Siege engines are not stealthy.

Relatedly, it is time to pull the plug on Amazon’s Tolkien adaptation. There was much to complain about in season two of “The Rings of Power,” but the nadir might have been a squadron of siege engines rolling out of the woods in a surprise attack against Eregion. This might seem a minor quibble given the failures of plot, characterization, and dialogue that have plagued the series, but it encapsulated the show’s complete indifference to even basic competence.

This isn’t even about the many deviations from Tolkien’s lore; this is just about reality. It is hard to build siege weapons within range of the target city without being noticed. And because putting wheels on trebuchets or catapults does not make them good off-roaders, it is also hard to build them elsewhere and then drag them into position — especially through a forest! — without being noticed.

This ridiculous opening set the tone for the climactic battle, which the elves lost because, well, the plot demanded it. And so they, to give one example, completely forgot how to use heavy cavalry against light infantry. However, named characters were still made to look like amazing warriors at times; perhaps they spent too much time practicing kung fu to bother learning basic tactics.

The show is, of course, replete with other failures, such as the politics of Númenor........

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