Udûn (episode)

"Udûn" is the sixth episode of . It aired on September 30, 2022.
== Synopsis ==
At night, Adar rallies and encourages his Orcs and Southlanders. They march to Ostirith, where the Southlanders who remained good had prepared for a siege. The assault is thwarted when Arondir causes a tower to collapse upon the enemy.
The next day, the refugees led by Bronwyn prepare a nearby village for assault, knowing Adar will attack it next. Bronwyn and Arondir grow closer in their relationship.
At sea, the Númenórean fleet approaches Middle-earth. Galadriel converses with Isildur and Elendil concerning Middle-earth and Elendil's late wife.
At dusk, Adar's Southlanders and a portion of his Orcs attack the village, and are overcome by the defenses. After the fray, the defenders are somehow surprised that their fellow Southlanders who had betrayed them are among the dead. At length, arrows fire from the dark, and Tredwill and Bronwyn are among those shot. All retreat into the tavern, as Adar and his greater troop of Orcs enter the village.
They break into the tavern, and Adar demands to learn where the strange key that Theo had once found has been hidden. Arondir refuses to tell, and Adar has a number of hostages killed one by one, until Theo discloses its location to him. While Adar is giving this key to Waldreg, the Númenórean host suddenly arrives on horseback, invading the village and subduing the Orcs. Adar flees on horseback, and, after a chase, Halbrand and Galadriel catch and interrogate him. In separate instances, both prevent the other from killing him. Adar tells Galadriel that he once killed Sauron. After Halbrand asks Adar, "Do you remember me?", Adar asks him who he is, but Halbrand does not reply. Then, in a conversation with Galadriel alone, Halbrand implies affection toward her.
The Númenóreans, Galadriel, and remaining Southlanders meet and celebrate together in the village, while Waldreg, elsewhere, plants the evil key into a mechanism that causes a nearby dam to burst. Consequently, from the river that pours through, there are rushes of water in scattered locations around the Southlands, filling the network of trenches that Adar's Orcs had dug, and at some places pouring into magma veins underground. This causes a nearby mountain (which will become Orodruin) to substantially erupt for the first time. The village is plummeted with ejectives of the volcano, and soon covered with a cloud of dark smoke and ash as everyone panics and seeks cover. This event initiates the desolation of Mordor.
== Appearances & mentions ==
== Lore deviations ==
This episode has very little connection to canon lore, but does not break existing lore beyond what has previously deviated. At this point the Galadriel, the Númenórean, and Southlands storylines have effectively merged. The storylines for Lindon/Eregion/Khazad-dûm and The Stranger had no coverage.
== References ==
Category:The Rings of Power episodes