#also yes this is about adar again so

[greenleaf4stuff]

something something 'the door is unhinged either way it just opens in different directions'

[apoloadonisandnarcissus]

What did Sauron meant by “Not All of It” in 2x08?

Did Sauron deceive Galadriel all along, when he was pretending to be “just Halbrand”? Was he even pretending, to begin with? Did he seduced her on purpose and to manipulate her? Which part was true? And what was the deception?

To find the answer, we need to look at the visual clues, more specifically the color code of Sauron in “Rings of Power”:

Red

Red is a color that, in “Rings of Power”, has appeared in association with Sauron’s deceptions and treachery, over and over again.

On the negative side, the color red is, symbolically associated with danger, aggression, dominance, power and betrayal. In some cultures, red is associated with evil and death.

2x01: Sauron demands the Orcs’ allegiance (and he’s accused of straight-out lying, in this scene).

1x05: Galadriel’s vision on Palantír has a red stripe to foreshadow the “fall of Númenor” plot (triggered by Sauron).

1x05 and 1x06: Bits of red on Halbrand’s Númenórean armor = King of the Southlands’ deception.

1x07: Halbrand injury on the blast of Mount Doom, and creation of Mordor.

2x01: Adar and his tale of Sauron giving him red wine on *that* peak.

2x02: Celebrimbor falling prey to Sauron’s deception (he’s wearing red + red wine).

2x02: The background of Galadriel’s vision about Celebrimbor.

2x03: Ar-Pharazôn wears red to Míriel’s coronation to foreshadow the “fall of Númenor” plot (triggered by Sauron).

2x07: The missing ruby on Fëanor’s hammer (Sauron’s illusion on Celebrimbor).

2x07: Sauron displays the red blood on his wound (to instigate the guards to confine Celebrimbor in the forge tower for him to finish the Nine).

2x08: The arrows that Sauron shots at Celebrimbor (the ultimate betrayal).

Green

Then we have green, the complementary color to red (meaning they are in opposite sides of the color wheel). In Design, there is an unspoken rule that “red and green should not be seen together”. Hence its safe to admit that green, in Sauron’s color code in “Rings of Power”, also serves the opposite purpose of red.

Green is the color of health (healing), and is symbolically associated with hope, growth, rebirth, balance, fertility and prosperity.

1x02: Sauron first meets Galadriel (a new beginning, full of hope and potential).

1x02: The stone on Halbrand’s pouch (King of the Southlands heraldry) is green (the “new life” and “some place better” that Diarmid promises him in 2x01);

1x04: Halbrand garments on Númenor.

2x01: When Sauron “rebirths” as Halbrand form.

2x06: Celebrimbor starts to wear green once he begins to suspect Annatar’s intentions (the deception begins to crack).

In Season 2, this color becomes highly associated with Galadriel herself, as we see her wearing green dresses. This color is also used by Mirdania, at Eregion, a character that reminds Sauron of Galadriel (and he says so, himself), and the possibility of redemption he was denied.

To further solidify the idea of the colors green/red having opposite purposes/meaning in Sauron’s color code in “Rings of Power”; in 2x02, we see Celebrimbor wearing red, at Eregion; and Galadriel wearing green, in Lindon. This is meant to show to the audience that these two characters have different places in Sauron’s character arc.

It’s also worth mentioning that, in Season 2, both Mirdania and Celebrimbor were wearing green when Sauron killed them, symbolically marking the end of his redemption arc.

Blue

Halbrand/Sauron wears blue in 1x08, the episode where Halbrand is revealed to be Sauron. Blue is considered the ultimate “color of truth” and intuition.

Blue is symbolically associated with wisdom, imagination, loyalty, order and creation. In some cultures, blue is also associated with freedom, inspiration, sincerity and faith.

In 1x07, Halbrand/Sauron wears a blue cloak when he travels to Eregion with Galadriel, to be healed by the Elves. Throughout History, blue has been associated with royalty, yes, but this is a odd color for Sauron to wear, nonetheless.

In 1x08, while at Eregion, Halbrand/Sauron is also wearing blue, after his healing and while working at the forge (and “nerding out” with Celebrimbor).

Based on Tolkien lore, I would say that blue, in “Rings of Power”, is associated with Mairon (not Sauron), since it symbolizes the qualities he was designed to embody by Eru himself, before Morgoth’s corruption: goodness, trustworthy, creation, and order.

This could provide an explanation as to why Sauron didn’t “soiled” the Three Elven rings of power with evil, when he spent so much time at Eregion with Celebrimbor in 1x08, handling the mithril and testing different alloys, and the “eye of Sauron” even appears as the metals combine to make the Three.

What we, the audience, saw in 1x08 was a glimpse of the original Mairon (blue), after his healing process (redemption) was triggered by Galadriel’s light (green). At the beginning, Mairon was one of the most powerful Maiar, and the purest one, too. And these were the qualities that transferred onto the Three, in contrast with the cruelty, malice and deception of the Seven and Nine. More; this can also explain the healing properties of the Three (because Mairon, himself, was healing).

When Mairon is tortured by Waldreg and the Orcs, at Adar’s orders, in 2x01, he’s also wearing blue. This is a callback to the unspeakable tortures he endured under Morgoth, to bind him to darkness, and to power. Hence, the repentant Mairon begins to disappear, making way to Sauron.

What all of this means?

Red (the color associated with Sauron’s deception) only appeared on Halbrand/Sauron and Galadriel interactions, back on Season 1, on two occasions:

When he accepts to be “King of the Southlands”;

His injury due to eruption of Mount Doom (to bring him into Elven territory).

The use of the colors green and blue on Sauron’s arc in Season 1, can confirm that Sauron was, indeed, on his “repentant era”.

“Halbrand” was the original Mairon, and we see a lot of his primordial personality traits (before Morgoth’s corruption) on Halbrand’s character: good, loyal, generous, creative and highly intelligent. Charismatic but a bit withdrawn (he only opens up with Galadriel). Not outright antisocial but usually on the background, a follower and not a leader (the Maia in service of a Vala). And of course, his love and talent for smithing and craftsmanship (Maia of Aulë).

The “Halbrand” that Galadriel fell in love with, was, in fact, “Mairon the Admirable” seeking redemption.

Halbrand/Mairon wears green because he’s seeking redemption and a new beginning (rebirth);

Galadriel starts to be visually associated with this color because she’s the embodiment of the redemption Marion seeks;

Halbrand wears blue in 1x07 and 1x08 because “redeemed Mairon” is starting to come through.

Why was Halbrand/Mairon shamelessly flirting with Galadriel, then?

Because repentant Mairon was attracted to her, on a physical and spiritual level (they are both immortal spirits).

I’ll quote myself, here:

Mairon was created by Eru as a Maia of Aulë, the Vala (God) of smithing and handiwork, yes. He was among the most powerful Maiar. Eru created him to be good and trustworthy, but also to love several things: crafting, creation, beauty, order and perfection, and to dislike wastefulness.

And who better embodies the qualities of “beauty” and “perfection” than Galadriel herself? Her beauty is the stuff of legends, and everyone is at awe when they first meet her. Her very gold/silver hair inspired the most legendary jewels in existence: the Silmarils. The light of the Two Trees of Valinor shine on her hair and eyes. How could Sauron/Mairon not love her? That’s the question. She’s the materialization, the physical form, of everything he was designed to love.

The color code on Sauron’s arc in “Rings of Power” tells us, the audience, that the mutual attraction and connection Halbrand/Mairon and Galadriel shared was real. It wasn’t a deception on his part, nor did it had any hidden motive.

Mairon flirted with Galadriel because, like they say, he really wanted to “tap that”, “shake the sheets (or the forge table)”, “Netflix and chill” all night long, whatever you prefer. And she wanted the same, as confirmed by Charlotte Brändström.

In both 1x05 and 1x06, when Halbrand/Mairon shares intimate moments with Galadriel, the bits of red (deception) of his armor are hidden, either by a cloak, or by camera work (focus on his face). This artistic choice means there was no deception there. It was real.

And both Sauron’s deceptions with Galadriel, back in Season 1, had the purpose of keeping her close to him:

Accepting the “King of the Southland” role: Galadriel was leaving for Middle-earth, leaving him behind in Númenor;

Bringing him into Elven territory: Mairon didn’t know Galadriel would take him to Eregion to meet Celebrimbor (in show canon, she lives in Lindon, not Eregion).

Why? Because Mairon craved her light, and, like it has been established by the color code, Galadriel embodies the redemption he desperately seeks. Hence, he wants to be around her, and keeping her close. Galadriel represents his chance of redeeming himself after everything he has done under Morgoth.

And, in 1x08, when Galadriel denies his offer, it symbolizes the denial of his redemption:

Galadriel: You are a friend of Morgoth’s.

Sauron: When Morgoth was defeated, it was as if a great, clenched fist had released its grasp from my neck. And in the stillness of that first sunrise, at last, I felt the light of The One again. And I knew if ever I was to be forgiven… That I had to heal everything that I had helped ruin.

Galadriel: No penance could ever erase the evil you have done.

Mairon, then realizes, there will be no redemption for him. Redemption and Galadriel’s light have been denied to him. And, so, he falls back into his old ways under Morgoth, back into evil.

They say that Morgoth found the Silmarils so beautiful that after he’d stolen them, for weeks he could do nothing but stare into their depths. It was only after one of his tears fell upon the jewels and he was faced with the evil of his own reflection that the reverie was finally broken. From that moment, he looked upon their light no more. Fëanor's work nearly turned the heart of the Great Foe himself…”

Celebrimbor to Elrond, 1x01

It's not strength that overcomes darkness but light. For in its presence, all darkness must flee.

Celebrimbor to Galadriel, 2x07

In the vision Mairon shows Galadriel in 1x08, there is no red (deception), only blue and light. The spikes of his crown are, also, fading away, meant to symbolize his redemption, with Galadriel at his side. A lot of fans assume this is a vision of Dark!Galadriel, but they are wrong.

This means that Galadriel, indeed, could have helped Mairon achieve the redemption he was seeking.

We foresaw that if Galadriel’s search should have continued, she might have inadvertently kept alive the very evil she sought to defeat. For the same wind that seeks to blow out a fire may also cause its spread.

Gil-galad to Elrond, 1x01

The true meaning of this quote is: Galadriel didn’t f*cked up because she found Halbrand/Sauron and brought him back to Middle-earth. She screwed up because she denied Mairon his chance at redemption: not only by rejecting him, but, mostly, because she exposed him at Eregion and cause him to flee.

It was Galadriel’s pride that caused her to confront and expose Halbrand as Sauron. The pride that every single character has been warning her about, and the reason why she’s banished from Valinor, in the first place. Yet, she couldn’t bring herself to tell Celebrimbor and Elrond about Halbrand’s true identity because, yes, of her wounded pride. And she allows the Three rings of power to be made.

In “Rings of Power”, it was Galadriel’s pride that condemned Middle-earth to Sauron’s tyranny, and I hope the show explores this further.

In Season 2, Sauron still believes that he, truly, wants to heal Middle-earth. But this isn’t the case anymore, because his redemption was cut short. This is confirmed by Celebrimbor in 2x07, when he says to Sauron/Annatar: “you truly are the Great Deceiver. You can even deceive yourself.”

But that boat has sailed. There is no more redemption’s arc for Mairon. That was Season 1. In Season 2, he’s now embracing his arc as “shadow of Morgoth”. And so, green and blue won’t be present on his color code anymore, as red takes the spotlight, alongside black to embody his role as the new Dark Lord.

What now?

Sauron and Galadriel are now bound together, since he forced their bloods to unite using Morgoth’s crown, in 2x08. They now have a open line to each other’s soul, mind and everything else. And this will come into play in Season 3.

One of Galadriel’s inner conflicts in Season 2 was the idea that “Halbrand” was nothing more than one of Sauron’s illusions and that he deceived her, all along. In Season 3 and through being bound together with Sauron, she’ll probably realize this isn’t the case, and that Halbrand was very much real, and, in fact, Mairon in seek of redemption. How will this play out, I have no idea. But there’s a lot of potential here.

And in Season 2 we were told that Elven memories don’t dim. Meaning; the memory of Halbrand/Mairon and their love for each other and “what could have been”, will haunt Galadriel forever (yes, even after Celeborn returns).

[rey-jake-therapist]

What's the deal with Sauron and children ?

There seems to be something we don't know, about Sauron and children. Among Haladriels we often joke/hc that Sauron wants to have children with Galadriel and that's why it's a recurring theme. But in all seriousness, we may ask : what are the writers not telling us ?

It started in Numenor, where we saw Sauron smile giddily at the sight of little girls running.

I'm sure many still think : "he was putting on a show for Galadriel". Ok but Galadriel herself didn't smile when she watched them, she just looked at them with indifference. And it's not necessarily a human thing to smile at the sight of children, many humans don't care for them.

Then there's a scene where Sauron as Halbrand confronted Adar, who asked him if he had hurt someone he loved, adding, "A woman ? Perhaps, a child ?".

