The beginning of the end of Numenor in Amazon Prime’s The Rings of Power, Season 1
This paper will contrast the account of the history of Numenor and the Second Age of Middle-earth as portrayed in Tolkien’s works vs. Season 1 of The Rings of Power. Power has definitely taken liberties with the chronology of the Second Age.[1] Episode 4 begins with Queen-Regent Miriel (daughter of King Tar-Palantir[2]) having a dream/vision of the Great Wave that will eventually destroy Numenor. Later in the episode, Galadriel is invited by Queen Miriel to look into the Palantir and also sees the Great Wave.[3] In Power, Tar-Palantir and Miriel already believe Numenor to exist under the threat of judgment by the Valar. The reason for this fear is described (vaguely) to be that of having “abandoned the old ways”. Tar-Palantir was the leader of those “Faithful” to the Valar, and deeply regretted the rejection of the Valar which began among a majority of Numenoreans in the year 2221 SA. This division of the Numenoreans into two camps was the result of a long-growing resentment of the Valar’s immortality among those who would become “King’s Men”. In Episode 4, this insecurity concerning mortality takes the form of a Numenorian smith giving an inflammatory speech in the town square decrying (what he perceives to be) the threat of tireless, immortal elves stealing Numenorean jobs.
Episode 3 places Galadriel, Halbrand[4],
Tar-Palantir, Ar-Pharazon and Elendil[5]
(and his teenage son Isildur) in Numenor at the same time. As far as Power’s plot is concerned, it
is Galadriel[6]
who moves the story forward in Season 1.
In The Silmarillion, Galadriel is said to leave Valinor because
of her desire to thwart the plans of her uncle Feanor, who had committed the
kinslaying against the Teleri, the people of Galadriel’s mother, in his desire
to pursue Morgoth to Middle-earth, following the theft of the Silmarilli.[7] Power lets us assume that Galadriel came
to Middle-earth from Valinor in order to fight Sauron. However, there is no attempt to link this
with Tolkien’s chronology. Like The
Fellowship of the Ring, Episode 1 begins with a prologue consisting of
exposition by Galadriel. In Episode 1, she
is shown to be motivated by a desire for vengeance following the slaying of her
older brother Finrod by Sauron while he was rescuing Beren.[8] Episode 2 begins with Galadriel swimming towards
Middle-earth (she had been “honoured” for her exploits against the forces of
Sauron by being dispatched to Valinor[9],
but had jumped ship before arriving in the undying lands). Galadriel comes
across a raft carrying Halbrand of the Southlands, who has survived a shipwreck.[10]
The plot does indeed feel awkward in
Season 1 of Power. 3,200 years of
Numenorian history have been condensed into one season.[11] However, if we give the writers the benefit
of the doubt, they have set themselves up to cover the last 60-odd years of Numenor
in great detail, all the while following the 4 other subplots: the elves of Eregion
– especially Galadriel/Elrond – the fate of Durin IV/Disa and Khazad-dum, Nori
and the Stranger/Gandalf[12]
and the survivors of the Southlands (Arondir, Bronwyn, Theo). It seems to me that in Season 1, the main
objectives concerning Numenor were to make us aware of its existence (and inevitable
doom) and to create a link between the island of Elenna[13]
and Galadriel. With Miriel’s vision of the
Great Wave and the introduction of Elendil/Isildur[14]
(not to mention Gil-Galad), the Downfall of Numenor, the defeat of Sauron and the
end of the Second Age have all been foreshadowed. The character Adar, who aspires to become a
god, and who Halbrand hates to the point of allying himself with Numenor simply
to have the occasion of fighting against him due to some personal grievance, constitutes
an intriguing mystery. Adar, who had
been chained up inside a barn following his defeat at the hands of the Numenoreans,
mysteriously disappears during the eruption of Orodruin. Sauron and Adar have unfinished business, as
does Numenor with Middle-earth, as does Power with all fans of Tolkien’s
world.
