The Siege of Eregion raises the show to exhilarating new heights

The future is so bright that the Lord of Eregion has to wear shades in this episode’s opening minutes. Celebrimbor couldn’t be higher when we see him, neck deep in Sauron’s illusion and double-palming a mug of tea with an HGTV tranquility only Elves are capable of. If only he knew this installment was titled “Doomed To Die,” a foreboding reference to the fate of the nine Men who receive Rings. Forging and chiseling away at the Nine, the Elf’s focus has never been stronger. Celebrimbor is in the zone. It’s a cliché because it’s true: Pride comes before the fall.

After who knows how long under Sauron’s illusion, Celebrimbor, believing Eregion to be a bastion of Elf children laughing and playing with ribbons, starts noticing glitches in the matrix. The deja vu of a mouse scurrying across the floor finally gets him to look in the mirror. Charles Edwards has already carried this challenging role with such poise, and he outdoes himself here. With the audience screaming, “Sauron’s right behind you,” Edwards toiled dutifully on his Rings as Sauron poisoned the finished product. Edwards’ very English sense of forced obligation always reveals a bit of pain, possibly self-inflected, behind that stern smile.

Edwards and Vickers’ dueling deceptions add another level of tension. When Annatar pops into the forge for a status report, Sauron senses a change in Celebrimbor but almost avoids dealing with it in hopes of finishing the Nine. Annatar, instead, pivots and becomes more forceful and demanding. But turning up the heat strengthens Celebrimbor’s resolve. In each scene, we see Celebrimbor beginning to comprehend his downfall as Sauron’s illusion slips away like black blood through his fingers. He’s finally returning to reality.

In Celebrimbor’s absence, Annatar fills the void in Eregion’s defenses. Bombarded by Orcs, he orders the Elves to withhold their attacks while making it look like Celebrimbor’s decision. Believing that they’re protected by the river that acts as a moat around Eregion, the Elves are sitting ducks as Adar blows a chunk out of the mountains and dams the river. Galadriel was right. Sauron created a power vacuum, benefited from the chaos, and controlled both armies from afar.

So begins the bloodiest and muddiest battle of Rings Of Power’s young life. The Siege of Eregion is a spectacle that matches the excitement and surprise of last year’s exceptional “Udûn.” “Doomed To Die,” as its title implies, brings that sense of foreboding that the show can harness so well. But Celebrimbor’s downfall is much more visceral than Galadriel’s, allowing us inside Sauron’s process and its consequences. This is another sad episode in what is destined to be a very tragic series. By hook or by crook, Rings Of Power will end with Isildur dooming the Third Age to Sauron’s return.

However, as Middle-earth burns, some embers of intoxicating Lord Of The Rings warmth smolder under the mountain. There, waiting for Prince Durin when all the world is failing him, is Elrond. In a tossed-off shot from Durin’s POV, Durin sees the Elf of his dreams as the scene radiates a love Durin and Elrond will soon transfer to the women in their lives. Both need each other to help their races survive. Prince Durin needs to overthrow his father, and Elrond needs the Dwarf army to back up the Elves. These scenes between Durin and Elrond or Disa and Durin make Rings Of Power successful. The battle scenes are the sizzle, but these relationships are the steak. Lord Of The Rings is about the sacrifices we make for the people around us, and the characters’ camaraderie gives weight to their sacrifice, standing in opposition to the dominion of the One Ring.

As she effectively did last season, director Charlotte Brändström continuously pulls the rug out from under us. If this is the Battle of Helm’s Deep, as it’s clearly modeled after, the Rohirrim never arrives. Durin never comes despite his rousing speech and wanton looks of loyalty and admiration. The Dwarves will keep digging for mithril and gold, and anyone who disagrees with King Durin can meet his ax. When the Elves from Lindon arrive on the battlefield, they find Galadriel as Adar’s captor.

The scene between Adar and Elrond clarifies why the Elves don’t trust Adar. Elrond, ever the politician, knows it’s not a good-faith negotiation if one side holds the other at knifepoint. He goes for plan B: Kiss Galadriel and hand her a lock pick while everyone is tweeting about it. Elrond kissing Galadriel could send Tumblr into a tailspin, especially with the somewhat declining role of women in front of the camera this season. That Galadriel has been in damsel-in-distress mode for the last couple of episodes only to be sexualized through this kiss doesn’t exactly help either. The kiss was an unexpected choice and will likely be a controversial one. But as of now, it was just to pass a lock pick, so let’s not start writing fanfic about it.

While in prison, Celebrimbor’s suspicions grow steadily throughout the episode. Celebrimbor’s hammer is missing some jewels. Even stranger, when he throws the hammer through a window, he notices that Eregion is under attack outside. In a show-stopping oner, Brändström circles Celebrimbor and reveals the extent of Sauron’s deception. As he does, Sauron pivots and offers Celebrimbor a seat at the table. Sauron knows what it’s like to be held prisoner by a Dark Lord, and together, they can “heal” Middle-earth.

The facade is falling away for the Orcs too, and they’re beginning to see that they’re no better with Adar than Sauron. The final nail is Damrog, a troll introduced at the beginning of the season to turn anything in his path into jelly. Surprisingly, the Orcs verbalize the dynamic here. Damrog kills without prejudice, making him just as dangerous to Orcs as Elves. Elves, Dwarves, and Orcs all become more meat for the grinder as Damrog skewers them into Orc-Elf shish kebabs.

Things aren’t much better in the forge. Celebrimbor finds no solace outside Sauron’s illusion. When he escapes into the city, his subordinates and students see a doddering and confused old Elf. Sauron’s game of whose will is mightier leaves him thumbless and further bolsters Annatar’s claims that Celebrimbor is unwell. The guy is cutting his thumb off, for Valar’s sake. When he corners Mirdania, ranting and raving about how Annatar is Sauron, the Dark Lord pushes Mirdania from the bulwark. Sadly, the fall doesn’t kill her. The Orc’s blade does. Just brutal.

But with her doppelgänger dead, Galadriel can enter the city again. The controversial kiss was a clever ruse. Elrond took advantage of Adar’s obsession with shipping Elrond and Galadriel and passed her lock pick to help her escape. And just as Arondir saved her at the last second, she saves Celebrimbor, who’s surrounded by Elven guards ready to take him back to his hole. Edwards crushes this final monologue as he works up the courage to face Sauron, taking responsibility for his role in this debacle with bravery and hope. Each step of Rings Of Power brings us closer to the inevitable, as we know all of this will fail for hundreds and hundreds of years. These characters are fighting the long defeat—and yet, light endures.. “Durin will come.”