#we are getting a HALBRAND flashback

[helenvader]

I had this idea when I couldn't sleep last night and I just had to do it. :-)

[bamsywrites]

And Comes Dawn pt iv

Pairing: sauron/halbrand x reader

Summary: truths are revealed.

Warings: talk of mass murder, mentions of death, family loss, angst, reader gets angry a little bit, flashbacks, I'm sure yall will have more questions

Notes: this part is kinda short. I'm not super fond of it. I don't think I got galadriel down. Idk Idk I just think it doesn't read all that great. Feedback is appreciated. I love yall honestly.

Series Masterlist

He could feel the beast approaching before he saw the masts in the fog. The impending doom of everyone on board this raft was minutes away and the elf set his plans aflame with 4 words.

“I know your face.”

Her words and the look on your face as she spoke them played over and over on an endless loop. He could not figure out what you could possibly have done to gain the elves' attention. You stood there still, looking as if you wanted the sea to swallow you whole.

“Look! There's a ship.” Someone called. Everyone looked toward the horizon, but he slowly made his way towards you. He couldn't let you die, even though it was the sole reason he'd called the beast here. Perhaps he'd never be able to do it either way, but he knew now that your death wasn't an option.

There was a small back and forth, was it a corsair ship or was it help? It didn't take long before he hear your voice whisper the truth.

“That's our ship.”

No sooner had the words left your mouth, did screaming and panic set in amongst the ship inhabitants, one even pushing the elf overboard. He could see the fear on face, feel it emanating off of you. Your arms wrapped around your body and eyes clamped closed. His attempts to block you from his mind had made you feel alone. He could see that much. He knew in that instance he'd never be able to leave you to die.

“Sweet one,” He reaches for you, gently holding your face in his hands and making you look at him. Those eyes. What was happening to him? “Look at me.sweet one, I will die before I allow any harm to come to you. Do you understand? Stay by side.” He searched your eyes to make sure you understood. The way you fear disappeared under his gaze, and the little nod to your head was stirring something, a warmth, deep within him. If he reached back to distant memories within his mind, the feeling wasn't unfamiliar, and he'd once been filled with it.

It was unwelcome now, though, and he wouldn't allow himself to name the feeling. He banished it from his thoughts as his thumbs caressed your cheeks. This was nothing more than a deception to sate his growing curiosity and nothing more. He removed his hands from your face, and you instantly held on to his wrist, keeping him anchored to your side. He could feel your pulse quicken as the beast swam under the raft and again when it pushed its body into it.

“This way, sweet one.” He called over the sound of wood breaking and screams, the waves crashing. His fingers tangled with yours as he was all but dragged along with him. Quickly, he had untied a small portion of the raft, pushing it so you were out to safety.

“We can't leave her out there,” you motioned towards the elf, swimming away from the calamity.

He had no intentions of leaving her for a multitude of reasons, but it was interesting that you wanted to save her. She obviously knew something about you that you didn't want known, and it would all go away if you let the elf drown.

But you didn't want that to happen.

Of course you didn't.

He wouldn't be in this mess if you were that easy to read.

~

You sat back against one of the spikes, the raft causing your body to rock to and fro. You didn't look at Halbrand, nor at the elf - whose name you'd learned was Galadriel. You simply looked out at the waves, memories that you struggled to forget playing over and over in your mind.

“Up, up little one,” a deep voice laughed, picking you up and standing you on the table. Your father rested his forehead against yours, and you giggled. The music from the festival was loud outside the doors to your small home but Mama had said you couldn't go due to your fever. You needed rest, she had told you and your father repeatedly, but your Papa ignored her.

His hands clasped your face, “Perhaps we cannot dance out there, but we will in here.” A kiss pressed to your nose as he lifted you in his arms and danced throughout the living area as your body shook with laughter.

You were pulled from your memory by Halbrands voice, “You needn't keep your distance.”

“I am not keeping my distance. I am simply wondering what manner of man would leave his companions to die,” the elf replied back, eyes not looking at him nor attention away from her task.

“One who knows how to survive.”

Those words tore you back into your memories.

“If you do not do this, you will never know how to survive.” Your brother towered over you with his arms crossed, looking at you expectantly. He was 11 years older than you, and he tried to parent you often.

“Papa says I'm only 6, and I needn't worry about that yet.” You responded by pushing your plate away and crossing your arms, staring up at him with a firey defiance.

“You must always be ready for….”

“For what, boy?,” your uncle interjected, “ I heard no marching of armies? No horns blaring. I simply see a young girl who wishes not to eat the radishes your mother made for dinner. It is hardly a matter of life and death.”

Your brother sighed, sitting back and crossing his arms. He had the best intentions, he truly did. He simply wants what was best for you, wants you to be healthy and strong and not have a hunger in your belly.

Halbrand and the elf continued their bickering as your mind swarmed with the happy memories you had of your family. Your mama helping you make your first pie, which your father ate in its entirety though you suspect it was hornedesly inedible. Your father's deep voice as he'd sing, sometimes rocking you to sleep or dancing with you through the house, it was your favorite song. Sitting atop your uncle's shoulders as he walked along the path to the village. Your brother's jokes and how he'd always sneak you an extra serving of cake.

Your family had been happy, your home full of laughter and light. Your parents had adored each other, and the love they had was the envy of all young girls searching for true love. He brought her flowers and danced with her even when there was no music. You loved your life, and you had taken that happiness for granted. It all came crashing down when your mother caught a fever and nothing could break it. Those were memories you refused to wallow in or entertain. They were locked away so far in the back of your mind that it would break your very being to bring them out now.

“I have pursued this foe since before the first sunrise bloodied the sky,” you were pulled from your thoughts to the heated conversation between Galadriel and Halbrand. “It would take more than your lifetime to even speak the names of those they've taken from me.”

You scoffed. Your body filled with irritation as you shook your head, their heads snapped to your direction. You felt anger fill your veins as you remembered everything you had lost. Not just your family, but your village and all those who lived in it. “Our loss isn't less significant than yours simply because our lifetime is shorter.”

Galadriel appraised you for a moment, her anger written on her face. “You have grown into the spitting image of your brother. It is a coincidence, is it not, that orcs burned your village and a wyrm destroyed your ship and yet you live.”

