#halbrand icons | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

apoloadonisandnarcissus · 2 months ago

Text

The Physicality of Sauron x Galadriel: Cosmic Connection and Physical Attraction

We already heard the expression “cosmical connection” a million times, and even I already discussed that in this post. Expressions like “higher beings” and such have been used by the actors and show producers to describe Sauron and Galadriel’s connection.

And, then, we have this iconic moment:

What does this “cosmic connection” means? Both Galadriel and Sauron/Mairon are immortal spirits. Mairon, as a Maia, is one of the Ainur, and one of the forces who first shaped the world, alongside the Valar (Ainulindalë or “Music of the Ainur”). He’s ancient, being around since the Days before Days (before the world was created).

Galadriel was born during the Years of the Trees, thousands of years later. And she’s of one the Children of Ilúvatar, an Elf. Her grandparents were among the first Elves created by Eru to live in Valinor.

What’s the difference?

Mairon belongs to the Unseen world, because he is, up and foremost, a spiritual being. And like all Maiar and Valar, he can choose his physical form (Halbrand, Annatar, etc.) in the Seen world. And he’s not bound to it, but these forms are all the same spirit. Hence the big focus on “Halbrand is Sauron” in Season 2, and even Charlie Vickers said many times in recent interviews how he wanted to show that continuity between both characters in his interpretation of Sauron in Season 2.

Galadriel belongs to the Seen world, and cannot chose her physical form. She’s bound to the one she was born with (in this sense, Elves are pretty much like Men, who are also Children of Ilúvatar). In the Third age, Galadriel can move between the Seen and Unseen world, but that’s not the case when she and Mairon first meet.

Let’s see what happens when Maiar and Elves fall in love:

Melian and Thingol

In the Valaquenta, we were introduced to some Maiar of interest. Melian was one of these. She’s a Maia to Vána (Vala of preserving youth and of fauna and flora on Middle-earth, also known as “Queen of Flowers”) and Estë (Vala of healing and purveyor or restful sleep). Melian dwells on the gardens of Lórien, and has a magical voice, great wisdom and was beloved by all. Birds, especially nightingales (her signature friends) surround her at all times. Around the time the Elves are created by Eru, she ventures across the Sundering Seas and arrives on Middle-earth.

Centuries later, the Teleri are the third or the Elf clans (alongside the Noldor and the Vanyar) to take the Great Journey, from Valinor to Middle-earth. Their leader, Elwë (Thingol) has the habit of wandering the woods by himself. One day, he ventures a forest called Nan Elmoth, in Beleriand. And there she meets Melian, and he was absolutely smitten.

“Enchantment” falls on him, and when he actually hears Melian’s voice, it’s all over. Her song fills “all his heart with wonder and desire.” And this is before he actually sees her: when he finally does set eyes on her, he’s at awe, because the “light of Aman” is reflected in her face.

Love overtakes Thingol, completely. He takes Melina’s hand, and “straightway a spell is laid on him.” Suddenly his plans (to reunite with his friend Finwë, to lead his people to Valinor, to dwell again in the light of the Two Trees) just disappear. He forgets everyone and everything. Thingol and Melian just stand there, looking at each others’ eyes, hands clasped, and perfectly still, for (according to some sources) 200 years. The trees grown tall around them. And no one knows Thingol is there, so his people search for him in Beleriand, in vain.

Since this event seem so over the top, many speculate that an actual spell, indeed, fall upon Thingol, even thought Tolkien gives no indication of him being “enslaved” or joining with Melian against his will. Anyway, one theory is that this meeting was orchestrated by Eru himself, because many key events happened because of it. Meaning, they were “doomed” to meet and fall in love:

Thingol and Melian will go on to establish the first of the organized Elven kingdoms of Middle-earth, in Beleriand, and rule it as Queen and King: Doriath (and their people are known as the “Sindar”);

They will have a child, described as “fairest of all the Children of Ilúvatar that ever was or shall ever be”: Lúthien, who would help in defeating both Morgoth and Sauron in the future.

In order to be with Thingol (= have sex with him), Melian retained her physical form, and became bound to it after conceiving a child with him. Meaning she couldn’t access the Unseen world, anymore (= return to her true spiritual form).

“Rings of Power” created a parallel of Thingol and Melian’s first meeting with Galadriel and Mairon, throughout Season 1:

Then an enchantment fell on him, and he stood still; and afar off beyond the voices of the lómelindi he heard the voice of Melian, and it filled all his heart with wonder and desire.

He forgot then utterly all his people and all the purposes of his mind, and following [the sound] and was lost

But he came at last to a glade open to the stars, and there Melian stood; and out of the darkness he looked at her, and the light of Aman was in her face. She spoke no word;

[…] but being filled with love Elwë came to her and took her hand,

[…] and straightway a spell was laid on him so that they stood.

