Part one, Adar has begun his attack on the Southlands with Bronwyn and Arondir leading the defense! We pick up with Arondir’s struggle with a massive Orc! Arondir finds an arrow point to hit the Orc several times, but is choked against the well! The Orc takes the arrowpoint out, gruesome, and is about to stab Arondir’s eye. I’ve seen the point towards the eye many times, but this scene was shot with a fresh persepective. Arondir manages to survive, the villagers cheer at their victory, and an older villager, Tredwill (Peter Tait) admires his bravery. He is silent as he checks on one of the armored enemy, Arondir calls over Bronwyn, they weren’t all Orcs. Many had Orc-style helmets that resembled their faces. They had killed the betrayers who swore loyalty to Adar. This is not friendly fire, it is enemy fire. An Orc laughs at this, but then dies.
Out of the night, arrows fly, several villagers are killed. Tredwill is hit. Arondir holds up a barrel top as a shield, the others are just standing around, including Bronwyn who is struck by two arrows. Theo has gone out to help the villagers, Arondir calls for a retreat to the tavern. Orcs start to move from the woods, fighting in the dark, especially without torches, it is easy to get confused. Tredwill is dead. Bronwyn tells her son to stop the bleeding. Arondir hands Theo a piece of wood for Bronwyn to bite down on. He snapped off the arrow tip and then pulls the shaft out, ouch! Theo hears his mother call out for “burning”, Arondir calls for wood from the fire, cauterize the wound. Wouldn’t the fire send out smoke? He places the Alfirin seeds in a mixture to rub on the wound. I like the use of the Alfirin seeds and it is apparent that Bronwyn, a main character, was not going to die. Theo burns both sides of the arrow wound. Bronwyn has fallen unconscious.
After a long moment, she gasps, and Theo hugs them all, a family? The villagers hear the Orcs chant, Adar arrives, quite well after the tower collapse. It is not clear how he survived. The Orcs bring a battering ram to smash at the barricaded tavern door! Early morning, out of the mists, riders! Galadriel is in the lead. The Orcs have broken through the door! Arondir fights them, but swords are placed at the necks of Bronwyn and Theo. Adar walks in and asks Arondir to give him what he wants, but he replies that he wants the villagers to be freed. Bronwyn just stares at Adar. Villagers are starting to be killed. Adar then orders Bronwyn to be killed and Theo says it is under the floor. He lifts a tile, Adar picks up the cloth, and reveals the black hilt. Adar leaves the tavern to give a task to Waldreg, how did he also survive the tower fall?, then the cavalry arrives!
An Orc gives the command to kill the villagers, not worried about the riders?, but Arondir and Theo fight back. The Orcs rush out, this is about the same sunlight that repelled them in the pit, a line of chain between riders cuts down the Orcs! Very cool tactic! Arondir and Theo go out to fight. Galadriel rides, wasn’t she in front?, an Orc archer draws his bow. Galadriel dangles sideways on her saddle and then slices into the archer! Incredible stunt maybe face replacement?, but very cool. Valadil is unhorsed and then keeps fighting. Ontamo is on the ground defending himself from an Orc above him. Valadil rushes over and Ontamo kills the Orc. On a hill overlooking the battle is Queen Regent Míriel and Isildur. She sends him to engage, Elendil has an Orc jumping behind him, he is unhorsed and Isildur rides to save him! It is a spear thrown by Halbrand that kills the Orc.
Galadriel asks the soldier, Arondir, about the commander. He points out Adar and that he has an item that is important. She rides after him, saddle swinging to dodge a spear, and continues. By the way, the commander riding away with the McGuffin from a battle is very Willow (1988). Halbrand picks up a spear and rides after them. Galadriel says words in Elvish to her horse, flashback to Arwen’s ride, to get him to go faster through the forest. Adar is just ahead of her on his brown horse. Halbrand, not certain how he caught up, reaches out with his spear to bring down Adar’s horse. Adar crawls over to the pouch, but a spear is driven into his hand! Adar spills black blood. Halbrand asks if he can remember him. Adar says no and Halbrand is about to finish him, but Galadriel commands him to stop. She wants to question him. Halbrand struggles not to kill him as Adar asks if he killed someone dear to him.
