SPOILERS AHEAD - Season 1 Episode 6 - Udûn

A slightly better episode than most of the rest.

• No Hobbits, a bonus.
  
• Some battles, but Amazon seem to make them quite small scale, almost as if they saved up the money for a big CGI sequence in this episode.
  
• Big CGI sequence at the end, which was fairly impressive.
  

I'd probably give this episode 4/10, last weeks was 3/10.

Well, I assume this is the series end given that Galadriel has died after being smacked in the face by a bloody volcano?

Seriously, I'm trying to not be flippant or negative but that episode was all kinds of horrendous. I don't think I can say much else without being rude to the makers.

I enjoyed most of this episode - a lot better than episode 5, that I still haven't gotten up the energy to write my thoughts on.

Positives:

• Adar is a very plausible villain as we learn more about him. Not really sympathetic (at least, I don't feel that way), but his history doesn't contradict Tolkien's writings and fits many thoughts that Tolkien struggled with about the origin of Orcs - and his motivations make sense for him and his background. Whether he is lying about some or many things is beside the point (and we may never know, but he is clearly a corrupted elf) but I am really liking Adar's arc and most of his dialog. And the planting of the seeds, that was a nice touch.
  
• Arondir - other than his penchant for eucatastrophe (I think he's had at least three at this point, not that he goes looking for them), I like the character and how he is handling everything
  
• I liked the battle sequence - it didn't feel too small to me (sorry Trotter), it feels more like a natural buildup - the battles will get more involved and larger as the stakes get higher, leading up to the Last Alliance.
  
• Isildur and Elendil worked well against/with one another this episode - great father/son moment
  
• Halbrand, if he is who he says he is, is developing well - motivations and actions seem to align better the more we learn. (I really don't think he's Sauron, though he may be lying).
  
• only two story threads - and they merge! The actors and story line are given much more time to breathe
  

Negatives:

• Fast travel, yet again - they are quite explicit about the time frame for this episode - two days. Somehow the Númenóreans manage to sail from the Bay of Belfalas ("land is in sight!"), upstream against the current, about 300 miles - on both the Prime map and Tolkien's - in a day. It takes Aragorn two days to sail from Pelargir to Minas Tirith, a much shorter segment of this overall journey.
  
• Did Adar run his horse in circles? Otherwise how did Halbrand get in front of him, coming the other way? I guess this could make sense, but when Halbrand appeared it completely pulled me out of the experience on first viewing.
  
• lovely special effects at the end there, but a pyroclastic cloud like we were shown hitting the village is not something that anyone there (elf or man or Uruk) could live through I would think. Obviously they all do - sorry onthetrail, you're not done with this show yet, but I agree it was a bit of a figurative smack in the face. I'll just put it down to "hero physics" and move on to the next episode. ?

Urulókë wrote:

I enjoyed most of this episode - a lot better than episode 5, that I still haven't gotten up the energy to write my thoughts on.

Positives:

• Adar is a very plausible villain as we learn more about him. Not really sympathetic (at least, I don't feel that way), but his history doesn't contradict Tolkien's writings and fits many thoughts that Tolkien struggled with about the origin of Orcs - and his motivations make sense for him and his background. Whether he is lying about some or many things is beside the point (and we may never know, but he is clearly a corrupted elf) but I am really liking Adar's arc and most of his dialog. And the planting of the seeds, that was a nice touch.
  
• Arondir - other than his penchant for eucatastrophe (I think he's had at least three at this point, not that he goes looking for them), I like the character and how he is handling everything
  
• I liked the battle sequence - it didn't feel too small to me (sorry Trotter), it feels more like a natural buildup - the battles will get more involved and larger as the stakes get higher, leading up to the Last Alliance.
  
• Isildur and Elendil worked well against/with one another this episode - great father/son moment
  
• Halbrand, if he is who he says he is, is developing well - motivations and actions seem to align better the more we learn. (I really don't think he's Sauron, though he may be lying).
  
• only two story threads - and they merge! The actors and story line are given much more time to breathe
  

Negatives:

• Fast travel, yet again - they are quite explicit about the time frame for this episode - two days. Somehow the Númenóreans manage to sail from the Bay of Belfalas ("land is in sight!"), upstream against the current, about 300 miles - on both the Prime map and Tolkien's - in a day. It takes Aragorn two days to sail from Pelargir to Minas Tirith, a much shorter segment of this overall journey.
  
• Did Adar run his horse in circles? Otherwise how did Halbrand get in front of him, coming the other way? I guess this could make sense, but when Halbrand appeared it completely pulled me out of the experience on first viewing.
  
• lovely special effects at the end there, but a pyroclastic cloud like we were shown hitting the village is not something that anyone there (elf or man or Uruk) could live through I would think. Obviously they all do - sorry onthetrail, you're not done with this show yet, but I agree it was a bit of a figurative smack in the face. I'll just put it down to "hero physics" and move on to the next episode. ?

There definitely are some positives and I agree, Adar does have weight and is plausible. I am still enjoying Orondir. I just think he's very cool and he's the sort of elf I'd like to have a pint with.

That volcano, just hot damn. Amazon just outdid Peter Jackson's The Hobbit for face-palming nonsense.

Haha thanks Jeremy ? to be fair, there is stuff to enjoy and I'm still enjoying the show, but I really dislike having to suspend belief to accepting that all those people survive that volcano. Everyone in the way of that dead. Not just humans, elves, and orcs but trees, most of the buildings and anything not tied down has been blown across the valley.

And what was that moment between Galadriel and Halbrand?

This whole sword-key unlocking what appears to be Mt. Doom was so utterly bad. The more I watch this show, the less I like it. I’m tired of laughing at the fantasy elements because I can’t take them seriously.

Episodes 4 & 5 were very slow for me, and then we have over-the-top blood and gore that verges on horror (the orc that gets a spike driven into his eye, for example). I’m not opposed to blood or gore if it serves some point, but it added nothing to that scene IMO.

Galadriel seems so unlike the majestic elven queen in LotR. I was shocked by her sadistic hatred towards the dark elf this episode; her rhetoric reminded me of some dictator. I continue to like her less and less.

Jlong wrote:

This whole sword-key unlocking what appears to be Mt. Doom was so utterly bad. The more I watch this show, the less I like it. I’m tired of laughing at the fantasy elements because I can’t take them seriously.

Episodes 4 & 5 were very slow for me, and then we have over-the-top blood and gore that verges on horror (the orc that gets a spike driven into his eye, for example). I’m not opposed to blood or gore if it serves some point, but it added nothing to that scene IMO.

Galadriel seems so unlike the majestic elven queen in LotR. I was shocked by her sadistic hatred towards the dark elf this episode; her rhetoric reminded me of some dictator. I continue to like her less and less.

When the most relatable character is the dark elf we have problems. Maybe that's just me and I need to look for more light but Adar is the most fleshed out character so far. Galadriel does come across as an angry teen in one of our British soaps which really throws me.

The key for the water thing is cringe worthy considering Adar has thousands of orcs who could break the rock and negate the use of a key.