[…] thus while long years were measured by the wheeling stars above them; [not only are they outside, but Galadriel armor has a star sigil – and, no, this is not Fëanor’s sigil, it’s a different design]

[...]; and the trees of Nan Elmoth grew tall and dark before they spoke any word

Like Thingol and Melian, there is no need for words between them. They look into each others’ eyes and feel it (“I’ve felt it too”). This makes it hard for the audience to understand what is happening between them, but it is what it is.

However, I think this was *the moment* when they truly saw the extent of their mutual feelings for each other; when their souls are merging due to being bound together (via Morgoth’s crown). Which explains their reactions here: Galadriel is shocked, and Mairon is in happy disbelief. “Wait- you’re actually in love with me?”

Galadriel thinks Sauron is evil incarnate, she’s not shocked because he stabbed her, come on.

Which, again, explains this expression over here. This is pure joy, and he has tears on his eyes: Mairon believes that Galadriel is about to join him, and they are going to run into Mordor the sunset together.

Cosmic connection and Physical attraction

Galadriel belongs to the Seen world, the same as Thingol. But their Maiar pair, Melian and Mairon, are from the Unseen world. Meaning: are these connections only spiritual (“cosmically”) or they have a physical component (“lust”), too?

We know that Thingol and Melian went physical with theirs, because they had a child together. Since Thingol is from the Seen world (and cannot access the Unseen world) he’s both a physical and spiritual being (Elf) but he’s only spiritual after the death of his physical body. The same with Galadriel.

Both Maiar and Valar are capable of feeling love and lust in Tolkien lore. We see this not only with Melian, but with all Valar couples. We also see Melkor/Morgoth lusting after Lúthien when he saw her dancing for him (this implies a very physical sentiment).

Then Morgoth looking upon her beauty [Lúthien] conceived in his thought an evil lust, and a design more dark than any that had yet come into his heart since he fled from Valinor. Thus he was beguiled by his own malice, for he watched her, leaving her free for a while, and taking secret pleasure in his thought. Lúthien dances for Morgoth on his Dark Throne [before she puts him and all the host of Angband to sleep with her magic singing]

In other works describing this episode, Tolkien goes on using words like “lust”, “hunger”, “blinding thrist”, “pleasure”, and stressing the importance of Morgoth trying to reach out for Lúthien with his hand (= he wants to touch her). Meaning, there is a real physical element at play here (even if it’s evil and diabolical).

Mairon himself got pretty “touchy” with Galadriel back in Season 1. This is not random, and this implies the connection between them was not only “cosmical”; Mairon, a spiritual being, wanted to touch Galadriel, meaning, there was as a physical element/attraction there, too.

We also saw this with Mirdania in Season 2, the she-elf of Eregion who reminded him of Galadriel, and was used as a plot device for the audience to see that Galadriel is always on Mairon’s mind.

Meaning: yes, Mairon wants to “shake the sheets” (or the table forge) with Galadriel. It’s not only “cosmical” or “spiritual”. He desires her, on a physical level, too.

Mairon, the Maia of Aulë

To understand the physical attraction, we need to go back to the beginning of Mairon himself.

Mairon was created by Eru as a Maia of Aulë, the Vala of smithing and handiwork. He was among the most powerful Maiar, and the purest one, too. Eru created him to be good and loyal, but also to love several things: crafting and creation (smithing), beauty, order and perfection, and to dislike wastefulness. These were, most likely, Mairon’s contributions to shape the world in the Ainulindalë.

Melkor/Morgoth used Mairon’s love of order and perfection to corrupt him, and turned it into an obsession with domination and control. Morgoth corrupted his goodness and loyalty into evil and treachery (turning him into “the great deceiver”). His love of beauty corrupted into ugliness, by the breeding of the Orcs. Mairon’s greatest virtues became his downfall.

And who better embodies the qualities of “beauty” and “perfection” than Galadriel herself? Her beauty is the stuff of legends, and everyone is at awe when they first meet her. Her very gold/silver hair inspired the most legendary jewels in existence: the Silmarils. The light of the Two Trees of Valinor shine on her hair and eyes.

We also see Galadriel connected with “smithing”: she’s the object of the love and lust of the two legendary Elven smiths: Fëanor and Celebrimbor (Brimby in Tolkien lore, not in “Rings of Power”). Fëanor was inspired by how the light caught her hair to create the Silmarils; and he asked her for a few strands of hair, three times, and three times she denied him. In the Third age, Galadriel would gift strands of her hair to Gimli, a Dwarf, a Child of Aulë (the Dwarves were created by Aulë himself; another connection to smithing and to Mairon’s original Vala).

Yes, "Rings of Power" really went there. All the paralells.

