Is 'The Rings of Power' Worthy of the 'Tolkien' Name?
The Rings of Power Season 2, Episode 4 'Eldest' Review and Analysis
The Rings of Power Season 2, Episode 4 “Eldest”
A wizard's staff is like a name. It's yours to wield already, if you prove yourself worthy of it.
Is Amazon's The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power worthy of it's own name? Or the name of the great wizard 'Tolkien'? Many decry the many departures (both actual and perceived) from established lore or additions to it as proof that it is unworthy and “not Tolkien,” but I’ve found that episode by episode season 2 is proving it is worthy not just of being a generic fantasy story but also specifically to bear the names Tolkien and The Lord of the Rings.
Season 2’s fourth episode, "Eldest," is no exception to this trend. In fact, it is perhaps the most Tolkienesque episode so far, reminding me repeatedly of The Fellowship of the Ring and other places in Tolkien’s legendarium. “Eldest” decisively answers any doubts that the show is "not Tolkien enough" by pulling in elements from throughout the history and lore of Middle-earth to produce one of the season's strongest episodes yet.
While the episode focused on a few storylines that hadn't been my favorites prior to this episode, the strong use of elements from throughout Tolkien's work (and especially Fellowship of the Ring) won me over. I enjoyed this episode, yes, even the Pelargir and Stranger/Harfoot storylines! I still had my issues with it: like the rest of last season and this season, juggling multiple storylines was not always successful and this episode ended up feeling rushed at times, especially one of the key action sequences. But in my view it was as strong as the first two episodes (episode three is the weakest so far this season in my opinion) and continued the build towards the second half of the season, with some long-awaited payoffs in a few key storylines to make the time we’ve spent with them feel more worth it than they had up to this point. Plotlines are converging as we head into the back half of the season and all eyes and many paths turn now to Eregion.
The names "The Lord of the Rings" and "Tolkien" are The Rings of Power's to wield already, if the show proves itself worthy of it. This week, "Eldest" showed that it is.
Like last week, I share below a thematic analysis (not an exhaustive or mere episode recap) and evaluation of this week’s episode plus some stray thoughts (“Unfinished Tales”), but beware:
***** SPOILERS beyond this point *****
Worthy of a Name
The Stranger has been searching for his, his name, and his staff, but he is searching now for his friends after they blew away in the dust storm he started and lost control of at the conclusion of the prior episode. But "there's what you're searching for and there's what you find, now isn't there?" What the Stranger finds is not his name, nor his staff (though he tries and fails to retrieve one from a grumpy tree), but what the stars were leading him to: a guide named Eldest.
Yes, it is Tom Bombadil in the flesh, singing a jolly "Hey dol, merry dol, ring a dong dillow," rescuing the Stranger when he is absorbed into a tree like he'll rescue Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin in the next Age, and very far from his home in Withywindle.
Tommy B has been wandering since before the stars filled the skies (“Newcomers, that's what they are. One year, it's dark. The next, you look up there's a sea of tiny eyes lookin down at ya, a-watchin. Now, they think they know everythin', but newcomers. Hmm? Still newcomers”) and is 'Eldest.' He says of himself: "Tom was there before the river and the trees. Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn. He knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless."1 But why has he wandered east? "This whole place used to be green. Now it's all sand." The world is changing. Tom feels it in the water. Tom feels it in the earth. Tom smells it in the air.
Tom Bomb Dot Com knows his own name (it’s “the only answer” to the question of who and what he is, after all) and is also familiar with the ways of wizards: the Dark Wizard himself came to him with similar questions to the Stranger’s before presumably turning Dark and taking control of most of Rhûn.
Ganda—ehrm, I mean the Stranger2 asks Tom for help finding a staff, but Tom's reply gets to the heart of the Stranger's current quest:
"A wizard's staff is like a name. It's yours to wield already, if you prove yourself worthy of it."
And how will he do so? By facing the Dark Wizard and Sauron, preventing them from joining forces lest all of Middle-earth burns under the flame of their combined might.
Lost Wanderers In Search of Home
Meanwhile, Nori and Poppy stumble upon some of their distant halfling relations, the Stoors. The Stoors, unlike the Harfoots, are settled in one place and live in holes in the ground. Their desert dwelling is a far cry from the Shire, however.
Nori and Poppy initially run into trouble with the Stoors, who intend to cast them out for their association with the Stranger and thereby the Dark Wizard. But in passing Nori mentions Sadoc's name and upon finding out that his last name is Burrows, the Stoor leader Gundabel tells Nori and Poppy the tale of a Stoor named Rorimas Burrows who set out on a journey to find "a place with endless streams of cold water and rollin hills so soft a family could dig an' hole and live in it in less than a month. He called it the Sûza-t" (the Westron name for "The Shire")." Rorimas was the first Harfoot—which explains the Walking Song lyrics being a map to return to Rhûn—who struck out looking for a home that the Harfoots eventually gave up looking for.
Having helped The Stranger find his purpose, perhaps Nori and Poppy have discovered their own.