Galadriel may have noticed that Halbrand seemed particularly tense when he asked if it was a child, because she told Adar, "eat your tongue".

Tbf, it's likely that this scene was just a red herring. The audience still had to believe that Halbrand was a man, and that he had a good reason to want Adar dead. Adar firmly believed he had killed Sauron at this point, so there could be only one reason for Halbrand to be so angry at him, aka he took someone he loved away from him. What I mean is that Adar asking him this question made very much sense, at the moment.

But the reference to children came back in season 2, when Sauron had a vision of little girls running in the vision he had first created for Celebrimbor. It could also, again, mean nothing, because this vision was for Celebrimbor, a make believe to hide him the fact that Eregion was under attack. But someone, I don't know who, noticed something interesting when they put the gif of the Numenor girls on top of the gif of the mind palace girls.

Do you see it ? How the kids in the second seem to continue the Numenor kids' running ?

It may mean absolutely *nothing*. And yet I find interesting that the writers chose to associate Sauron with kids not just once, or even twice, but three times.

Could it mean that at some point, when he was in Numenor, Sauron seriously considered the idea of settling down there, of founding a family and liviving as a human being ? He was in a repentance phase and had, in his own words, "given up" any idea of fixing the damages he had done after Adar betrayed him and turned him into powerless goo, so I don't think it's too far-fetched to imagine that he could have genuinely wanted to settle down, to blend with the crowd.

Or could it be, as @apoloadonisandnarcissus suggested to me, that Sauron associates children with the concept of innocence, an innocence he himself lost when Morgoth corrupted him ?

Saurbrand told Galadriel, about Numenor, that it was "a paradise rife with opportunities". The vision of Eregion he showed Celebrimbor had everything of a paradise. Even after Celebrimbor got back to work and was no longer here to see the vision, Sauron remained for a few minutes in his illusion, contemplating it.

It didn't escape Haladriel shippers' attention that the girl was a sort of Galadriel lookalike, and that his lover, whose face remained unseen, may have expressed Sauron's own doubts regarding his capacity to perfect/heal Middle-Earth without Galadriel and her light.

That said, neither the idea of having a family, nor the association of children with innocence, can be related to what Adar did to him. Adar definitely didn't kill a child of his (and it would be dangerously lore-breaking to claim that Sauron ever had a kid, because Maiars are supposed to be forever bound to their physical form once they conceived), and he isn't the one who stole his innocence either. Adar is the one whose innocence was stolen by both Morgoth and Sauron, actually.

So now it's your turn : do you have any idea about this ? If yes, please share :)

[lazyneonrabbitt]

Beginning to learn

Adar x reader

Uruk and mortal learn things from one another in this. Suggestive themes.

Written with specifically season 1 Adar in mind.

You wandered the tunnels in search of Adar. There were matters to be discussed but it was like he avoided you.

He had been everywhere others told you to find him but by the time you got there all you were told was "Apologies, lady. Lord Father just left."

It took you almost hours to finally get to him and catch him off gaurd.

"Why do you avoid me?" There was a tone of annoyance to your voice and Adar visibly curled into himself at the directness of your words.

You and Adar were new to relationships, especially of mixed kinds. In the short weeks of knowing and being with each other Adar learned about mortal's routine bleeding. It had sent panic through his entire being as he found you in your chambers reeking of blood and in visible discomfort.

"I am confused as to why you believe I avoid you. The tunnels are close to completion and I am overwhelmed with overseeing it all." You could see he lied. His eyes had a tell. Yes, Adar was busy but it was not work that overwhelmed him.

It was your scent.

"Come take a break, then. If you are so overwhelmed. Calm your mind and eat with me, then you may go again." Even if he lied, it was still clear he was not entirely okay.

Taking a step towards him you caught his arms and pressed yourself against him to leave a kiss on his jaw.

"..Adar?" He was in trouble now, he felt the looming dark void in his mind grow. The voice that spat nothing but filth and hurt. You would be disgusted, how would you not be.

There was no denying you felt what you did with your body flush against his. With a quick glance down you took a step back to look him in the eyes.

"Are you ..aroused by me being near you? Is that why you ran?" You were confused. You and Adar had talked about communication and boundaries before, making sure both of you would voice your concerns.

"It is not that." The air of disgust was now visible to you as well, but it was unclear what is was directed towards. "I need to get used to smelling you in the air. Your current state is affecting me in ways I am sure you are uncomfortable with."

"My current.." You had no clue what he meant, but the idea of him believing you'd be uncomfortable with him being attracted to you was hurting your feelings more than him avoiding you.

"That's not a reason to avoid me. You are allowed to ask such things of me, I'm not afraid to lay with you if that is what you think." With a huff you crossed your arms and waited for a response, but he stayed quiet.

"Adar." You siged and looked at him. "I need you to speak. In clear terms, what is wrong here?"

"I can smell that you are.." You could see Adar search for his words. "Fertile.. Uruk noses are sensitive and I prefer to keep my distance as to not cause you any unease."

At his explaination heat rose to your cheeks. "You can smell that? What else do I need to know that you can just sniff out?"

While you were on one hand embarassed that your body was letting everyone know of something you had no control over, you were also curious to learn more about the uruks.

"There is also arousal, which I catch a slight hint of right now. Does this sort of talk interest you in such ways?" Adar's question made you want to let out a huff of laughter with how he did not seem to understand, but it also saddened you with how undesirable he saw himself.

A smile crept upon your face, now it had become your turn to be shy about things.

"What can I say. I suppose thinking about such things, about doing them with you is affecting me." You gave him an apologetic look, still unsure how he was faring in the moment.

Closeby the sound of a group of uruks drew closer and before you you watched him shake off his current state and hold himself with that leader stature that came naturally to him. "We'll speak more after today's business if attended to. In my chambers. Come find me then." You bid each other farewell and moved on.

Later that day, within the privacy of Adar's chambers you found yourself sat atop his hips. Your garment bunched up at at yours after you had helped him out of his armor and left him in just his tunic and trousers.

Adar's face still held no sign of true enjoyment.

"I am not offending you with any of my actions, am I?" You stopped your already slow ministrations, not wanting to cross a line.

"No, not offensive. I don't want you doing anything that makes you uncomfortable. Don't feel you must do this because of how my body responded before." One of his hands had come to rest against you, yet still over your garment instead of the skin of your thigh.

"You are not forcing my hand, nor my mind. I do this because I want to. There are no chains that bind me to these tunnels. No shackles that force me into this bed." With the utmost care you took his hand off your clothed waist and placed it on your bare thigh. "I want you. For my own pleasure, and yours."

There was loads of convincing needed to have him put his hands on you more intimately, let alone have his cock inside of you. Sighs of "oh, Adar please.." and "your hands feel so good." Turned into your combined moans as Adar finally gave in to the pleasure he felt. He gave up his control for you to take the lead and with the events from earlier gone from your minds you allowes him to spill inside of you, only realizing once the deed had already been done.

"You know the children you bear won't be fair like you.." The way he spoke sounded like he felt as if he cursed you, but you weren't letting him. Everything he gave you was a blessing, and never a curse.

"Fairness is in the eye of the beholder, my love. And I am sure they will be perfect."

You knew Adar wanted to speak against your words but he stayed quiet, knowing he could not win in this. You loved him and his children with all their flaws ans imperfections.

Perhaps, he thougt, he should start to learn from you in seeing himself through your eyes.

[sansaorgana]

— DECEPTION (IV)

DECEPTION MASTERLIST

PAIRING — Sauron x fem!Elf!Reader // Adar x fem!Elf!Reader

SUMMARY — Your relationship with Adar develops and you already see he is going to be a completely different kind of a partner than Sauron was. You're trying to gain your new husband's trust and you accompany him and his army during the attack on Tirharad where you get to witness the Orcs' battlefield havoc for the first time with your own eyes.

AUTHOR’S NOTE — I am hyperfixating on this fic so much and it feels amazing to be so devoted to writing again. In general, the brainrot is real when it comes to The Rings of Power and I have not expected it but it is the most welcome. I already loved Season One but nothing could have prepared me for Season Two! 💕 Because of that, this fic will most likely have more parts than I have planned, so be warned already. I also might have an idea for a fic with Annatar but I would rather make it a long one-shot instead of starting yet another multichapter... But we will see... 🤔 I start my job soon and I honestly have no idea how I will be able to focus there to learn all my tasks if all I can think of is Adar and Sauron lol

WARNINGS — forced/arranged marriage, Reader is NOT a good person – she is proud, greedy, fake and corrupted by Sauron, "love" triangle situationship, every trigger from S01E06 (death, battle, violence) + Reader is not very fond of the humans and considers them a lower form of life (she is Sauron's lover, okay? I do not share her beliefs because I am a human, too)

WORD COUNT — 5,570

ENGLISH IS MY SECOND LANGUAGE.

DECEPTION (IV)

Tirharad was close but the Orcs could not travel freely in daylight. Even hidden by the thick forest, when the sun rose high up enough, they had to hide. So, you were standing by your horse and watching them setting up a small camp in the middle of the woods. Adar was standing nearby and you could overhear his conversation with Glûg.

“Are we attacking tonight, Lord Father?” The Orc asked.

“Tomorrow,” Adar answered and squeezed his arm reassuringly. “Tonight I shall send the scouts to observe the village,” he explained and Glûg nodded at him before going away to tell the news to his friends.

Adar approached you and you slightly flinched, which was an unplanned and uncontrolled reaction. He spotted it and froze for a short while, refusing to get any further. You were surprised to see that he seemed to respect your personal space and he was ready to back off any moment after realising you were not comfortable with him being around you now. On the other hand, considering the tortures he had been through, it made sense that he was sensitive about the concept of violating someone’s space.

When you first had seen him, he had terrified you. And the idea of marrying him had been the most dreadful. But now you were slowly realising that as cruel as he was to his enemies – he would not be a husband as brutish.

“What am I doing here?” You asked him, quietly. Then, you looked up to meet his gaze. “If it was your plan to destroy Ostirith and its habitants all along… Why save me? Why take me with you?” You asked, genuinely wondering.

“We share certain… qualities,” Adar explained softly. “Loneliness, attraction to darkness. You were trying to tempt me so I would agree to your father’s offer and marry you. And you have tempted me indeed because I’ve been lonely for a few centuries too long now,” he admitted. “And it was the most endearing when I realised you were doing it all for your mother.”

You looked down, not being able to hold his gaze any longer when he mentioned your mother. Yes, it was true that you had been sacrificing yourself for her as well. But what truly had been in the back of your mind was Sauron and the fact that getting close to Adar and his army of Orcs could help your lover in his future schemes.

And perhaps Adar indeed was sick with loneliness if he couldn’t see how truly rotten you were.

“Lord Father, your tent is ready,” one of the Orcs approached you and pointed at the largest tent for Adar to rest in.

“Thank you. Prepare one for my wife, too,” Adar nodded at him.

“There is no need. That one is big enough for us two,” you pointed out and walked inside without looking back.

You looked around and sat on the wooden chair by the small table. The Orcs had no home, so they were travelling with some furniture in case they would spend their days in camps like this one. It was a very poor setting but you were not one of the Elves who had grown up in the rich and beautiful realms like Eregion or Mithlond, so you were not complaining.

Adar walked inside, carrying a heavy wooden chest with some of his belongings. You watched him place it on the ground nearby the bed.

“These are too important to lose or leave unsupervised,” he informed you and straightened his back before looking down at your face. “If you do not wish to be in my presence for now, I understand. I thought you would hate me. Perhaps you do but you do not show it as fiercely as I suspected you would.”

“I feel bad for the Elves you slaughtered inside Ostirith just because they were unfortunate enough to work under my father,” you admitted. “But watching this fortress tumbling to the ground was an oddly satisfying experience to me,” you added and Adar furrowed his brows. “It had been like a prison too many times,” you explained.

In fact, you mourned Ostirith a little but no amount of admitting it would change what had happened and you did not want him to see your weaknesses. You wanted to earn his trust as much as you could. His and his children’s.

“What do you keep there?” You changed the subject lazily and pointed at the wooden chest with your chin. You truly were curious but you wanted to ask in a careless manner, so he would not get too suspicious.

Adar hesitated for a moment before crouching down next to the chest and opening it. You had to fight every muscle in your body from trying to get a better look inside and to keep appearing unbothered.

But when he lifted up the Iron Crown, you gasped. A thrill went down your spine; a malicious shiver as your heart clenched inside your chest. You could smell Sauron’s blood on it and you immediately realised how your beloved had died. It was a twisted way to get rid of him and quite poetic, too – you had to admit it.

“You recognise the item,” Adar pointed out.

“Has my father not mentioned my education and intuition?” You cracked a nervous smile. “How did you get Morgoth’s crown?”

Adar only smiled at that and hid the item again, locking the chest with a key that he kept with himself.

“It is strong enough to kill Sauron – it has defeated him once. Not fully, so it seems. But with the help of even stronger magic, it could work again and this time it could finish the job,” he explained. “Now you know how important this chest is. I have shown it to you in case something happens to me.”

