@beyonddarkness / beyonddarkness.tumblr.com
There is a fairly famous concept from the Bible that says, "By their fruits ye shall know them." Here, I apply that notion to two events from season 1, and say that we can know the source of an idea or belief by the results it yields.
(Brief Preview)
"Speaking for myself, we're now going into a story which is undeniably Tolkien. And we do not... you know. We do what's on the page." Charles Edwards, CinemaBlend
Now Celebrimbor was not corrupted in heart or faith, but had accepted Sauron as what he posed to be; and when at length he discovered the existence of the One Ring he revolted against Sauron, and went to Lórinand to take counsel once more with Galadriel. They should have destroyed all the Rings of Power at this time, 'but they failed to find the strength.'
- Unfinished Tales: The History of Galadriel and Celeborn
⚠️(potential spoilers from season 2 promo beyond this point)⚠️
Hi, I’m Melanie, a random person from Idaho who happens to be obsessed with Payne and McKay’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. In this blog [Beyond Darkness] I will attempt to peel back the layers of the show, dissecting scenes, characters, Bear McCreary’s incredible score, and the great volumes of text that inspired the writers, penned by Tolkien himself.
Here is an ongoing list of everything I have posted so far on the blog.
“It is difficult to say anything without saying too much: the attempt to say a few words opens a floodgate of excitement […] I shall inflict some of this on you; but I will append a mere résumé of its contents: which is (may be) all that you want or will have use or time for.” -J.R.R. Tolkien, The Silmarillion: From a Letter by J.R.R. Tolkien to Milton Waldman, 1951
How was Sauron rebuilt by the end of the first season?
Always after a defeat and a respite, the Shadow takes another shape and grows again. [...] His plans are far from ripe, I think, but they are ripening. [...] The Enemy still lacks one thing to give him strength and knowledge to beat down all resistance, break the last defences, and cover all the lands in a second darkness. He lacks the One Ring. — Gandalf, The Lord of the Rings (FOTR): The Shadow of the Past
This is a pattern by which we may be able to answer that question for Sauron in the Second Age. There was a defeat, there was a respite, he took another shape and grew again. He had plans that were not yet ripe, but were ripening nonetheless.
According to the pattern, he lacked something that would give him strength and knowledge to beat down all resistance. He made the One Ring with his own power. What would have given him necessary strength and knowledge before the One Ring?
[read]
Testing the extent of Sauron's rule with names—
( @nenyabusiness started it with the thing. )
(Also, season 2 is now upon us. So, in preparation, and since a lot of my posts are scattered across Tumblr, Twitter, and my blog, this is the beginning of an attempt to gather all of them, and more thoughts and theories I haven't posted, onto the blog.)
Sauron is intelligent. The complexity of his plans should match that of his character, so it is understandably difficult to uncover the details… but not impossible.
This is an attempt to unravel the mysteries of Sauron’s past, which is separated into two parts. Part 1 broadly covers Sauron’s intentions regarding mithril and all peoples, while Part 2 specifically relates to the dagger and Galadriel. This branching begins around the time of Finrod’s death. The clearest lens through which to study Sauron’s plan is, unequivocally, the tale of Beren and Lúthien.
I cracked the code.
Sauron was rebuilt at the end of the first season. But HOW did he rebuild his power?
Think about this:
The same questions may be asked for the Third Age (LOTR).
First...
J.D. and Patrick have not changed the timeline as much as so many assume. It is not jumbled, and it is not even compressed in the way that is widely accepted.
Yes, another teaser for Chapter 6. Here 🫴 [Teaser 1, Teaser 12, Teaser 12's Addition, and the Blog]
I was reading about the unchaining of Melkor yesterday, and came across a passage that explains this perfectly.
Everything surrounding Morgoth and the Silmarils, before the Darkening of Valinor, is a direct precursor to Sauron and the Rings of Power; everything is exactly the same. The Silmarillion: Valaquenta says that Sauron "rose as a shadow of Morgoth and a ghost of his malice," doing the same things to lead him along "the same ruinous path down into the void." (There is no difference between Sauron in the books and Sauron in the show.)
Now, here is the passage that I read, from The Silmarillion: Of Fëanor and the Unchaining of Melkor. The name "Melkor" can be replaced with "Sauron," and everything still fits:
At length, as Manwë had promised, he was brought again before the thrones of the Valar. Then he looked upon their glory and their bliss, and envy was in his heart; he looked upon the Children of Ilúvatar that sat at the feet of the Mighty, and hatred filled him; he looked upon the wealth of bright gems, and he lusted for them; but he hid his thoughts, and postponed his vengeance.
