The second season of Amazon Studios’ most ambitious venture, The Rings of Power, is off to a great start, with the first three episodes delineating Sauron’s grand plan for the domination of the Middle-Earth. From Númenor far east in Rhûn, a series of events have been set in motion by dark forces, threatening the existence of men, elves, and dwarves—and their upcoming conflict with Sauron’s forces will culminate in the War of the Last Alliance. As new rings of power get forged in secret to bring forth the doom of all forms of life, the forces of evil grow stronger, unchecked still. With the spirit of light getting overwhelmed by darkness, primal forces have started making their presence felt in Middle-Earth, as the fourth episode, titled “Eldest,” features the surprising appearance of a fan favorite Tolkien character, whose inclusion can alter the history of Middle-Earth in major ways.
Spoilers Ahead
Will Galadriel Become Adar’s Captive?
As warnings sent for Celebrimbor remain unanswered, under Gil-galad’s command, Galadriel and Elrond make their way from Lindon to venture to Eregion in order to check up on the master Elven craftsman. Elrond is assigned to lead a small crew of two swordsmen and an archer; reasonably, Galadriel, who has to follow her friend’s command despite being a being a better combatant and tactician than him in all regards, can’t help but feel the wounded friendship is going to affect Elrond’s decisions. Elrond, who is wary of the Ring of Power Galadriel is wielding at present, refuses to trust her in turn. Facing a dead end (thanks to Sauron’s machinations) while moving forward, the crew needs to take an alternate route to Eregion, and the southwards one from Tyrn Gorthad takes the least time. However, Galadriel’s ring warns her of the presence of evil along that particular route, and she advises Elrond to avoid it. Quite obviously, Elrond, who has given in to his paranoia, decides to do exactly the opposite by venturing through the southward route, and the group gets ambushed by Barrow-wights, fearful apparitions of departed ones from past ages who have been awakened by Sauron. The dark spirits are revealed to have already claimed the lives of the messengers who were previously sent to Eregion. Galadriel and co. realize that Celebrimbor remains unaware of the warnings that were sent for him. Elrond’s knowledge of how to exterminate the Barrow-wights by using their own swords saves the day, but not before one of the crew gets killed.
Their journey once again gets halted as they spot Adar and his orc army making their way towards Eregion. The group gets ambushed by a pack of orcs, and as one of the Elven warriors gets fatally injured by an arrow, Galadriel uses her ring to save him—Nenya the Ring of Power offers magical protection after all. Deciding to stay behind to tackle the pack of orcs, Galadriel prompts Elrond to return to Lindon to warn Gil-galad about the situation before the Elven army sets off for Mordor—the enemy they will be looking for there has already arrived at their gates. As Elrond leaves with his crew, Galadriel lays waste to a bunch of orcs but ends up getting captured by their leader, Adar. In the previous season, leading the Númenorean army, Galadriel was able to defeat Adar and his orcs. However, the tables have turned, and it remains to be seen whether Galadriel manages to escape.
Arondir Rescues Theo
In Pelargir, a search party led by Arondir and Isildur is sent to find Theo, who was abducted by Ents in the previous episode while fleeing from the Wildmen. Theo is not found, and later on, Arondir realizes Estrid is trying to conceal the fact that she is a former Wildman as she exposes her true identity to Isildur. Compelling a cuff-bound Estrid to guide them, Arondir and Isildur venture into the treacherous Mirkwood on their own, and soon enough, they find themselves in trouble as both Isildur and Arondir get trapped in quicksand. Despite having the chance to abandon them and flee with her life, Estrid tries to rescue them; their predicament is revealed to be a machination of the creatures of the dark, as a giant insectoid devours the duo. Arondir manages to save himself and Isildur by piercing the creature’s body from within, and as a gratitude for trying to save their lives, he chooses to trust Estrid by releasing her from her cuffs.
