Robert Aramayo Talks Elrond’s Surprise Big Moment on Rings of Power

This week’s episode of Rings of Power began the siege of Eregion successful earnest, and with it, enactment the spotlight connected a quality we haven’t gotten to spot excessively overmuch of truthful acold this play successful Elrond. Going from a distrusting dependable against the Elven rings to a commandant of Lindon’s armies successful a hopeless bid to prevention Eregion enactment a batch of value connected histrion Robert Aramayo’s shoulders… not conscionable for each the combat scenes Elrond was progressive in, but for another, amazingly tactical prime helium has to marque that volition person immoderate fans raising their eyebrows.

That decision, of course, is however Elrond bids farewell to the captive Galadriel, aft a tense last-minute dialog betwixt the elves and Adar makes the conflict to travel an inevitability. Putting her beingness connected the enactment for the involvement of the mission, Elrond is granted what helium believes is simply a farewell to his aged friend… climaxing successful a shocking kiss.

“It says a batch astir their relationship,” Aramayo precocious told io9 astatine a property lawsuit for the last 2 episodes of the season. “It is astir apt the past clip he’s going to spot her, he’s fulfilling his promise: He’s putting everything earlier her, and helium doesn’t privation her to die. He doesn’t privation this to beryllium the past time.”

But arsenic amazed viewers rapidly learn, Elrond’s infinitesimal of passionateness has much than conscionable emotionality down it—he’s kissing her to distract from the information he’s handed her a broach from his cloak, which Galadriel uses the pin from to escaped her bindings. “It’s emotional, but also, it’s a precise applicable reasoning successful presumption of his tactics, and what helium needs to do. That’s the past benignant of hope, that he’s capable to enactment connected there. But it was shocking. It shocked maine erstwhile I work [that moment]. It felt similar they were not expecting that, but it is specified a analyzable narration betwixt the 2 of them—Elrond is benignant of growing, changing, becoming much of a person himself. Whereas successful the archetypal season, I had the feeling that he’s ever been precise overmuch the herald. Now he’s moving into much of a presumption of leadership, which is hard for him, and besides hard for [his narration with Galadriel], due to the fact that she’s the commandant of the Northern Armies earlier him.”

Heavy are the elf-ears that wear the fancy helmet, it seems—which made a large situation for Aramayo and Elrond alike erstwhile helium gets thrown into the beforehand lines of the brutal warring astatine Eregion’s walls successful the episode. Watching his soldiers beryllium chopped down, not adjacent facing the orcs down alongside High King Gil-Galad (and a astonishment reinforcing boost from wandering ranger Arondir) stopped filming those combat scenes from being a immense situation connected set. Especially erstwhile 1 of Elrond’s decisive moments came erstwhile the trio of heroic elves tag-teamed bringing down the immense Hill-Troll, Damrod, earlier it could teardrop Eregion’s defences apart.

“Well, he’s not there!” Aramayo joked of filming the sequence. “Yeah, that’s a large problem. It was a large sandbag ft thing. That happening was the biggest challenge, you conscionable didn’t cognize however big, really, helium was. ‘Am I lasting successful him now? You’re successful his stomach. You got to move.'”

For Benjamin Walker, playing Gil-Galad—and the archetypal clip we truly get to spot the High King successful action successful the amusement truthful far—his assistance successful the takedown required a spot much of a logistical bent beyond CG considerations. “My challenges were the horses. I emotion horses. I’ve ever ridden horses successful films, but anyone who knows horses knows they don’t similar fire,” Walker added. “So you’re lasting there. They’ve acceptable this battlefield afloat of stunt radical and orcs and mud and they accidental ‘rolling!’. And the adjacent happening they bash is airy up 100 fires. You consciousness your equine commencement to tense. To pacify the carnal and besides enactment with the carnal was a challenge. But we had a large equine wrangling squad and I deliberation we got determination successful the end. We did, but I would person panicked, I think.”

“[The horse] did not privation to go. She didn’t get the temptation. And I don’t blasted her,” Walker continued.

“Because determination was fires and orcs either broadside of you!” Aramayo helpfully pointed out.

“Oh yeah, and orcs holding fire,” Walker quipped. “It wasn’t similar a campfire. This is a torch. It was exciting!”

Rings of Power play two’s penultimate occurrence is present streaming connected Prime Video—stay tuned to io9 this week and adjacent week for much behind-the-scenes sum from the last episodes!

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