Thread by @DrNosy10

S1.E7 Breakdown of #TheRingsOfPower 🧵

Galadriel's eyes have opened to a new reality: Udûn ("Hell"). A "red" horse races past her revealing the aftermath of an apocalypse.

#TheOneRingQuisition

AFTERMATH

1. Four LED lighting tubes were strapped to a horse running at Galadriel. Flames were added in post-VFX.

Flames on structures, floating cinders, and swirling ash were also added in post. Wet paper was used for ash on set. twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

2. Galadriel finds an unscathed Theo. Isildur and Míriel rescue Valandil.

Míriel is hurt by flaming embers while rescuing survivors. Isildur sacrifices himself to save his Queen before the structure collapses on him. twitter.com/i/web/status/1…

THE GROVE

1. We can't be certain where The Grove is located but the Harfoot migration does put them close to Rhûn.

They do appear to be located close to a stream which might be a tributary off River Running (Celduin) from the Lonely Mountain.

2. `My great-grand used to speak of mountains to the south that could spit fire-rock. He used to say they go to sleep...Only to wake again when a new evil is rising.`

Volcanic bombs from Orodruin have destroyed The Grove. The Stranger is moved by the dead trees.

3. Sadoc has heard about Ents!

4. The Stranger attempts to heal the tree. Similar to how he healed his hand in S1.E5.

He chants in Quenya—
`Á keuta` - to renew
`Á envinyata` - to heal
`Lótë na` - flower towards

His actions endanger the Harfoots. The Harfoots realize that he isn't in control of his gifts.

SACRED EXCHANGE

1. Elrond proposes a trade with the Khazad— goods sacred to Elves in exchange for mithril

Perhaps you're wondering what makes `game, grain, & timber` more sacred to Elves compared to something so obviously precious like mithril.

Deep Tolkien in 3-2-1...

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All references for the following Tolkien lore come from Nature of Middle-earth.

The Eldar see the death & decay of olvar ("growing things rooted in the earth") and kelvar ("living things that move") as painful to behold.

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As the Eruhin (Elves, Men, Dwarves) were born into Arda post-marring by Morgoth, they are an inherent part of the fabric that contributes to the decay of living things. Their survival depends on their need to 'kill and eat' things as food to feed their bodies.

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While the act of killing and eating is not against the will of Eru, it still holds that the lives of said olvar and kelvar end. Thus, some Elves believe that their "suffering of love" for living things that die is akin to atonement for their role in its decay.

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Thus, Elrond's speaking of offering "something sacred" is the sacrifice of life in "game, grain, and timber" in exchange for the lifeless mithril that the Elves believe is their salvation.

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2. `Game, grain, and timber from the elder forests of Eriador...`

Game— Elves relished meat & hunting

"..Túrin at the table of Thingol there was laughter long and the loud clamour...that quaffed the mead...and goodly meats there burdened the boards..." (Chidren of Húrin)

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Grain— Tolkien never described Elven agriculture, yet their foods feature grains.

Elvish bread: "...surpassing the savour of a fair white loaf to one who is starving..." -Pippin

Lembas ("corn"): "Where is the spring and the harvest and the tall corn growing?" -Aragorn

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Timber from the elder forests of Eriador— The ancient forest (west of the Ered Luin) suffered deforested & war during SA.

As Treebeard remarks in #LOTR, “there was all one wood once upon a time from here [Fangorn] to the Mountains of Lune, and this was just the East End."

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3. Stone-tongue

After creating the Dwarves, Aulë (of the Valar) devised the language of Khuzdul for them. Thus, Khuzdul is unique, & unrelated to Elvish. Khuzdul did, however, influence Adûnaic (the language of Númenor). Adûnaic is the ancestor of the Common Speech in the TA.

FIRE & ROCK

1. `when Aulë created our people`

Aulë created Dwarves from his own impressions of what Eru intended for the Children. Yet Aulë had erred for acting according to his own wisdom without Eru. Thus, Aulë humbled himself before Eru, & Eru adopted the Dwarves as his own.

2. `Fire and rock`

King Durin's words alludes to how Eru created the Eruhíni— embodying their beings (hröar) with souls (fëar).

Aulë made the Dwarves "strong and unyielding" in their hröar (`rock`). Eru through the Secret Fire that endowed them their fëar (`fire`).

3. `The fate of the Elves was decided many Ages ago`

Born into an Arda marred, the Elves were fated to the physical reality that their hröar will evaporate into nothing.

"As Ages passed the dominance of [Elven] fëar increased 'consuming their bodies." (Morgoth's Ring)

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King Durin speaks the harshest truth that even the immortal Elves must embrace the inevitability of their deaths.

Yet the Noldor erred & became obsessed with fading— seeking to preserve the bliss of Valinor & the prestige of being the highest in Middle-earth (Letter 131).

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NAMÁRIË

1. Disa is hammering out iron that's between 930 and 1100 °C. Incredibly hot.

Perhaps this is symbolic of how angry Disa is feeling in the moment. This is quite a Lady Macbeth moment.

