Alloyed
The Stranger is waiting for the rain to stop so he can come out of hiding and pick up an apple from a tree. He’s not really Sauron, but his group of elves are pretending to be him so they can get money from The Stranger. They’re lying because they know Halbrand is actually Sauron, so it’s another red herring.
Anyway, the trio encourage him to use his powers, but the Harfoots are waiting in the wings. They make a conscious decision to save The Stranger, which is pretty admirable given their code about leaving people alone to die on the road. Unfortunately, it’s another trap but just before Nori is hurt, The Stranger comes out and whips up a strong gust of wind, slamming them down. ..
After some reused scenes from Fellowship of the Ring, The Stranger is knocked down.
The leader of the Harfoots begins speaking in a deep, booming voice that echoes through the trees. Nori then tells the Stranger that she knows he is there to help and before long, all of the Harfoots are destroyed. The Stranger then uses his magic to turn the trio into skeletal beings and they seemingly disappear forever. Whether they will return in a different form is left up for debate.
However, all is not well with the Harfoots. Sadoc has been fatally injured and decides to sit and watch the sun come up, succumbing to his injuries in the process. ..
Meanwhile, Elrond has consigned himself to failure and speaks to Celebrimbor, telling him they need to abandon these shores. Speak of the devil, Halbrand shows up with Galadriel, the former needing medical attention. Outside, Elrond apologizes for his failures while Galadriel talks about her foolhardy decision to jump off and swim hundreds of miles in the sea. She prayed it was the right decision and decides to do the same now, taking a leap of faith and swimming against the tide.
Isildur’s sister looks upon the Palantír and sees the doom about to befall Numenor. She then heads into the next room and pulls the cloth off a Palantír, revealing a vision of her brother’s death.
Meanwhile, Celebrimbor, Elrond, Gil-Galad and Galadriel discuss crafting a new kind of power. Gil-Galad rejects the idea and tells him to leave. “A power over flesh” is what dissuades him. ..
Galadriel is suspicious of Halbrand, believing there’s more to him than what she’s been told. Well, given no one has actually decided to verify any of his information, that’s hardly surprising.
Halbrand is confronted by Galadriel outside the archives, having looked in the archives and realized there is no King of the Southlands. Galadriel realizes this and confronts Halbrand, telling him that she was looking for information half a season ago and that she doesn’t care about humans.
Anyway, Halbrand admits that he’s had many names in the past as Sauron. “I alone can see your light,” Sauron says, going on to tempt Galadriel with power and suggesting they rule together and save Middle-Earth. Galadriel refuses.
Galadriel wakes up after her vision and finds herself in the presence of Elrond. She realizes that Halbrand has fooled them all and rushes to Celebrimbor’s workshop, suggesting they make three rings as that will balance everything out. ..
The harbour in Numenor is bustling with ships as Miriel and the others make it back to the city. It would have been nice to have that lot during their attack on Middle Earth, but now they’re stuck here.
With Sadoc dead, the Harfoots decide to continue their migration, chanting that “nobody walks alone”. Unless you get injured, of course, in which case you’ll be left behind! Anyway, Nori leaves the Harfoots to head off with the Stranger, who throws out some Gandalf repurposed dialogue about following your nose.
As the episode closes out, three rings are formed while Halbrand aka. Sauron walks into Mordor. ..
The Episode Review
This series has been a total disaster from the get-go. The visuals are great, but it’s clear that the producers were really hoping for something more. It seems like they were expecting something more from a show that was supposed to be world-renowned. But instead, we got an unimaginative and unenlightening story.
The showrunners have been trying to shoehorn in a Galadriel story into the mix for months now, but it’s clear that they don’t have a good enough plan to make her work. The show is losing its audience because it’s not interesting enough without her.
We’re not sure how much time has passed since the events of the first season, and through all of these different characters’ teleporting and disappearing, it’s hard to tell how long has actually passed.
I’m struggling to see a massive audience returning for season 2 in two years time. If I stopped and asked you what happened in episodes 3, 4 and 5 in a couple of months’ time, I’d imagine you’ll be hard-pressed to pick out more than “Harfoots go walking” and “Galadriel shows up in Numenor.” The minute details are what matter in a show like this and that has been utterly diminished to forgetful indifference.
