Summary
The central objects inThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerare famous among fans ofThe Lord of the Rings, with Sauron’s famous poem and his even more infamous ‘One Ring’ now pop culture icons. Despite that fact, the details of the jewelry, the methods by which they were made, and the actual ‘power’ they possess are total mysteries to most. But ScreenRant’sThe Rings of Power Podcastlooks to solve that problem for all Tolkien fans, expert of newcomer.
The first season ofThe Rings of Powercovered the story leading up to the actual forging of the rings faster than most assumed,rewriting theLord of the Ringstimeline to make the three Elven ringsfirst, without Sauron. But why does it matter that he wasn’t present? Did Sauron need to touch them to take control? Does he need to touch the others? How does the magic in the Rings of Power work, anyway? These questions are all discussed (along with Mithril as the show’s possible answer) in the latest episode ofThe Rings of Power Podcast: “How Do The Rings of Power (and The One Ring) Actually Work?“embedded below:
Hosts Andrew Dyce and Stephen Colbert dive deep into the existing lore, ideas and potential stories scribbled or discussed by J.R.R. Tolkien across his life, and where theRings of Powerwriters have room to fill in their own fiction. But when trying to define or explain the actual magic or power at work in Sauron’s famous rings, from their creation to the way they actually prevent the decay of the Elves, Tolkien gave no clear answer. But his larger mythology does give fans a chance at understanding it, if they’re willing to do their homework.
10 Major Changes Rings Of Power Made To J.R.R. Tolkien’s Original Plans For The Second Age
Prime Video’s The Rings of Power is set during the Second Age of Middle-earth, but the series has already drastically changed Tolkien’s canon plans.
The Rings of Power Are Connections To The ‘Unseen World’ of Tolkien’s Lore
Tolkien’s use of ‘magic’ was limited, but The Unseen World is everywhere at once
The full podcast episode goes into depth on the subject of Tolkien’s Unseen World, from the very first draft ofThe Fellowship of the Ring. In those first pages, the author described Ringwraiths as people who had ‘passed through’ their rings, ceasing to possess a physical form in the normal world, to be completely dominated by the ‘lord of the rings’ (then the Necromancer, later Sauron). To keep things simple for modern television audiences,the ‘Upside-Down’ presented in Netflix’sStranger Thingsmay be the most accessible analogue.
Where Men, Hobbits, and most living things exist within the normal world, divine begins like the Valar who helped create it or the Maiar who serve them, like Sauron, Gandalf, or the Balrogs, exist in both the seen and Unseen World at once. Where these being may wield ‘magic’ as a result, actually imbuing objects with a path to that power is something else entirely. Viewers can expectThe Rings of Power’s future seasons to provide more answers, but it’s enough to say that Sauron finally figuring out a way to manipulate his connection to the Unseen World almost broke Middle-earth into pieces.
The Show’s New Mithtril Origin Actually Makes A Lot of Sense
Tolkien’s magic metal was used in the actual rings, so they’re a simple solution
The Rings of Power’s new Silmaril origin for mithrilstirred feathers, or enraged some Tolkien diehards, and revealed how the showrunners hoped to explain several hard-to-explain concepts to a broad audience. When High King Gil-galad introduced “The Song of the Roots of Hithaeglir,” the magical metal mithril was given an origin, where it previously had none at all. Prior to this,only two things were known about mithril: it was used in the creation of a Ring of Power (no surprise, given its impossible qualities), and Sauron coveted it for simialrly unknown reasons. It seems the TV show’s writers saw this not as a mystery, but an opportunity.
The full episode of The Rings of Power Podcast embedded above explores the new mithril origin in detail, but it’s hard to argue with the solution it provided. Mithril is important, but Tolkien never explained where it came from, or why it seemed magical. The Rings of Power are magic, but Tolkien never explained how they were actually imbued with power, or wielded by a wearer. Could one mystery answer the other?Suggest mithril’s inherent ‘magic’ was used by Sauron to channel the Unseen World, and fans can follow, instead of being left asking questions Tolkien himself never answered.
For the full conversation and debate on this and all other topics related to the TV show, be sure to followThe Rings of Power Podcastin your favorite podcast app, and stay tuned to ScreenRant for all coverage of season two and beyond.
The Rings of Power Podcast
https://soundcloud.com/screenrant-rings-podcast
Tolkien enthusiasts Andrew Dyce and Stephen Colbert host this ScreenRant podcast about Prime Video’s ongoing series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Each episode explores questions, criticism, and theories about the Middle-Earth-set show.
