Even If You Don’t Care About ‘The Rings of Power,’ Episode 7 Is a Battle Worth Beholding
[Editor’s Note: The following article contains spoilers for “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” Season 2, Episode 7, “Doomed To Die.”]
Shortly before “The Rings of Power” Season 2 debuted, there was a short-lived Twitter tiff over whether fans should care how much money Amazon spends on its “Lord of the Rings” prequel series. On one side, there were fans happy to take their entertainment at face value: “It’s TV! It’s meant to be fun! If a trillion-dollar shopping giant wants to cough up half a bill on the boss’ favorite fantasy franchise, then who are we to complain? And if you don’t like it, don’t watch it — there are other shows, you know.”
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Fair points, to be sure, but the opposition argument focused on the bigger picture: “Think of all the other shows Amazon could’ve made with $465 million. Think of all the other artists who could’ve been working on those shows. Think of all the good that money could go toward. And if nobody likes the crazy-expensive ‘Lord of the Rings’ show, isn’t that a problem? Not only for Amazon, but for the industry at large? No one is forcing Amazon to make TV, so if their biggest bet flops, who’s to say they won’t bail on originals altogether? Say goodbye to those ‘other shows’ you wanted to watch.”
While I tend to side with the latter argument — mega-franchises are not what TV was made for, even if some are certainly making the most of their medium — today is not the day to fret over the future. Today is a day to savor the present. For today is the day “The Rings of Power” Season 2 released its seventh episode, “Doomed To Die,” and Amazon Prime Video showed us what the money is for. Even if you are decidedly over “The Rings of Power,” even if you never got started, the Siege of Eregion — a name you do not need to know or remember — delivers the one thing big-budget franchise TV should provide on demand: staggering, inspiring spectacle. So we may as well enjoy it.
Much like the heavily hyped Season 1 episode, “Ud?n” — when a lengthy orc battle culminated in the eruption of Mount Doom — Season 2’s penultimate entry twists the good guys’ assured victory into an agonizing, last-second defeat (more on that later). Director Charlotte Br?ndstr?m sets up the change of fate from the start, visually and thematically. Her opening sequence sees Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) gazing out over Eregion, the sun rising over his majestic city while the ringmaker comfortably sips his morning coffee. But it ends with Sauron (Charlie Vickers) leaving the workshop to reveal utter chaos outside. Celembrimbor is only seeing what Sauron wants him to see. Meanwhile, his cherished home is burning to the ground. Orcs are preparing their attack. All seems well at first, but all is not well in the end.
Br?ndstr?m’s pair of overhead shots — first with Celembrimbor overlooking the river, then with Sauron centered deeper in the city — lay out where we are as well as what’s happening. They’re establishing shots that also move the narrative forward, and the director’s ability to simultaneously show and tell helps keep the pace up — and maintain a clear sense of geography — throughout “Doomed To Die.” Finally, viewers can appreciate a massive battle because where we know where everyone is, where they want to go, and how much ground is gained or lost amid the many smaller skirmishes within the larger siege. The battlefields are distinct. The extras are plentiful, and their blocking creates a visceral feeling of being there that’s essential to these extended sword-and-shield smackdowns. Rarely does it feel like you’re watching an actor on a soundstage where the people and backgrounds were added in later. There’s depth to each framing, and there’s clarity to how they’re cut together.
Just look at the section that starts with Elrond (Robert Aramayo) telling Adar (Sam Hazeldine) to take his trade offer and shove it up his ass. From there, as he’s being marched out of the orc camp, he tells his second-in-command his secret plan — the dwarves are coming at dawn! — which sets up Prince Durin’s (Owain Arthur) rousing speech, which leads back to Elrond, slicing and dicing orcs from atop his horse. Hell, even the horse gets in on the action, kicking one of those ugly little bastards straight across the field. This brief combination of scenes is key to lighting a fire in the audience: Elrond sets the tone by drawing a line in the sand with the enemy, Durin, the show’s strongest speaker, kicks things up a notch with an inspiring call to arms, and then we’re in it! The siege is underway! If you’re not at least thinking the words “Let’s GO!” then you may be as dead as that orc who took two hooves to his chest.
Admittedly, there are elements of Episode 7 that don’t work. Rian (Selina Lo) getting struck by a half-dozen arrows, only to survive long enough to shoot one crucial arrow herself, looks silly. When squaring off with the troll, Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker) could’ve used a better line than, “Go back to your hill and be buried.” And I don’t care how sad he is that his pal Durin didn’t show up: Elrond can’t just sit there and watch his fellow elves get massacred.
But the warfare throughout Episode 7 is still consistently awesome. From the orcs launching their catapults at the neighboring mountains in order to dam the river and forge a muddy path to Eregion, to Adar unleashing the giant troll as a last-ditch attempt to secure victory over the thinned out elven army, the Siege of Eregion (aka the big battle raging throughout Episode 7) is filled with a jaw-dropping mix of practical effects and CGI fireworks. This is “The Rings of Power” taking its shot at immortality; specifically, the immortality “The Two Towers” achieved with the Battle of Helm’s Deep. Even the “twist” ending — where Elrond looks for the dwarf army at first light and instead is met with news of their retreat — is a direct reference to Gandalf’s iconic return in Peter Jackson’s film. Frankly, I never expect to see another battle as perfectly executed as that one, but the Siege of Eregion is an admirable, often thrilling, attempt.
And there’s simply no way showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay (who co-wrote the episode with Justin Doble) could’ve pulled it off without a massive amount of money. The locations, the sets, the stunt-people, the stunt-people’s horses, the extras, the extras’ costumes, all the training, all the tech, all the time it must’ve taken to rehearse, shoot, and edit — this is why “The Rings of Power” needs a hefty budget.
Would I rather have seen Amazon shift some of those millions toward another season of “Patriot” or “Outer Range”? Would it be better for the world if the company allocated 0.001 percent of its earnings to make more artist-driven, start-to-finish masterpieces like “The Underground Railroad” and “Dead Ringers”? Would the TV industry be healthier overall if more productions were based on original ideas than popular I.P.?
Yes, of course, across the board. But none of that is going to change today, and watching one episode of “The Rings of Power” won’t change TV’s current course. (Maybe we wouldn’t be here if more of you had watched the shows mentioned above.) The money has been spent. We may as well enjoy it. And Episode 7 is very, very easy to enjoy.
“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” Season 2 is available on Amazon Prime Video. The finale will be released Thursday, October 3.
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