It’s only August, but MeinMMO editor Sophia Weiss is absolutely hyped for November: After House of the Dragon, it’s almost time for Rings of Power Season three! And she knows: The season is going to be really awesome, no matter what the Tolkien purists say.
Rings of Power is not a perfect series, I gladly admit that. When you look at what is known about the Second Age and compare it with the events of the Amazon adaptation, it falls significantly behind:
The actual events are often hundreds of years apart in the original. Some characters are in locations where they do not appear in the original. There are suddenly side characters that Tolkien never mentioned. And we haven’t even touched on the fact that Sauron is a total Galadriel simp.
But honestly? I really don’t care about any of that, and the whining of the Tolkien purists can’t change my opinion either. Season three is going to be really awesome!
Sauron is finally doing some smithing himself – In war and for the One Ring
Sauron has already begun forging the rings as Annatar in season two: His toxic bromance with the grandson of Feanor Celebrimbor was a masterpiece of manipulation from the start. Nine rings for men and seven rings for dwarves were the joint spoils. The three Elven rings, however, were forged solely by Celebrimbor.
What is still missing is the masterpiece, the crown jewel, my precious – the One Ring. Sauron’s best friend Celebrimbor can’t help with that now, so the dark lord has to forge it alone. In the trailer for season three, he also uses Celebrimbor’s or rather Feanor’s hammer, which I find really cool.
Who was Feanor?
Feanor was the grandfather of Celebrimbor, the great-great-uncle of Elrond, and the cousin of Galadriel. He was born as the eldest son of Finwe, the first High King of the Noldor Elves. As the only female elf ever, his mother died in childbirth, after which Finwe asked the Valar (their ind-of-gods) for permission to take a second wife – something that had never happened among the Elves before and would never happen again.
Overall, Feanor was extraordinary: He himself had seven sons with his wife Nerdanel (the highest known number of children ever had by an Elven couple). Additionally, he became the best and ultimately the most powerful smith to have ever lived in the world of Middle-earth.
After the banished Valar Morgoth stole his three Silmarils, three powerful and almost holy gemstones, Feanor led the Noldor Elves in a great march from the promised land in the West to Middle-earth. In doing so, he instigated the first kinslaying among the Elves in Alqualonde and burned his ships out of hatred instead of using them to retrieve his brothers and their armies. (The family dynamics provide the perfect material for a drama, I tell you!)
Feanor ultimately died early in the First Age after a battle against Morgoth’s followers.
Since his sons once swore to retrieve the Silmarils at any cost, Feanor is indirectly the cause of many events in the Silmarillion, although he does not experience most of them himself. Apart from the great war of the Elves against Morgoth, this includes the two further kinslayings in Doriath, the ancient realm of the Sindar Elves like Thranduil, as well as in Sirion, a city inhabited by Elven refugees from all over Middle-earth.
According to Nerdist, Charles Edwards, the actor portraying Celebrimbor, will return in season three despite the character’s death. This may indicate flashbacks. Personally, however, I hope he follows Sauron every step of the way like the uncomfortable conscience he lacks, whispering discouragements into his former friends ears.
Overall, Sauron is now probably really getting down to business: He is finally going openly and honestly to war against the Elves and causing them real trouble. Including the long-necked winged beasts, also known as Fell Beasts. The first human kings have probably also already been affected in the meantime. I love it!
I also firmly believe that the season will sow the first seeds for the upcoming plot points for season four and five: Just like with Annatar, Sauron will later wreak havoc in Numenor. However, he will do so openly and under his own name. That does not go particularly well for the island folk.
From Situationship back to the harbor of marriage
This season will probably be really emotional for Galadriel. Her Situationship
with Halbrand already proved to be unsustainable in season one because Halbrand is or was Sauron. That echoed into season two. Now it gets super interesting because her presumed dead or missing husband Celeborn returns.
Would I have liked it if Jamie Campbell Bower would have played Glorfindel? Absolutely. But to confront Galadriel after her not-quite-somehow-flirting with Sauron with her still-living husband? This mess is going to be beautiful!
Who is Glorfindel?
Glorfindel is an Elf from the city of Gondolin, which got destroyed in the First Age. There he led a significant part of the army as Lord of the House of the Golden Flower. He died fighting a Balrog while securing the escape of the last survivors.