Orcs are chained under a roof. Isildur’s friends meet and Valadil says the duo are going with Galadriel’s company. Galadriel questions Adar in the barn asking if he was one of the Elves tortured by Morgoth, the Moriondor, the Sons of the Dark. Adar says they call themselves Uruk, the first Orcs. Galadriel threatens to take the Orc prisoners into the sunlight. She wants the location of Sauron. Adar says after Morgoth’s defeat, Sauron tried to heal Middle-Earth, but wanted power to rule, power of the Unseen World. We had a glimpse of this when Frodo put on the Ring and saw the true forms of the Nazghul. Adar continues that the one called Sauron led his forces north to the castle reached by Galadriel. He tried to create this power, but failed. Adar says he sacrificed his Orcs, then killed Sauron.
Galadriel doesn’t believe him, of course, Adar says maybe she has been transformed by the darkness, and vows to kill all of the Orcs, genocide! She will leave Adar alive to tell him that his children have died. Galadriel takes out her dagger to Adar’s throat, but stopped by Halbrand. She stands before him with the bag, uh-oh, Galadriel should have consulted with Arondir first. Adar eyes it and then doesn’t recognize Halbrand. Right now, all signs point to Halbrand as Sauron. Adar might be right that he thought he “killed” Sauron, but he may escaped and transformed into a human, I think he was testing Adar to see if he could be recognized. Sauron had built up Mordor and then corrupted Easterlings and Haradrim, an Essos, Khal Drogo kind of travel. Then, became known as Annatar, a “fair visage”, helping to forge the Rings. In a sunlit clearing, Galadriel thanks Halband, strange, it seems like the two are close at least in battle.
Halbrand is called to see Míriel. The village has a celebration. Arondir helps Bronwyn walk to Míriel, Bronwyn thanks the queen regent, and gets thanks in return. Míriel introduces Bronwyn to Lord Halbrand. Bronwyn asks if he is the promised king. He replies yes and Míriel drinks to the King of the Southlands. Gotta wait another age for that to happen. Galadriel hands Arondir the black hilt. Arondir sees Theo alone and joins him. Theo admits he was corrupted by the sword. Arondir hands it to Theo to give to the Númenoreans to drop into the sea. You know exactly what happens with the One Ring, it finds its way back. Theo unwraps it to see an ax! Waldreg has the sword, no one checked on him, and plunges it into the ground! He twists and a lever is activated! Rumbling, water from Anduin crashes from Osgiliath! Berek is restless and Isildur tries to calm him. Elendil calms him and tells his son that horse and rider bond so Berek knows Isildur’s feelings.
Isildur asks and Elendil says he learned this from his mother! He wants to learn the words from his father. They hear the rumbling, a water explodes from the well, Berek rears at it. More surges around the village. The Orcs begin to chant, “Udûn”, a Sindarin word for "dark pit" or "hell", and Adar sets himself down. The water surges through the Orc tunnels, into the mines (set up by Adar not just to move the Orcs), under the mountain Orodruin, and finally into pits of hot lava! The water, steam, and lava causes an explosion, an eruption! Arondir, Míriel, and Theo and finally Galadriel see the rise of Mount Doom! The volcano is the Mount Vesuvius of Middle-Earth! Pompeii (2014) was an entertaining movie by the way. The backlash strikes the village, the Orcs get violent, even though chained? Lava bombs start to pelt the land and the village! In the chaos, Galadriel can only stare, the volcanic clouds start to roll towards the village. Galadriel is engulfed by it. An epic ending that inevitably heads to Mount Doom and the clouds that will eventually form Mordor!
Five Rings of Power out of Five!
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