"In the land of Mordor, where the shadows lie..."
Though we have seen smatterings of action, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has been relatively light on major battle sequences, but that all changed with this week's sixth episode, "Udûn."
Adar and his Orc army have been amassing for their siege on Ostirith, and while some quick thinking from Bronwyn and Arondir (they rig the tower to crumble when the Orcs enter the courtyard) buy the Southlanders some time, they soon find themselves under attack yet again.
With Bronwyn badly wounded and Adar prepared to kill them all one-by-one until he gets what he wants, Theo hands over the sword hilt. When all seems lost, a horn is heard in the distance, and Galadriel, Halbrand and the Númenorians arrive to save the day.
With most of the Orcs taken care of, Galadriel chases down Adar who is attempting to escape with the hilt, and Halbrand comes very close to killing him until the Elf convinces him to spare his life. Halbrand then accepts his title as King of the Southlands, and it looks like the episode is going to end on a happy note for our heroes - but there's a dark twist still to come.
Adar pulled a bait and switch, giving the actual hilt to Waldreg, and we see the old traitor use it to open some nearby floodgates. The water flows down into the earth, causing a dormant volcano to awaken and lava to spew forth over the lands that will soon come to be known as Mordor.
As Mount Doom continues to erupt, Adar smiles, and Galadriel is engulfed in fire and ash.
This is obviously a major turning point for this first season and the ongoing story, and after being teased for the past few episodes, it looks like we're finally going to be introduced to Sauron next week. Will he turn out to be a new face or someone we've already met? We'd bet on the former, but there are some compelling theories down the rounds.
What did you guys make of The Rings of Power episode 6? Drop us a comment down below.