I hope you're right and Disa and Durin get through this challenging time. I hope Disa doesn't fall so low she can't get out. Charlie V. said 2 other characters he wants Sauron to work with are Disa and Elrond. I see the connections. Also, what in the name of Eru is Gil-galad doing? He sees through Annatar. How can he miss the Mithril threat? What's with his judgement? His decision making is in contradiction with his character description in the Silmarillian. alot is ambiguous but still
I love Durin and Disa. Disa may go down the Celebrimbor Path, coming to a realization in the end, and defying Sauron (silver lining). If she has the same tragic and horrific demise as Celebrimbor, I would be in much pain. Imagine how that would affect Durin. Pleasepleaseplease let her have a happy ending. (Also, what Charlie said frightens me.)
Funnily enough, I'm in the middle of answering that question in Chapter 6 (hence the latest teaser). I don't want to give too much of it away, but I think it'll be okay, since it's only part of a really long sidenote. Since you asked (and I'm glad you did), I'll disclose a compressed portion of it.
Gil-galad perceived the mithril threat before anyone else. I don't even know if there is anyone else, besides he and Galadriel, who perceived that specific threat by the end of the season. His decisions don't contradict The Silmarillion's description of his character at all! His vigilance is just extremely subtle. So...
I posted the 12th Analysis Teaser on Twitter, and someone pointed out that lilómëa is also heard at 2:32 in the instrumental version of Where the Shadows Lie.
Below is the isolated music of the other two scenes I mentioned before. The first scene transition illustrates that the word blends two seemingly unrelated storylines: mithril and Halbrand. In the second scene, the word is sung when those storylines officially merge.
In episode 7, we hear the mithril theme (which Bear has said is more accurately described as The Ring Theme).
The words are:
Airëa fra kala Blessed eternal light
But we heard the real Ring Theme in the credits of the first episode.
Lilómëa Full of darkness
And now we must ask ourselves:
Hello. As a watcher of a few drama series as well as a reader, I like how you noticed Easter eggs from season 1. Me personally, I follow character development as well as Easter eggs. (Not saying you don't.) For example, following Disa's development in season 1, one can conclude that she is a character who will fall under Sauron's influence going forward, which also, reinforces lore regarding the dwarves and hoarding. Interesting how the showrunners reinforce that she will get corrupted.
I want to add that if I go by Easter eggs alone and ignore character development, Bronwyn will be under his influence, as celebrimbor and Galadriel were, and Ar-Pharazon. However, since they will all know who he is this season, based on her character development, and not just Easter eggs, when she learns who he is, I see her leading a faction against him. Also she isn't in the lore so I wonder how much she will be a focus going forward, whereas Disa might be more likely effected.
I'm reblogging this because Bear McCreary released his breakdown of episode 7 yesterday, and it perfectly pertains to what I was saying about Disa. The music that plays during her monologue was unsettling to begin with, but the translation of the words makes it even darker.
Hi. There's mixed information for and against the Witch King being a black Numenorian but who knows, Tolkien kept changing his mind. There's some strong evidence, however in the Silmarillian, chapter Akallabeth, "Sauron was ever guileful, and it is said that among those whom he ensnared with the 9 rings, 3 were great lords of Numenorean race." So I guess we will never know 100%. Some believe since the Witch King is least afraid of water that he is Numenorean. Interesting.
If nothing is random, and everything has a purpose, then we can also look at: 1. Theo's and Galadriel's encounter with each other. Does it move him in a positive direction? It must mean something. 2. These characters settle by future Gondor. Isildur is also in Middle Earth now. So we can look at it through that lens. 3. The Faithful will also settle in this location. On this show if every little thing means something, the door is open to many possibilities. Theo Witch King, possible. Or not.
Also, Sauron death glare at Elendil in episode 3, so blatantly obvious, even when I didn't know he was Sauron. Sauron death glare at Arondir, the jury's out on that one. I rewatched all scenes several times and did not specifically see it. I am trying to, believe me. I love your observations but for show only characters there are too many possibilities available using the Easter eggs we are given. It can go in several directions and Easter eggs don't clear the way for 1 specific result.😀
Hello. What does second age Sauron want? To control the hearts and minds of the most powerful beings in Arda through creation of the rings of power and to take back Mordor from Adar. I don't think he is personally going to visit Pelargir to seduce Bronwyn, in my opinion. I think Bronwyn is experiencing a false sense of relief and awe, even if he mentions her by name. Also Arondir could be experiencing a general discomfort around Sauron but it doesn't mean an additional storyline results.