Galadriel is also connected with power, something Mairon liked from the beginning, too (which caused Melkor to target him and get him to his side). She's not only power-hungry, but she's powerful, herself, and will only grow in power as the years go by. She's a natural leader, proud and rebellious; she was born to rule (literally, because her father was High King of the Noldor in Valinor, she’s an actual princess).

Just like Thingol and Melian!

Galadriel was also a pupil of Aulë and his wife Yavanna, back in Valinor. Which means, that if Mairon wasn’t corrupted by Morgoth/Melkor and he didn’t betray the Valar, they would have met, then. And what would have happened? Galadriel would never marry Celeborn, in the first place, that’s for sure (they met on Middle-earth, not in Valinor). And if sparkles happened in Middle-earth, in the most antagonist of scenarios (with Mairon already corrupted), OG Mairon and Artanis (Galadriel’s original name) meeting would set Aulë’s forge on fire. Artanis would have the most enviable jewelry collection in all of Arda. Because Mairon would gift her and worship her, nonstop: I will place crown(s) upon your head. I will never rest until all Arda had been brought to its knees, to worship the light of its Queen.

The “what ifs” don’t stop here. Because Artanis and Mairon power couple would parallel Yavanna and Aulë, too. Yavanna, Aulë’s wife and queen, “Queen of the Earth”, physical form is described: “in the form of a woman she is tall, and robed in green (…) crowned with the Sun; and from all its branches there spilled a golden dew upon the earth.”

Wild how “Rings of Power” already went there. Several times:

In fact, the first regal outfit we see Galadriel wear in "Rings of Power" is a teal (greenish-blue) cape and a gold dress. And she's wearing a gold flower crown. All hail, Queen Artanis, stronger than the foundations of the earth? Interesting choice of words, because Aulë created the "foundations of the earth" (= mountains).

In 2x02, we see Galadriel planting flowers, while wearing green and with a gold leaf crown on her head (as she was meant to be):

How could Mairon not love her? That’s the real question. Galadriel is the materialization, the physical form, of everything he was designed to love. And she can’t change her physical form, mind you. She belongs to the Seen world.

And this was probably the reason why Eru brought them together, in the first place: for Mairon to recall his original purpose. And probably to rub on his face what he lost for being a evil b*tch and side with Melkor. Galadriel is already bound to another (Celeborn) in the eyes of the Valar and the Eldar. The only way to “undone” that is for the Valar themselves to give permission.

#saurondriel #haladriel #sauron x galadriel #galadriel x sauron #galadriel x mairon #galadriel x halbrand #artanis x mairon #Haladriel meta #Saurondriel meta

355 notes · View notes

helenvader · 2 years ago

Text

I was wondering what my first collection of stills was. The date was October 5, 2022, and it has all the right ingredients including Sauron's nipple and Galadriel's do-nothing rope. :-)

Also... if you zoom on picture No 6... what pose is THAT, Halbrand? 🤣

I did some stills from episode 2 of The Rings of Power, predictably rather topic-limited. :-)

This is the first batch.

You're welcome to use these; just tag me so that I know somebody had fun with them. ;-)

#the rings of power #myropstills #halbrand #sauron rop #galadriel rop #also starring #the iconic duos #sauron and his nipple #galadriel and her do-nothing rope #as well the dark dork's (lack of) paddling skills

104 notes · View notes

neyafromfrance95 · 3 months ago

Note

I’m gonna be real here but your understanding of l Sauron and Galadriel and their relationship is far superior to the writers. It gives me chills. If you were one of the writers on board, the show would be next level.

I don’t think they’re clever enough to dive into it like that and aren’t even bold enough either, so we have to keep telling ourselves that we aren’t going to get Haladriel complexity sadly we might not even get Galadriel being complex since they’re already mellowing her down

omg, thank you! you made me blush fr :D

however, i think i simply interpret and put into words what we are actually getting. it's just that what we are getting is very subtle and subtextual. smtms vague bc they got no guts to more explicidly convey what i'm 100% sure they want to convey.

think about the already iconic "to worship the light of its queen" line. while s2 was airing, a few shippers started referring to sauron's yearning for galadriel as a "worship of the light" and concluded that he thinks everyone in the middle-earth must share his adoration. these takes were based on the subtle details, parallels and metaphors we saw in the show. but i never imagined that they would actually make sauron explicitly confirm this word-for-word! it is actually such an astronomical win for us!

and then galadriel altogether stops her feral and desperate fight when she sees halbrand in front of her. she drops all of her defenses for a moment and just looks at him. then when he recites his s1 speech, she closes her eyes for a second! bc her feelings for halbrand are so intense! this scene was literally a confirmation that galadriel loves halbrand, as we have suspected!

