Lord of the Rings, a favorite topic of mine, is making news again. For that we can thank Amazon and its new series, which finally has a name and a trailer. Back in 2017 Jeff Bezos' company bid something like $250 million dollars for the rights, put up by the Tolkien estate, to the appendices at the end of The Return of the King, the third book in the trilogy. Not only was it a staggering amount to pay before any production began but it only bought a bunch of background information and history. In the end it'll be more than a billion dollar show, with hopes it's the next Game of Thrones.
Let's briefly examine the scope of those appendices. They were adapted and shortened from the history of Middle Earth, called The Silmarillion, a book that wasn't published until after Tolkien's death, in order to show the depth of his world and provide context to his story. Appendix A gives the history of the various kings and rulers. This includes the Númenoreans, the line of powerful Men that led to Elendil, Isildur and eventually Aragorn, plus the Stewards of Gondor, the House of Eorl in Rohan and Durin's Folk (i.e. the dwarf kings). It also tells the love story of Aragorn and Arwen, something that barely appears in the books otherwise. Appendix B is the Tale of Years. It has a brief timeline of the Second Age, with the first rise and fall of Sauron, and a more extensive look at the Third Age, with dates and places of the many events before, during and after the War of the Ring. Appendix C has family trees of the four hobbits, the Baggins (Frodo), the Tooks (Pippin), the Brandybucks (Merry), and the relatives of Samwise Gamgee. Appendix D goes through the Hobbit calendar and how it differs from the ones used by Elves and Men. Appendices E and F are all about the languages, from the writing and spelling to the development of speech among the different peoples. Tolkien was the master of philology after all.
For years I've been uncertain what they were actually going to do with this source material. I'm not sure anyone on the outside truly knew as the show's development was extremely secretive. It wasn't until we learned the name, recently revealed as 'The Rings of Power,' that we can finally start to have an idea. It appears to me the main events will be drawn from the three pages in Appendix B that cover the Second Age. During this period the Rings of Power are made and used by Sauron to corrupt the good peoples of Middle Earth, eventually requiring a desperate alliance to stop him.
Here's a condensing of the timeline of the Second Age if you need some translating and/or don't have access to a copy of the Return of the King (and Appendix B). The First Age ended with the defeat of the first enemy, Morgoth, to whom Sauron was only a minion. The Second Age began with the founding of new Elven realms within Middle Earth, such as the Grey Havens, populated by the Elves not going, or returning, to Valinor (like Elf heaven), which many did after the events of the First Age. It's also when the Valar (gods, like Tolkien's Olympus) gifted an untouched and special place to the Men who assisted in overthrowing Morgoth. This was an island in the western sea that would become the great kingdom of Númenor. Over the subsequent centuries both Elves and Númenoreans were prosperous and began to spread. Sauron meanwhile also grew in power and settled in Mordor, building his fortress of Barad-dûr. He sought to rule all and needed to subdue the growing powers that would oppose him. He successfully bent gifted Elf smiths who created the Rings of Power while he forged the One Ring. Soon after Sauron and the Elves were at war, during which many Elven lands were destroyed. This is when Rivendell was founded and the gates of Moria were shut. A large host of Númenoreans arrived and repelled Sauron, resulting in peace for a time. While Sauron controlled much of the continent's interior, Númenor's numbers swelled along the coasts. But there was trouble at home and civil war erupted. It's around this time the Ringwraiths appeared. Sauron, then a physical being considered fair and wise, was captured and taken to Númenor where he sowed discord and jealousy. Eventually the Númenorean king attempted to attack Valinor and his island was forever sunk into the sea. Remaining righteous Númenoreans, led by Elendil and Isildur, founded kingdoms 'in exile' in Middle Earth including Gondor. War resumed and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men came together to defeat Sauron and take the One Ring. This all takes place over 3441 years, and to grasp this remember Elves (and beings like Sauron) are immortal and the Númenoreans typically lived for hundreds of years.
There wasn't a ton about the Rings of Power there. There's a nice narrative in The Silmarillion called 'Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age' but I don't believe Amazon has the rights to that book. So we'll supplement from what we know they can use. An important tidbit is in the summary prior to the timeline for the Second Age. Early on a group of Elves settled in the interior of Middle Earth, near the Misty Mountains and Khazad-dum (Moria). They learned from the Dwarves there and became master smiths. The best of them, their Lord, was Celebrimbor. These are the Elves that succumbed to Sauron and under his guidance created the Rings of Power. More we already know from the Lord of the Rings story. While these rings were being made, Sauron himself forged the One Ring, into which he poured himself, to hold dominion over all the lesser rings. When this One Ring was first used, the Elves perceived his power, hid their rings and went to war. Sauron did very well in this war. Celebrimbor was killed and the remaining rings were distributed, seven to the Dwarves and the nine to Men. The Nine eventually became the Nazgûl, or Ringwraiths, owned in body and spirit by the Dark Lord. If we read Appendix A about Durin's Folk we learn that the Dwarves weren't conquered the same way, though their minds were poisoned and the bearers driven to an unending lust for treasure. This we see in Thorin Oakenshield during The Hobbit, so it's fair to guess he held one of those rings. After the distribution of the Rings of Power and the appearance of the One Ring Sauron reigned over much of Middle Earth, his fiercest remaining enemy the people of Númenor. That's where he set his eyes next.
Alright, so that's what I think the new Amazon show will be centered on. I'm curious if they'll continue through the entire Second Age, through the downfall of Númenor (also covered in Appendix A) to the Last Alliance, but they may be wishcasting. Either way I remain curious about the show, though a lot of what I've seen so far doesn't inspire a lot of confidence, yet. We'll see.
Also before I go, I want to include something I kept thinking about while writing this. Basically it's me yelling at myself.
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