Contains spoilers for this episode and earlier episodes.
Arondir turns the abandoned tower of Ostirith into a trap, bringing it down on part of Adar's advancing force. The refugees have retreated to Tirharad, where they prepare another defence rather than assume the enemy has been defeated. Their first apparent victory becomes horrifying when they discover that some attackers are the neighbours who joined Adar. Orc arrows then drive the survivors into the tavern. Bronwyn is badly wounded, and Theo surrenders the hidden sword hilt when Adar threatens to kill her.
Númenor's cavalry arrives before the remaining villagers can be slaughtered. Galadriel and Halbrand pursue Adar, capture him and prevent each other from killing him during their confrontations. He describes the Orcs as his children and claims to have killed Sauron, saying that he now seeks a home for them. Galadriel's threats against his followers bring her own conduct into question. Outside, Bronwyn recognises Halbrand as the promised king, and the rescuers and Southlanders celebrate what appears to be the end of the immediate danger.
The weapon they believe recovered has been switched. Waldreg carries the real hilt to the mechanism at Ostirith and uses it to release the reservoir. Water rushes along the tunnels the Orcs have dug, reaching the volcanic chamber beneath the mountain. The eruption destroys the meaning of their victory within moments: falling debris and a spreading cloud of ash send the settlement into panic. Galadriel remains facing the approaching cloud as it engulfs the battlefield, leaving the survivors' fate unresolved.