Elves do not die like men: Their souls are housed in the Halls of Mandos, one of the Valar, and are purified there. A few of them, including possibly Galadriel’s brother Finrod, are chosen to be reborn.
Glorfindel is brought back in the Second Age and sent to Middle-earth by the Valar. There he is supposed to support the free people of middle earth in the fight against Sauron. Readers of the book adaptation of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship
already know him, as he is the one who protects Frodo from the Ringwraiths and takes him to Rivendell. In the films, this role is taken up by Arwen.
Before it became known that Jamie Campbell Bower would portray Celeborn in Rings of Power, Glorfindel was also considered a possible role alongside Galadriel’s husband on social media.
Bower also mentioned in an interview that Celeborn himself might have had some involvement with the dark lord. I see many theories circulating on social media about a love triangle. I don’t necessarily support that because Elves typically only fall in love and marry once in their lives.
Two men who are interested in a woman may be a good plot in normal dramas. In the case of Galadriel, who is already in truly reliable hands that not even death can take away, it does feel a bit strange.
By the way: This tragedy makes connections between humans and Elves particularly rare. Elves do not really die; their souls go to the Halls of Mandos, from where they can be reborn. Humans, on the other hand, live comparatively short lives and their souls do not stay in Mandos, but go elsewhere. Where exactly, is not known.
The five known loves between humans and Elves are listed here for you:
Emerging alliances and breaking friendships
And of course, there’s the war of the Elves against Mordor and the remnants of Adar’s army already mentioned with Sauron. The islanders from Numenor did get heavily involved in Middle-earth during the first season, but there is still a real alliance between them and the Elves under High King Gil-Galad to be established.
If that happens, we might see the beginning of the end of Numenor toward the end of the season.
Furthermore, it will be interesting to see how the friendship between Elrond and the now Dwarf King Durin IV continues. The surviving Elves from the destroyed city of Eregion could probably only escape because the Dwarves sent them support. However, Elrond was visibly disappointed that Durin didn’t lead those warriors.
Maybe they won’t break their friendship just yet: Durin couldn’t come himself because his father was dragged into the depths by a Balrog and he had to secure Khazad-dum. I think that is a very good explanation for his absence.
Next time better adapt the Silmarillion?
I am absolutely aware that for anyone who loves Tolkien and has read more than just The Hobbit and the trilogy of The Lord of the Rings, their heart bleeds. But honestly: There is very little official material for the Second Age. Furthermore, the plot points are spread out, sometimes over centuries. You cannot really keep to the original timeline and tell it all within any screen adaptation.
We know about the Fall of Numenor
, have a timeline of the years
and the Unfinished Tales
. That is not much. If Amazon were to stubbornly adhere to the source material, Rings of Power would be a poor product for anyone.
Honestly: The Silmarillion would be much easier to adapt. The book recounts the complete First Age in the stoic tone of a history book. Just Feanor, his family, and the conflicts arising from their family problems would be perfect for a drama that would later also receive a good dose of Action
when it goes to Middle-earth.
And one doesn’t have to stay only with the Elves: The stories surrounding the children of Hurin – humans – rivals Game of Thrones. The Dwarves were also highly active during this time and traveled openly across the world to trade with other races. The House-of-the-Dragon faction could celebrate the dragons that appear.
Unfortunately, in the Silmarillion, the well-known figures from The Lord of the Rings are only peripheral characters: Gandalf doesn’t exist in this form yet, Galadriel meets Celeborn in Doriath and stays there for a while (perhaps because of him), and an Elrond is not even born yet.
It could be very difficult for a studio to make the series appealing to modern Lord of the Rings fans. Because those who have only seen the films have no points of contact with the truly brilliant backstory. So why would people watch such a series or such films?
But if you now say you are curious and want to peek into the expanded universe, we have something for you: I myself started getting involved with this so-called expanded universe because of a TikTok post. I took my experiences with it and put them into a guide on how to best and quickly navigate Tolkien when it has to be more than just Frodo’s adventures: Anyone who can’t get enough of the Lord of the Rings has a huge universe to explore – Here’s how to get started
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