Halbrand chuckled in disbelief, “What are you saying? That she, of all people, commands an orc army and controls a wyrm. What do you think she is?”

Galadriel never took her eyes off you, she spoke two words in elvish that had been haunting you for 15 years. Whispered behind your back anywhere you roamed.

“What does that mean?”

“Elf slayer,” you said quietly. “Your king himself said I am not the sins of my father. That I was a child. That I was to be unpunished.”

“It is still his blood that flows through your veins,” Galadriel spoke coldly, “Does your companion know that your father was an insane cultist? He has a right to know of whom he travels with.”

Halbrand looked at you, his brows furrowed in confusion, “What is she talking about?”

Your lip trembled, and you caught it in between your teeth. You took a deep breath to calm your nerves, but your breath was still shaky. “My father, uncle, and brother butchered a small village of elves as they slept. They were caught and executed for their crimes.”

Halbrand looked speechless. He turned his attention back to Galadriel as if looking for more answers.

“It was a blood ritual with the hopes of bringing back the enemy,” Galadriel looked to him. “To use elvish blood to resurrect Sauron,” her eyes turned to look at you, her accusation clear in them.

“ I do not wish to bring evil upon this world. I do not wish to subjugate my people's under the will of a tyrant. I have done nothing with my life besides try and repent for the atrocities committed by my family. For you to stand in accusation of me when your people, when your king, absolved me of any guilt. If you recall correctly, I was merely 8 and asleep in my bed when it happened.”

Galadriel opened her mouth in retort but closed it quickly as thunder cracked and storm clouds formed in the sky. This conversation wasn't over, but there were more pressing matters at hand now.

previous next

[testyqwcde]

We've been curious about what happened to Halbrand during the eruption of Mount Doom in Season 1. It's also been confirmed that certain storylines introduced in Season 1 won’t come into play until Season 5. This leads me to believe that the eruption of Mount Doom is the event that restores Sauron’s power. Before this, in Numenor and even the Southlands, he was still weak and unable to tap into his sorcery. At that point, he seemed lost, uncertain of which path to take to prove his worth. However, shortly after the eruption, we begin to see a shift in his personality, now framed with darker, more sinister undertones. It's possible that in the upcoming season or in Season 5, we’ll get a flashback showing how he regained his strength.

Notably, several key facts suggest that Sauron’s power is somehow tied to the volcano.

Sauron forged the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom by using its volcanic power to create an object of immense strength. Its destruction, too, lies in the depths of the volcano, where it was originally forged.

After Sauron’s defeat in the War of the Last Alliance, Mount Doom returned to sleep, much like Sauron’s waning power. However, when he regained his strength, the volcano reawoke that is a symbol of the resurgence of his dark influence.

Eruptions of volcanoes are often linked to dark, mysterious forces, and this is fitting for Sauron, who embodies the destructive and fiery nature of such events. The fire and fury of Mount Doom are not only physical but symbolic of Sauron’s true nature.

As Sam Smith's noted once his song 😁

Fire on fire Would normally kill us But this much desire Together we’re winners

This is exactly what happened to Sauron. Fire met fire and it enhanced Sauron's powers 💡

Gifs

How does it affect Saurondriel connection?

As @rey-jake-therapist has rightfully spotted in this meta , it’s fascinating to see how Sauron and Galadriel symbolize not just the classic Good vs. Evil and Light vs. Darkness, but also Water vs. Fire.

Let's not forget what caused the eruption essentially: too much water poured into the volcanic fires triggered the explosion.

The eruption which nearly allowed Sauron to regain his powers is a key metaphor of the explosive, destructive, powerful potential of their relationship.

[ringsofpowerconfessions]

"We need to find out what happened to Halbrand during the eruption of Orodruin and how he ended up with his wound. Hopefully we get flashbacks and it's not left as a plot hole."

[numenoria]

The Rings of Power Season 2 EP1: Thoughts/Observations/Commentary ✨

Ayyy I finally made it to Season 2!

EP 1: Elven Kings Under the Sky

- Flashback to the Dawn of the Second Age...ooh backstory!

- A blonde short-necked individual is conferencing with Adar and the Uruks.

- S-Sauron?? This must be a previous incarnation. You smol squat necked bean.

- Adar does NOT like what he's hearing.

- Adar's actor has been recast :(

- I'll miss Joseph Malwe approach to the role but Sam Hazeldine is crushing it so far.

- "Many orcs will die" The Orcs/Uruks:

- Okay that explains the beef between Sauron and Daddy Adar.

- The Uruks are over it. Sauron keeps politicking to be Dear Leader. One of Uruks pops off and tries to STAB Sauron! 👀

-Sauron quickly dismarms the Uruk and KILLS him?? I don't think this will end well for Sauron..

- Adar and the Uruks simply beat the breaks off Sauron. They stab him so many times it makes the Ides of March look like light work.

-Sauron explodes.. I think? And shifts the climate. His essance leaks out of Frodowraith and he takes his form from a rat (poor sqeakers) and eventually other parts of his environment. He's basically a blob of sorts.

- Sauron takes his S1 form from a dead guy, kills several people, including a well meaning older man and we get the scoop on how he ended up on the raft.

- Galadriel chases Elrond in what looks like a "Wait don't tell dad!" moment. Galadriel girl you gotta be quicker than that!

-Elrond informs The High King Gil-Galad of Sauron's association with Galadriel.

- Gil-Galad is over it! Galadriel and Elrond argue.

-Naur Galadriel your situation is like 10x worse than Elrond's 😩

- Gil-Galad demands the Rings. Elrond refuses.

- "Seize him" Oop 👀

-Elrond: 🤸🏽🌊

- Galadriel is shook.

- Random/Possibly intentional parallel:

- Back in Mordor the unfortunate Southlanders have been taken prisoner by Adar's Uruks

- Halbrand/Sauron goes willing. Ooh boy..

- Some person with a badass bronze (??) skull mask spies on a lost Nori and Stranger/Gandalf.

- Nori talks the Stranger into rousing a tree with bugs so they have some food.

- It's giving Timon and Pumbaa with these fried beetles.

- Nori and Stranger bond over missing their respective homes. Stranger realizes they're being followed.

- Fucking dusty ass Waldreg and Co. bullies and beats Halbrand

- Halbrand/Sauron threatens to kill Waldreg. Pls send this old man packing!!