Now it was your time to smile mysteriously but you only nodded at him to show him you understood completely.

“Do you wish to rest now, my Lady?” Adar asked as he straightened his back and stood up. “I shall go to my children and answer their questions about the attack,” he said.

“I have nothing else to do, it seems, my Lord,” you sighed and leaned back on the chair as you watched him approaching the way out of the tent. “Unless…” You stopped him and he turned his head around. “Unless you would not mind my company. I am curious about the attack myself,” you added. “I am your wife,” you reminded him. “Your equal. I wish to stand by you always instead of hiding away in tents, camps and woods; left in the darkness of not knowing what is happening around me. I have never wished to be this kind of woman,” you stood up as if you were challenging him.

“You take matters into your own hands,” Adar commented. “I have seen that already back in Ostirith. You may join me, wife,” he emphasised the last word and it sounded a bit like mockery but you also spotted a hint of affection.

He extended his hand carefully towards you, still remembering how you had flinched before but this time you were in full control of your body, so you approached him, although instead of taking his hand, you put yours on his arm like a viper snake tightening its hold around the victim.

But your victim was powerful and treacherous, therefore you had to be the most cautious.

Adar deciding to attack in the evening of the next day only prolonged the anxious anticipation. You had never taken a part in any battle of this sort before.

When you had told your husband that you had never wanted to be this kind of woman – hiding away and waiting – that had been a lie. You had been like this with Sauron whenever he had been scheming and plotting somewhere. All you had been doing was warming up the bed for him. And whenever he had been back… He had been the most hungry and thirsty for you. That was all you had been caring about with Sauron. That, and to become his Queen.

But the cruel fate had taken your lover away from you and now it was time to prove your love and devotion to him. To help him – as simple as it was. You would bring the army of the Orcs to him and you would destroy your own realm for him on the way if you had to.

Sauron had always been quite… chatty. He had not only been drowning you with the countless affections and sweet words but he had also been sharing lots of his plans with you while playing with your hair or caressing the curves of your body. And perhaps he had been thinking that you had not been listening to any of it but it was not true. You had been a devoted listener.

And you knew his plan for the Southlands was to take over these lands and to make them his own terrifying realm. You knew his plans for your home were the most horrific and yet you liked the idea of ruling Middle-earth from the ruins of your homeland. It would be a symbol for you – a purge of the Southlands and Ostirith – your personal prison being turned into ashes and you becoming the Queen of them.

However horrific it would be, you knew it would not matter. You would rule alongside your lover and that was all you needed. You could be his Queen in the most precious gemstones and you could be his Queen in rags. You could rule over the beautiful Elves and you could rule over the filthy Orcs and it made no difference to you. What mattered was being by his side and getting intoxicated with his love and his worship.

Thinking of Sauron fondly, you wondered if you should try to wear your tempting nightgown again for this night as the sounds of the partying Orcs were reaching you from the outside of the tent. But then you thought that perhaps the nightgown had the opposite effect on Adar who simply did not like seeing you trying to seduce him. So, you just stripped yourself down to an underdress and rested on the bed, looking bored as you played with the necklace around your neck.

When Adar entered the tent, he tilted his head at the sight of you and then he sighed, sitting by the table and opening the notes from the scouts that had been waiting for him.

You kept observing him from the corner of your eye but he seemed to be uninterested in you, so you rolled your eyes and looked away. For a man claiming to be so lonely, he was also very cold. And you knew that in the eyes of the Valars, you were still unwed because the marriage was not consummated. However, you did not want to push him into anything because it could cause his mistrust and anger.

“I am scared of my uncertain position here,” you finally admitted and he froze before turning around to look at you, confused, still holding the piece of paper in his hand.

“What do you mean, my Lady? You are my wife,” he shook his head.

“No, I am not… yet,” you swallowed thickly and squeezed the pendant of your necklace in your hand.

You had no idea how to seduce sexually or convince him to join you in bed because Sauron had never taught you any of this – he had always been an eager lover.

Adar sighed and left the table to sit on the edge of the bed as he looked down at you. He extended his hand to brush your cheeks with his fingertips and then he allowed his hand to go lower to your chest, which was rising up and down in the pace that was going quicker now. In that moment, you could see clearly in his eyes that he desired you, so you could not understand why he was stopping himself from going further.

“Is it because of something Morgoth had done to you?” You asked, trying to sound gentle and hoping it would not anger him.

“No,” Adar shook his head with a very gentle hint of a smile. “It is because you do not want it willingly,” he admitted and retreated his hand. “When I agreed to marry you, I knew you were being forced by your father. You could have been assuring me that you wanted it but I knew you were only doing it for your mother and now, when she is safe, you are doing it to ensure your own position,” he kept explaining and you couldn’t help being surprised.

He was one of the most dangerous people you had ever met and surely one of the most brutal and yet he refused to harm his own wife in any way even if it was not love that had bonded you two but loneliness and the shared rot of the soul.

“Do you know that arranged marriage is against the Elven customs?” Adar asked with a sad smile.

“We are going against all Elven customs, haven’t you noticed, my Lord?” You swallowed thickly and lifted yourself up on your elbows.

“You are wearing my ring and I am wearing yours. We are wed for eternity no matter what,” Adar stood up to leave the edge of your bed. “And eternity is a long time for you to eventually warm yourself up to the idea of sharing your bed with me. And if not, I shall survive,” he shrugged his arms. “There is more to life than the pleasure of the flesh.”

You opened your mouth to say something – anything – and to deny his words, to keep tempting him somehow. But Adar interrupted you and saved you from any further embarrassment.

“Speaking of survival, I have something for you. Gifts,” Adar pointed at the chest that had been put inside the tent not so long ago by one of the Orcs but you had been ignoring it until now.

“I did not expect you to be a husband who would spoil his wife with gifts,” you tried to tease as you sat up fully now and watched him open the chest.

“These are not traditional gifts by any means,” Adar warned you and he approached the bed again to hand you a slim and beautifully ornamented dagger, made of black metal.

Your heart skipped a beat at the sight of it. In fact, it nearly made you sick and you tried very hard not to show how much this item had affected your senses.

It was Sauron’s dagger; the one he had been carrying with him most of the time. Adar had to take it away from him alongside the crown when he had murdered your beloved. You knew that dagger – you had been watching Sauron with it countless of times. And Sauron himself had been using it on you many times before to increase the pleasure of your intimate moments. That dagger meant the world to you and to hold it in your hand was like holding the hand of your lover again after all those centuries of separation and yearning.

“I-it is beautiful,” you stuttered out and took it, trying to compose yourself.

“You seem to be uneasy,” Adar furrowed his brow and you quickly came up with an excuse as you looked up at him with a trembling lower lip.

“It is of great beauty but I can sense a tremendous darkness within it,” you explained.

“It belonged to Sauron,” Adar admitted. “If it is too corrupted for you, I can take it from you and have a custom one made,” he assured you. 

“I can handle it,” you shook your head and squeezed your hand around the blade’s hilt. “It was just a slight disturbance when I first touched it,” you answered. “Thank you, that gift is very thoughtful, my husband,” you forced a smile and Adar sighed with relief. He extended his hand to gently grab your chin and caress your cheek before he walked away to the chest once again.

And when he turned around one more time, you gasped once again at the sight of a black breastplate. It was Elven – you recognised the ornaments in the shapes of leaves immediately.

“It belonged to one of the Elves we killed on the way. We collect their armour to later transform the pieces into the items we find useful but this breastplate I ordered to paint black since it might suit your size,” Adar admitted. “You march with the army and you need to be protected from the blades and arrows of our enemies,” Adar placed the breastplate on the chair next to the bed but you already stood up, all ready to wear it and see for yourself.

He assisted you in putting it on and you had no mirror to see how you looked, so you had to rely on his opinion on it.

“And?” You asked, excitedly.

“I think it fits you well, my Lady,” Adar nodded and you smiled widely at him. “And I see the gifts do please you.”

“Of course they do. So far, the books have been my weapons, but this feels quite empowering,” you admitted and tried to get a glimpse of your appearance in the reflection of your dagger’s blade.

Sauron had only been gifting you jewellery, dresses and nightgowns that later would end up torn or cut up with this very dagger. Sometimes, he had given you a book when he had wanted you to study it for him to help him expand his knowledge. And as much as you loved being spoiled and worshipped by him in this way, you also found it very dignifying to receive gifts of this sort from your husband.

“I want my wife to be respected not only because of being my spouse but because of who she is on her own. I want the whole Middle-earth to see the Dark Lady that you are,” Adar confessed in the Quenya language while he stood behind you and you felt his hands on your hips as he leaned in to whisper into your ear. You watched his distorted reflection in the blade of your dagger and in that moment, you swore, you truly wanted him and it scared you because it could mean that it was not Sauron whom you loved but the promise of power he had been presenting you with.

You felt the small amount of pain from squeezing the blade too tightly and it brought you back to reality. You shook these thoughts off and took a deep breath in. Of course you loved Sauron – you loved everything about him. Every inch of you craved and missed him to the point that you ended up caressing the hilt of the dagger for the whole night long, trying to feel the remains of his fingertips.

You have observed the fire of the burning villages from the Ostirith’s watchtower but now you were experiencing the Orcs’ havoc for the first time personally, walking into burning Tirharad alongside your husband. Dead human bodies scattered under your feet while the rooftops of the houses burnt as the Orcs kept destroying everything on their way as if they were in a frenzy, chanting the word nampat. 

You were wearing your new breastplate over your black dress and you had the dagger attached to it on your hip in case you needed it but there were no humans around anymore even though they had to fight bravely since the ground was also full of the dead bodies of the Orcs.

You were careful with your steps and it felt as if you watched the scene in slow motion – in a way, you were alone in the middle of this small hell. You let Adar walk past you as your own pace slowed down. Those were the lands your father had been the guardian of. Now they were burning and you only watched.

No, you didn’t just watch. You participated in it. You had brought death to the village of Tirharad.

“Is that what you wish to be?” You joined your husband’s side again. “The King of ashes?” You asked.

“I do not wish to be a King,” he remarked, “and my children do prefer the ashes.”

You joined the Orcs that were trying to get inside the tavern where the remaining villagers seemed to be hiding and they had barricaded themselves. However, it was only a matter of time when the Orcs would finally be able to open the wooden doors.

You felt a thrill of anticipation and excitement when they succeeded. You were not quite sure what was the item your husband was seeking – as much as he trusted you with some things and had even shown you the crown of Morgoth, he also kept some information hidden from you.

You took a step ahead but Adar’s hand stopped you from walking further by taking you by your wrist as the Orcs ran inside, attacking the villagers.

“Do not rush, my Lady,” he scolded you gently. “Let my children take them over first. You would make an easy target,” he pointed out and even though his words hurt your pride a little, you knew he was right and he had only done it to protect you.

You nodded your head at him and you waited a moment before Adar let go of your hand and walked inside the tavern. You could hear how quiet it got and you understood why since he had that effect on people. You took a deep breath in and straightened your back before following him, ready to face all those humans and make your appearance as Adar’s Dark Lady for the first time in public.

But when you walked inside, there was only one person that you could keep your eyes on as you gasped quietly at the sight of him. He was being held by two Orcs and his eyes widened at the sight of you, too.

“Arondir…” You whispered his name. “I thought you were dead,” you admitted.

He had not returned from one of his scouting missions and that had been one of many such cases lately when the Orcs had overtaken these lands. You all had mourned him already in Ostirith and you personally had been very sad about him in particular because you considered him to be one of your closest friends inside the fortress.

“My Lady…” Arondir was clearly confused to see you like this. “I thought the same of you when we watched Ostirith fall,” he admitted. “I have mourned you.”

“And I have mourned you, old friend,” you nodded at him and you stood next to Adar. You finally looked at the other faces and they kept staring at you with terror.

They knew you. You did not know them but they knew about you. Your father had been no King but he had been the protector and the guardian of these lands and you were his only daughter – a beautiful Elven maiden walking around the forests or riding her horse through this realm, sometimes talking to its habitants on the way. You were a part of their stories and myths, their songs and their legends and in their eyes you were a Princess. 

Now, they could not comprehend why you were standing next to the man who was the very reason of their doom.

However, no one dared to ask any question. Not even Arondir and you just knew he had to be dying of curiosity to know what had happened. Just like you were pretty curious to find out why he had never made it back to Ostirith, which seemed to had been his own choice.

In the meantime, after observing your interaction with Arondir, Adar approached him slowly, staring at your friend with the most intensity.

“What I seek. Give it to me,” Adar said in the Quenya language. 

“Let them go. I will consider it,” Arondir answered in the same speech and no trace of fear was spotted upon his face. You knew that your husband would not get whatever he wanted easily because you knew Arondir and you were aware of his stubborn and courageous nature. You were afraid it would lead him to his death now and that was the loss you would grieve surely, especially after witnessing it with your own eyes.

Suddenly, you started to think that, perhaps, being this kind of woman – who would stay behind and wait… Perhaps it would be better. Perhaps Sauron had been protecting your innocence and your fragility when he had not been taking you with him anywhere. Perhaps he had not wanted anything else except for him to corrupt you.

