eregion are all traumatized and wussing out and Mori asks Galadriel’s advice.

< font face="Comic Sans MS" color="red">As the camera pans over the refugees, showing that even the messenger who told Elrond the Dwarves couldn’t come has survived, but not Oriental Pin Cushion Elf, Galadriel quotes Celebrimbor’s parting words about light, not strength overcoming darkness. They help her to her feet and all the multi-ethnic refugees stare up in time to see Galadriel lead the Elves who have dialogue and names to a ledge. Stirring music starts. Gil-Galad looks at each of his companions and gets a nod, then drawing his sword, turns back to the crowd below. They all cheer and hold up fists or weapons.

1:08:16 I guess this means they are going to fight, rather than fort up?

That was dumb. I think the writers had some ideas about a theme of failure this season that they tried to conclude here, but the rest of the episodes were so stupid there was no coherent through-line. It was also rather badly directed and edited, several times leaving lines in the wrong place for maximum dramatic effect. I guess drawing out Meteor Man's identity had nothing to do with any rights issues, they just wanted to pointlessly tease a mystery. I guess over the next few centuries, the Dwarves are just going to forget the Balrog is down there. These guys are still holding a grudge against the Elves for a conflict in the First Age down to the end of the Third, and you expect me to believe they forget the giant fire demon under their civilization? Tom Bombadil was out of place, misused and his character was completely wrong. This writing is so dumb, I can't believe the Dark Wizard is anyone but Saruman, which means he, and/or Gandalf is going to need to get amnesia in order to get their relationship amicable again. Numenor's politics were nothing but a string of contrivances, there was no coherent worldbuilding or political activity. The whole thing was useless, top to bottom. But we're done for a couple years.

Peace out.