- Sauron tames the dog beast 👀

- We're in Lindon now and Elrond is camping out under a bridge.

- Cirdan is introduced. Yet another name I've been pronouncing wrong...

- Gil-Galad sends a messenger to Celebrimbor regarding Sauron. I do not think the messengers will make it...

- Gil-Galad scolds Galadriel out of love. Galadriel figures out where Elrond is hiding.

- Cirdan is infatuated with the Rings. Elrond asks him to destroy them. Cirdan skirts around the issue. Wtf else is in those rings??

- Elrond clocks Galadriel about her bad decisions

- Cirdan is on a wee boat making off with the Rings.

-Nori and Stranger try to trap their follower and it's POPPY?? Girlie pop is very Samwise coded 🤣

- Poppy helps get them back on course. We love a halfling queen with a sense of direction!

- Cirdan wants to fuck the rings and decides he cannot destroy them. The Simarils are like crack to elves!

- Adar and Sauron have a chat. Adar says Sauron's face was beautiful he gave him wine 👀

- Halbrand/Sauron:

-Halbrand states Sauron had taken a new form??

-Adar wants a chained up Halbrand to swear loyalty to him while kneeling at his feet. Whatever in the medieval bdsm is this?? 😂

- The dog beast attacks Waldreg. RIP!

-Halbrand sets off to "Find Sauron"

- Sang that shit High King!! 😩

-Beautiful yet somber scene. I love the diversity of the Elves. Everyone of them ethereal in their own way.

- Cirdan shows up with the Rings and it's pretty much fuck Elrond at this point.

- One of the rings falls out of the bag and tumbles towards Galadriel. She is captivated by it and puts it on. Cirdan and Gil-Galad wear the other two rings.

- Light returns to Ergieon again. Elrond storms out.

- Mirandia is introduced. Naur she's so cute omgg 😍

- Halbrand/Sauron reaches Celebrimbor before Gil-Galad's Messengers. 😳

ETA: Gonna switch to desktop later to add more gifs/screencaps. Mobile only let's me add 10 😭 Images added b/c tumblr mobile sucks!

EP 1 was great! It piggybacked off the momentum in S1's finale episode. One down 7 more to go! ✨

-Davi ☽︎♡︎☾︎

[multifandumbmeg]

I have seen some posts speculating about the nature of Adar and Sauron's relationship and I would like to throw my own hat into the ring...

I'm reading Daddy Issues. When I see Adar's rage at Sauron, his monologues and surprisingly earnest fashioning of himself as the "father" of the Uruk/Orcs, I see someone who is raging against what they see as a failed father. I speculate that is because Sauron actually fashioned himself as the "father" first.

But he was a bad one.

Sauron participated in the experiments that created the orcs with Morgoth. Adar also says he sacrificed many more orcs to further experiments for Sauron in his conversation with Galadriel in season one, which I presume is referencing the location she found in episode one. Then there's the flashback where Sauron tries to gather an orc army he's clearly disgusted by for yet another war and Adar has enough, finally just stabbing the guy, leading the orcs against him. Sauron in that scene is more like a dictator, but one might argue a narcissistic father.

Then we have that conversation between "Halbrand" and Adar in season 2, where he recounts Sauron offering him wine after being left on a peak seemingly for dead. Adar speaks about it with such intense bitterness as he attempts to get Halbrand- unknowingly Sauron himself- to tell him where Sauron is so he can finally kill him. The Sauron he describes is working for Morgoth, it sounds like. The thirteen were tortured, and then Sauron was sent in with the pretty face and wine to play Nice Cop and win them back over with his silver tongue. It worked. And the tragedy is, you can tell Adar sees it now, that he was manipulated and resents it, but you can also see that single tear from Sauron. This is one of those rare occasions he feels remorse.

But at any rate, I think Sauron was assigned the role of "Orc Dad" by Morgoth and more or less tried to keep it (even though he may not have even liked the idea of orcs/their creation) because it was useful to him, but Adar stepped up and usurped it successfully because he saw that they actually needed it. A real home, a real leader, a real parental figure who saw them as living beings deserving of existence, respect, and even love.

I think the two of them are an extremely rich text.

[neyafromfrance95]

Curious to get your opinion on this. There seems to be a lot of debate around the “ambiguity” of saurondriel which confuses me because to me it’s never been ambiguous. since day 1 the show went out of its way to establish romantic/sexual tension OVERTLY. case in point, the moment where halbrand pulls gal close to transfer the sword, complete with lingering eye contact and heavy breathing - everything about the acting/directing signals “will they won’t they UST”. We’ve all seen this before on every TV show since the dawn of man. Hence the showrunners/whoever claiming Sauron’s proposal in the s1 finale “wasn’t romantic” and whatnot seems totally disingenuous (unless they mean not romantic as in not to be idealised, “not relationship goals” lmao). the show literally INVENTED saurondriel (they did not have to do this) and have been writing them as a sordid tragic romance the entire time. It seems clear to me in s2 that the show is telling us they are essentially in love (e.g. “I can’t let him in again” —> flashback to halbrand —> “he never left” + “when the light caught your hair” etc. BLATANTLY romantic overtones). As far as I’m concerned it’s not subtle whatsoever, so it’s incredible that people including shippers themselves refer to being delulu etc. Mind you this doesn’t mean saurondriel will actually get together, but the getting together part is NOT necessary for it to be a canonical romantic storyline — which it has been since the start of the show.

i agree!

the thing is, the way the creators describe their relationship is inherently romantic, there are explicit developments that showcase the romantic nature of their relationship, and explain the reasons for it being romantic.

and yet, they still don't refer to their story as "romance". why you ask? well, it is an issue with a western media that isn't categorized as strictly "romance". the word "romance" is simply avoided in promotions. explaining all the reasons for this will take too long.

but also, when they say haladriel is not romantic, it seems that they imply it can't be *confoned* to a romantic dynamic, bc it is FAR greater and deeper than romance could possibly be, it's something cosmic, something metaphysical, something so unique to their bond that it can not be defined by common language! hence why it can be described as ambiguous, though, for me... that's extremely romantic.

as for the shippers, we just love joking about being delulu like sauron is, lol. and also, ofc we have theories for where the show will take this relationship that might be a bit delulu since this is still a mainstream media that works within the restrains of a marvel and star wars formula. like, i'm 100% sure they want to go there, wherever it is, but will the execs allow that? unfortunately, a lot of decisions come down to that in the streaming media.

still, i'm flabbergasted when some people say that sauron x galadriel wasn't supposed to be seen as central and it was an accident. you simply don't write such storyline, dialogue, subtext, don't frame and film the interactions like that without a deliberate intent. it is not "delulu" to say that the entire show is one big sauron x galadriel parallel.

