I like rings of power – but I have questions #5 – Plotarmor & Númenor

So this time I’m not up to date audiovisually on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, because i know what happens in the last episode of the first season of the amazon series…but i haven’t seen it yet. I think this episode will raise enough questions for me to ask you and myself. But before that, I really want to clear up a few things that are still open in my notebook. By the way, Zam suggested that I share a photo of my notes, so here’s an unvarnished look at my bastard claw ^^

My pig claw, congratulations.

Source: buffed

Before I address my open questions: Yes, I watch the series with a notebook. But that’s just fun for me, with such a basis. I still really like the Rings of Power, the visuals are fantastic and I’m actually excited to see things being resolved by the showrunners – whether I then think they make sense is another matter. There are certainly readers who might be annoyed that I question so many things in terms of lore. Personally, however, I have a lot of fun in the discussions with my small fan community and always watch each episode with interest and excitement. I’m super excited for this series! Too bad we have to wait for season 2 now!

Why is Galadriel swimming?

In my article on building the world Arda I wrote how the continents and islands are situated. As a reminder, the left continent on the world map is Aman. Then comes the island of Tol Eressea, then comes Númenor (which is actually a bit closer to Aman than Middle-earth). And then comes Middle-earth. I don’t know about you, but even for an elf it’s a pretty stupid idea to jump in the water just off Aman and want to swim back to Middle-earth. That Galadriel doesn’t drown, I think that’s a strange plot armor that doesn’t need it – I’ll get to another case of plot armor in a moment.

Elves may be immortal in a way, but they are certainly not unsinkable and are blessed with infinite endurance.

Source: Amazon

Indeed, Galadriel is extremely fortunate to be picked up by Halbrand and his fellow throwaways. And then again, Galadriel and Halbrand are extremely lucky together that a ship from Númenor comes by (the one with Elendil, of course, but wayne). Belegaer is a mighty sea. The elves that awoke at Lake Cuiviénen took more than 40 years to migrate from East Middle-earth – and they were even provided with a water taxi by Osse, they didn’t have to swim or anything. So… Galadriel wears Plotarmor herself as Elbe, but of course you can’t just kill her, and on top of that, it’s likely (or so it seems) that she’s the lynchpin of the entire series. And her incredible luck didn’t save her from being extremely stupid on horseback… well, let’s leave it at that.

You really want to hide in this tiny tower?

Adar and his orc hordes attack the tower in Tirharad, which used to serve as an observation post for the elves. The question as to why the people under Bronwyn’s leadership are holed up in this seemingly small tower is answered later when Waldreg puts Sauron’s Mordor Key in the right hole. But before that, everyone will have asked themselves: Why in this tower, which really doesn’t look very well defended and is almost single-handedly dismantled by Arondir? The fact that this tower offers almost no protection can be seen in this scene, since there are no mysterious Elven forces at work. It probably just has to do with the orcs not being able to dig out the underground. Because water or something. Because at the end of the day, Bronwyn has crammed a fair number of refugees into a small, ramshackle tower without anyone worrying about food.

As for the tower in general: One might mistake him for Cirith Ungol in the Shadow Mountains (Ephel Dúath), situated at the highest point of the Spider’s Pass. This is suggested by its location overlooking the valley and its proximity to the water – and the small detail that the Mordor sequence is called Udûn, like the northern cirque of Mordor. However, Cirith Ungol did not exist until the Third Age, as it was a Gondorian outpost meant to secure Ithilien. And if it was the tower on Spider Pass, the showrunners would have forgotten an interesting character: Shelob! OO

And Cirith Gorgor certainly isn’t guarding that tower, because that pass was very wide and ended up being blocked by the Morannon, the Black Gate. It can be learned from a making-of of the series that the tower is in the Shadow Mountains and not in the Ashen Mountains (the mountains on Mordor’s northern border). However, since there’s a manageable amount of passes over the Shadow Mountains… well, funny that there’s a tower like that standing around with no seemingly significant meaning.