The Truth Comes Out...and Finds Forgiveness
While searching for Theo, Arondir uncovers the truth about Estrid. She swore allegiance to Adar in Mordor just like the rest of the Wildmen. Her recently self-inflicted burn over the brand cannot shield her from judgment for her decision.
Isildur and Arondir must decide what to do with her now, at first restraining her with manacles as they search for Theo but eventually freeing her. She rewards this trust by immediately stealing Isildur's sword. Holding him at bay with it, she explains:
"Forgiveness doesn't come to folk like me. Sooner or later they'll cast me out, you know they will."
"I won't let them," Isildur reassures her. "I won't let them cast you out." But this standoff is interrupted by the arrival of an Ent and Ent-wife (!!!), Snaggleroot and Winterblossom.
Seeing the drawn blade, they knock Estrid aside. Arondir leaps into action, and in a mixture of Sindarin and Common Speech tries to talk them down. But his own past comes out for judgment.
"I am Arondir of the Greenwood!"3 he identifies himself.
"Hast thou ever touched axe to wooded life?" Winterblossom asks. Are you worthy of the name you claim, elf?
"To my great pain I have," he admits, recalling the tree he was forced to fell in season 1.
This obviously does not go over well with the Ents, but Araondir eventually manages to attempt to seek their forgiveness: "We would seek... your forgiveness... for the injury... we have done..." he says cautiously to them.
"Forgiveness takes an age," Winterblossom replies him as she gives him a one of her blossoms.
"Rain washing clear the long memory of soil. New bark covering old scars."
"And in all that time," Arondir replies, "I promise we will see to it that the trees of this wood are left in peace."
The Ents free some captives they took, including Theo and Estrid's betrothed (to Isildur's dismay), and tell Arondir about an army of orcs who they arrived too late to fight. Arondir heads after them to fulfil his promise to the Ents to defend the trees of their wood.
Arondir is forgiven by the Ents, absolved of his sins but also given a penance to complete. Theo seems to forgive him as well and they part on good terms. It remains to be seen whether Estrid will accept Isildur’s forgiveness and how the residents of Pelargir under their new lord, Theo, will respond to her and any other Wildmen who swore to serve Adar under duress but now seek forgiveness too.
The (Elven) Ring Goes South
In the episode’s final plotline, Galadriel, Elrond, and the rest of their small company of Elves take a journey from Lindon to Eregion that is reminiscent in many ways of the Fellowship's journey: their planned route is impassable due to a collapsed bridge and the detour takes them south through unexpectedly dangerous territory. But it is not the darkness of Moria in this case. Instead they must travel through ancient burial sites where they run afoul of Barrow-wights, spirits of the long-dead rulers of men interred there thousands of years ago and recently awakened.4
Thanks to Elrond's extensive knowledge of lore, they are able to defeat the wights by using their own weapons against them. As they continue on their journey, Galadriel has a vision of the sacrifices and events to come: Morgoth’s crown, Elrond at knifepoint, the statue of Fëanor in Eregion being pulled down, Celebrimbor falling to the floor, and a new vision of Halbrand in armor. Not long after, the group comes across the trail of Adar's army of Orcs headed to Eregion. Instead of Sauron, they find Adar. (Bringing Tom Bombadil’s “There's what you're searching for and there's what you find, now isn't there?” to mind again).
After having displayed another of Nenya's powers (Force healing...er, I mean healing), Galadriel entrusts the Ring to Elrond to take on ahead while she holds off the approaching Orcs. She skillfully and lethally dispatches many of their number, but is captured by Adar himself, who greets her with a pitch-perfect and chilling, "A star shines on the hour of our meeting."5 (“Shows what stars know, doesn’t it?”) Like Halbrand and Adar’s role reversal in the first episode of this season, it seems it will now be Galadriel’s turn to go from captor to captive.
Previous analysis of Rings of Power season 2:
Unfinished Tales
Where I share likes, dislikes, stray observations, quotes, and speculation/theories that didn’t make it into the above
Last week I shared that I was not sure about the show’s use of Círdan, but between writing that and now I’ve come around on it. It’s mainly because I noticed on rewatching the episode that the wave that knocks the Rings back into his boat is almost certainly supposed to be the intervention of Ulmo, Lord of the Waters. In that light, I am much more sympathetic to Círdan’s change of heart.
While it’s almost inevitable that the Stranger is Gandalf, I am hoping that he and the Dark Wizard are actually the two Blue Wizards, one having gone “Dark” and the other set to oppose him in a recreation of the Gandalf/Saruman dynamic that also blends their two origins that Tolkien gave them (one where they failed in their task and one where they were more successful).
Even more winking at the Stranger being Gandalf with the Stoors guessing he is a “great big grand-elf.” groan
Still so happy about Snaggleroot and Winterblossom. Just about made the episode for me. We won!! We got an Ent-wife!! (Though this makes their loss by the Third Age even more tragic.)
While Tom Bombadil was also a highlight for me...it’s with a bit of an asterisk. I liked him (and thought Rory Kinnear did a great job)...but I wanted to love him, be blown away by him. And didn't feel that, unfortunately. Perhaps on a rewatch!