Adar nodded his head at the Orcs and the ones who had human villagers at the ends of their blades began to use their weapons and kill these poor people.You tried your best to remain unbothered by it but your heart pounded inside of your chest. You could see some of the people who were exclaiming in fear were also looking up to you to help them but you could not. You could not risk this fragile thread of trust that connected you with your husband.

And, unfortunately to them, no human life was worthy enough for you to risk ruining your plans to help Sauron in the end of all of this. They had to die, so the greater thing could emerge from it later. The Dark Lord who would heal all Middle-earth. Their sacrifice would be the most appreciated then.

“Why sacrifice their life for such a little thing?” Adar asked and in that moment once again you were confused by how cruel this man could be – the very same man who refused to touch you just to make sure everything between you two was consensual.

That made you feel special.

More people kept dying and Arondir screamed in anger into Adar’s face, then he looked at you, awaiting any reaction but there was none even though your eyes had to betray you a little bit and show some pain.

“Arondir, please,” you stepped in. “Just cooperate,” you tried to reason with him. “For the sake of our friendship.”

“I am no friend of yours!” Arondir spat out and even though his reaction was the most understandable, it stung your heart and angered you. 

You had never been able to handle rejection very well. The pain and compassion in your eyes turned into rage in a very brief moment. Sauron had always found your mood switches of this sort very endearing.

Adar turned around and spotted a wounded woman laying down with the blade pressed to her neck. She was oddly calm in the middle of this bloody chaos.

“The woman next,” Adar ordered and these three words seemed to have a very strong effect on Arondir. He screamed and grunted, trying to get out as the Orcs holding him struggled to keep him steady.

“No!” Some young boy shouted, most likely that woman’s son.

But you focused on Arondir as you smirked. So, it was love that had kept him away from Ostirith. It was love that had caused him to not come back. And it was love for a human to make it even more romantic in the cheapest way.

You had always heard stories of the Elves falling for the humans but you had never understood any of them. Why would any Elf fall for a creature so weak…? You were quite the opposite – you loved a Maia; nearly a God – and you often wondered what he had seen in you… a common Elf.

“Wait!” The young boy shouted at the Orc who raised his hand to strike the final blow upon the woman’s neck.

“No!” Arondir screamed at the boy and you raised an eyebrow.

“It’s under here,” the boy confessed, desperate to save his mother and Arondir looked at him with terror in his eyes. “It’s under here.”

“No…” Arondir whispered at this betrayal.

“Elves do love differently than humans,” you explained to the boy. “He might love your mother but he will still sacrifice her – and this whole village – for this one magic item,” you pointed out with mockery. “He does not understand why none of this matters to you. You just want to save your mother, am I right, boy?” You asked him and approached him as Arondir shot you a deadly glance.

But, in a way, you did not have to fake much of that compassion towards the boy. You knew what it was like to love your mother and to try to save her no matter the cost.

The boy nodded at you and you nodded at the Orc standing behind him to let him go. So he did and the boy grabbed the tool that would help him to get to the item.

“Theo!” Arondir called his name.

“I’m sorry,” the boy named Theo whispered and pried one of the stones that the floor of the tavern was made of.

Arondir kept grunting and trying to get out of the Orcs’ hold but they were stronger than him. Adar crouched down to get the small thing covered in dirty rags out of the hole under the stone as you stood above him and looked down with curiosity. When he opened it, a sword’s hilt was revealed and it had been forged in the same fashion as Sauron’s dagger or Morgoth’s crown. You could feel its dark magic as an ominous feeling sent a shiver down your spine.

Then, the loud rumbling reached your ears and you all furrowed your brows at the sound. You realised it was coming from the many horses going your way from afar. Someone was coming with an army to help the people of Tirharad.

You were scared at first. Scared of such a quick defeat. If it was an army of the Elves, your whole scheme would be over before it had even started. On the other hand, considering the fact you had been married to Adar for a few days, you could still save yourself by putting on a show of sobbing and explaining to the High King how much your awful father had been forcing you to become a part of this union. Perhaps he would believe you but you were scared of Gil-galad the most because he was so pure and made of such strong light that he would surely see through you immediately.

In such a case, it was very beneficial that your marriage at least had not been consummated.

Adar grabbed you by the sleeve of your dress and walked you out of the tavern. You could sense he was nervous as well and you two nearly bumped into Glûg standing in front of the building, anxiously waiting for his Lord Father to tell him the worrying news.

“The army is coming, Lord Father. We do not know yet who–” he started.

“I have a task for you,” Adar ignored him as he turned around to face you and Glûg shut his mouth as he looked down.

“What is it?” You asked, trembling slightly. The rumbling sound coming from the distance was growing louder as your anxiety was rising.

“You will go back to Ostirith and use your blood to extend the sword. There is a crevice – you know which one; Ostirith was your home. You have to insert the sword inside and twist it,” Adar handed you the hilt, still covered in the dirty rags.

You took it from him but you were out of words as you kept staring at him. He had to be desperate to give you out of all people such a task.

“That will open the dam,” you shook your head. “I do not understand.”

“Do it,” Adar insisted and clenched his jaw, staring at you intensely. “This way, you get to finish what I started and you get to be safe, away from the battlefield. You have no time to lose. Glûg will go with you,” he looked at at the Orc. “Look after my wife, Glûg.”

The Orc nodded at you, visibly proud of the job he was given.

You were still unsure of the whole thing, clenching the sword hilt covered in rags in your hands but you saw an opportunity of getting out of danger that was coming. However, when you looked at Adar, you realised it could be the last time you were seeing him alive and for some reason it made you sad a little bit. He was a mysterious man and you hoped to get to know some of his secrets before you would get back with Sauron.

“Are you sure you trust me with such a task?” You asked. He looked like it was a very important job to do and he cared deeply about it being done properly.

“I do not have many I can trust,” he only said.

“Clearly,” you answered and took a deep breath in before looking at Glûg. You nodded at him and you both ran away as fast as possible towards the woods.

MASTERLIST

[niniane17]

I mentioned it in the tags earlier, but I feel this deserves a post.

This may be a bit of an unpopular opinion, but I really liked that Adar chose not to reveal his Elf name. Sure it is a bummer that we won't ever know, but I loved it so much that I don't care. Adar's refusal to tell his old name symbolizes his rejection of his old Elvish identity in favor of his new one.

It's not like he doesn't remember being an Elf -he clearly does! He remembers his name and his old language and his old face! And he still rejected them! He could have kept the ring for himself, and tried to buy his way into the Elves again, but he didn't. He put on the ring, saw what it had to offer him, what the Elves (NOT Sauron) had to offer him, and he said "thanks, but no thanks". Why did he reject the power of the Elves, again? To stay an Orc. Sorry, an Uruk.

This is an incredibly powerfuI and brave decision from the show: it would have been easy to tie Adar's healed look into a "redemption" in which he immediately loathed his past as an Orc, especially since the show chose to use the idea that Orcs are descended from corrupted/tortured Elves. But they didn't! I will always love the show for this alone.

In a world where Elves are seen as the Best of the Best and Orcs as the lowest of the low, he chose the latter, not out of self-hatred or a shallow sense of power, but out of pride, honor and yes, even love. He loves being an Uruk, and he loves his children as Uruks. He's not trying to turn them into Elves, like a reverse Morgoth. He just wants a home for them, where they can live in peace. He clearly believes this is possible. And, for a while, they do too.

It is no accident he started to lose them the moment he began acting like Sauron, treating them as pawns and things to be sacrificed for his revenge. That doesn't excuse the Orcs' betrayal (like guys, come on!!!) but it does explain it -if they are going to be treated like shit, they may as well be treated like shit by the most powerful guy around, so they resorted to what they know best: backstabbing.

You know, I was going to make a joke about how the Orcs can't handle Daddy having a bad day, but then I realized it's not a joke at all -they literally can't! They never had a leader like that before! So they panicked and chose the old familiar pain Sauron represents. The curse of abusive cycle strikes again.

This is why Adar's death is so tragic: he was killed like Sauron was, but, unlike him, he sincerely wanted the best for the Orcs, or, at the very least, didn't want them to be slaves. The worst thing is that, as far as canon goes, this is be the last time someone truly stands up for them, and the Orcs will subsequently in enslavement for thousands of years.

RIP again king. You shall be missed.

(Also he and Galadriel should have kissed at some point and the ring scene between the two is clearly a marriage proposal but that's beside the point)

[darklinaforever]

The antis are ridiculous. I'm supposed to believe that Sauron wouldn't miss Galadriel if she ever died ? Especially if it was him who ended her life ? (Even if, if I think he would be able to try, he will never really manage to do it, the rest of the show will tell us) If Sauron ever succeeded in killing Galadriel, it is obvious that he would regret it and would be emotionally affected and would be sad. We're talking about the guy who pined for Galadriel for the majority of season 2, who didn't want to hurt her, who wants to heal her, who seems dejected at having once again failed to get Galadriel to come over to his side, while she also finds herself between life and death. And even if, yes, he suspects that she will survive, that still means he should probably be worried. Especially since he seems to be observing her when she wakes up according to the visuals, as if an eye was observing her. (And to think that he is observing her at that moment is quite ridiculous, because if we follow the logic of the visual, he also observed Galadriel when she was found by Elrond etc, so must know that Elrond is the one having Nenya for the moment and that he will heal Galadriel with it. So, to say that Sauron observes Galadriel at the end of season 2 when she simply wakes up for Nenya is quite... ridiculous) And by the way, Sauron is also the guy who cries when Adar talks about their first meeting. So, if he is capable of this kind of emotions for an old friendship, why not for the woman with whom he shares a cosmic connection and with whom he is in love ? A little common sense.

[butterflydm]

rings of power s2, eps 3-4

I am tracing the lines of Sauron's return in my head. Gil-galad tells Elrond in s1 that part of the reason he sent Galadriel away is because he believes that her staying will fan to life the very evil that she chases.

Is the blight of the tree something that happens because Sauron is strong to have his own body again? The stronger he gets, the more the tree rots.

If so, just like I suspect will happen with the dwarves, the rings of power hold back Sauron's own... perhaps inadvertent entropic influence on the world (because he didn't actively make the volcano poison the roots of the mountain, or at least it doesn't seem so. He's happy to take advantage of it, of course, but Adar is the one who blew open the mountain).

Or is the tree rot meant as a sign to the elves that their time in Middle-Earth is ended? And they simply don't want to listen, because they want to stay? That was Durin IV's argument to his son last season -- it's time for the elves to admit that this season of their life is over. Winter always comes; the fire always comes.

Unless I'm forgetting something, I don't think the elves knew why the tree was rotting at any point.

The rings work. It's important that they work. It's important that promises be kept, because that's the mechanism through which Sauron's influence spreads. In order for the temptation of power to remain... tempting, the power has to work. Otherwise, the system breaks down (the mistake that Sauron made with Adar & the orcs in the flashback of s1 - he made it clear that everything he was doing was for his own selfish purposes, that he was doing it to be seen as the savior of the world. he didn't show them what was in it for them, because it wasn't about them) and resistance builds in response. And note that he doesn't have to actually sell himself during any part of this process -- he points to the evidence that the elven rings are working as the proof that is needed to show that rings would help the dwarves.

But Sauron himself is also the embodiment of the warning that Galadriel gives in LotR to Frodo about what would happen if she took the ring -- his intentions might genuinely be to 'heal Middle-Earth' but his method is through enforcing his will on others, whether that be through subtle means (his preference) or more violently (if Plan A doesn't work). And we were just told by Cirdan in ep2 that this is exactly how the elven rings work -- they force your will into the world and make your desires manifest, influencing others. It might start small, like forcing a fish to flop onto a rock as part of a demonstration, but as you get used to that much power at your fingertips, it is easier and easier to push the line. Especially if you believe yourself to be so wise and fair that you (and you alone) can be trusted with such power.

Note: I am not giving Sauron all the credit here! It was definitely made clear in s1 that the mithril does have properties that keep the light from fading for the elves. That's real and true. But Halbrand is the one who 'saved' the project by figuring out a way to amplify the teeny-tiny amount of mithril they had into something powerful enough to save all the elves from needing to leave. And it's that amplification system that is the danger.

But, yes, the power is real but the control of that power becomes Sauron's once it gets bound up in the method that he designed.

episode 3: Vindication!

Annatar insisted on touching the mithril before it went into the alloy for the dwarven rings. Halbrand picked up and examined the mithril when he first poked around in Celebrimbor's forge back in 1x8. That's how he puts his whispering into the rings! I said he'd still influenced the elven rings even though he didn't make them himself, and this shows how he did that.

It was strange not seeing Galadriel for a whole episode. I think this is the first time. But this episode was very focused on mortal Men and on the dwarves, and on the crafting of the dwarven rings.

