Doomed to Die

I have no understood a lot of the hate for this season. There is a lot of stories and moving parts that must be told and spread out for purposes of continuity and the story making sense. So therefore like the wonderful films there will be a lot of dialogue and non action episodes. I think they have done a great job mixing in enough adventure with the "slower" more dialogue driven scenes and episodes.

This episode pays off for the people complaining they are not seeing a battle in every episode. The rings are all but made and Sauron's plan is working. The battle commenced and the orcs are laying siege. As with all battles in LOTR the formula is the same. The battle for good and evil. Evil is winning but ultimately good prevails, or does it ? The Orc father's intentions are not totally clear and what he wants from Galatria and the elves is certainly not good for all. Some more answers to the story progress without giving any spoilers. The dwarfs story also progresses with the king being enslaved by the ring . It all comes together in a great battle. This will drag into the finale I'm sure for a great finish to the season. The creators have done a great job at keeping the show as close to the quality of the movies. The visual effects and how they created middle earth is visually stunning. I have loved both seasons so far and think they have done a fantastic job . Great episode.

Hands down, the best episode of this series. Until this episode I was painfully forcing myself through the slow pace and some irritating stories and dialogues. But this episode was a gem. I will probably rate it 10 after a re-watch.

This episode for the first time brings this series to somewhat near to the LOTR trilogy. Elrond (Hugo Weaving) and Adar were great. The others have also improved compared to their portrayals in the previous episodes. Especially, Galadriel has done a lot better in this episode. I hope the characters not shown in this episode will also have improvements as some of them are still very disappointing.

I wanted to talk a lot about it but in the fear of spoiling, I am stopping.

Finally, "Highly RECOMMENDED"

Thought it hasn't been a perfect show, I've enjoyed it up to this point. The pacing isn't always great and the writing can be sub-par from time to time, but this episode changes it all for me. This was a roller coaster of emotions, with some of the best set pieces and epic fights I've ever seen in television. It's also got some of the best dramatic scenes of the series, particularly with Sauron and Celebrimbor. Both actors are just outstanding and exceed expectations with their performances. Even Galadriel, who has been one of the weaker writing points in show, feels more realized in this episode. The promise of a great Tolkien epic was finally delivered here, and it was worth the wait.

It's the Best episode of the two seasons so far.

Has been building to something as grand as this.

Dark and brooding - this was a visual spectacular.

I Can't wait for the season finale. I hope rumours of the cancellation of the show are false.

It's a storyline that can't be told quickly. It has to build and grow.

Unexpected twists, betrayals, action, great acting and superb cinematography - this episode has it all.

I hope the finale isn't a letdown after this visual epic.

The Rings of Power has been bashed up a lot by critics, but it truly stands alone as a fantastic fantasy that is beautifully told.

The episode was okay, but I didn't feel fully connected to it. While it focused heavily on war and fighting, I never felt genuinely worried about what would happen to my favorite characters. The action scenes were visually impressive, but the tension just wasn't there. There were also some plot issues that didn't make sense-like, why would two enemies suddenly want to negotiate in the middle of a war? It seemed out of place and made me wonder what the writers were thinking.

Sauron's power was displayed well, but at times he came across as more foolish than intimidating in this episode. The death scene of a supporting character at the start was well done, but since I didn't even know her name, it lacked emotional impact for me.

The episode really needed to develop its characters more, especially the supporting ones. For instance, when women and children were running for cover and being attacked by fireballs, the scenes were intense, but I wish they had shown more of their fear and struggles. It could have really increased the tension if their stories were explored further.

Overall, it was a good episode and definitely exciting leading up to the finale. This season has been much better compared to the last one, and the recent episodes have shown significant improvement. I'm looking forward to seeing how it all concludes in the finale.