2. `You said the other Dwarf-lords were open to the proposal.`

In the First Age, Nogrod & Belegost were two Dwarven realms in the Blue Mts (now part of Lindon in Second Age) which were ruined during War of Wrath. The Dwarves fled from these ruins to Khazad-dûm

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"After the end of the First Age the power and wealth of Khazad-dûm was much increased; for it was enriched by many people and much lore and craft when the ancient cities of Nogrod and Belegost in the Blue Mountains were ruined at the breaking of Thangorodrim." (LOTR, Ap A)

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3. `Namárië`

Derives from "márië" (Q.) meaning "well, happily" or "goodness" ["márienna" = “towards what is good” (eldamo.org)]

#TROP— "namárië" is used in an interpersonal context
#LOTR— Tolkien uses "namárië" in more personal & reflective moments

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Context #1: Frodo overhears Aragorn speak these words in Lothlórien:

`Arwen vanimelda, namárië `
[“Arwen beautiful and beloved, farewell”]

With these words, Aragorn quietly draws strength to face the perilous journey ahead— a journey he did not expect to outlive.

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Context #2: Galadriel sung a lament as the Fellowship departed Lórien on boats (#LOTR).

The song was set to music by Donald Swann who collaborated with Tolkien. Tolkien ascribed the words to a theme that chimed like a Gregorian chant.

Here's an excerpt by Maestro Rigale.

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4. Mithril and the leaf

I will elaborate this in the future, but here are some initial thoughts:

SHADOW LANDS

1. `To make this their home.`

Catastrophes (natural disasters) were often the result of actions by Eru/Valar: Valinor remade, sinking of Beleriand, the change of the world...

What Adar achieved here is an act of god— `I am not a god... at least not yet.` (S1.E4)

2. `Their Shadow Lands.`

Tolkien writes that Sauron chose Mordor as a stronghold because he was afraid of the growing power of the Númenoreans. He began building Barad-dûr around c. 1000 SA, which was 400 years before the Númenoreans appeared in Middle-earth. #LOTR

Sauron chose Mordor because:
-Has natural mountainous barriers on 3 sides
-Proximity to Rhûn (allied with Morgoth)
-Orodruin ("Mountain of Blazing Fire")... "for he used the fire that welled there from the heart of the earth in his sorceries and in his forging..." (#SILM)

3. `These lands are dead.`

In #RingsOfPower, the colonization of the Southlands, is framed as an event distinct from Sauron's movements. The Uruk desire to thrive in a realm separate from others. The volcanic ash blocks the sun directly above creating Mordor (“Dark” + “Lands”).

Thoughts: Will Orodruin burn in perpetuity in future seasons? The sun is needed to grow food which means these lands won’t be dark forever. Could also be this “smoke” rise won’t be the first. It's possible we might see another 'boom' with the creation of the One Ring.

4. `It isn’t your fault.`

Galadriel had information abt plans by Morgoth’s successor from the Hall of Lore (S1.E3) but she was blind to it; focusing on Sauron instead. This disaster was a strategic & personal failure. Theo doesn’t fully understand this. He just blames the Orcs.

5. `It darkens the heart, to call dark deeds "good."`

Galadriel's fight against evil isolated her from others (S1.E5). Yet she retains a stubborn sense of right vs. wrong (while being grey at times) in that struggle to fight darkness.

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Theo struggles with a lust for power (S1.E6) which can blind him from fully realizing right/wrong.

But unlike Galadriel, Theo is mortal. He doesn't have the benefit of 'ageless' wisdom like the Elves. His need for justice is more acute; more open to taking the short path.

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Yet Theo has also demonstrated resilience to evil. His love for his family & his people is his strength. By accepting the sword, he's choosing to empower himself in the midst of the hopelessness that surrounds him. A blind hunger for power being tamed by code & discipline.

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6. `When I was your age, there was no such thing as Orcs.`

There are no Orcs in Valinor, so it stands that the child Galadriel had no knowledge or experience of them. However, Morgoth had ensnared hapless Elves following the arrival of Oromë in Middle-earth in 1085 Y.T.

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From Annals of Aman (Morgoth's Ring):
-1320: Orcs first appear in Beleriand
-1362: Galadriel is born in Valinor

While this dialogue seems to contradict the lore, this seems to be yet another illustration of Warrior Galadriel's wrongly held belief abt Orcs & their history.

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@readwise save thread

PERMANENCE OF DEATH

1. Of the Men of Middle-earth, the sting of death cuts deepest for Númenoreans. Where the Southlander sees death as an obstacle to survival, or a Rohir views it as the inevitable yet honorable path to glory the Númenorean is wholly aware...

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...of the line dividing the fates of Men & Elves.

In death, the spirit of Men are not bound to Arda or find their rest in the Halls of Mandos, and so the loss of Isildur felt by Elendil is akin to an unsealed wound. Númenoreans are antagonistic to "accepting" death.

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2. The Elves had many names for Men. Of them, 'the Sickly' and 'Fírimar' (Quen. "those apt to die") stand out.

Míriel losing her sight is another reminder of the fragility of Men even if they are a descendant of Eärendil himself. The once mighty Queen of Númenor now hapless.