One of the orcs was talking to Adar and worried that Adar was gearing up to send them after Sauron and a hill-troll showed up that Adar had requested and he'd... he'd killed the orc messenger who was sent to him and brought his head with him. And since I know how the season ends for Adar, I can't help but notice that the orcs are, you know, kinda unhappy that Daddy A is going on a vendetta against this Sauron guy that none of them actually seem to remember as anything but a story that Adar tells them (idk how long Orcs live, but not as long as elves, I'm guessing?). And now Adar is calling on new allies that are already costing orcs their lives, while the orcs are saying to him, "um, hey, we have this sunless land to ourselves, maybe we should quit while we're ahead and not go chasing after the rumors of this Sauron fellow?"

Sauron dropped a pebble into the pond in the first episode and the ripples are moving outward. I suspect Adar is going to become increasing obsessed with chasing Sauron down, and not notice that his 'children' are growing unhappy with his leadership.

I liked Isildur's plotline, and the moments that he shared with and around Theo were really sweet. I felt bad for the girl that he'd met -- I guessed before they confirmed it that she'd taken Adar's brand to save her life. Poor kid. The survivors' guilt for all the mortal Men was so strong in this episode.

Arondir's attempt to give advice to Theo was poorly-received, but I found it fascinating because: a. it is good advice tbh and b. it's the opposite of Galadriel's feelings on the same subject. There's a reason that Galadriel was able to bond so successfully in the brief time she had with Theo, I think, and why he was more receptive to her. For Galadriel, revenge is the thirst that cannot be quenched by seawater. For Arondir, he cautions against following that thirst at all, for it never gets fulfilled no matter what. Arondir is definitely changed by Bronwyn's death and it makes it clear that he will never forget her but he does not want to lose himself in anger. Big contrast to our Galadriel, who let her anger and grief drive her entire life for centuries.

"Elven memory does not dim" - this makes me think of how several of the things that they had Halbrand say to Galadriel are words that Galadriel says in LotR. A big part of her finally passing her test and turning down the temptation of the One Ring uses the exact same words that Sauron used when he originally tried to tempt her to join with him and become his queen. All those centuries later, she remembers precisely what he offered her.

The idea of binding and being bound came up again here. After I get caught up on the show, I'm going to do my best to see if I can track down some meta & analysis for the show (though tumblr search functions make that difficult). Here, Isildur talks about feeling as though he is bound to try to do something singular and important with his life, in order to earn the fact that his mother died saving him. Galadriel and Halbrand/Sauron also talked a lot about binding in s1. And Adar claimed "only blood can bind."

So, yeah. There's a lot there.

The Numenor plotline made me sad. Things are going really depressing in Numenor these days. Miriel still has the best outfits, though. She's got style. But, man, Elendil and Miriel have depressing lives right now!

We saw the current limits of Annatar's influence here -- Celebrimbor pushes back against him when it's a subject that he's certain he knows better (the temperment of the dwarves) and Annatar isn't able to find any emotional keys into influencing Durin's behavior. But Durin wasn't there alone -- Disa was also there, and so she was able to exert influence on Durin where Annatar's own words failed. We already saw last season that Disa urges power and ambition on her husband, so her being more open to Annatar's influence makes sense, imo.

My mom was unhappy that there was no Stranger & Harfoots this episode! She missed them a lot! The Bronwyn stuff made her sad but also kinda vindicated in how she had pointed out during the episode when Bronwyn was injured that she should not have been up and about with the wound that she'd received.

episode 4: Ancient evils awakening due to Sauron's increasing influence in the world. That potentially supports the idea that the blight of the tree was caused by him growing powerful enough to take on a form again. Or is he deliberately awakening the evils? I am uncertain.

I was so excited to see Ents in this episode! And I notice that the Entwives have not yet been lost. I was hoping when Theo was snatched at the end of the episode that this would mean Ents (because it reminded me of when Merry and Pippin were snatched up in the movies).

I loved the scene with Adrondir talking to the Entwife and promising her that they would keep the wood here untouched. Arondir and Bronwyn were our genuine 'hero' couple last season (to contrast against our ambitious and prideful and vengeful Galadriel and Halbrand -- love them but, you know. it's true) and I really am curious how the show might have leaned into that relationship contrast if Bronwyn's actress had stayed with the show. Because Bronwyn was a healer (the hands of the king are the hands of a healer) and Arondir was so moral that he would have let even Bronwyn die to keep the shadow hilt out of Adar's hands.

Missed my evil boy boo in this episode, but I had Galadriel back, so we will say that the scales are balanced.

So... what do I think is going on with Galadriel's ring? If the visions are from Sauron, that means he wants to her to come to Eregion. Not too quickly or too hastily, or he would not awaken dangers to block her path, but he wants her there.

The ring warned her about the danger of the southern path -- an honest warning, I think (as we did run into the barrow-wights). Like I said above, the rings genuinely do work... it's just that I think Sauron is also influencing them to a certain extent. Like... I know what that black crown is used for at the end of the season! It's one of the scenes I've seen in gifs! In two of the visions, we've heard his voice calling her name, and one of the other visions was literally him standing in Eregion with the tower in full view over his shoulder.

Galadriel was able to give the ring to Elrond, but he wasn't happy about it. Elrond said that he thought Galadriel's actions were about trying to protect the ring (from the orcs/Adar?).

Speaking of, it's time for the Galadriel capture arc! Excited to get into that, which I know a little bit about.

I was interested by the whole Estrid x Isildur + Estrid's betrothed thing, though mainly because I was getting some odd Galadriel & Sauron vibes from them after Isildur felt so betrayed after he learned that she was someone who had sworn to Adar. Nothing really specific. Just vibes. Also the whole "I have a missing betrothed off somewhere but will have sexual tension with you until he shows up" was... yeah. Vibes, idk.

I am not Tom Bombadil's biggest fan, but I did think he was well used here and not anywhere near as annoying as I find him in Fellowship, lol. In fact, there were times when he was maybe even somewhat charming. Like with the lamb. And Gandalf was cute in those scenes as well.

I found the story of the Stoor/Harfoot separation and journey very touching! I'm guessing that the Stoors & Harfoots will found The Shire together, maybe at the end of the series. The first Harfoots wandered off in search of a vision that sounds a lot like the Shire, but as they wandered, they forgot the point of their wandering, until all they were was the wandering.

My mom was happy to see the Ents and liked Arondir's scene with them but wonders how Arondir can keep his promise about the forest remaining untouched. She speculated that maybe he would become a ranger (like Aragorn is in the future). I like it!

And since I'm talking about Aragorn anyway... a couple of thoughts.

Lost kings. We have the 'lost king of the Southlands' - a corrupted version of Aragorn in a lot of ways! Sauron wants to heal Middle-Earth but because of his desperate need to control people, he is unable to heal anything. Meanwhile with Aragorn, "the hands of the king are the hands of a healer". Aragon is humble vs Sauron being prideful. A servant of his people vs a tyrant.

And we have Thorin Oakenshield, who falls between the two of them. Like Sauron, he is filled with pride and the desire for vengeance. But he comes, in the end, to a place of humility and of understanding the value of the simplicity of life, and the wastefulness of greed and war.

[thephoenixandthecrocodile]

Things I love about Season 2 of Rings of Power So Far – in no particular order

1. The entire beginning of episode 1

a. Love Sauron in his fair form off his game and a little shaken

b. Love Adar growing increasingly fed up with Sauron’s bullshit

c. Love the Ides of March moment

d. Love goo Sauron – love his little sigh. That’s me every morning when I wake up

2. Love that Sauron was always a shit and stole the badge instead of saving that guy

3. Love the Elrond-Galadriel brother-sister dynamic and poor Gil-galad caught in the middle

4. Love the Ahhh! Gil-Galad lets out when hearing that Sauron is back

5. Love Elrond jumping off the cliff. Worked for Mom (kinda) should work for me

6. I really want whatever the hell Cirdan is on

a. Also Ben Daniels is AMAZING!

7. Love that Gil-Galad gets to shine more as the grumpy, sassy, weary elf-king this season. Also love that no one is letting Galadriel get away with her bullshit from last season (and I loved Galadriel last season). Actions has consequences, even for elves.

8. YOU HAD ONE JOB, CIRDAN!

9. Why does no one ever listen to Elrond?

10. Sam Hazeldine is doing an amazing job with a tough job. I will always love Joseph Mawle’s take on Adar and he’ll always be MY Adar, but Sam is going an amazing job taking all the groundwork laid by Mawle and then adding his own spin

11. I know the internet is losing its mind over Orc families, but I LOVE the complication these writers are adding to the Orc lore (as well as Sauron’s arc). Even in Return of the King, the Orcs were shown to have their own personalities and weren’t exactly excited about attacking Gondor again. Even in Two Towers, we see the different personalities of Uruk-hai and the Morder Orcs, so it only makes sense to flesh that out further. It adds such an amazing dimension to Adar’s character and the Orcs he cares for and makes us realize that nothing in Tolkien’s world is black and white.

a. Also, also, I love that these writers embrace the fact that Elves are not impartial and they’re hypocritical bastards haha. Of course, they say dwarves and men are covetous and can’t be trusted. Of course, Orcs are irredeemable. To suggest otherwise would jeopardize their own world view. And the Elves have never been covetous or committed genocide for stupid gems. Nope, not ever.

b. Also, also, also love the idea that the Orcs are doomed because they’re convinced Eru will never forgive them, even if they were to ask for it. Such an interesting dilemma to add to the lore. I mean even Sauron considered asking for forgiveness but didn’t because of his pride. If the Valar forgave Morgoth once, and potentially considered pardoning Sauron, who says they wouldn’t forgive the creatures he and Morgoth twisted/corrupted/made?

12. Love Sauron “befriending” the warg. See even the Dark Lord likes dog.

13. Goodbye Waldreg, no one will miss you.

14. Who knew Benjamin Walker had such a nice voice?

15. I’m so surprised Elrond didn’t just completely lose it and go all rabid animal when Cirdan brought back the rings.

16. It’s so funny that this version of Galadriel gets a ring of power. Out of all the Elves to get one, she’s on the bottom of my list. At least make sure she’s Sauron free first.

17. DISA YOU ARE MY QUEEN AND GODDESS!!!

18. LOVE the dwarves.

19. “You don’t have to make this harder than it already is” YES I DO BITCH BECAUSE YOU’RE BEING A STUBBORN GOAT

20. Love that Disa can call out both her father-in-liaw (and king) and her husband for being jackasses

21. Also Durin III stop being a jackass and go apologize to your son, right now

22. Resonating is still so fucking awesome

23. Love the agricultural in Khazad dum

24. I know I was the odd man out because I didn’t mind the Harfoots last season, but I really adore the Stranger’s relationship with Nori.

25. I REALLY hope the Stranger is a blue wizard, but either way I love how Daniel Weyman plays a wizard. And it’s nice he can talk this season and we get a sense of his humor and sass.

26. “Further, Nori” *sigh of exasperation*

27. I have no idea who the hell this evil wizard is nor who the hell his moth minions are, but I love them. They’re so weird.

28. This guy better NOT be Saruman. -_-

29. Poppy! My lesbian Harfoots are reunited!

30. Celebrimbor *sigh* oh, Celebrimbor

31. Elrond “sand the anger away, Sand the anger away.”

32. LOVE the look Galadriel gives Elrond when he calls her out about NOT being manipulated. “He gave you everything you wanted”. True, but also damn, haha.

33. Seriously, I NEED whatever drug Cirdan is smoking.

34. Also love how in this show “yeah, let’s give the rings a try. What’s the worst that can happen” and in LOTR it’s “NO! DO NOT TRUTST THE RING! DESTROY IT ASAP”

35. I can’t believe Halbrand made it rain just so he can look more like a pathetic cat

36. Ok, that umbrella is ridiculous and super impractical.

37. Celebrimbor, honey, the whole “I won’t stay where I’m not wanted” is the oldest trick in the manipulator’s handbook.

38. I love the rollercoaster Celebrimbor goes on as Halbrand “confesses” that he’s not really a man. The utter confusion but also concern, like “my god is this man having a mental breakdown in my forge? And right when I was about to open a bottle of first age wine. Where’s Galadriel when I need her? She should be taking care of her pet human, not me.”

39. NOT THE FIRST AGE WINE!!!

40. I LOVE the reveal of Annatar. It was so over the time and beautiful and so religious. No notes. Absolutely perfect.

41. I was never on team silvergifting, but this show has converted me.

42. Also Charlie Vickers and Charles Edwards are giving their ALL in these scenes

43. Love that Celebrimbor is like “ew, no, we can’t give men rings” but when Annatar tells him that Gil-Galad “doesn’t trust the dwarves” Celebrimbor takes it so personally. Like I think it’s because he’s annoyed with Gil-Galad and he wants to control his own forge, but it also sounds like he’s offended that Gil-Galad would insult his new dwarf buddies (who helped him build the new forge to begin with).

44. Durin proving himself the wisest of all peoples (not just dwarves) when he calls Annatar out on his bullshit

45. “Elrond would never say such nice things about me.”