but yeah, right now, i'm very anxious about galadriel's characterization and arc in the future seasons. the ending made it seem like she suddenly fully overcame her darkness and was calmer.

and listen, while lotr!galadriel is calmer, she has never been this stay-at-home tradwife the incelbros say she is! she is thirsty for power! lotr!galadriel wants power more than trop!galadriel does, trop hasn't really tapped into galadriel's power hunger at all. and lotr!galadriel is still devoted to her fight against sauron! think about it, she doesn't go to valinor when celebrian does and she doesn't stay in the middle-earth while celeborn does! she only leaves the middle-earth for valinor when sauron is gone! and what about the crazy scary dark!galadriel when she is offered the one ring? what about the fact that she only passes the test after 3000 years and until then her heart greatly desires what sauron offers her? and how sad her tone is when she says she has passed the test (which doesn't even mean she has slain *him* in her heart, as her taking nenya to valinor can mean that she still holds onto their connection)?

my hope right now is that the ending was deliberately misleading and that the wound made by the crown will have a side effect on her.

unlike the majority of the shippers in our fandom, i never believed that galadriel would give in to sauron. not just bc her gaze is fixed on the light above as finrod taught her, but bc her pride wouldn't allow it. still, there are other ways to make her inadvertently succumb to the darkness! she was already on that path in s1 when her search for sauron slowly started to turn her into his mirror. their mind communication and the dark powers sauron could share with her through their bound could make her even more obsessed with slaying him herself, and that could be conflicted with her feelings for halbrand who she slowly realizes indeed is sauron.

it simply makes 0 sense for her to be obsessed beyond the reason with the idea of him for centuries and then get over it after one fight where she actually faces him!

anyways, fingers crossed that the incelbros don't get their way and the writers don't cater to the misogynistic demographic 🤞

#sauron x galadriel #haladriel #saurondriel #the rings of power #sauron #galadriel #galadriel x halbrand

111 notes · View notes

crazyaboutto · 2 months ago

Text

Season 1 Saladriel Romcom + Sauron Comedy Part 3

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 4

Before I start of where I left off with s1e6 with a little stealing from my other post, I have to add this.

This whole giving her food scene from 1x03 is hilarious. He probably waited hours watching her with food in his hand just so he can give her a jumpscare. Though as an elf, she should have seen or heard her unless... that was sus of him

Just look at her expressions. She is hungry and thirsty and she has food:

Then the little shit says this right in front of her salad with his much sass:

How did Galadriel not be suspicious of a homeless, jobless, man in ragged shirt having white straight teeth. Is this smile so captivating for her that she didn't think of reason? Just imagine her asking Sauron how he has perfect teeth given the circumstances he had been and still is in. Then next second Sauron dims the shine on his teeth - adjusting his body like Sims character - and gaslights her into thinking it was always that way.

"Ah... It's the reflection of sun."

"Huh what?"

The same goes for those full biceps despite the hunger and food scarcity. Her mind was in hornyjail before she got into an actual jail that she didn't question this.

Sauron facing his ex with #NewHairNewMe and feeling cunty when his ex doesn't recognise him despite the seductive look. His Sauron is showing too but who cares innit?

Then of course we have this iconic shot. Home girl is so blinded by love that she doesn't question where "Halbrand" got the skills, speed and strength to beat an ex-elf who is a formidable fighter. Not to mention, he started behind her and somehow managed to find a shortcut and get ahead of them. She is so smitten already.

When your situationship asks you to not kill your ex who killed you

His little bow here will forever be precious. Bet it was instinctive after seeing how his crush threatened his ex for him

I do love the forest confession scene. The funny part is Sauron is basically proposing her without realising it. No wonder he gasps when she says she feels the same way.

This scene is another level of hilarious. He is literally handed a kingdom without any effort - only to have another coronation ruined by his ex. Bet he was on cloud 9, thinking "these morons made me their king without question" before it's Mordoring time!

tbh it's hard to find funny scenes after s1e5. Just have 1 more post for s1e7 and e8. Wish we had 10 episodes and some filler scenes of them travelling so we could see more of their interactions. Like their journey from Nùmenor to ME then from Mordor to Eregion. So much time passes but not enough is shown

#saurondriel #haladriel #halbrand #sauron #galadriel #trop #rop #the rings of power #rings of power #trop memes #trop crack #rop crack #the rings of power crack #rings of power crack #charlie vickers #morfydd clark #rop memes #rings of power memes #the rings of power memes

71 notes · View notes

martanis · 4 months ago

Text

Hello, everyone 👋 ! I've been working on some Tumblr icons and would love to share with you! If you like them, feel free to use them so we can represent our show :) Guidelines below~