However, Estrid turns on Isildur as she fears she will be betrayed later on for her murky past, and all of a sudden, an Ent arrives to knock her out senseless. Ents are primeval guardians of the wilderness, the shepherds of the trees, and their appearance resembles gigantic humanoid trees. Ent duo Snaggleroot and his partner Winterbloom reveal their presence to the group, and they reveal that they had raised the trees of Mirkwood on their own eons ago, which were rampantly destroyed later by orcs and Wildmen, and as a result, in a vengeful mind, the Ent duo, grieving in pain, are attacking anyone in their sight. Arondir manages to convince the Ents that they have a common enemy in the orcs, and in the future, the humans and elves will see to it that the woods remain unharmed. The Ents release the captive Wildmen, among whom Theo is seen present, and Estrid’s betrothed, Hagen, is revealed to be present as well, much to the dismay of Isildur, who has seemingly fallen for her. Learning from the Ents that the orcs have started moving, Arondir decides to follow their trail.
Nori and Poppy Find Desert Dwelling Harfoots in Rhûn
Previously, the accidental calamity created by the Stranger resulted in his Harfoot friends, Nori and Poppy, getting swept away elsewhere, and upon waking up, the Harfoot duo are clueless as to how to start looking for their friend. They meet a unique Harfoot in the midst of the barren desert, who introduces himself as Merimac, a member of the desert Harfoot clan known as the Stoors. The duo manages to convince Merimac to take them to their leader, Gundabale, who becomes wary of the presence of two strangers. Rhûn is ruled by the mysterious Dark Wizard, who uses his enforcers, Gaudrims, to terrorize the Stoors, and after learning that Nori and Poppy are trying to find their Wizard friend, Gundabale suspects them to be in cahoots with the Dark Wizard. As the duo are captured, a mention of the Harfoot trailfinder, Sadoc, results in Gundabale changing her mind about keeping them captive. She reveals that one of their Stoor ancestors, Rorimas Sadoc, had ventured to the west to find Sûzat, a heavenly oasis for the Stoors, and wonders whether Nori and Poppy belong to such a place. Nori, who realizes that both Harfoots and Stoors share the same ancestry, regrettably informs them that her clan was forever among the displaced ones, as Rorimas presumably never found the Sûzat.
Nori’s words affect Gundabale’s perception about her and Poppy, and she decides not to disclose their presence to the Gaudrim enforcers sent by the Dark Wizard despite being threatened.
Who is Tom Bombadil?
Elsewhere in the desert, the Stranger continues to look for his lost Harfoot friends, Nori and Poppy, when he stumbles across a singing, strange short man while following his star map. As the map gets stuck in a tree, the Stranger fancies taking a branch from it to wield it as his staff, and as he proceeds to do so, the tree consumes him whole. The strange short man, whom readers of Middle-Earth lore will easily identify as Tom Bombadil, rescues the Stranger from the tree, Old Man Ironwood, a sentient tree who is referred to as Old Man Willow in Tolkien’s writings. Tom introduces himself to the Stranger, brings him into his hut, and allows him to freshen up after his arduous journey. The Stranger is fascinated to see Tom’s versatile and vast magical capabilities but fails to realize the significance of his words when Tom introduces himself as the Eldest, the first one among all. The Stranger seeks his guidance to get control over magic, but Bombadil emphasizes self-realization when it comes to harnessing magic. Citing an example of how the urge to control corrupted the Dark Wizard, and sharing a premonition of his future alliance with Sauron, Bombadil reveals that it is the Stranger’s destiny to take on these two forces of darkness that seek to plague Middle-Earth. This statement practically confirms that the Stranger is Gandalf, who will take on Sauron and Saruman’s unholy alliance in the future.
Tom Bombadil, created by Tolkien as a character in his poem long before the creation of the legendarium of Middle-Earth, was retroactively included into the high fantasy world by the author himself. Bombadil’s role in the narrative remains a mystery, and his enigmatic presence has led to various speculations and interpretations among fans and critics alike. In this episode itself, the imagery of Tom as a goat farmer likened him to Jesus to convey how significant the character is in the story of Arda. Due to his vast, limitless potential, Bombadil has been often speculated to be a Maiar, even a Valar, sometimes Aule himself—but Tolkien never really specified what the character actually represents, keeping him an enigma. The reference to him being the eldest implies that he was the first one to exist in Tolkien’s canon, making his first appearance earlier than the lore of the land itself. Despite seemingly being a nigh omnipotent being, Tom doesn’t actively participate in the affairs of Arda, and the episode highlights that as well. What remains to be seen is whether Tom is going to guide the Stranger, or if it was just one of his random appearances, just like it tends to happen in Tolkien’s texts.