46. Also love all the clever insults and phrases the dwarves have.

47. I’m still very angry with Durin III but I felt that line, “Miner’s punches hurt” “Just wait until your children grow up.”

48. ALSO, Durin III you bastard, your son tells you he DOESN’T trust the rings and you decide, “yeah, let me try out these rings” -_-

a. Also, yes, Celebrimbor and Annatar fucked before, during, and after making the dwarven rings.

49. Oh, Isildur, you disaster child.

a. Again, I might be in the minority here, but I LOVE what they’re doing with Isildur’s character – the perpetual screw-up, the one who tries so hard but can’t do anything right, the character who’s constantly trying to prove himself in a family that is already overly impressive. Makes his final fate just that more tragic.

50. Spider babies. Spider babies. Spider babies.

a. Reminded me of the facehugger birthing scenes from the Aliens franchise for some reason.

51. Super Berek! Here to save the day

52. So, I guess all the men in Aragorn’s bloodline were saved by their horses at least once. Good to know.

53. LOVE the entire ridiculous exchange between Isildur and Estrid.

54. God damn it, Isildur, don’t go to the funeral, save Berek!

55. ☹ Poor Arondir. RIP Bronwyn.

56. Fucking Theo

57. God damn it Arondir, maybe look around next time before telling one kid his family will be reunited in front of the one kid who’s lost his entire family XD

58. “Men can’t build things like that” ☹

59. So, Theo is going to be Isildur’s right hand man and/or will be a ringwraith, right?

60. Operation rescue Berek!

61. Ents? Are those Ents?

62. MIRIEL MY OTHER GODDESS AND QUEEN!!!

63. My brother and I when that woman slapped Miriel: “OFF TO JAIL WITH YOU!”

64. Fucking Earien. Kemen is soooo not worth it

65. Fucking Pharazon.

a. ALSO, love how the writers captured men’s creepy behavior around women in power, especially if they’re “not perfect”. Like when Miriel’s father was alive Pharazon was somewhat respectful around her, but my god that scene in her bedroom? So disgusting and creepy. AND fucking Kemen, “she was blinded while fighting Orcs and surviving a massive eruption. She can’t be queen now” Bitch you couldn’t even sabotage a handful of boats by yourself.

66. Also, also, I know everyone loves Haladriel, but can we talk about the other idiotic couple pining over each other: Elendil and Miriel? Love their dynamic sooooo much.

67. Ok Miriel’s coronation dress is GORGEOUS!

68. That poor eagle was so fucking confused. Like I came here for Miriel, not sure what you all are doing. Ok, this is awkward, I’m flying away now.

[greenleaf4stuff]

I'm showing my freak I know (I ship them sorry), but Adar was so gentle with Elrond even when he "choked" him? He wasn't crushing his windpipe, he didn't press hard enough because Elrond wasn't gasping for air when Adar threw him down.

Adar could have stabbed him, he could have slit his throat, but no, he sheathed his sword, disarmed Elrond, gently released his arm and slowly lifted him by grabbing his throat and forgetting about personal space.

Hi anon :) - and no worries, I ship them too tbh! The pairing is slowly growing on me. (So it's great to know there are others out there lol - we aren't all that many but we exist!)

I mean they are both not quite like the other elves, with Adar's past and him now being uruk, and Elrond being the descendant on Melian and half-elven. Plus the whole herald vs warrior, not-yet-fully-realised-leader vs seasoned leader, light vs dark etc. Their dynamic is just really interesting (even platonically).

Good point about Adar not cutting off Elrond's air flow - though I am not entirely sure, I mean Elrond *does* faint after Adar throws him down, but you are right about him not breathing heavily, I didn't even notice that before!

Also overall yes I agree - Adar could have done way more damage to Elrond in their confrontation. Especially when we see what he does to Arondir just before - he really made sure Arondir wouldn't be able to continue fighting him. And it would have been safer for him to do the same to Elrond, too! Either he was really sure of his victory at that point, or he didn't see the point of hurting Elrond more than neccessary. (Or he was saving his strength, but then again, the fight was already over so why bother?)

Plus, at that point, he likely either knew or strongly suspected that Elrond had helped Galadriel escape. So he'd have a very strong reason to be pissed at him, *and* it would have been easy to take that out on him in that situation. Instead he seems to see how broken Elrond already is and only just does what is neccessary to get the ring. He even lectures Elrond, which could be seen as mocking - or genuine, well-meaning advice.

So, yes, I agree, in a way he was 'gentle' in how he handled him, or as gentle as an uruk in the middle of a battle can be I suppose. I feel like he almost felt a bit of pity - "I told you this would happen, and yet here we are". It's a very interesting scene for sure.

Thank you for the ask/message! :) It's fun to analyse these scenes and try to see them from different perspectives/angles.

[apoloadonisandnarcissus]

Sauron’s Masterplan in Season 2

What could be Sauron’s intentions into shapeshifting into Elrond in 2x07? For the tent scene with Adar, and the following scene with the Orc and the horse. Context here.

First things first, him kissing Galadriel is a minor detail in all of this. Forget about the kiss, or the romantic subtext (shipping), and let’s concentrate on Sauron's masterplan. 

Celebrimbor 

Sauron, obviously, needs him to make his “rings of power” masterplan a reality. No doubts here.

Concerning Adar

Sauron planned the whole battle of Eregion, and he “planted the seeds” for it into Adar’s mind in 2x01. Because he wants Adar to assemble a huge army for him to take at the end (which is what happens in 2x08), and become Lord of Mordor. He also wants to take his revenge on Adar, while he’s at it.

Sauron’s plans for Galadriel

He also wants Galadriel at Eregion, as Elrond tells us in 2x02, and in the same episode Sauron sends her a vision of Celebrimbor in danger. I don’t think this had anything to do with Nenya, actually; it was Sauron’s doing to "plant the seeds" of her travelling to Eregion.

When Galadriel, Elrond & co are on their way to Eregion, Sauron controls the path they need to take (he destroys a bridge using lightning for them not to go that way). There are two others paths (both who are being watched by Sauron, as Elrond says).

Elrond: What other paths might we take? Camnir: To circumvent it, we shall either have to turn due north, adding two weeks to our journey... Elrond: Or? Camnir: We go south, through the Hills of Tyrn Gorthad. Which will get us to Eregion much faster. 

Elrond chooses to go south, to the Barrow-downs, where they will encounter the Barrow-wights who killed the Lindon soldiers carrying the message that Halbrand is Sauron. Galadriel advises against this, influenced by Nenya, and says that’s the road Sauron wants them to take, so they need to go north. Elrond, however, dismisses her warning.

But is it, really the path Sauron wants them to take? Because he wants Galadriel alive at the end of all of this, why would he want her to fall into a trap? One of the Barrow-wights even manages to take Galadriel, until Elrond saves her. 

Sauron wants Adar’s army at Eregion, and he needs Celebrimbor to forge the rings of power in the meantime. So, Galadriel arriving “faster” at Eregion wasn’t, probably, his idea, at all. Sauron, most likely, wanted her to take the longest road, and arrive after the rings of power were completed, and he had control over Adar’s army. 

Why? Because he wants Nenya, yes, but he also wants to bind himself to her, and harvest her "light" for himself, and keep Morgoth’s bounds at bay. This has been one of his goals ever since Season 1. And Tolkien tells us, in his letters, that Sauron still has good intentions as Annatar, and truly wants to rebuild and heal Middle-earth from Morgoth’s corruption.

Galadriel being taken captive by Adar wasn’t in his plans, either (which explains his reaction to “the body” in 2x06). And he grows impatient and restless once Adar’s armies show up at Eregion, also adding to the fact that Celebrimbor hasn’t finish the rings of power, yet. And he’s starting to “lose it”, as we saw in 2x07. Which isn't like him, at all.

Sauron's powers 

Sauron is a mastermind, a control freak, and a micro-manager villain who plans everything up front and is always ten steps ahead of every other character. He does have an insane amount of powers, but he doesn’t have the "gift of foresight"; he can’t see the future. And, so, he doesn’t know how things will actually turn out when he plants the seeds into other beings’ minds.  

And so, he needs to take matters into his own hands, every now and again. With Celebrimbor, he crafts a gigantic illusion to keep him locked at the forge tower for him to finish the rings of power, while the siege of Eregion begins. With Galadriel, he destroys a bridge to prevent her and her company from going that way.

Meanwhile, Celebrimbor discovers the truth, but Sauron still needs him to finish the Nine. Now, the Elven army arrives, and Adar wants to negotiate with Elrond, by luring him with Galadriel on a cage. We see Sauron looking at this scene from Eregion walls, while Celebrimbor is being taken away back to the forge tower by soldiers. But we, the audience, aren’t shown anything else from the mastermind behind this whole thing.  

“Eye of Sauron” is, among other things, exceptional eyesight. He can see everything (this power is not a “giant eye ball on the top of a tower” like in the Peter Jackson adaptation).

However, Saruman in “Fellowship of the Ring” does give a good description of the "Eye": "the lord of Mordor sees all. His gaze pierces cloud, shadow, earth, and flesh. You know of what I speak, Gandalf: a great Eye, lidless, wreathed in flame."

Sauron [...] a sorcerer of dreadful power, master of shadows and of phantoms, foul in wisdom, cruel in strength, misshaping what he touched, twisting what he ruled, lord of werewolves; his dominion was torment.  The Silmarillion

There’s a shadow above the two armies, while the Elven army is charging at a portion of the Orc army (because the Orcs are already attacking the walls, and trying to tear them down to infiltrate the city). Sauron is a master of shadows; who can weaponize and control them (and he does this several times in the legendarium), and he “shadow walks”: he uses shadow as a means of teleportation (and that’s how he was able to travel so fast from Eregion to Khazad-dûm to ask for more mithril).

Could Sauron pull this off? Could he conceal Adar and the Orc army from sight, right in front of Elrond's nose? Absolutely. One of his set of powers is world manipulation; Sauron can manipulate reality and the weather at will, and he can trick several characters at the same time. We already saw him doing this in Season 2. Once you understand this, all is fair game.

Why does Elrond stop charging, then? For any other reason other than Adar being in front of him, really.

Elrond meeting with Adar

Now, why would Sauron want to stop Adar and Elrond from meeting? It’s only because of Galadriel and to set her free? No. Because that's the least of his problems.

First of all, Sauron doesn’t know what Adar and Elrond will discuss in this meeting:

Sauron is aware Adar seeks a truce between Orcs and Elves; what guarantee does he have Adar won’t propose this and Elrond won’t accept?

What guarantee does Sauron have Elrond won’t make an alliance with Adar? Elrond could very well surrender Nenya to test Adar’s theory (Morgoth’s crown + Nenya to destroy Sauron);

Elrond and Adar could reach an agreement in stopping the attack on Eregion.

All of this would mean the ruin of Sauron’s masterplan. Not because Eregion wouldn’t get destroyed, but because, if Elrond was to side with Adar, even if temporarily, they would be able to enter Eregion without bloodshed and stop Celebrimbor from forging the Nine rings of power.

Because this is what Adar proposed to Galadriel in 2x06:

Adar: It is said the Three Elven Rings saved your kind from fading. Is it true?If it is, then perhaps together, this crown and your Rings would be powerful enough to truly destroy Sauron forever. The Deceiver believes he is still beyond my grasp. But I know he hides in Eregion. And I suspect you know for certain… Halbrand is Sauron. Isn’t he? The fate of that city now rests on your ability to put aside your pride. I suggest you find the will to do so. If you can.

Which Galadriel eventually accepts, later on:

Galadriel: As we speak, Elrond hastens from Lindon with an army of Elves. And Nenya, my Ring […] Once he arrives, he will seal off the city, loose Celebrimbor from Sauron’s grasp, and then together, Uruk, you and I will eradicate all trace of Sauron from this world. Never to return. Adar: And what then? Galadriel: Any Rings that have known his touch must be destroyed. Adar: I meant, what then for the Uruk? Will your High King permit us to return home in peace? Or will he proceed with his plans to invade Mordor?

And Sauron is aware of all of this. Would he risk Elrond and Adar meeting and reach an hypothetical agreement? And pretty much obliterate his entire masterplan? Because his plan is at risk if these two characters were to meet.

Then, Sauron also needs the two armies to fight outside of the city walls to gain himself more time, for Celebrimbor to finish the Nine. But he can't have the Dwarves joining in, and influences King Durin (via his ring of power) not to send aid. Sauron doesn’t want the walls to be breached just yet. Not until the Nine are complete.

All of this means that, from Sauron POV, Adar and Elrond can’t possibly meet nor make any sort of negotiations. And he has to do something about it. The logical conclusion is: Sauron shapeshifts into Elrond and goes to meet with Adar himself, to make sure his masterplan doesn't get wrecked.

And that's what happens in the "tent scene" in 2x07: there is no negotiation, the battle still goes on as planned, and he even manages to "plant the seeds" of discord among Orcs and Adar, for his next move in 2x08 (take the Orc army for himself). And he provides Galadriel with a means to escape, because he needs her, too.