📢 all icons can be found on my icons page -> martanis.tumblr.com/icons ❗

150+ THE RINGS OF POWER ICONS feat. SAURON/HALBRAND/ANNATAR, GALADRIEL, CHARLIE VICKERS and MORFYDD CLARK

SIZE: 128x128px optimized for tumblr

CREDIT: @martanis

please like/reblog this post if you use!! do not repost as your own :)

SAVE: right click then save image as or (mobile) press and hold then download image

if you are interested in twitter icons [400x400], or other sizes, styles, leave a comment - however you are free to test these on other socials

for other characters [request?] from the rings of power, i'll be making a page on @luzriels

92 notes · View notes

cottoncandiescupcakes · 3 months ago

Text

Seeing all the different elf fighting styles is so interesting

Like Gil-Galad's already iconic spinny twirl, Thranduil does this like graceful martial arts style, LOTR Elrond has the classic knight sword fighting which young Galadriel uses as well, Arondir has a style that's like a more rough version of Legolas and Tauriel's style and young Elrond just likes to send orcs to hell in every shape or form lol my man will get the trebuchet.

Meanwhile older Galadriel is so strong she can mind blast Sauron's soul back to Mordor and vaporize an orc with her thoughts

NEED to see Celeborn fight I imagine he'd have a pretty silver sword or maybe he just leaves the fighting to his wife and brings the harp. You are valid

I also really love how ferally Sauron fights in all his forms, as Mairon, Halbrand or Annatar he will go out of his way to cause the most painful death possible in that moment

If I had to rank them all as fighters, leaving aside older Galadriel who is insanely powerful and of course Sauron, I think if they all fought to the death not that they ever would, Elrond would probably win

#the rings of power #trop season 2 #trop #lord of the rings #lotr #tolkien #elves #galadriel #elrond #gil galad #thranduil #celeborn #legolas #tauriel #arondir #the hobbit #sauron #mairon #annatar

139 notes · View notes

artneverjudges · 3 months ago

Text

LAYOUT

Charlie Vickers as Annatar / Sauron in The Rings of Power (2022 —).

Please reblog + like if you use them.

Please credit this account with the username (artneverjudges) wherever you use this edit.

#edit #photoshop #layout #psd #twitter layout #icon #header #png #aesthetic #trop #rop #the rings of power #rings of power #charlie vickers #annatar #halbrand #sauron #he really has many names

30 notes · View notes

raointean · 5 months ago

Text

Alright! Time to dissect the season 2 trailer!

Under a cut due to speculative maybe-spoilers, and because this is going to get loooong! Enjoy! (Please. I spent way too long making this)

I apologize for the quality of the pictures. I did my best to clean them up, but that trailer was very blurry, and I'm not exactly a tech wizard 🙃

So, we start off with a shot of Halbrand on a horse through a metal gate/drawbridge thing granting him entry into a city (Probably Ost-in-Edhil, based on the color of the guards' armor and the direction of the plot this season). In the background, we hear Galadriel's voice saying, "Sauron sees himself as master of all Middle Earth." Great establishing shot, no notes.

We quickly cut to a shot of two of the elven rings (Nenya and Nilya) falling to the ground in the tree courtyard in Lindon. Notably, we do not see the ruby ring, Narya. In canon, that one was given to Círdan who later gave it to Gandalf, so maybe he's already accepted his by now?

After that, is a shot of Sauron's iconic stabby crown being carried on a platter by an orc, presumably to him in some kind of coronation ceremony. Galadriel continues, saying, "He seeks to rule it, not only through conquest..."

Then we cut to several half-second long shots. Nenya (which will become Galadriel's ring) tumbling down the stairs (seemingly a continuation of the falling rings scene, but from a different angle), Durin III looking up holding an ax in a hand that is also wearing a GIANT blue ring, the new Adar staring at someone or something with a horde of orcs behind him, and Nenya still tumbling down the stairs and finally coming to rest at Galadriel's feet. Through all this, Galadriel is saying, "But by bending the minds of all its people to his own."

We cut to a view of the tree of Lindon surrounded by elves seen through a stone archway, probably still part of the falling Nenya scene. I definitely see Galadriel and Gil-Galad there (and I think Elrond's back) but I don't recognize anyone else.

Then, Galadriel stoops down to pick up the ring and Elrond steps forward and shouts, "No!" Galadriel ignores him and slowly, as if entranced, places the ring on her finger. Throughout all of this, the voiceover continues with, "And for that, he needs not armies, (Elrond: *No!*), but rings."

PRIME LOGO

The logo fades out and we see a shot of the tree of Lindon again (this time in bloom, where before, it was half dead (maybe winter, maybe before they start using the rings?)). I see two guards, five handmaidens, Galadriel, Gil-Galad, and a mysterious silver haired or white-blond elf. It's POSSIBLE that this elf has their hair falling in front of their face, but it looks more like a beard to me (*chanting* Círdan, Círdan, Círdan) I think it's the distribution of the rings.

