After a spectacular penultimate episode, our expectations for the Season 2 finale were pretty high. And in our opinion—from the opening Balrog showdown, to Celebrimbor’s chilling final words, to the much anticipated Saurondriel confrontation—“Shadow and Flame” really delivered.
We get into all of it, dissecting how the Pelargir plot has been punching above its weight all season (and why we’re a fan of Estrid remaining behind in Middle-earth), how our favorite Númenóreans are likely to weather the coming storm, the importance of names (Gandalf is a Stranger no more!), our issues with the Rhûn storyline, the tragedy of Sauron (“some things can’t be fixed”), and what we expect from Galadriel’s journey next season.
We have some special episodes coming over the hiatus, but for now, we hope you enjoy, and thank you for listening—Namárië.
Time Stamps
00:00 - Intro, Summary, and First Takes
10:13 - Visual Feasts, Musical Moments, and Wonders of the World
25:50 - Pelargir Plotline Lovers Stay Winning
37:52 - Númenórean Endings and Eärien Defense Squad
43:56 - Arondir's Unnecessary Deathbait
47:24 - Elrond's Change of Heart
49:07 - The Horror of Celebrimbor and Sauron
57:02 - Adar and Glûg's Tragic End
1:09:09 - Never Getting Back Together aka The Saurondriel Showdown
1:26:49 - Performance Awards
1:32:14 - Dialogue Dialogue
1:39:44 - Critiques
1:47:31 - Themes
1:52:23 - Namárië
Popular Podcasts
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
New Heights with Jason & Travis Kelce
Football’s funniest family duo — Jason Kelce of the Philadelphia Eagles and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs — team up to provide next-level access to life in the league as it unfolds. The two brothers and Super Bowl champions drop weekly insights about the weekly slate of games and share their INSIDE perspectives on trending NFL news and sports headlines. They also endlessly rag on each other as brothers do, chat the latest in pop culture and welcome some very popular and well-known friends to chat with them. Check out new episodes every Wednesday. Follow New Heights on the Wondery App, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. You can listen to new episodes early and ad-free, and get exclusive content on Wondery+. Join Wondery+ in the Wondery App, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. And join our new membership for a unique fan experience by going to the New Heights YouTube channel now!