Then we have this shot right here, after the tent scene, and while "Elrond" is leaving the Orc camp. Is this really Sauron or an illusion he crafted for Celebrimbor, to make him think he's right there, but he isn't? Because Sauron has the power to do this.

And that explains why the have this off-screen narrator, of showing Elrond leaving the Orc camp:

And so, he goes on to make sure the battle is to proceed, himself. Because Sauron wants the two armies to fight each other, instead of the Orc army to be focused on tearing down Eregion walls.  

Interestingly enough, this is exactly what “Elrond” tells Vorohil before sending him off to Khazad-dûm: Ride to them now. Meantime, I will ensure that Eregion's walls hold for one more night.

Which can, also, explain what Sauron is doing at the beginning of this scene: he has his eyes closed, as if he’s performing some sort of magic, but Celebrimbor is right there, working on the Nine, and so whatever Sauron is doing here is not meant for him.

We saw him performing something like this before, both in 2x06:

And when he meets Galadriel at the top of the hill in 2x08, he smiles. Because everything turned out in his favor, at the end. Adar is dead, the Orc armies are his, and Galadriel is there, to hand him over the rings of power, and to bind herself to him. I would even argue that Sauron knew and wanted Celebrimbor to give the Nine to Galadriel.

“Only blood can bind” (Adar; 2x05) 

And Galadriel is about to join him, until Nenya influences her otherwise, and she jumps off the cliff, to escape the situation. Which wasn’t in Sauron’s plans, either. And he realizes one of the rings of power resisted him. Him, their master and creator (he believed). And so, he needs to do something about it, too, in Season 3. Create a master-ring to control the lesser rings of power:

[rey-jake-therapist]

I just want to tell my fellow Haladriel fans one thing (spoilers ahead)

NO, don't blame yourselves for imagining that this relationship would be more complex and deeper than what we witnessed in episode 8. They gave this relationship big words such as, "cosmic connection" and "greater than romance". The second season showed Galadriel battling with her own feelings, on the edge of crying when Adar shared his own experience with Sauron, and admit that everything else was now "dull and grey". You didn't imagine this ! It all happened on screen !

Don't blame yourselves for thinking that Galadriel wouldn't straight out reject Sauron without having even a moment of hesitation : it was foreshadowed in the first episodes, through Gil-Galad and Elrond's words. Him pesting about the rings in two episodes, warning Galadriel against the possible implication of Sauron (who proved him right during the fight, by the way!) only to make a 180° at the last minute was certainly a choice, by the way, but that's another can of worms I won't open here.

Don't blame yourselves for believing that they had set up a complex character prone to temptation of power, who also misses the connection she thought she had with the man who manipulated her !There was nothing to warn us that Galadriel would suddenly cast all her doubts and feelings for Sauron away after just a two minutes conversation with Celebrimbor, or that Sauron only cared about his rings ; we saw him obsessed with Galadriel, it was clear as water !

That most of the script for season 2 was written before season 1 is not an excuse. These people said they had paid attention to the reactions to season 1... Well, now we know they've been reading Reddit.

Was it delusional to believe that we'd get a romantic kiss or Dark Galadriel following Sauron? Sorry, but yes. We weren't baited into believing that Galadriel and Sauron would ride off together under the sunset at any point, or even that they would admit being in love with each other.

But we were baited into believing that we wouldn't get a repeat of season 1. And yet, that's exactly what we got : Sauron (who displayed more genuine emotion after Celebrimbor's death than during this entire encounter) made his proposal again, Galadriel rejected him again, he took the piss again, and he stabbed her. Before that, he very awkwardly tried to sway her with a vision of Halbrand, but it was basically Annatar impersonating Halbrand really, and he disappeared in a second anyway, so... It could have just as well not been done. And it was all manipulation, anyway. Nothing genuine here. I found the sentence about putting a crown on her head and not resting until everyone worshipped very romantic ! Too bad it was ruined when he showed that now, he just wanted Nenya. It felt like something he used to feel, not something that he felt at the moment, which by the way is completely in line with Charlie told us in interviews. We should have listened to HIM, and no one else. Charlie spoiled the whole thing in interviews, we just were naive enough to believe that there was more to it. *Sigh*.

Don't blame yourselves for believing Charlotte Brandström when she said that "Sauron really loves Galadriel, and we'll see it at the very end". It's not your fault if you're not walking bullshit detectors !

Criticism is ok as long as it's constructive. Personnally, there's a lot of stuff I enjoyed about the Saurondriel scenes. The fight was awesome, they confirmed that Sauron used Nenya to communicate with Galadriel (when he repeated "aren't they the seeds you planted?") and probably stalk her as well.

I think Sauron didn't really want to kill Galadriel ; he wanted her to give him Nenya and would have healed her with it, I think. He could have just taken it by force and walked away with it, after all. That's another thing I like. But c'mon now, it was overall very underwhelming, and not a very good sign for what we'll get in season 3 for this relationship.

Just my two cents anyway. Don't feel bad, I swear it's not your fault if you believed we'd get a good and emotional finals.

[baddybaddyadardaddy]

Fanfic writer interview

Thanks for the tag, @niennawept!! (& answering under this blog since the VAST majority of my fic is Adar-related)

How many works do you have on AO3? 14, which feels insane to me.

What’s your total AO3 word count? 202,906, which again... feels insane. I'm pretty sure Adar is to blame for like, 195,000 of those words.

Your top 5 stories by kudos/likes:

Awake, Arise or Be For Ever Fall'n: My longest work, Adar's life story from his awakening at Cuivienen to the Battle of the Last Alliance. (Written and completed pre-S2, so his story after Orodruin erupts is, um, different than in the show canon. So technically it's a fix-it fic.)

sister golden hair: The Adar x Mirdania fic that I NEVER expected to write. This started as a ONE-SHOT and then exploded into an angst-riddled tale of accidental necromancy and Tolkienian zombies. Deus ex Mirdania!!!!

Son of the Darkness: The one-shot that started it all. The moment that my brain became fully unhinged. The original one-shot sketch of Adar's life story.

memories of dancing: A fic I wrote when I lost my mind temporarily pre-siege of Eregion episode premiere and decided to entertain the crack idea that Adar = Celeborn. No regrets.

Blood on My Name: Awwww... a throwback to the days when Kastle (Karen Page x Frank Castle from The Punisher) had taken over my brain. A little AU where a badly wounded Frank shows up at Karen's door in the middle of the night. Midnight MacGyver surgery FTW!

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I try! I have not been historically the best at this, partly because for awhile I didn't realize that that was what you were supposed to do. >.< Also sometimes I type responses out and my brain tricks me into thinking that I sound way too dumb so I abort mission. But I've been trying to be much better about it because yes, fandom should be a conversation and I'm so grateful for every comment I get!

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending? LMAO TAKE YOUR PICK, I AM THE CAPTAIN OF THE PAIN TRAIN. Honestly, though, I guess it depends on your definition of pain. I think Awake, Arise ended on a hopeful/Tolkienian note, so I actually wouldn't say that one. I think it might be "what law can lovers move," which was a little lyrical Turgon x Elenwe oneshot that I did, inspired by Orpheus and Euryidice. Those two hurt me so good.

What’s the fic you’ve written with the happiest ending? Mmmmm... I think "in the halls of awaiting," a companion ficlet to Awake, Arise from the POV of Erenyë, Adar's spouse in my canon, as she waits for him in the halls of Mandos. It was SUCH an angsty fic to write, but their reunion made it all better. That said, I DON'T REALLY DO OVERTLY HAPPY ENDINGS, SORRY.

Do you write crossovers? Nope.

Have you ever received hate on a fic? I don't think so.

Do you write smut? If so, what kind? I DIDN'T, AND THEN ADAR X ERENYE TOOK OVER MY BRAIN. "A Knife in the Dark" is the AU smutfest of Awake, Arise and I like to say that it's what happens when you don't let your characters fuck each other enough in the longfic.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Let's hope not.

Have you ever had a fic translated? Not yet!

Have you ever co-written a fic before? No... writing is kind of a solitary endeavor for me. I'd entertain editing, but probably not co-writing.

What’s your all-time favorite ship? I'm staring at this question going "why can I not think of an answer for this"? I mean this feels so self-promotional/self-indulgent to say, but I'm high-key obsessed with my OC Erenyë and I've definitely dedicated the most brain space to shipping her and Adar over the past two years. Turgon and Elenwe also have OTP status in my brain, as well as Kastle and SANSAN.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will? Mmmmm... I think maybe "Tides of Fate Onward Run"? I started this something like TEN YEARS AGO, and the basic idea was to tell the story of Gollum and his corruption by the ring through the POV of Nienna. It was a neat little exploration and I had intended it to be a way to explore a lot of the Valar headcanons I have. Maybe one day I'll get back to it...

What are your writing strengths? Mmm... I think maybe my canon adherence? For the most part that is my sweet spot with fic-- I like to craft stories that can fit very snugly into exisiting canon with few deviations. Especially with Awake, Arise, I wanted Adar's story to feel like it could have slipped right out of Tolkiens Silmarillion canon.

What are your writing weaknesses? Ugh I think sometimes I can slip into passive voice and I hate that. Also sometimes I feel like my descriptions are just way too flat and I can fall into "telling instead of showing."

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic? The only other languages I really use are Tolkien's... and I'm for it!

What’s a fandom/ship you haven’t written for yet but want to? Mmmm... well technically I have written for this ship, but I've never published publicly... and may never. It's Lalwen x Fingolfin. It's wrong. It's scandalous. It's a mess of feelings. There's extensive Helcaraxë angst/trauma involved. Don't @ me, they are so compelling to me. I'M UNREPENTANT, LOOK AWAY.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written? Awake, Arise! I'm so goddamned proud of that fic. I'd never actually completed anything novel length (fic-wise or original) before I wrote that fic. So that was a big deal for me to do as a writer. And I really felt like I told a damn story.

ANYWAY tagging @brynnmclean, @permanentlyexhaustedpigeon88 @mylovelylittleobsessions @clumsycopy and anyone else who wants to play!!!

[lassieposting]

ALSO. Also. I didn't pick up on this but apparently Sauron stabbed himself after the eruption so that he'd be taken to the elves for healing. And. Can we talk about a) how fucking risky that was for him and b) how much trust he lowkey would've needed to have in Galadriel to even try it

Like.

He's alone at the time, and Bronwyn says the Southlanders found him at the side of the road. The area is crawling with orcs who will attack villagers on sight. He looks like just another human, and he's just given himself a nasty injury. He's gambling on the hope that

He'll be found...

...by his own side...

...in no-man's-land...

...before he loses consciousness or an excessive amount of blood, thereby losing the ability to defend himself (assuming a human body comes with human limitations, which it does appear to: at the very least, we know Halbrand's body needs sleep when it is exhausted, even if the being inhabiting the body does not - Sauron sleeps on the raft, and in Eregion while the healers are working on him. So it doesn't seem like passing out or blood loss would be things he's immune to in this form).

And then, assuming he is found by the right people, he knows he'll be gambling again, this time that

Galadriel survived the eruption, and will make it safely back to the rendezvous where...

...Bronwyn won't be able to treat him, which she would absolutely do her best to do, so...

...Galadriel will insist he needs elvish care, which requires that...

...she has no doubts about Halbrand and cares about him enough to prioritise him over her orc genocide plans, and even then she'll have to keep him alive for a solid week of hard riding while he gets increasingly weaker and more delirious with infection.

Like. He already looks like he's in a bad way when she insists on taking him for elvish medicine - he looks feverish, he's obviously in pain, and Bronwyn says his wound is going septic. By the time they get to Eregion, he's barely staying on the horse, he's not able to walk unaided, they've had no rest at all so he's exhausted, and his injury has had like a week to fester. His human body, at that point, is probably going into or already in septic shock. He's put himself in a position where hes not only vulnerable, he's all but defenceless.

If she'd been harbouring any doubts at all about him and keeping them quiet, if she'd done her research and figured out he couldn't be who she thought he was - she could kill him, and she could do it easily.

And like. Sauron in general is a crafty, clever, strategic thinker. That's just who he is as a person. But this Sauron, at this point in his life, has only recently regained a physical body after being betrayed and "torn apart" by a trusted ally: Adar's attack was unexpected, which means he trusted Adar enough to have his guard down. He has every reason to be extra paranoid about his so-called friends. He has every reason to take extra precautions with his own safety, to avoid a repeat of that. He has every reason to be wary of the threat posed by not only Galadriel, but also everyone else involved in this plan - for example, the elven healers who might notice something amiss in how quickly his body will metabolize pain relief or antibiotics medical salves and take a closer look at him.

The only reason he'd have to gamble on a strategy this risky - especially when he'd have opportunities to reach out to Eregion further down the line as a neighbouring king - is sheer Trust In Galadriel. He must be completely confident that she will keep him safe, she'll make sure he gets the best care and that he gets it fast enough to save his physical form, and she won't tolerate any suggestion that he might not be who he says he is, and she'll defend him from any threats that might arise while he's incapacitated.