[ann-atar]

Thinking about the subtle presence of the powers that be and/or the Valar in Rings of Power, and having thoughts about what part they might play in the adaptation, specifically what we’ve seen so far, and going over how those powers that be might view Sauron and his actions, and every time I think about him in that context I feel somewhat sympathetic .

However, not too sympathetic, given his repeated offenses, to qualify him for redemption or some kind of blanket amnesty, at least not before many, many ages of serious contrition, and given that Sauron is Sauron, well. Is that likely?

There are a few different threads I’ve seen that try to make a case for TROP being all about ultimate forgiveness for Sauron, while condemning the choices and actions of Galadriel, Adar, Celebrimbor, Mirdania, or anyone who gets in his way because those individuals were short-sighted or needy, or were motivated by ego or weakness, and that the Valar were handwaving Sauron’s actions or even using Sauron as some kind of tool for divine justice(!).

Do we really think the Valar are indifferent to the suffering of elves and dwarves and men, to the point that they would condemn them to be tortured to death based on a bad choice, or a personal weakness, or a common character flaw? I don't think they are quite that severe in their judgement, but I do think, being something akin to gods, their seeming lack of presence could be interpreted as indifference, and more than that I think their actions happen on a much different time scale, so any action they take might take most of an age to show any results. And of course there would be a lot of unfortunate collateral damage in the meanwhile.

But do we seriously think this means that they would allow all of the violence and destruction we’ve seen so far just to give Sauron a second (third, fourth, fifth) chance to choose a better path before he’s subdued, just because he's a Maia and that somehow makes him their special boy?

No, and I think the show has shown us that this is not the case.

I think Sauron blew it when we were shown what happened in the season two flashback, when we saw his first days as “Halbrand”. Because it feels like that was his chance, and everything he's done and will continue to do in upcoming seasons will show him going deeper into whatever passes for insanity in demi-gods, with little or no understanding of the fact that his vision of order for Middle-earth is just as much an abomination as Melkor's path of destruction.

And that’s the compelling tragedy of Sauron.

Sadly that will mean more and worse consequences for the peoples of Middle-earth in the short term. But the Valar are not indifferent to this, and based on what we've seen they know Sauron needs to be dealt with. But what proof is there of that?

Well, they sent the Stranger/Gandalf, an Istari, and he has been explicitly put on a path to confront Sauron.

Think about the timing of him falling to earth: Sauron was on the raft with Galadriel, not long after Diarmid(!) was trying to get through to Sauron in the hold of that ship (and its subsequent destruction with Sauron on board was anything but a coincidence).

Of course Gandalf has free will too, and might make some mistakes. But he is a powerful force, who also has a different perspective and can play by different rules if he chooses, but he isn’t indifferent to the suffering of the Harfoots, and won't be indifferent to any pain Sauron causes the other peoples of Middle-earth.

So we're watching the consequences of Sauron blowing his latest chance play out, and ultimately I think we know we’ll see the realization of the Valar's condemnation of Sauron's choices and actions via Gandalf, the emissary they sent to counter him and muster forces to help subdue him. And I think the rings, all of them, will come into play during that struggle.

There’s a lot of underlying stuff about free will and the fact that power corrupts running through TROP and Tolkien in general. Celebrimbor made the Three with good intentions despite the fact that wanting to make them was also about ego and his legacy, but we can’t deny that the Three did the job he made them for, and we’ve seen them used to do good things. But Celebrimbor and Galdariel and Gil-galad and anyone else who comes in contact with the Three still have free will, and any attendant flaws that come with free will, and ultimately any powerful tool can be used for good or ill, and will inspire different things in characters according to their individual strengths and weaknesses.

But I do think the Three are more benevolent tools than any of the other Rings, with the One that Sauron will forge out of desperation being the ultimate corrupted tool that could influence the others. So Elrond or Galadriel or even Gandalf might have a better chance of using one of the Three for good, for protection and preservation for some length of time, whereas contact with someone like Sauron would change them based on his intentions, and his intentions are about gaining enough power to subjugate, well, everyone. In his hands, for instance, Nenya’s tendency toward protection would quickly decay into more overt stagnation, and just like men were drawn into the shadow realm by the Nine and the One, someone like Sauron with ill intent or a long history of general malevolence would gradually feed that into any one of the Three and reap the consequences.

In other words it’s not all about the sword, but who wields it.

I do wonder if we’ll see the Three become somewhat tied to the One in TROP, and if so how that will play out. Going back to the books, eventually the Three do lose their powers but there’s no indication that they were corrupted to the degree that the potential of any of the rings of power could corrupt or be corrupted.

The Three are powerful, and they are sought after, but they are not the Silmarils.

But would one of the Three heal or help Sauron? No, and getting back to the first part of this post, there are no shortcuts on the path to healing and redemption, and Sauron can't see that path at this point, and more than that he doesn't even know he's lost in the woods.

Quick aside because I just got a rude anon ask on the subject: Yes, I’ve read Silm and the other books and a bunch of other stuff, but I don’t treat the Legendarium as if I’m a supplicant who only accepts a literal interpretation of something Tolkien said in a lecture or a letter as something akin to religious doctrine, and I think he would laugh himself into a fit to see fans trying to contradict each other that way, especially given how he felt about the so-called dominion of the author. And given that TROP is going at Silm etc. buffet-style I don’t think we can talk about the show and expect it to adhere too strictly to every line the poor man ever wrote. This doesn't mean I didn't understand Silm, but I am coming at the adaptation mostly as it's own "thing." I hope that makes sense.

[butterflydm]

rings of power s2, eps 3-4

I am tracing the lines of Sauron's return in my head. Gil-galad tells Elrond in s1 that part of the reason he sent Galadriel away is because he believes that her staying will fan to life the very evil that she chases.