|
Timeline of the SA in Tolkien’s works |
Order of events in Season 1 of Power[15]
|
|
·
Year 32 SA: raising of the island of
Numenor.[16] ·
C. 500: Sauron returns to Middle-earth.[17] ·
600: ships of Numenor first approach
Middle-earth.[18] ·
C. 1,000: Sauron settles in Mordor and
begins construction of Barad-Dur.[19] ·
1,200: Sauron/Annatar comes to Eregion
where Celeborn and Galadriel dwell; first Numenorian settlements in
Middle-earth.[20] ·
1500: forging of the rings of power.[21] ·
1590: forging of the elven rings.[22] ·
1600: Sauron returns to Mordor and forges
the One Ring.[23] ·
1700: With Numenor’s help, the elves
defeat Sauron.[24] ·
2221: division in Numenor btw King’s Men
and the Faithful.[25] ·
3177: Tar-Palantir receives the sceptre
of Numenor.[26] ·
3209: birth of Elendil, father of
Isildur.[27] ·
3255: Ar-Pharazon compels Miriel, the
daughter of the deceased Tar-Palantir, to marry him and takes the sceptre of
Numenor.[28] ·
3261: Numenorian forces go to
Middle-earth to combat Sauron, capture him, and bring him prisoner to
Numenor.[29] ·
3262-3310: Sauron becomes Ar-Pharazon’s
counselor, corrupts him and becomes High Priest of the cult of Melkor.[30] ·
3319: Ar-Pharazon attacks Valinor; Eru Iluvatar
sends Great Wave to destroy Numenor.
Destruction of Sauron’s physical form and escape of the Faithful to
Middle-earth. The spirit of Sauron goes
to Mordor.[31] ·
3441: Last Alliance defeats Sauron;
Isildur takes the One Ring. End of
Second Age.[32] |
1. Galadriel
& Halbrand are adrift on the Sundering Seas before being rescued and brought
to Numenor by Elendil. 2. Galadriel
& Halbrand are presented to Tar-Palantir’s regent, Miriel, whose
chancellor is Ar-Pharazon (he is shown to be an able politician capable of
drumming up “nationalistic” support for his leadership). 3. When
the White Tree of Nimloth begins to shed its leaves, Miriel takes it as a sign
of the Valar’s disapproval of her decision to refuse Galadriel’s request for
aid in the fight against the orcs in the Southlands. 4. Queen
Miriel, Elendil, Isildur, Halbrand and Galadriel depart Numenor for
Middle-earth. 5. After
the victory against the Orcs and the eruption of Orodruin, Miriel and Elendil
return to Numenor to discover that King Tar-Palantir has died (lore: 3255 SA).[33] 6. Celebrimbor,
with the help of Halbrand, forges the rings of power in an attempt to arrest
the decay of Middle-earth. 7. Halbrand,
now revealed to be Sauron, escapes Eregion and goes to the newly corrupted Southlands/Mordor,
the land of shadow under the smoke of Orodruin.[34] |
[1] Tolkien’s comment concerning
the Second Age in Appendix B of LOTR notwithstanding: “Of events in
Middle-earth the records are few and brief, and their dates are often uncertain”:
The Return of the King, p. 1420.
That being said, it appears that Power has condensed about half
of the Second Age into the first season of the show: https://youtu.be/v1BkHxaC308?si=fIDh8uEwpw2DlqjT
(accessed November 10, 2023). I think Nick
Groom hits the nail on the head when he says, during his sympathetic appreciation
of Season 1, that the key events of the Second Age have been telescoped so that
the rise of Sauron, the arrival of the Istari, the founding of Mordor, the forging
of the Rings, the fall of Numenor, and the Battle of the Last Alliance all
occur within a few years of each other, rather than across centuries: Tolkien
in the Twenty-First Century: The Meaning of Middle-Earth Today, New York:
Pegasus Books, 2023, p. 340.
[2] Reigned from 3175-3255
SA: Tolkien, J.R.R. (ed. Brian Sibley) The Fall of Numenor, London:
HarperCollins, 2022, p. 166.
[3] Such a straightforward
use of a Palantir is not without problems; cf. Shippey, Tom, The Road to
Middle-Earth, London: HarperCollins, 2005 [1982], pp. 423-29; The
Fellowship of the Ring, London: HarperCollins, 2007 [1954, 1966, 1991,
2004], pp. 470-75; The Return of the King, pp. 1117-19.
[4] In Episode 8, he is
revealed to be Sauron.
[5] The appearance of
Elendil at this point of the narrative of Power is problematic since,
according to Tolkien’s chronology, Elendil wasn’t born until after the forging
of the rings of power (cf. Episode 8): https://youtu.be/XYgcSEW6nPc?si=efB-W_mfSd2KmsPi
(accessed November 9, 2023). The meaning
of his name is explained in a dialogue with Queen-Regent Miriel in Episode 4;
cf. The Fall of Numenor, London: HarperCollins, 2022, pp. 51-52 (the “Elendil”
in question here is the Great-great-grandfather of the one who came to
Middle-earth with the other faithful after the Downfall of Numenor).