And like. Yes, in his mind that security probably comes in the rather egotistical form of believing he has her completely fooled and that she's come to care for Halbrand enough that all her focus will be on helping him, not looking for cracks in his story, but still. When was the last time he felt safe with someone? Safe enough to willingly put his life in their hands, and hinge his plan on them being motivated and able to save him?

With angbang, not since at least Melkor's defeat. Without, probably not since Melkor first got in his ear and started driving a wedge between him and Aulë. Possibly, never at all.

Idk. Like my favourite interpretation of the Mystery Stab Wound is still that he put an immense amount of Maia power behind shielding the area (with this being the only reason anyone, his own physical form included, survived being swallowed up by fucking pyroclastic flow) and that effort distracted him enough for someone to shove a sword through him, but still. I'm having feelings anyway.

[jadehaven]

What do you think of the 'belated love epiphany' trope? They keep saying the Elrond/Galadriel kiss was 0% romantic, but he kissed her on the lips thinking she might die... it's kinda like... he slowly realized that he might feel more than platonic friendship now that Galadriel might be truly gone to him?

Omg I got a questionnnn??? Ahh 🫶💘✨ tysm!

This is great observation, let’s dive in!

(note: after writing this, just want to warn you that it’s long. straightforward, but you’re getting a full course meal, lol)

*ahem*

I could see why some might interpret it this way. However, I actually am of the belief that we are not quite there yet. I love this trope, and totally see it fitting into ROP. My interpretation is that the kiss was actually intended to be unromantic, and just a ploy. That, and a goodbye of course, but Elrond’s intentions were not to kiss her as a last minute, ‘get out all your pent up romantic feelings’ kind of thing. He didn’t mean to kiss her in a romantic way, which is partly why it’s so chaste. But also, Galadriel doesn’t realize it wasn’t romantic at first(I did a post on this a little while ago, go take a look at it and then come back). I do think though, that they both unexpectedly enjoyed it on a romantic level. Will they admit it to themselves? Probably not right away, because they have a good excuse for themselves: “it was just a ruse.”

Now despite all this, the kiss was entirely romantic. So here’s why his intentions matter— the main trope that is actually being used here is the ‘forced to kiss’ trope, which is very common between 2 protagonists who have the potential to become lovers, but will not consider the possibility because of XYZ. The trope typically involves these 2 protagonists, whether enemies or colleagues or childhood best friends, you name it, and a sticky situation (or sometimes an agreement, such as fake dating, or actors etc) where they have to kiss in order to resolve it. The trope is everywhere, and it’s the one step further than the classic ‘forced proximity’ trope. So there’s your romance lore, lol. That, on top of how the scene was shot, directed, and edited, creates this beautiful recipe that sets up expectation on the viewer’s part. Remember, we have to look at this from a showrunner’s pov, not just from the character’s pov. lf my observations are correct, the scene wasn’t written to give Galadriel a means to escape. We totally could’ve been given a badass spy-esque escape of just her. Or, if Arondir was going to show up and save her, why didn’t he just save her earlier? Nah, the scene was written to give them a means to kiss. And before anyone says “it was the only way she could escape the situation..”, know that yes, you’re correct. But who wrote her into that specific situation? Mm. Yeah. So it has to serve some larger purpose. It’s not bait, it’s not for controversy, it’s for plot.

Though the kiss was not meant to be romantic on Elrond’s part, it doesn’t mean he doesn’t have any romantic feelings at all. The purpose of the ‘forced to kiss’ trope is to cause an awakening. It’s to present a possibility that perhaps the protagonists have not considered before, or only vaguely considered, but now that they’ve tasted it(pun intended), their brains can’t go back. My speculation is that there are romantic feelings brewing under the surface for both Galadriel and Elrond. However, they’ve denied it as a possibility for themselves, and thus, it’s not been fully fleshed out. Now they’ve crossed a line, however. One that perhaps they wouldn’t have dared to cross unless someone literally forced them to(thank you, Adar). If there’s no romantic feelings, then they’ll just forget about it, laugh about it, cringe and move on. But if there are romantic feelings (which in this case, there’s no reason to make two characters with this much family lore kiss unless they are changing it and adding a romance arc), then it’ll come up again. They’ll have trouble seeing their “friend” as friendly as they did before. No matter what, they won’t be able to get over the fact that they’ve shared romantic intimacy. I expect we’ll see clues to this in the next season. Some common ones to look out for would be, new/different/hesitant responses to their usual touching, either held gaze or avoiding eye contact, forced proximity, outsider perspective/teasing, and being interrupted when they’re having a potential “moment.” 😀 *cue mr darcy hand flex*

Considering this is a slow burn romance arc, I do expect we’ll see your theory come into play later on. The set up of the kiss kind of gives way to this. I’m going to predict that we will see the ‘belated love epiphany’ trope eventually. They won’t give us full on acknowledgment of romantic feelings just yet, because they have 3 more seasons to flesh everything out. But it would make sense given that they’re often out in dangerous/self-sacrificial situations, for them to have a moment of realization when it’s (almost?) too late. ROP also love their parallels when it comes to characters, relationships, scenes, scripts, tropes, you name it. It wouldn’t surprise me if their confession and/or next kiss comes in the form of a parallel to their first, or something else related to earlier seasons. There’s many options to choose from that would put them in a ‘belated love epiphany’ scenario. For example, the kiss in 2x07 almost reads as the trope, but it ultimately doesn’t follow. They could parallel it by having their next kiss in a real “I’m going to loose you for good” moment. Obvs as viewers we know neither of them will die, but the characters won’t, and that’s where the trope will get to shine.

The process of “slowly realizing they might have more than platonic feelings towards each other” will happen in season 3. It would have been nice if the kiss was done in this way, but for the sake of the story arc, it has to happen after. If it had happened during their first kiss, then we would’ve seen those slow realization tropes that I mentioned during season 2. Hint, we actually saw a couple of them, very briefly. I’ll let you go back and try to find them 🤭. Instead, we saw a different trope during season 2, which led me all the more to conclude that the kiss was written with romantic intent(not done with romantic intent; this is the showrunners perspective). The trope I’m referring to is the ‘forced negative tension’ trope (honestly idk wth it’s called sorry), where the writers purposely cause a conflict between the 2 love interests only to later on, resolve the conflict with a romantic trope. Are we following? Basically, they didn’t have to fight as much as they did. It was a deliberate choice. There’s more I could say about the undertones of their tension in season 2, but for now we’ll just keep it basic. The trope goes, that if there’s negative tension and a romantic/intimate gesture breaks the tension, then there are feelings, whether the characters are aware of them yet or not. In this case, they had negative tension right up until the kiss. It’s so intentional, because it’s still there when Galadriel says “You should’ve just kept charging, Elrond.” and when she says “Win.” It literally does not break until he touches her face and goes in to kiss her. The proof is in the pudding, my friends 😌 (ajshdh i’ve always wanted to say this stupid saying hehe).

So, hopefully this sums up everything to do with the use of tropes in Gal and El’s relationship arc. Many LOTR fans probably didn’t catch them because A) they aren’t familiar with them or B) they’re blinded by the “lore”. Understandable either way. No judging here.

At the end of the day, regardless of how much people discredit the writers and directors, recognize that this is a million dollar television series that is approved by the tolkien estate, and therefore the showrunners actually do know what the heck they’re doing. Well, when it comes to storylines. Ik they’re not perfect, but what I’m trying to say is that it’s all intentional. Season 1 was written with Season 2, and therefore was written so that Elrond and Galadriel would be set up as very close friends, then have a fallout, then end with a kiss. After considering all this, I have high hopes for future seasons and pray they don’t chicken out on what could be one of the most redeeming of Tolkien’s OG relationships ever.

Anyways, thanks for reading. I love y’all and seriously love to discuss relationships in this light, so keep ‘em coming. I think that’s enough words now though. Logging off for the night!

xo, Jade

jk here’s a meme for ya :D

ok goodnight <3

[markantonys]

Watched the finale last night and thought I'd wait until morning to send commiserations. R.i.p. Adar, we knew you were doomed but we had high hopes anyway.

(Also, yay, Arondir lived, guess he was only lightly stabbed since he was still able to fight some more)

thank you for your condolences in these trying times! and for waiting to send them until after you were sure i'd seen the episode haha they drop at 3am in my timezone which is not ideal. fine for ROP since i'm not absolutely dying chomping at the bit to see the new episodes (except for this week), but if WOT s3 adopts this same schedule i will be very sad!

anyway, good news for arondir! not surprising since they passed over his stabbing so quickly last episode, if he'd been in any real danger they would've made a big moment of that scene. he felt like he didn't get a whole lot to do this season, so i hope he gets more next season. then again, he had one of the biggest stories in s1 so fair enough if it was his turn to step back a bit this time. still, hoping for more with him next season! it's very exciting that he seems prepped to hang with the Elf Gang for a while, i'd love to see how he fits in with them. on the other hand, i want him to get back to his honorary son!

and the subject of Dads Who Stepped Up brings us to adar. oh adar, very obviously doomed by the narrative since 2x01 if not since s1, and yet we hoped! all in all, though, i'm pretty satisfied with his final scene. he got his "no one can walk so long in the shadow that they can never return to the light" moment! he proposed to galadriel ring and all and she said yes! he had the chance to get his elven form back forever by keeping the ring but refused it because he is not who he was born, he is who he's chosen to be, he is uruk, he is adar, he is Dad!! he still loved his uruk even as they were killing him and his last words were "my children" as he reached out a hand to them 😭😭😭 was it gutwrenching? yes. does my heart yearn for a version where adar survived and joined the good guys and led a light-side orc faction in the final battle? yes. but do i also appreciate a good shakespearean tragedy? yes i do.

adar saw how sauron mercilessly sacrificed orc lives to achieve his personal goals and he swore he would never let anyone treat his kids like that again. it traumatized him so much that he went crazy trying to snuff out the renewed threat of sauron, so crazy that he started mercilessly sacrificing orc lives to achieve his personal goals, but his personal goals are to protect them but they can't see that and they think he's turned into just what he always warned them about, and sauron swoops in to play them like fiddles and manipulate them into killing their father and swearing allegiance to him under the pretense that he'll be a better lord-father to them than adar has become.............and when glug realizes orcs are still dying under sauron and voices protest, where adar responded to protest with "[i love you] with all that's left of my heart, too much to let you become sauron's slaves", sauron responded by immediately, carelessly killing him mid-sentence. thus proving adar's fears completely right, far too late for glug to change the course the orcs have gone down. PAIN!!!!

adar tried so hard to break free of the generational trauma but in doing so played right into it and passed it on to yet another generation. and now they can never escape it because there is nobody left in the world who cares for them or will ever care for them now that dad is gone. galadriel, please, try to get custody of your ex's ex's kids, i beg you! be the mom who stepped up! it IS interesting that in this episode she showed some remorse for killing orcs and willingness to work with adar to broker peace between orcs and elves - will that be a surprise tool to help us later or did galadriel's growth in that regard die with adar? i think it's probably the latter since we know she could at most only get a small faction of orcs on her side since sauron has whole armies of them in the future during the trilogy, and getting even a small faction is unlikely since they offed the only Specific Orc (glug) and thus they're probably back to being nameless cannon fodder for the rest of the show. but still, it was good for galadriel to have that moment of development as she goes along her arc of maturing and becoming wiser, and it's so so important to me that adar died with at least one person respecting him and seeing the goodness within him 🥺

so anyway! it was all narratively sensible, narratively inevitable, and narratively satisfying. yes, tragedies that make me personally unhappy can be narratively satisfying too; i would describe it as, in-world, adar deserved better, but narratively, he was done justice with a complete, satisfying tragic arc. now, i DO think it was somewhat rushed, but i personally have long since made my peace with the fact that in 8-episode-season shows with tons of main characters, sometimes things won't get as much time to breathe as i might like. it is what it is (and it's often pretty subjective; what one viewer wishes had more time to breathe another might think took up too much screentime).

i'd argue the only big "missing scenes" here are a) adar initially going through his transformation which leads him to a change of heart, but i think he says everything that's important in his convo with galadriel and from that we can easily infer what happened between ep7 and now to get him to this point. and b) sauron convincing the orcs to join him and kill adar. this is a much bigger gap, because we'd had ample evidence that the orcs are unhappy with adar but no reason to think they'd go as far as killing him and joining the guy who's been their people's bogeyman for thousands of years. so that's the only real piece of potential Bad Writing to me, but even then, we've seen in great detail how sauron's manipulation tactics operate, so we can imagine him pulling the same shit on the orcs offscreen after they run into him in eregion (especially since orcs probably aren't that bright compared to the likes of celebrimbor, so it'd be child's play for sauron to manipulate them into doing exactly what he wants). it would have helped to see these two scenes onscreen, but if they were really pressed for time, i can accept not including them because we have enough to infer what happened.

in conclusion, i just read a really great post-season interview with sam hazeldine about adar conducted by an interviewer who is a huge adar fan and asked fantastic questions, and i would recommend it highly to those of us looking to fill the adar-shaped hole in our hearts!