Is the blight of the tree something that happens because Sauron is strong to have his own body again? The stronger he gets, the more the tree rots.

If so, just like I suspect will happen with the dwarves, the rings of power hold back Sauron's own... perhaps inadvertent entropic influence on the world (because he didn't actively make the volcano poison the roots of the mountain, or at least it doesn't seem so. He's happy to take advantage of it, of course, but Adar is the one who blew open the mountain).

Or is the tree rot meant as a sign to the elves that their time in Middle-Earth is ended? And they simply don't want to listen, because they want to stay? That was Durin IV's argument to his son last season -- it's time for the elves to admit that this season of their life is over. Winter always comes; the fire always comes.

Unless I'm forgetting something, I don't think the elves knew why the tree was rotting at any point.

The rings work. It's important that they work. It's important that promises be kept, because that's the mechanism through which Sauron's influence spreads. In order for the temptation of power to remain... tempting, the power has to work. Otherwise, the system breaks down (the mistake that Sauron made with Adar & the orcs in the flashback of s1 - he made it clear that everything he was doing was for his own selfish purposes, that he was doing it to be seen as the savior of the world. he didn't show them what was in it for them, because it wasn't about them) and resistance builds in response. And note that he doesn't have to actually sell himself during any part of this process -- he points to the evidence that the elven rings are working as the proof that is needed to show that rings would help the dwarves.

But Sauron himself is also the embodiment of the warning that Galadriel gives in LotR to Frodo about what would happen if she took the ring -- his intentions might genuinely be to 'heal Middle-Earth' but his method is through enforcing his will on others, whether that be through subtle means (his preference) or more violently (if Plan A doesn't work). And we were just told by Cirdan in ep2 that this is exactly how the elven rings work -- they force your will into the world and make your desires manifest, influencing others. It might start small, like forcing a fish to flop onto a rock as part of a demonstration, but as you get used to that much power at your fingertips, it is easier and easier to push the line. Especially if you believe yourself to be so wise and fair that you (and you alone) can be trusted with such power.

Note: I am not giving Sauron all the credit here! It was definitely made clear in s1 that the mithril does have properties that keep the light from fading for the elves. That's real and true. But Halbrand is the one who 'saved' the project by figuring out a way to amplify the teeny-tiny amount of mithril they had into something powerful enough to save all the elves from needing to leave. And it's that amplification system that is the danger.

But, yes, the power is real but the control of that power becomes Sauron's once it gets bound up in the method that he designed.

episode 3: Vindication!

Annatar insisted on touching the mithril before it went into the alloy for the dwarven rings. Halbrand picked up and examined the mithril when he first poked around in Celebrimbor's forge back in 1x8. That's how he puts his whispering into the rings! I said he'd still influenced the elven rings even though he didn't make them himself, and this shows how he did that.

It was strange not seeing Galadriel for a whole episode. I think this is the first time. But this episode was very focused on mortal Men and on the dwarves, and on the crafting of the dwarven rings.

One of the orcs was talking to Adar and worried that Adar was gearing up to send them after Sauron and a hill-troll showed up that Adar had requested and he'd... he'd killed the orc messenger who was sent to him and brought his head with him. And since I know how the season ends for Adar, I can't help but notice that the orcs are, you know, kinda unhappy that Daddy A is going on a vendetta against this Sauron guy that none of them actually seem to remember as anything but a story that Adar tells them (idk how long Orcs live, but not as long as elves, I'm guessing?). And now Adar is calling on new allies that are already costing orcs their lives, while the orcs are saying to him, "um, hey, we have this sunless land to ourselves, maybe we should quit while we're ahead and not go chasing after the rumors of this Sauron fellow?"

Sauron dropped a pebble into the pond in the first episode and the ripples are moving outward. I suspect Adar is going to become increasing obsessed with chasing Sauron down, and not notice that his 'children' are growing unhappy with his leadership.

I liked Isildur's plotline, and the moments that he shared with and around Theo were really sweet. I felt bad for the girl that he'd met -- I guessed before they confirmed it that she'd taken Adar's brand to save her life. Poor kid. The survivors' guilt for all the mortal Men was so strong in this episode.

Arondir's attempt to give advice to Theo was poorly-received, but I found it fascinating because: a. it is good advice tbh and b. it's the opposite of Galadriel's feelings on the same subject. There's a reason that Galadriel was able to bond so successfully in the brief time she had with Theo, I think, and why he was more receptive to her. For Galadriel, revenge is the thirst that cannot be quenched by seawater. For Arondir, he cautions against following that thirst at all, for it never gets fulfilled no matter what. Arondir is definitely changed by Bronwyn's death and it makes it clear that he will never forget her but he does not want to lose himself in anger. Big contrast to our Galadriel, who let her anger and grief drive her entire life for centuries.

"Elven memory does not dim" - this makes me think of how several of the things that they had Halbrand say to Galadriel are words that Galadriel says in LotR. A big part of her finally passing her test and turning down the temptation of the One Ring uses the exact same words that Sauron used when he originally tried to tempt her to join with him and become his queen. All those centuries later, she remembers precisely what he offered her.

The idea of binding and being bound came up again here. After I get caught up on the show, I'm going to do my best to see if I can track down some meta & analysis for the show (though tumblr search functions make that difficult). Here, Isildur talks about feeling as though he is bound to try to do something singular and important with his life, in order to earn the fact that his mother died saving him. Galadriel and Halbrand/Sauron also talked a lot about binding in s1. And Adar claimed "only blood can bind."

So, yeah. There's a lot there.

The Numenor plotline made me sad. Things are going really depressing in Numenor these days. Miriel still has the best outfits, though. She's got style. But, man, Elendil and Miriel have depressing lives right now!

We saw the current limits of Annatar's influence here -- Celebrimbor pushes back against him when it's a subject that he's certain he knows better (the temperment of the dwarves) and Annatar isn't able to find any emotional keys into influencing Durin's behavior. But Durin wasn't there alone -- Disa was also there, and so she was able to exert influence on Durin where Annatar's own words failed. We already saw last season that Disa urges power and ambition on her husband, so her being more open to Annatar's influence makes sense, imo.