It then cuts to the famous shot of the three of them in a circle with the rings on their middle fingers, ready to flip Sauron off. Elrond says via voiceover, "In choosing to wear those rings, you have all become his (presumably Sauron's) collaborators."

Then we see that shot of Elrond and Galadriel riding through the forest/plain place on horseback. Then we see two figures (presumably still them) riding up a mountain ridge, and then standing on the edge of a broken bridge on a cliff.

I really still think this is the two of them riding to and discovering the Hidden Valley. Throughout all of these shots, Galadriel is saying, "I know you believe this ring is deceiving me, but I believe... it is guiding me."

Next, there's a brief shot of a snarling orc and then a shot of Halbrand. The Halbrand one is kind of interesting. He's standing in a city at night next to a pitch black horse (because what kind of Dark Lord would he be if he didn't live and die by the ✨️aesthetic✨️), but the interesting part is- I can't tell what city he's in. Given the direction of the plot, I think it's Ost-in-Edhil, but it COULD be Armenelos in Númenor... Through this bit, Elrond is saying, "All this may be by his design."

Next is a shot of someone in a greyish robe/tunic and sandals, wearing a ruby ring, dipping his hand in a pond or a tidepool. Next to him is what I think is a shoe and a dress matching the exact shade that Galadriel wears. The man HAS to be Círdan (I can't think of anyone else it could be) and I think Galadriel is kneeling beside him to talk.

Círdan dips his hand in the water to play with a fish and a man (possibly Círdan himself) says, "These rings may be how he will gain power."

Then there's a bright light surrounded by a circle of people and the light explodes. I... have zero idea what that is.

That cuts to a scene of Galadriel, Elrond, and Gil-Galad alone with two guards having some kind of council. Elrond says "They must be destroyed." (I believe that's in-scene)

Then there's a wider shot of that same scene and Gil-Galad says to Galadriel, "We will discuss the rings once you have answered the question."

Next, it cuts to a scene of Halbrand (Halbrand, mind you. Not Annatar) and Celebrimbor at night during a rainstorm. Halbrand is kneeling and Celebrimbor is hastily shutting the doors behind them. Is Celebrimbor questioning him? Imprisoning him? Hiding him from someone else? Honestly, given Celebrimbor's outfit, I think the Annatar reveal actually comes later on in this scene!

Then we cut back to The Council of Not-Elrond (because no one ever listens to him) where Gil-Galad poses his question. "Who. Is. This. Man?" Galadriel looks up at him looking terrified, resigned, and on the edge of tears, and says "He is no man." *side-eyes Eowyn*

Next we cut to the circle-around badass fighty scene we saw in the teaser (and now we know who two more of those characters are!) and see a glimpse of the Barrow-whights. (Don't know how that's going to work, but whatever, I can roll with it)

Then we see Celebrimbor looking disturbed and confused as the room is lit up by a blaze of fire from the fireplace(?) Galadriel says in a voiceover, "He deceived me. He is Sauron." and we get our first look at smoking hot Annatar, straight out of the furnace!

Seriously, the man is SHOOKETH!

Celebrimbor asks "What am I to call you?" and Annatar replies, "A sharer of gifts." (Y'all, the NOISE I made when he said that-)

Next we cut to a Gwaith-i-mirdan bellowing the furnace (not Mirdania, notably. This lady is brunette, not blonde) and then the workshop during the day with an anvil lowering from the ceiling. Annatar says in the background, "Our work begins now."

Now, onto Rhûn! We see the sunrise/sunset in a desert full of mound-like rock formations and a solitary rider on horseback carrying a tattered flag. Great establishing shot, though I have no idea who the horserider is.

Next, we see two figures (almost certainly Nori and The Stranger) alone in a rocky part of the desert, but what's really interesting about that is that we see them through a blurry, fractured lens. It then cuts to a group of masked horseriders (maybe the earlier one was some kind of scout or messenger?) one of which removes a telescope from their eye (their clothes are super layered, so I can't tell male or female). Nori speaks, saying "I have walked across mountains and desserts."

Then there's a shot of The Stranger moving gravel with magic. I don't know about you, but I don't remember Gandalf of any iteration doing that, so it COULD be pointing to the blue wizard theory.

Next is a face shot of Nori finishing her sentence with, "to help my friend find his destiny." She looks older and less plant-y, which makes sense, given that she's in a desert. She also seems to be in a village and I can see AT LEAST two people in the background so- Yay! Rhûnic culture worldbuilding!

Then we see one of the priestesses with a swarm of moths in some kind of temple. The moth symbolism connected to the witches that connect to The Stranger is also really interesting because I've also always associated moths with Gandalf. I think they're going to do another, much smaller scale, mystery box plot with the "which wizard is it?" game. Nori is also speaking during this scene, and she says, "One the fate of the world may depend on."

