Winners
1. Adar
This was a classic case of losing the battle but winning the war. Adar successfully managed to create a land for the orcs that will serve as a capital of evil for many centuries to come. He played a very long and patient strategy that’s finally paid off.
2. The Orcs
Many orcs died in this episode, but their sacrifice was not in vein. With the emergence of Mordor, the orcs now have a place they can call home exactly as Adar had promised. They don’t have to hide from the sunlight anymore because, well, there is none in Mordor.
3. Waldreg
It’s wild to think about how much damage Waldreg, a mere human, will have caused to his fellow humans and to all of Middle Earth by the end of it all. We’re talking millennia of suffering here. He’s a winner for now, but I suspect he won’t be for long.
Losers
1. The Humans
So close, yet so far… That should be the humans’ slogan. I’m not just talking about the humans of the Southlands, the Numenorians are in big trouble here as well. We don’t know how many orcs are hiding, but one thing we know for certain is that it’s way more than the 300 Numenorian warriors who are effectively sitting ducks as the orcs converge to their new homeland.
2. Middle Earth
With the elves’ lifeforce fading, the dwarves cooped up in their mountains, and the humans perpetually divided, Middle Earth is in absolutely no shape to wage war against the emerging evil.
3. Galadriel
For someone who’s got centuries of experience fighting evil, Galadriel really should’ve known better. Adar seemed mighty confident in his plan even after he was captured. Surely, Galadriel didn’t think that Sauron’s highly sophisticated plan B could be defeated so easily. This was a loss for all involved, but it’s a particularly damning defeat for Galadriel.