Rings of Power Season 2 Episodes 7

Episode 7 starts with more gaslighting. Too often it's difficult to hear what's being said. I turn up the sound to hear the words, and then have to turn it down for the sound effects. Frustrating. A lot of telling when showing would be more effective and actually easier. Disappointingly, when they show they also tell, redundant. The "sets" are amazing. Gratuitous violence. Not nearly enough of the music score. Elrond! Do not kiss your mother-in-law! as Men of the West declared. I agree. It's creepy. Were the horse stunts real or CGI? Shades of Snow Mane. I hate when they kill the animals. RoP is incapable of creating a story truly its own and only presents a corruption of the original. Galadriel is a pathetic pale shadow of her namesake.  And out of the mess comes a blaze of truth: "It is not strength that overcomes darkness but light." And then we're back to weak, unclear stories. Why should I care about Rian? Great shot, but when did she become important? Not enough time to learn about characters to care about them. Sorry, but I could almost hear "They have a cave troll." That isn't what Elrond would do, just stand by while others fight. Disappointing. One high point: Reported by someone else, when the horse does the capriole, it wasn't CGI but an actual horses performing the actual maneuver. AWESOME.