Next, we see The Stranger slam a walking stick into the ground and seemingly cause a tornado that nearly blows Nori away. During this he's saying (quite eloquently, now) "Is it my task to stop the fire?"

Then, we see him in a candlelit stone home, presumably Bombadil's, asking, "Is it my task to face Sauron!?" We get a glimpse of Bombadil before the screen cuts away, but it looks like he's taken The Stranger in and he's started interrogating Bombadil.

Then, we get a brief glimpse of Pharazón using the Palantír (probably after he completes his coup) and it shows him fire. That's probably prophesying the Fall of Númenor.

We see a quick glimpse of Annatar staring at something burning (seriously, not even a full half second), before cutting to the balrog going on a rampage. It flies up, creates a flame sword, and takes out a rock thing, though I don't see any definite signs of civilization, so it could be an uninhabited area. Durin IV says "To try and cheat death might lead to an even greater catastrophe."

I think it's FASCINATING that it's Durin IV saying this. Last season, it was his father talking about cheating death, which Durin IV had a very strong reaction to.

Next, we see a close up of Durin III's hand with the massive blue ring and another hand holding it (his own? his son's?). We pull out to see the Durins talking in the throne room and Durin IV says, "Father, take off the ring." If the last bit of dialogue was from the same scene, maybe Durin's using his father's own words to remind him who he is? Anyway, immediately after that request, Durin III backhands his son across the room (*chanwills0 voice* ah! abuse!). I think this could also be showing us that one of the powers of that ring is super strength?

Next, we see a dive-down overhead view of the palace of Armenelos (built JUST like Minas Tirith) with the words "ON AUGUST 29" in gold lettering. Then we see a quick series of images; two gwaith-i-mirdan pouring hot metal into a mold and a giant boulder falling in Khazad-Dûm (probably during a balrog attack).

Then we see Disa speaking to Durin. It looks like it's either in the throne room (unlikely) or their dining room (much more likely) due to a very ornate chair in the background. Disa says, "I'm afraid, Durin." I have no idea what specifically she's talking about because there are SO MANY possible reasons. There's the political tension between Durin III and Durin IV, there's the corrupting effect of the ring, there's the balrog, AND there's the siege of Eregion right outside their doorstep (we'll get to that in a minute).

Next up is a shot of the shore of Nmenor with the words "DARKNESS WILL BIND THEM" in gold lettering. It then zooms in on Miriel walking into the ocean (maybe to commune with that sea monster we saw in the teaser)

Then, we get a view of The Stranger and Bombadil talking in the desert (I'm starting to think he and Nori get separated at some point). Bombadil says, "Every soul in Middle Earth is in peril, will you abandon them to their doom?" Notice! The repeat of the word "Peril"! That was pretty important last season! Also, it looks like they're going with a more serious Tom Bombadil, which I don't love, but maybe he just became more cheerful after meeting Goldberry (or maybe he's on a long journey and is sad because he misses his wife)

They cut to a troll smashing something in a battle (maybe in Ost-in-Edhil) and then we see one of the mirror lights in Khazad-Dûm.

Then, we see a furious (and almost... underfed) Celebrimbor slam something on his desk and whirl around shouting, "No (Oh?), what have you done to me!?" I think we're going to get some DELECTABLE Celebrimbor whump this season, no matter what else happens. Given his fury, what I know of Sauron, and the exact wording of his question, I think there might be some kind of mind control maybe...? Please...?

Immediately after that (and I think that order is important) we get a shot of Ost-in-Edhil on fire and then a shot of Sauron walking through the burning city and only barely being missed by a flaming missile. But who's attacking? Celebrimbor doesn't really have any major enemies... but Sauron does. It's HIGHLY unlikely that Adar is attacking Ost-in-Edhil, so I think it's Lindon and that's the conflict we're getting all those smoking hot Elrond stills from.

Then, we see the new Adar (who doesn't look half-bad, by the way! And, more importantly, he sounds great!) sitting in a throne and saying, "Leave Sauron to me." and it cuts to a shot of him with Sauron's crown, teeth down, in his hands. He stabs it into a redheaded person kneeling before him. A lot of people are saying this is Sauron, but if he is, why is he kneeling? That being said, I have no idea who else it could be.

Next is a quick shot of an elf backlit by an explosion. Several beings in the background are on fire and there are at least five dead bodies in the shot. The elf is shot through with several arrows and, at first glance, I got really excited, thinking we were getting Celebrimbanner. Then I noticed the long hair (definitely not Celebrimbor) and the bow the elf is holding, so I think this is our new OC, Rían.