My mom was unhappy that there was no Stranger & Harfoots this episode! She missed them a lot! The Bronwyn stuff made her sad but also kinda vindicated in how she had pointed out during the episode when Bronwyn was injured that she should not have been up and about with the wound that she'd received.

episode 4: Ancient evils awakening due to Sauron's increasing influence in the world. That potentially supports the idea that the blight of the tree was caused by him growing powerful enough to take on a form again. Or is he deliberately awakening the evils? I am uncertain.

I was so excited to see Ents in this episode! And I notice that the Entwives have not yet been lost. I was hoping when Theo was snatched at the end of the episode that this would mean Ents (because it reminded me of when Merry and Pippin were snatched up in the movies).

I loved the scene with Adrondir talking to the Entwife and promising her that they would keep the wood here untouched. Arondir and Bronwyn were our genuine 'hero' couple last season (to contrast against our ambitious and prideful and vengeful Galadriel and Halbrand -- love them but, you know. it's true) and I really am curious how the show might have leaned into that relationship contrast if Bronwyn's actress had stayed with the show. Because Bronwyn was a healer (the hands of the king are the hands of a healer) and Arondir was so moral that he would have let even Bronwyn die to keep the shadow hilt out of Adar's hands.

Missed my evil boy boo in this episode, but I had Galadriel back, so we will say that the scales are balanced.

So... what do I think is going on with Galadriel's ring? If the visions are from Sauron, that means he wants to her to come to Eregion. Not too quickly or too hastily, or he would not awaken dangers to block her path, but he wants her there.

The ring warned her about the danger of the southern path -- an honest warning, I think (as we did run into the barrow-wights). Like I said above, the rings genuinely do work... it's just that I think Sauron is also influencing them to a certain extent. Like... I know what that black crown is used for at the end of the season! It's one of the scenes I've seen in gifs! In two of the visions, we've heard his voice calling her name, and one of the other visions was literally him standing in Eregion with the tower in full view over his shoulder.

Galadriel was able to give the ring to Elrond, but he wasn't happy about it. Elrond said that he thought Galadriel's actions were about trying to protect the ring (from the orcs/Adar?).

Speaking of, it's time for the Galadriel capture arc! Excited to get into that, which I know a little bit about.

I was interested by the whole Estrid x Isildur + Estrid's betrothed thing, though mainly because I was getting some odd Galadriel & Sauron vibes from them after Isildur felt so betrayed after he learned that she was someone who had sworn to Adar. Nothing really specific. Just vibes. Also the whole "I have a missing betrothed off somewhere but will have sexual tension with you until he shows up" was... yeah. Vibes, idk.

I am not Tom Bombadil's biggest fan, but I did think he was well used here and not anywhere near as annoying as I find him in Fellowship, lol. In fact, there were times when he was maybe even somewhat charming. Like with the lamb. And Gandalf was cute in those scenes as well.

I found the story of the Stoor/Harfoot separation and journey very touching! I'm guessing that the Stoors & Harfoots will found The Shire together, maybe at the end of the series. The first Harfoots wandered off in search of a vision that sounds a lot like the Shire, but as they wandered, they forgot the point of their wandering, until all they were was the wandering.

My mom was happy to see the Ents and liked Arondir's scene with them but wonders how Arondir can keep his promise about the forest remaining untouched. She speculated that maybe he would become a ranger (like Aragorn is in the future). I like it!

And since I'm talking about Aragorn anyway... a couple of thoughts.

Lost kings. We have the 'lost king of the Southlands' - a corrupted version of Aragorn in a lot of ways! Sauron wants to heal Middle-Earth but because of his desperate need to control people, he is unable to heal anything. Meanwhile with Aragorn, "the hands of the king are the hands of a healer". Aragon is humble vs Sauron being prideful. A servant of his people vs a tyrant.

And we have Thorin Oakenshield, who falls between the two of them. Like Sauron, he is filled with pride and the desire for vengeance. But he comes, in the end, to a place of humility and of understanding the value of the simplicity of life, and the wastefulness of greed and war.

[buffyfan145]

Word of warning we just got a ton of possible leaks about season 2 of "Rings of Power" coming from The One Ring Net source. However, I will point out while a few of these seem possible this reminds me a lot of other "leaked" things for my other fandoms, especially DC and Marvel movies/shows, and most of those turned out to be false and fans just posting things for their own enjoyment. However, this is how it first leaked that Halbrand was Sauron before season 1 aired. Some of these do match scoops/spoilers we've gotten from Fellowship of Fans an interviews with the cast, but some of these are so out of left field. I'll post a breakdown under a cut of the major ones but you can see the post in full here. But I will point out some of these would be massive changes to the lore that even I'd be shocked if they do it, so again we'll see.

So the first thing that matches what FOF and even Charlie Vickers teased is that season 2 is going to show a lot of Sauron flashbacks and tell his side of the story and that we'll be in on his plans the whole time. But according to this post the Mairon version is a separate actor and that Gavi is actually the Annatar version but Halbrand/Charlie is still the main one going forward.

They're saying the Tolkien estate gave Amazon more access to "The Silmarillion" and we will see all the Valar, Maiar, Eru (he's just a voice though so we won't see a person), Melkor/Morgoth, Mairon (even called this name), Gandalf/Mithrander (who is Daniel's The Stranger), and even Ungoliant as we get this full backstory in the show.

Halbrand will go back to the dwarves and reveal he's Mairon to them and they truth him because of Aule.

It'll be revealed that Sauron/Mairon had a son and Adar killed him, which was why the line Adar said about "a woman or a child" was said in s1. No idea who the boy's mother is but possibly Amelia Kenworthy's character. This is a huge departure but would be interesting to have Sauron/Mairon/Halbrand actually have been a father and the 2nd Maiar besides Melian to have children.

Gandalf/Mithrander will also have flashbacks, including that he almost sided with Mairon, and even introduce Shadowfax.

Tom Bombadil and Goldberry will appear, which we already saw a leak about this possibly happening last year.

