Rings of Power just completely overhauled Middle-earth’s geography with its sixth volume, Udûn, and answered some key questions about the Orcs and their plans – here’s what happened and what it could be. What that means for the future of the program.
Naturally, the big spoilers need to follow, so if you’re not hooked on Prime Video’s Lord of the Rings TV show, it’s best to click it now.
We knew very early on that something terrible was going to happen to the Southlands – it didn’t take a cartographer or an expert on Tolkien lore to put together that particular area seemed lost. explicitly in the stories of the Third Age. And, similarly, it is never difficult to notice the absence of a major part of Middle-earth geography: the fiery wasteland of Mordor. Connecting those dots is not a big challenge. What? to be One challenge, however, is figuring out how we can get from point A to point B in this particular adventure.
Well, we have our answer now. The very explosive Mordor creation happened right before our eyes (and about 50% of the party). It turned out that the tunnels the Orcs were digging were more than just a means of transportation during the day – they were strategically placed underground rivers, meant to facilitate the flooding of a The volcano that you will immediately know is Mt. Doom. The main flood was caused by the cracking of a dam, actually triggered by the use of the strange cursed sword Theo found. It was a sword, for sure, but it was also the key to an Indiana Jones-flavored device that allowed water to spill out of the dam and into caves and tunnels, wreaking havoc on the South. But floods are not the end goal – they need water to flood the lava chambers of a volcano causing it to erupt, triggering an apocalyptic eruption of ash and lava that engulfs the entire region. .
It was never officially named in the episode, but it’s clear that the Southlands have become much more familiar. This is without a doubt Mordor, where Frodo will eventually journey to destroy the Ring, a place shrouded in darkness and suffering that few in the Third Age were willing to go there.
Perhaps more important than Mordor’s creation, however, this episode also gives the entire event some context. We know that Adar is in fact Uruk – a name you might recognize from the Lord of the Rings Uruk-Hai, large super orcs created to resemble orc hulks. However, the Uruks predated these super-orcs – they even predated the proper Orcs. Uruks like Adar are, in fact, the last remnants of the elves that Morgoth originally captured and enslaved, torturing and brainwashing them until they became something entirely different. Here we get a glimpse of Adar’s plan – not to bend the world to Morgoth’s will, but to make part of it for the Orcs. It’s not hard to see how and why he could believe this was on him – after all, his eternal life was ruined by his will, and now he’s on fire. burning with resentment towards his former master and Sauron’s endless quest for power when Morgoth awakens.
This adds an extra layer of complexity to the whole situation. Galadriel is on a quest for vengeance of her own, but she is continuing on the assumption that the Orcs are simply pawns of both Sauron and Morgoth. Then there was Halbrand, who was…anything else going on. His connection to Adar is teased, time and time again, but never fully unraveled. Suffice it to say, we grew more and more suspicious of him as the show progressed.
In addition, these layers raise the question of whose acts of revenge really carry more weight and what kind of condolence flowers are actually justified. Orcs have raided across the Southlands to capture people and destroy the environment, but Galadriel has endangered his fellow elves and brutally in turn forced his own agenda – both groups Both want to secure a future for their people, but neither has as much of a statement of right as they seem to believe.
Even so, in Galadriel’s defense, she hasn’t yet graduated to frankly sacrificing people to make a point – at least. So there is that.
We’ll have to wait and see how, next week, the explosive arrival of Mordor really affects those involved. Bronwyn has certainly seen better days, Arondir points out a mouth full of Orc blood may be a great thing for him or may not be a great thing for him, Halbrand increasingly dim haunted, and Theo may have just lost his mother. Not to mention there are now countless Numeno people away from their homes for the first time, experiencing it as their first taste of Middle-earth.
Also, we can’t forget about the creepy elves dressed in white who seem to be hunting The Stranger. They weren’t there when the battle was going on, but they were definitely the ones to keep an eye on.
Lord of the Rings: The Rings Of Power continues to air Prime Video every Thursday.
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