Then we get a shot of of curly-haired Elrond (yay!) and Galadriel. I think Galadriel says "Caress me, Elrond." and he reaches out to touch her face which I just- Whaaaat? They've been really good about keeping that relationship clearly platonic so far, so I'm going to trust them, but they better not mess that up. Brings "Stacy's Mom" to a whole 'nother level.

Then we get an epic wide battle shot of trebuchets and a charging army, but I can't tell if they're orcs or elves.

Next, we get peak wet-cat Elrond, blood streaming down his face and a thousand-yard-stare to match. I think I also see Aeglos to the side, so maybe Gil-Galad is fighting too? In the background, Galadriel says, "He will not stop until he is destroyed."

Then we cut to a charging horde of orcs and a shot of Adar running at the front of his forces.

After that, we see Bombadil settling his hat on his head.

Next, we see Arondir with his bow half drawn talking to an ent-wyf (YES! WE'RE GETTING ENT-WYVES!!!) who says "Forgiveness takes an age."

Let me pause and repeat that. Forgiveness. Takes. An AGE!!! This is the end of the Second Age, around where the ent-wyves disappeared. We meet Treebeard at the end of the Third Age. Forgiveness! Takes! An! AGE! DO YOU SEE WHAT THEY'RE SAYING HERE!? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry, freakout over now. Anyway-

Next shot is of Elrond speaking to Durin saying, "I need your ax, old friend." Guys! I think the dwarves are going to fight in the siege of Ost-in-Edhil! That would also be a good facilitation of Celebrimbor meeting Narvi. Maybe he's ousted from Ost-in-Edhil for a while, lives as a refugee in Moria, makes the doors of Moria with Narvi, and is recaptured trying to retake his city (and then we get Celebrimbanner... please.)

Then there's a shot of Númenor's harbor, which then cuts to Elendil walking the streets of Armenelos. Interestingly, there are several youngish people behind them holding folded up sea-guard uniforms. I don't know if they're turning them in or receiving them, but both of those options have FASCINATING implications.

Next we see Disa and Narvi side-by-side holding hefty weapons as Durin IV says, "Fight with me!" I think they're trying to raise an army to fight with them at Ost-in-Edhil and Disa and Narvi are there to look intimidating.

Then we get a quick shot of Isildur battling a spider. I think he's going to go through Cirith Ungol trying to escape Mordor and run into Shelob and maybe some of her kids.

Next we get a continuation of the last clip and see Durin giving his rousing speech. "FIGHT! With our friends!" Then it cuts to the crowd listening and it is... very enthusiastically received!

Then, we see the ent-wyf again attacking what is rumored to be Isildur's future bride. (By attack, I mean it looks like she's going to backhand her into oblivion and beyond)

That shot transitions into Galadriel on horseback shooting a bow and making something explode in midair. This is probably also during the siege of Ost-in-Edhil (I have a feeling that's going to take up a major chunk of the season)

Then we see Arondir fighting orcs (maybe near Ithilien?). Notably, he's alone. Bronwyn's not with him (probably because she's super dead) and Theo isn't there either. Did they go their separate ways after Bronwyn's death? Did Arondir try to look after Theo, but you're-not-my-real-dad syndrome got in the way? Either way, Arondir's voicing over in the background, "When the darkness falls, there are always some who rise [inaudible] (forth? for it?)... and shine".

Next, we see Disa watching giant bat-like creatures fly over her head. I... have no clue what that is. Sorry.

Then we get our second-favorite blorbo, Celebrimbor. Very dirty, very disheveled, still looks underfed, and he's dropping some of the rings into the forge fire. I'm not sure, but I think these are the Nine.

Next we see a giant eagle land at the palace in Armenelos and Pharazón approaching it. I don't know what EXACTLY is happening here, but I know that Eagles=Manwë and Manwë does NOT end up liking Pharazón, so it's definitely important.

Next, we see some flaming misiles being launched at Ost-in-Edhil. I wonder what the ethics are here? There are still good people trapped inside the city with Sauron, including it's ruler! You don't want to hurt them on accident!

Again, we see miserable, disheveled looking Celebrimbor holding up a ring and it cuts to Annatar, who says, "You will give me the Nine." This leads me to believe that the ring he's holding is one of the Nine.

Then we see a troll, more fighting, Galadriel ducking under a sword, and then running into a forest attacking orcs, it looks like. Maybe Adar's forces did make it there, maybe Galadriel is somewhere else entirely, or maybe Sauron brought them along with him.

Next, we get our hot Elrond shot of him pulling out his sword dramatically and yelling, "Death to our foes!" in Sindarin(? I think... they've been using a lot of Quenya in the show, so I'm not sure).

AND WE GOT A BADASS CAVALRY CHARGE!!!

Finally, the trailer ends with this screen.

50 notes · View notes