Supposedly Halbrand/Sauron does keep up his infatuation with Galadriel but actually goes back to Eregion not as just Annatar but as Celeborn!!! 😮 So they don't rescue Celeborn after all but it is Sauron/Halbrand and it's making it sound like there's romantic scenes between them but again it's actually Sauron/Halbrand with Galadriel and not Celeborn. I know some of us Haladriel shippers have written this exact thing in our fics and if this really does happen that again hints that Sauron/Halbrand really could be Celebrian's biological father which I would be shocked if the show did this even though I'd also love it. LOL Then add in if they do this change where Sauron had a son that died and possibly ends up having a daughter with Galadriel. It does sound like the real Celeborn does come back too at some point so if this happens this is going to be interesting, even though I know a lot of the purists and regular LOTR fans might hate it.

The season does end with Sauron forging the One Ring, which FOF has also been speculating. The thing is if Galadriel will be with him when he does as FOF reported on her being captured by Adar during the Battle of Eregion with this also confirms happens in the last 2 episodes.

They're also saying too that the season will also end with Galadriel making a choice to save either real Celeborn and/or Sauron/Halbrand as Celeborn, which again could point to above that she gets captured and then decides to stay with him. So this is going to be very interesting if any of these turn out to be true.

[jadehaven]

I kinda like how the show developed Galadriel and Halbrand in season 1, and Galadriel and Elrond in season 2, but I remember the "Celeborn will be back don't worry" said by one of the showrunners during comic con, and I'm a bit disappointed. He was gone for two seasons, and now we're supposed to cheer for his return, after the destruction of Eregion? I'm mean, but I don't want him to show up... 😣

*original response has been edited due to 1 piece of misinformation on the authors part*

Aight so to be honest, and I mean COMPLETELY HONEST,

I do fear this. I do fear they might bring him back. But it would be a terrible decision if they did. Here’s my top 3 reasons why it won’t work:

1) There’s too much chemistry with other characters.

- Clearly she felt something for Halbrand. It was romantically driven because there were lines such as the numenorean’s taunting Hal saying “wait till she prefers someone of better breeding.” Lol. And ofc him wanting her to be his queen, it was definitely part of the plot.

- They had her KISS another character, and not just any character, her “more than best friend” (giggling at this lmao) who ALSO led the siege of Eregion and rescued her twice and is just able to read her like and book. It wouldn’t please the viewers at this point to break up a super close, well established “friendship” after bringing them together again at the end of S2.

- If she was soooo in love with Celeborn, then there wouldn’t be opportunity for her to have this much intimacy with other male leads lol.

2) It would slow down the story line

- How would Celeborn fit into all that’s happening right now? They’d have to stop and explain everything to him. Unless somehow he magically knew already? Then he somehow takes centre stage and fights in the war of last alliance while the main protagonist just sits out?? Erm. Ok then.

- There’s been ONE reference to him. If he was more significant and they wanted folks to be gearing up in anticipation for him, then they would’ve built on it. For instance, we’ve had points from season 1 all the way till end of season 2 that have hinted at Elendil’s eventual meet up with Anarion. He’s was mentioned once in season 1 I think, then season 2, plus Elendil’s palantir vision. It would just be so odd to have Celeborn show up and suddenly “matter” after a whole season of… nothing. Not to mention what happened DURING that nothing lol.

Heheh.

Anyways.

3) He’s a very uninteresting character

- Let’s be real here. The vast majority of folks who are interested in seeing Celeborn on the show are the lorebros who don’t want the romances messing up the generational lore. Well guess what? It’s already messed up. So many characters that currently exist in the ROP timeline should not exist yet, so it’s clearly an issue the writers don’t have that much beef with. Besides, there’s nothing that significant that he did other than become Galadriel’s husband. If we had seen the two of them falling in love, flashbacks to their past together, and then have it tie into Galadriel’s revenge arc, then yeah I would be more excited to see him return. What did we get instead?

(Honestly this clam is prettier than I’d expect Celeborn to be with the way Gal described him.)

- Instead of including Celeborn in the beginning, we have instead, Elrond being the voice of reason, wisdom, affection, resilience— not to mention literally leading the siege of Eregion. In the books, Celeborn was supposed to be a part of that battle(but like, lost or something?). So they’ve already taken out one major event that would’ve made him more interesting. They’re running out of material to work with here lol.

- Showrunners are going to have to work real hard to develop a character that we know hardly anything about. It’s different than other characters that get introduced later, such as Anarion and Glorfindel. Even CIRDAN got more hype. Those characters have a long lasting record of being actually interesting enough for people to anticipate their arrival. They won’t need to do as much fleshing out because the base material has already done it. But Celeborn? Tell me where is the RIZZ because i much desire yada yada you get the joke.

Anyways. If the writers are smart, then their plans to add Celeborn will not be some grand scheming wonderous break through. It’ll just be for closure, and not much of anything else. Maybe he’ll have moved on and found another lady while Galadriel was away or something lol. MAYBE HE GOT CORRUPTED IDK.

But, they might still do it. They might just add him in to please the lorebros, shove elrond to the side and continue on with the og story.

They’d lose a lot more fans doing that then if they had Elrond and Galadriel be endgame.

There I said it.

Hopefully this sort of answers your ask, brings you some peace of mind— but I wouldn’t get too excited just yet. We’re in it for the long haul here.

xo Jade

p.s. I didn’t proofread this, hope you had fun reading my grammar mistakes. heh.

[helenvader]

I was listening to this song, because I remembered it today thanks to a lovely conversation here with @teddyniffler. It has Halbrand/Sauron potential, but I thought it needed flashbacks, and hoped very much we would get some. And yes, we will. Yay!

And for some unfathomable reason, after This Night YT started to play my own video that is totally unrelated to that song, genre-wise and... everything-wise. Did the algorithm know I was thinking about ROP???

And yes, of course I'm going to share, for the good old "why not" reason.

ETA:

And this is what YT offered THEN:

Thanks, algorithm. Not bad. Not bad at all.

[testyqwcde]

Final shot of season 5

According to the showrunners' old interview, key s1 moments will play out only at the end of season 5.

I understand that we may not be getting 5 seasons now as their plan may change because of the viewership and general perception of the show. But I am curious what this final shot might have been?

Galadriel/Sauron's bond was confirmed to be the heart of the show and the whole s1 was focused on their relationship, so it might be logical to wrap it up with the scene involving both of them.

Though she won't probably participate in the War of Last Alliance (the key event of s5), she may still be watching it from the far. And when Sauron is defeated, we may get a flashback to a very crucial moment of season 1:

Back on the raft? highly unlikely we had it closed in season 1.

