The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 episode 8 “Shadow and Flame” closed out this leg of our journey with death, and destruction, and a new destiny on the horizon for many of its characters. It’s also the first time in ages that I’ve truly enjoyed Sauron as a character. That’s not to say that Charlie Vickers hasn’t done an amazing job. He has. But I find that season 2 spent a lot of time moving chess pieces to give us these two final grand episodes. And in setting all these chess pieces up, it was a little bit too much information that even I lost track of. This is coming from someone who is reviewing the show weekly. I can’t imagine how someone who isn’t into this world feels while watching.
The season 2 finale did do something about some of my previous complaints when it comes to the show. It trimmed the fat. By that I mean that some specific story lines ended because we had way too many. We had the death of Celebrimbor, whose contributions were important to the story, but who’s usefulness has died out on this bloated show. We said goodbye to King Durin, who went out in a flame filled glory after removing the ring. And then we have Nori and Poppy, who said goodbye to The Stranger, their part in all of this strangely (and swiftly) done. Overall, shifting the focus to less storylines, will hopefully make this show a stronger contender when it comes to the bounty of TV that we have going on right now, especially on streaming services.
Spending time with the dwarves also solidified, at least for me, that the show should have focused more on their community before bringing on The Stranger and the halflings. We didn’t get enough time with King Durin and his son. And it was only in the death of the King that I felt like I truly understood the relationship between these two. But you know who should have been there? Or who should’ve been together more often? Elrond and Durin. I know that both have a lot of stuff going on. But I was hoping that the meme from The Sandman where one of the characters says “You came.” and then the Sandman replies with, “You called.” would happen. Their friendship matters and I wish the show would invest more in that.
Speaking of the elves, it was pretty cool to see them fight, particularly Elrond. He’s always been portrayed as a political sort of ally. But he can throw it down like the rest of them, especially the elf with the bow aka Rían. She was the true MVP of “Shadow and Flame” and I wish that we could have seen more of her. The actress, Selina Lo, probably had a great time having this epic hero’s death. But for the viewer, it felt like a missed opportunity that would have enriched the Elven community if we got to know her more instead of just the shenanigans of Galadriel and Elrond with a side of Arondir being rightfully brooding in the woods.
I feel like at this point in my review for “Shadow and Flame” I’ve just been complaining left and right about how this show could trim things down and what I want to see more of. But trust me, there are some things that I did like about this season two finale.
For one, I loved the death of Celebrimbor. Vickers had a fantastic time and said that it was his favorite scene to film in season 2 when I attended a private screening of the final two episodes. Actors always have a really good time with those big and unforgettable moments. And for Sauron and Celebrimbor, it was two immovable objects trying to beat the other down. And no matter what Sauron did, Celebrimbor did not break. He pushed back at every turn and I think it truly saddened Sauron to lose this person that challenged him. That’s why the tear happened. He was still going to kill Celebrimbor. I’m sure of that. But besides Galadriel, no one pushed back or questioned his power. This elf did.
The long-awaited battle between Sauron and Galadriel was also a delightful part of “Shadow and Flame.” For one we got to see Vickers back in his Halbrand outfit. Personally, I think this hair is leagues above what we’ve seen for this character with the blonde wig. Also it was so satisfying to watch Sauron absolutely lose it on Galadriel. There was raw anger, malice, frustration, and a whole range of other emotions that Sauron has kept close to his chest. He doesn’t understand why Galadriel won’t bend to him but he’s done playing games with her. If she won’t stand next to him then she won’t stand at all. Pretty toxic but this is Sauron and Galadriel we’re talking about.
Overall, season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power continues to expand on J.R.R. Tolkien’s work in meaningful ways that bring in a whole slew of new fans. At the same time, the show needs a little bit more balance that prioritizes key storylines so even fans who love it, like myself, don’t feel weighed down by this world and Middle-earth as a whole.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power seasons 1 and 2 are available on Prime Video.