[6] In Tolkien’s opus,
Galadriel met Sauron (aka Annatar) long before he ever set foot in
Numenor. Annatar/Sauron had been
welcomed to Eregion by Celeborn, Galadriel’s husband, though Galadriel never
trusted him; cf. The Fall of Numenor, London: HarperCollins, 2022, pp.
63ff. Annatar spends many years instructing
the elves of Eregion (including Celebrimbor) in the arts of ring-making,
eventually leading to the forging of the (original) 16 rings of power (eventually
“gifted” by Annatar to 7 dwarf lords and 3 kings of Numenor, an Eastern king
and 5 other kings of men). The elves
then forge their 3 rings (cf. Episode 8).
Following this, Sauron returns to Mordor and forges the One Ring to
control all others.
[7] Cf.
The Silmarillion, pp. 96-98.
[9] This is problematic,
since Galadriel was under a ban never to return to Valinor; a ban that was only
lifted after she passed the test of refusing the One Ring when Frodo offered it
to her: The Fellowship of the Ring, pp. 475-76; cf. the end of Episode
8, where Sauron offers Galadriel the opportunity to become his Queen.
[10] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lord_of_the_Rings:_The_Rings_of_Power_(season_1)
(accessed November 9, 2023).
[11] However, let’s not
forget that all the events of The Hobbit and LOTR occur between
the years 2941-3021 of the Third Age: The Return of the King, pp. 1430-41.
[12] “The Stranger” gets the
last line of Season 1: “Always follow your nose”. Case closed.
[13] The
Silmarillion, London: HarperCollins, 1999 [1977, 1979], p. 311.
[14] He will carry the hope
of Numenor into the Third Age.
[15] It’s hard to know where
to situate the events of Season 1 vis-à-vis the timeline of the legendarium. Which character-arc should take
precedence? For the purposes of this
paper, Halbrand/Sauron will serve as a place-marker as we attempt to demonstrate
the chronological discrepancies btw the show and the works of Tolkien. Then again, does Season 1 simply depict a
first visit of Sauron (incognito) to Numenor?
Will he return in a later season as Ar-Pharazon’s prisoner as per the lore? Then again, Episode 6 shows the creation of Mordor
through the manipulated eruption of Orodruin.
According to the lore, Sauron had chosen Mordor as his “home” (1000 SA) before
dissimulating himself and taking up residence in Eregion (1200 SA). Also, in Power, Celeborn, Galadriel’s
husband, is said to have died: Groom, Nick, Tolkien in the Twenty-First
Century: The Meaning of Middle-Earth Today, New York: Pegasus Books, 2023,
p. 348; cf. The Return of the King, London: HarperCollins, 2007 [1955,
1966, 1991, 2004], p. 1439.
[16] Tolkien, J.R.R. (ed.
Brian Sibley) The Fall of Numenor, London: HarperCollins, 2022, pp.
7-12.
[17] Ibid. pp. 47-50.
[18] Ibid. pp. 53-57.
[19] Ibid. pp.
115-17.
[20] Ibid. pp.
120-21.
[21] Ibid. pp.
122-24.
[22] Ibid. pp.
125-26.
[23] Ibid. pp.
127-33.
[24] Ibid. pp.
142-43.
[25] The
Silmarillion, p. 318. “The
faithful” were also known as “the Elendili”, i.e., Elf-friends; cf. The Fall
of Numenor, London: HarperCollins, 2022, pp. 51-52.
[26] The Silmarillion,
pp. 321-22.
[27] Ibid. pp. 325ff.
[28] The Fall of Numenor,
London: HarperCollins, 2022, pp. 169-72; cf. The Silmarillion, pp. 322-23.
[29] Ibid. pp.
173-75.
[30] Ibid. pp.
176-81.
[31] Ibid. pp. 186-93;
cf. The Return of the King, pp. 1357-58.
[33] I believe that the
death of Tar-Palantir is the pivot of Power’s narrative, and I predict
that Seasons 2-5 will follow the timeline of the lore more closely. Watch out Numenor, I foretell the return of
Sauron!
[34] It seems like Season 1
is presenting things in reverse order to the lore: Sauron/Halbrand comes to
Numenor but doesn’t do much (in the lore, Annatar learned the secrets of metal-working
from the elves of Eregion; in Power, Sauron seems to depend on his
previous relationship with the Vala Aule for his knowledge of smith-craft), he
returns to Middle-earth with the Numenorian fleet, collaborates in the forging
of the rings and then goes to Mordor for the first time; cf. The
Silmarillion, p. 381.
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