Forest confession scene? Maybe. They talk again, share feelings but now she walks away leaving him in the darkness.

Eregion flashback: he had been working there for weeks and we were left with no clue on how their relationship unfolded.

Any other ideas?

It may happen that this final shot would not be related to Saurondriel bond at all and would open other possibilities like Elendil/Sauron last fight based on the shot where Halbrand actually saved Elendil. Or Theo's bond to dark magic explained.

However, in full transparency I want Saurondriel to be the final shot and I would be quite disappointed to have s1 moment paying off without having these 2 involved.

Link: https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a62055071/lord-of-the-rings-rings-of-power-season-3-news-date-cast/

[buffyfan145]

IGN just confirmed that Jack Lowden is playing the form of Sauron Adar knew in flashbacks in the season premiere of "Rings of Power" s2!!! 😀 Sharing this image of the tweet as they took screenshots of how he looks in the new featurettes the show released today, and I love he's got the red hair most of us fans think of with Mairon. I posted a couple weeks ago when this leaked out and now it's official. It's after Adar "killed" Sauron that Sauron then reformed as Halbrand, which we got a glimpse of in the final trailer last week. I've been a fan of Jack's for years so this is awesome he gets to be a part of the show too. No worries though for fans of Charlie as for starters Jack is really busy with other projects that I don't see him being on full time, and there seems to be more to the theory now that once a form of Sauron is "killed" that he can't take that form again, so it should be Charlie for the rest of the series but possibly Jack if they do more flashbacks. But either way I'm a fan of both Sauron actors so I'm happy. LOL

[elis-corner]

The fact that I don’t get how people can watch the same thing over and over without a decent gap in between and complain if they do so without headphones in, and yet that’s exactly what I do with animatics and trailers, is highly amusing to me.

And because it’s been long enough without me having ranted about Lord of the Rings here you go XD

The trailer for the Amazon show. Oh my god it’s gotten me hyped. Honestly, I forgot about that villain Amazon has made, Adar. Why are you naming him Adar? Adar is elvish for father, that’s common knowledge! I swear he better not be one of Galadriel’s brothers like everyone is assuming. While typing this up I came to the frightening realisation that the photos we have of him match a certain First Age elf who is likely still alive at that point, and his name is Adar. First Age elf who matches this OC, most likely dubbed “Adar” by the characters within the show... I swear if Adar is Maglor I will personally go murder the showrunners, scriptwriters, and anyone else responsible. /j /lh

Hands down Meteor Man is Sauron, and you can’t convince me otherwise.

Next, OCs. Look, I don’t mind a bit of variation from the original text, but the elf/human relationship they’ve created is questionable in my eyes. 1. When has that ever ended well. 2. They have a perfectly good love story to focus on already.

What love story you may ask? An important one, thanks very much; Elrond and Celebrian. The issue is that we have no hints that they’re showing it, as we have no confirmed actress for Celebrian. However, there are rumours that someone was hired (and the lady gives off Liv Tyler vibes so perhaps), Tolkien fans will be annoyed if this is excluded, it leaves people who don’t know much outside of the Third Age wondering who Elrond has kids with, so they hopefully will include her. Personally, she’s one of my favourite elves, and when I got back into art and writing last year, most of what I did centred around her. Also, it gives more content and tension for those scenes with him and Galadriel, since she likes Elrond and his forebearers, however despises those who raised him. Anyway, I just think they should use her to their advantage.

The shot from the most recent trailer of elves standing in a circle raising their swords. I am hyped. If it isn’t a flashback to the Oath of Feanor I’m going to cry. Maedhros and Maglor are two of my favourite elves of all time I need to see them. If it is though, we actually see four elves (one only for a split second), all with black hair, which probably means it’s Curufin, Caranthir, and Maglor (since Maedhros, Amros, Amras, and Celegorm do not have dark hair, and Feanor would likely be in the centre).

Halbrand looks way more like Aragorn than Isildur does, just saying. Not to mention Halbrand follows Dunedain naming schemes, and there is a LotR character called Halbarand which is awfully similar. On the topic of names, our first on-screen female dwarf is called Disa. The only named female dwarf Tolkien ever wrote about was Thorin’s sister, and her name was Dis. So wow, Amazon, big creativity right there. What does Disa mean anyway? Same with Theo (theod what you see in names such as Theoden, not theo)...

The casting for Gil-Galad is perfect. Not only is he a great actor with the perfect vibes, but he looks a lot like the Gil-Galad we see in the LotR prologue, which is great. Talking about continuity, those close-ups of Galadriel’s eyes are clearly reminiscent of the same thing happening in the original trilogy.

My sister thinks Elrond looks like Tom Holland, which I sort of see... I think she’s just trying to ruin the best elf for me.

That scene with red has my mind going haywire excuse me while I theorise every possible moment- Let’s see, is this Melkor being destroyed, the fall of Numenor, the curse of Mandos, or the First Kinslaying... I reckon that it isn’t the Kinslaying because Galariel says “you have not seen what I have seen”, and Elrond is also a Kinslaying survivor. The only other thing I know is that it looks sick.

Rest assured, if I have any more random thoughts you will receive essays >:)

This? Oh, no, this isn’t an essay. These are dot-points.

[helenvader]

RoP Ask Game! ♡: 5, 12, 26

Thank you for the ask! ♥️

5. What's your favourite song or piece of music from RoP?

Halbrand's theme. I even wrote lyrics for it! :-)

12. What colour do you associate with your favourite character?

Nobody will be shocked that Mairon is my favourite. :-) As for colour, oddly enough, it's not black, but orange and red, since he's a fire spirit and has ginger hair in fanon. Which was taken over in RoP for Jack Lowden's Mairon. I was very pleased. Also with the strawberry blond that they chose for him. :-)

26. If you could ask the creative team behind RoP one question, what would it be?

The showrunners, definitely. I have a million questions, but the one I really asked (on Reddit) was whether we could hope to see Jack Lowden in another flashback in the future. It didn't get to the final list, or rather, it did, but in a generic form of "will there be more flashbacks in future seasons?" So I haven't really got my answer. But at least we know there WILL be more flashbacks.

I have managed to smuggle Mairon in all of these replies. I'm hopeless! 🤣