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Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 Episode 7.
The battle for Eregion in the latest episode of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, “Doomed to Die”, is an intense, bloody spectacle that keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire 70-minute runtime. Not only do we witness incredible moments of character development throughout the battle, like Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) challenging Sauron (Charlie Vickers), but we get what every battle needs: badass action moments, including one where Elrond (Robert Aramayo) orders the Elf archer, Rían (Selina Lo), to take out the Uruks’ war machine. From her never-say-die persistence to making us love a character we’d only just met this season, this sacrifice is more than just an epic hero moment. It serves as a reminder of the core themes surrounding the battle of wills between good and evil.
Rían Sacrifices Herself For Eregion in ‘The Rings of Power’ Season 2
During the battle, Adar’s (Sam Hazeldine) forces dam the river and use what is called a Ravager to begin to tear away at Eregion’s walls. The situation looks incredibly dire as, in a charge towards the walls of Eregion, Elrond leads his team through Orcs, slashing their way through, to get to a vantage point from where Elrond tells Rían “one arrow” from her could change the battle’s momentum if they can fire on the Uruks’ war machine. It’s a brutal fight that not only highlights the Elves’ skill in battle, but also how hard advancing just one step is when you’re constantly surrounded.
When they battle through the orcs, Elrond looks around to see that his archer, Rían, has been plugged full of arrows and is on her knees. What works so well at this moment is how the writing plays with the audience’s expectations, showing us Elrond’s success but shocking us with Rían’s fall. However, the pursuit of the noble cannot be stopped so easily, as Rían, in a moment akin to Boromir (Sean Bean) in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, uses the last of her willpower to stand up and fire “one arrow,” which she pulls out of herself, into a bowl of oil, blowing up the war machine.
Rían’s Sacrifice Represents a Strong Theme Seen Throughout ‘The Lord of the Rings’
It’s an excellent moment, not only akin to Boromir’s sacrifice, but also similar to Haldir (Craig Parker) in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, the Elven leader who supported Rohan at Helm’s Deep. We barely even know who Rían is before this moment, yet her death is tragic, like Haldir’s. This is because of the incredible strength on show, and the bravery to fight for good against all odds. In The Two Towers, before Haldir dies, he sees the Elves’ dead bodies piled up, and at that moment, we are faced with the tragic sacrifice made and yet never think they died in vain. In Rían’s heroism, we see a similar sacrifice being invoked. It highlights the tragedy of these deaths yet also the hope they can overcome evil — all in one heroic, badass moment.
It isn’t the only sacrifice in The Lord of the Rings franchise, but Rían definitely just cemented herself as one of the most badass scene stealers we’ve seen, as that image of her pushing through half a dozen embedded arrows is just burned into my memory. The way the scene plays with audience expectations in the lead-up to Rían’s sacrifice really helps to ratchet up the tension, and makes Rían’s strength even more impressive, as we never see it coming. Overall, Rían’s sacrifice is great because of how it teaches all of us to never stop moving forward, even when the night is darkest.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is available to stream on Prime Video.
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