Bronwyn wears a Plotarmor, although it doesn’t have to be.

Credit: Ben Rothstein/Prime Video/Amazon Studios

Does it have to be so much plot armor?

Back to the Plotarmor: During the attack of Adar and his orcs on Bronwyn’s village, Bronwyn is badly injured. super bad She dies. But then again not. Everyone stands around and watches Arondir as he heals the arrow wound with the help of Theos, even the orcs. In this very long-acting scene, no one attacks. It’s eerily quiet. And that really stands out in this scene. Also later, when Galadriel and Theo come to the camp of the Númenóreans and survivors, Bronwyn is of course not dead. And neither is Halbrand, by the way.

I think…sorry, but I think the showrunners treat the “non-canon characters” with kid gloves, and that bothers me a little. Apart from the fact that I would have found it tragic, if a quite strong character like Bronwyn had died, I wouldn’t have found it bad either. Game of Thrones only developed some dramatic momentum when Ned Stark was killed and a drive for an entire family. I could have lived with Bronwyn dying and Arondir and Theo having to deal with it. Speaking of Theo: Have you noticed that you never see your ears? I bet it will turn out to be Arondir’s son (OMG, Peredhil twist nobody saw coming!).

Also, Isildur’s fate is not resolved after the seventh episode of Rings of Power season one. BUT WE KNOW HE WILL SURVIVE! He’s like Sauron’s nemesis, hello?! This decision to let Bronwyn live but leave Isildur’s fate in limbo I find silly and the more I write about it the angrier I get, so I’ll stop now.

Isildur had a brother. No sister.

Source: Prime Video/Amazon Studios

What is Eärien supposed to aim for?

I have indicated elsewhere that I would have found it useful if the Númenor story had been told on its own because it really has a lot of potential. But the showrunners decided to mix everything up into a comical mix. Númenor and the looming civil war will still play a role, including the journey of the Númenóreans to Middle-earth to liberate their colonies from Sauron. And then, of course, the story of the sinking. Númenor really has a lot of potential. Why then …

Imputing a sister to Isildur and Anárion? Elendil had two children, Isildur and Anárion. Point. We don’t see Anárion, he’s only briefly mentioned. I’m almost afraid he was turned into Eärien for the female count and an emotional counterpart to Elendil’s Elven awe and Isildur’s spirit of adventure. Officially, Eärien may just be afraid of losing her family. For me, however, she unofficially gives the impression of an artistically inclined, melancholic cricket. So far she hasn’t given me anything in the series that would have been necessary, and this love story about Pharazôn’s son Kemen (Pharazôn didn’t have any offspring either) seems out of place and artificial, and only as a plot filler, because otherwise … I have no idea , five minutes of material would have been missing. Yes, I know Eärien will be making another appearance in the season finale, but like I said, this will have its own story.

The Cavalry of Númenor. Much rohirrim.

Source: Amazon Studios

The sun rises in the west?

Great scene with the Númenórian cavalry and all. Why must the Númenóreans have cavalry? I dunno, but it was probably meant to evoke epic Rohirrim thoughts. Also, it makes sense that the Númenóreans, who got from Númenor to Rhovanion amazingly quickly (see Arda’s structure above), somehow also got to Quasi-Mordor amazingly quickly. And that the showrunners must be particularly proud of their horse crane… ridiculous. Eh Free! And that 100 people (plus horses) can be accommodated on these small boats – oh, let’s leave that.

But what I remembered: The cavalry of Númenor are shown in their first scene with the sun at their back. Since the light looks relatively fresh and clear, it seems to be the morning sun. In the next scene, the orcs invade the tavern of Bronwyn’s village and it is still night. The Númenóreans travel from west to east. From this I conclude… So Middle-earth is upside down?! Those who are only slightly familiar with Tolkien’s work may recall that Middle-earth is modeled on Europe. So you would expect the sun to rise in the east and set in the west.