Continuing my rant: Sauron's very presence, since he is coming out in the open, is bleeding into every storyline. However, what does he really want in the 2nd age? To dominate the most powerful beings so they are his servants/ slaves so he can heal Arda, since he believes he is a God/king and only he knows best. I could be off base but that is where I see his arc. Also, he has a bone to pick with Galadriel still according to the show(hiding elven rings?) Also, what about Celebrimbor/Annatar?
One more observation: That whole scene with Sauron introduced as king of the Southlands shows the audience 1. how he basks in their adoration 2. Galadriel ENCOURAGING this 3. Demonstrating visually, through the scene itself, Sauron's craving of adoration and power as the God/King. I saw it more as the Southlanders being just the beginning for him. Next, he plans on forcing the most powerful beings to feel the same way, against their will using the rings of power. Thanks for letting me rant.
Hello. As a watcher of a few drama series as well as a reader, I like how you noticed Easter eggs from season 1. Me personally, I follow character development as well as Easter eggs. (Not saying you don't.) For example, following Disa's development in season 1, one can conclude that she is a character who will fall under Sauron's influence going forward, which also, reinforces lore regarding the dwarves and hoarding. Interesting how the showrunners reinforce that she will get corrupted.
I want to add that if I go by Easter eggs alone and ignore character development, Bronwyn will be under his influence, as celebrimbor and Galadriel were, and Ar-Pharazon. However, since they will all know who he is this season, based on her character development, and not just Easter eggs, when she learns who he is, I see her leading a faction against him. Also she isn't in the lore so I wonder how much she will be a focus going forward, whereas Disa might be more likely effected.
After that small teaser break after #10, we can do some more. The following comparison is briefly in my Meta Preview, but it is relevant.
[back to Teaser #1]
[the Blog]
———————————Hints beneath the bar———————————
I'm in the process of outlining all of this on the blog (yes, chapter 6), so this is relatively short. But I just realized something that I NEED to get off my chest, even if you don't have the full context yet. I've been plunking the same note on the keyboard for months now (that Sauron is scary, and not to be trifled with), but this one little aspect proves my point.
Sure, it may seem like everything just magically fell into Sauron's lap, but if you really think about it, he has always been in the background. He wasn't just sitting in his chair, waiting for Galadriel to do everything for him, crossing his fingers, hoping that by chance, he would automatically be pushed to the top of the power pole. Here is the little indication:
We saw many secret councils between those in positions of power, involving Celebrimbor, Elrond, Galadriel, Gil-galad, Míriel, Elendil, Pharazôn, etc. All of these councils were important, and led to important decisions being made.
But out of ALL the planned secret meetings that were mentioned, there were only two that we did not see. These two meetings had the most significant results.
The only reason why I don't ship Galadriel w/ Halbrand is because, once she rejected him, he threw her into the water to die.
That scene revealed his true nature, and one which has been repeatedly demonstrated in the books: Sauron is treacherous. He will betray and discard even faithful allies if it suits his agenda.
Which is why I'm fully convinced he never intended to have Galadriel become his wife. Sure, he admired her determination, but he also detested her stubborness and lack of emotional intelligence - as shown by his numerous criticisms of how she handled most situations.
He knew from the start she was hunting him. So at some point, he realised that elf woman would be trouble. Because he lacked the means to dispose of her, he didn't take action against her. If anything, he needed power, and maybe hanging with her would help him somehow. And it did. It got him to Númenor, and later, got him access to Celebrimbor and the forging of three of the great rings.
However, he knew sooner or later, he would have to figure out a way to neutralize the threat Galadriel posed. So he appealed to his charm, something which had worked quite well on the other elves. He hoped his offer of power would appeal to her, not because he admired her for her qualities, but because it was a strategic decision.
And Galadriel, knowing the enemy as well as she did, made the smart choice.
Now, a lot of people watched that scene and thought it was romantic. But no romantic thoughts were going on in Sauron's mind at that moment. The only thing he was thinking of was of his survival and the success of his long term plan to reconquer Middle Earth. If Galadriel were an innocent, love-starved individual, she would have fallen for Sauron's trickery. Thank Ilúvatar she was an experienced General capable of staring at the face of Evil and recognising it for what it is.
Very well said op. I agree with everything. I've kind of been wanting to say something all day, but you put it perfectly, so I thought I'd just unload here (just to get it out of my head)...
