The Rings of Power Episode 7 Just Gave Us The Cheapest Cliffhanger Ever
As The Rings of Power approaches its finale, the stakes are getting higher with each episode.
Warning: the following article contains spoilers for The Rings of Power episode 7
The penultimate episode of The Rings of Power, titled The Eye, has wrapped things up with a cliffhanger that basically established the official "bad place" of the lore, but not everyone is equally impressed by it.
At the end of the episode, orc ruler Adar is seen navigating himself through the red smoke in the burning village. "Southlands" are no more; and the weasel is asking what should be the new name for the land. Adar never responds; instead, the answer arrives in the flaming text on screens — Mordor.
Despite the ending surely raising the stakes, fans scoffed at it, calling the move "cheap" and offering their own versions of the perfect cliffhanger.
"I was hoping they would've just said nothing since the audience obviously knows it's Mordor with that closing shot. But that text was the worst way they could have done it." – u/Mo-Monies
It was the decision to put "Mordor" in text that irked fans the most, with people arguing that things that look good on paper do not necessarily work well on screen.
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Besides, the appearance of Balrog at the end of the episode was also something that fans felt was simply over-the-top and unnecessary.
"I loved the episode but the Balrog appearing and the on screen text felt cheap, like an episode of Merlin (which I love but those are two different things). I'd prefer if they would just show the leaf falling and the a slumber sound of the beast (so we wouldn't know for sure if it would wake up soon or not) and not showing the names in the end at all," Redditor MaironFineJewellry argued.
However, the episode still seems to be praised by fans as entertaining and exciting, which is just what the show needs before its eighth and final episode.
The Rings of Power finale is scheduled to premiere on Friday, October 14. You can tune in to Prime Video to watch it with the rest of the Middle-earth fans.