A Tolkien expert studies the teaser to predict what’s happening in Middle Earth
Amazon is placing a significant amount of stock in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power video game. The Lord of the Rings prequel series is the first attempt by the streaming company to provide its audience with a fantasy epic in the vein of Game of Thrones. It is estimated to have cost more than one billion dollars to produce. Details about the show were scant, with the exception of a small commercial that aired during the Super Bowl, a few teaser posters, and a few cover articles; however, Amazon has just published a lengthy trailer for Rings of Power, so we now have more information. The sneak peek was released one week before the programme is scheduled to conduct its panel at Comic-Con the following week, when we will certainly hear further more about the series before it is released on Prime Video on September 2.
However, for the time being, the teaser trailer provides some insight into when and where the programme will take place within the timeline of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic saga. Let’s break down the film to help make sense of everything, and give you some background on what you might have missed along the way. (If you want to go into the programme fully blind, you may want to skip the next paragraphs because they contain some minor spoilers from Tolkien’s The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings book and film series.)
Telperion and Laurelin, often known as the Two Trees of Valinor, are the enormous trees that can be seen in this screen capture. You may remember Valinor by another name: the Undying Lands. This is the location that Frodo sails to at the end of Return of the King with Gandalf, Bilbo, Galadriel, and Elrond. It is basically Tolkien’s version of the Garden of Eden. Until something goes wrong, everything is stunning and flawless.
Galadriel, portrayed by Morfydd Clark (who took over for Cate Blanchett in this role), adds further insight through a voiceover: The fact that she said “there had not yet been a sunrise” is an indication that we’ll be seeing some of the First Age of Middle Earth, which is described in The Silmarillion. The sun did not appear until the second half of the First Age, when it was created by a group of Middle-earth gods known as the Valar. During the first half of the First Age, there was no sun. Perhaps the first episode of the series will be a prologue in the style of The Fellowship of the Ring, which will cover the First Age and set the stage for the events that will take place in the Second Age. As a point of reference, the events of the Lord of the Rings trilogy as well as The Hobbit take place during the Third Age of Middle Earth.
The opening montage for The Fellowship of the Ring covered a portion of the Second Age, which lasted approximately 3,441 years but only touched on it briefly. This time period is distinguished by two key events: the Fall of Nmenor (more on that in a bit), and the initial defeat of Sauron. [Note: The latter is depicted in considerable detail during the Fellowship prologue, whilst the former has never been seen on screen before this point in time.
When the trailer goes through a montage of the different kingdoms that may be found in Middle Earth, such as that of the elves, the dwarves, and the men, it appears that hobbits are absent. However, this is not the case, as the “harfoots,” the progenitors of the hobbits, are shown to us later on in the trailer. Hobbits lived a nomadic lifestyle throughout the Second Age and placed a strong emphasis on looking out for one another. (It would appear that they, like their hobbit descendants, are also familiar with the skill of hosting parties.) Nori, a harfoot character played by Markella Kavenagh, makes a remark on how “secure” they are now that Morgoth, Middle Earth’s first truly evil force, has been vanquished in the Second Age of Middle Earth’s history. Who was it that served as Morgoth’s second-in-command, though? Sauron.
When young Elrond (Robert Aramayo, filling in for Hugo Weaving) is speaking to Galadriel, he encourages her to “hang up her sword” when they have finished hunting down the remaining members of Morgoth’s army. Galadriel is still of the opinion that evil can be found in these countries, and she will be proven correct when Sauron reappears in the later part of the Second Age.
Elrond and Galadriel engage in a back-and-forth conversation when the scene abruptly shifts to what looks like a large-scale murder of elves. They are seen floating underwater with a menacing red shadow hanging over them. Is it possible that the light is emanating from a tower? Maybe even one of the towers referred to in the title? This could be a glimpse into the future that Galadriel sees, foreshadowing the construction of the tower of Barad-dûr in Mordor. According to The Silmarillion, the construction of this castle is one of the earliest indications of the return of Sauron and the beginning of his dominion.
On the other hand, this could be a flashback to an event that occurred during the First Age called “The First Kinslaying,” which involved an epic conflict between two clans of elves. However, taking into account the fact that it is built on water, it is also possible that it is a vision of the aforementioned Nmenor being submerged…
This is a more in-depth look at Nmenor, which is a city of men similar to Atlantis that is destined to be destroyed, marking a tragic turning point in the Second Age. Because it will be a primary emphasis of Rings of Power, the specifics of how and why that fall occurred are best kept unspoken.
Maxim Baldry, who portrays a Nemenorian sailor, has given us our first real look at the character. However, that is not just any regular sailor; rather, it is none other than Isildur himself. It’s possible that you remember Isildur as the famous warrior who vanquishes Sauron, only to be tainted by the Ring of Power itself in the end. However, at this stage in the narrative, it seems as though Isildur is a long way from meeting his destined end.
“This may be the beginning of a new age,” the dwarf Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur) cries. “This could be the beginning of a new era.” Mithril, the precious stone that Frodo uses as the foundation for the armour that ultimately saves his life in Moria during the events of the Fellowship of the Ring, is in his hand at this very moment. The dwarves’ avarice in their pursuit of more mithril eventually leads to the release of the dreaded Balrog, which in turn leads to the downfall of Khazad-dûm, after which it is abandoned. This adds another layer of sadness to the situation.
There has been a lot of talk about the mystery meteor guy created by Daniel Weyman among people who are really dedicated to Lord of the Rings. Unfortunately, Amazon is not disclosing the identity of the character, which has led to a great deal of crazy speculation. The predominant idea is that he is Sauron, or at the very least, some variation of Sauron. When Sauron reappears in the Second Age, he does so in the appearance of Annatar, who earns the title of “Lord of Gifts” due to the wealth of information and understanding he bestows upon his followers. Because of his craftiness and cunning as Annatar, he was able to plant the seeds of dissatisfaction among elves, dwarves, and men, which ultimately resulted in the end of the Second Age. Even if this isn’t Sauron, the trailer makes him look like the dark lord, so we’ll have to wait and see what the reality is when Rings of Power is released in order to find out for sure who he is.