What’s going on with Goldberry? She’s really there, right? Funny that Tom tried to gaslight the Stranger about her…or is there something weird going on there?
Elrond’s distrust of Galadriel and the Ring is both completely understandable given the circumstances generally and also his own family history with elven artifacts crafted by Fëanor and Co.™ but also at the point where I am ready for the next beat in his character arc here. Will him being given the Ring change something for him? Perhaps he’ll be forced to use Nenya himself? Could set him up interestingly for what we know is coming with him and the Rings if you are familiar with his story.
The pacing of the episode felt most rushed and obvious during Barrow-wights sequence. It seemed like there was all this buildup and then it was over all of the sudden. A bit of a letdown.
Loved the map transitions as the company of Elves traveled. So good!
“This company will not take counsel from that trinket. Nor will you.”
“There are some stars above your hill.”
“Stars above most hills.”
“I'm Nobody”
“Well you can't be nobody.”
“If everybody calls you nobody, doesn't anybody call you somebody?”
“Harfoots, livin’ in holes? It doesn't seem natural.”
Didn't say this last week, but Pelargir is not what I expected out of a Númenórean colony and is honestly a bit disappointing.
There are nameless things in the deep places of this world. This one, we shall call "supper"!
CELEBORN WATCH:
Was Celeborn mentioned in Season 2, Episode 4? no
Was Celeborn IN ROP Season 2, Episodes 4? Still no
(I did this each week last year on Twitter and had too much fun with it, so I’m continuing the tradition)
Appendices
Last week I was invited on That’s What I’m Tolkien About to chat with host Mary Clay about the first episode of season 2. Check it out here (or wherever you get your podcasts). We had a lot of fun and a great conversation about the episode!
In honor of The Rings of Power I put together a shirt/sweatshirt design with the 20 Rings of Power: check it out at my Bonfire shop!
Jokien with Tolkien is a reader-supported newsletter and Jokien with Tolkien: Extended Edition members help keep it coming to everyone’s inboxes week in and week out.
Every week it takes time and effort to put out a newsletter! If you are still reading at this point and regularly get value, entertainment, encouragement, or inspiration from this newsletter, consider upgrading your subscription, supporting me by grabbing something from my e-book store or even just throwing a few bucks in my tip jar. Thank you!
⚔️ Did someone forward this email to you? Join 8,500+ subscribers in the Jokien with Tolkien community: Subscribe here and get a free gift just for joining!
🏹 Chosen as a Substack Featured Publication in 2023
🪓 Official merch available in the Jokien with Tolkien store
❌ All typos are precisely as intended
🔗 Links may be affiliate, which is a free-to-you way to support this newsletter where I earn a small commission on items you purchase
📚 Check out my e-book store for downloadable guides to Tolkien and analyses of his works
🗃️ Can’t wait till next week for more content? View the archive
🎯 Interested in sponsoring this newsletter with an ad? Email me at JRRJokien@JRRJokien.com
It’s interesting to compare and contrast Tom’s description (“Tom was there before the river and the trees. Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn. He knew the dark under the stars when it was fearless”) with Galadriel’s “I have pursued this foe [Sauron] since before the first sunrise bloodied the sky” and Sauron’s “I've been awake since the breaking of the First Silence, in that time - I have had many names" from season 1.
I am still firmly of the opinion that for the Stranger to be Gandalf would be a huge mistake and that it’s much more interesting for him to be one of the Blue Wizards…but at this point the hints, winks, allusions, and more are so overwhelming that it would seem, well, strange if that wasn’t who he is.
So he hails from the Woodland Realm! His King is then Oropher, Thranuril's father. He may even know Thranduril at this point as his prince.
These seem different than the Barrow-wights in Fellowship. The timeline is completely wrong, for one. The wights Frodo and the hobbits encounter on their journey were once men of the nation of Cardolan, a splinter of the realm of Arnor that Elendil and Isildur have not yet founded in the show’s timeline and were turned to wights by the Witch-king in the Third Age. So these wights must be separate, and wakened not by the Witch-king but by Sauron himself.
Adar says “Elen síla lúmenn’ omentielvo, herūnī Altáriel”…which is Quenya, not Sindarin! This potentially throws his past identity and heritage into question, especially since his pronunciation means he has some Fëanorian connection. Intriguing!
I thought the Barrow-Wights were kinda cool but also felled way too quickly. This is one of those things where it feels the show ran out of time and/or budget for them.
I really wish they'd pushed the Galadriel stuff out and moved whatever stuff they have with the Stranger/Nori planned for the next hour here to make this more substantial. And the reason is simply that this is the best their story has been since the show started. Like, I thought it was gonna be the main focus but it ends just as it's revving up to something big.
Interesting insights & comments by all.
Like JRRJ, I felt a bit disappointed with Tom Bombadil…when I read The Hobbit as a kid, his character majiked the heck out of (or more likely into) me! I was obsessed with him. This version was great, but could have been so much more… hopefully, his character (and presence) will “grow” in all ways!