'Rings of Power' Season 2, Episode 7 – 'Doomed to Die'

I can’t quite believe that there’s only the one episode left, after this, and then Season 2 will be over. Seriously, how can a season that sometimes felt like it was dragging interminably suddenly be one episode away from ending? I’m half joking ;o) On the whole, I’ve enjoyed ‘The Rings of Power’ but it has always come with a slight feeling that the actual story was suffering under the weight of trying to get all the main players into position for what seemed like another round of getting everyone into position. All I’ve ever really wanted was for ‘Rings of Power’ to be actually moving towards something and last week’s episode felt like that was finally happening. I’m really happy to say that this week’s episode carried on in that vein and has made the Season Finale something that I’m really looking forward to.

As always, I’ll try not to be spoilery about the content of ‘Doomed to Die’, just in case you haven’t seen it yet. Lets just say that Adar and Sauron’s plans are about to come to fruition over what is swiftly becoming the rubble of Eregion. Elrond and Celebrimbor stand against them but will their own plans be enough?

‘Doomed to Die’ has everything and I’ll be honest, it has so much that I couldn’t help but wonder if it could have been shared out between the preceding episodes… Oh well, we’re here now and ‘Doomed to Die’ was just superb television. I stuck it on and didn’t move from my chair until it was finished.

What we’re looking at here is a very well balanced episode that moves effortlessly between epic clashes and a smaller, more intense conflict that will ultimately prove far more important to the future of Middle Earth. And what I liked about that was that even though we know how that has to play out (you know, the books, movies etc), there is plenty going on here that will make you question the outcome. Charles Edwards and Charlie Vickers are on fire as Celebrimbor and Sauron with their exchanges rivalling the pyrotechnics of the actual battle for Eregion. Sauron is dancing rings around Celebrimbor (honestly, no pun intended) but his need to control everything leaves Celebrimbor little gaps that he can exploit. Even if he can’t defeat Sauron, Celebrimbor can find himself again and that’s a nice little shot at redemption. Watching this dance play out against the battle for Eregion is fascinating.

And talking about the battle, it looks epic in itself but there’s so much more to it with an intriguing battle being fought between Adar and Elrond, who doesn’t have a lot of time to work out the difference between being a diplomat and marshalling an army. I could spend a lot of time just watching Sam Hazeldine’s portrayal of Adar as someone who loves his adopted children but is just enough of a bastard to be cool with loads of them dying to further his aims. Add a bit of Galadriel and Arondir to the mix and you have a battle with so many layers to it, especially with the cliffhangers that it all ends on. I’m very excited for the finale now, I think it’s going to be a good one.