Amazon Studios The Rings of Power is a couple months away. We want all Spoilerites to have the best viewing experience possible and have the widest knowledge base about the Second Age of Middle-Earth. This is a weekly Let’s Get Nerdy article series highlighting a different piece of Tolkien I think you need to know about!
In past articles I have answered the question:
- What Are the Rings of Power?
- What is Númenor?
- What is the Second Age?
- Who are the Harfoots?
- Who is Prince Durin IV?
- What is Khazad-dûm?
- Who is Celebrimbor?
- What is the Last Alliance of Men and Elves?
- Who is Elendil?
- New Pics! Who are Bronwyn and Theo?
- What is Rivendell?
- The Rings of Power First Reactions Are In!
- What is Lindon?
- What are the Nine Human Rings?
- Empire Magazine’s The Rings of Power Covers
- New Character Pictures
- Will Wizards Appear in The Rings of Power?
- New Promo for The Rings of Power
- What is Eregion?
Last week the Brazilian tailor for The Rings of Power leaked on social media. It’s set for wide release tomorrow (July 14th), and, honestly, doesn’t feature much new footage from what we originally saw during the Super Bowl trailer.
Here is the first fifteen seconds of the trail that was officially released ahead of tomorrow’s full release:
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power | Prime Video Exclusive Sneak Peek
Watch the full sneak peek exclusively for Prime Members now! #TheRingsOfPowerUS: https://amazon.com/RingsOfPower UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0B3KRFWKWGe…
It’s 15 seconds versus the full 50 seconds which leaked. Out of respect for Amazon Studios, The Rings of Power, and everyone who worked on the series we’re not going to share the leak in this feature.
Luckily for us, Reddit user Geek-Haven888 provided a translation soon after the video hit the internet:
Translation:
[Hobbit] Woman: “The elves protect the forests; The Dwarves, the mines; Men, their crops; But we Harfoot have each other.”
Galadriel: “The Enemy is still at large. My question is ‘where?'”
Elrond: “You’ve fought too long, Galadriel. Hand over your sword.”
Galadriel: “You didn’t see what I saw. You didn’t.”
Gil-galad: “Darkness will march over the land. It will be the end of all peoples.”
Elend[ei?]: “The past is dead”
Durin IV: “This could be the beginning of a new Era”.
I think they have mistakenly not credited “Elendil”, based on actor and context. I don’t speak or read Portuguese, so I’m trusting in the translation and what I already know of The Rings of Power. The same thing with the phrase “Hobbit Woman” when we know these characters are Harfoots, rather than the Hobbits we recognize from The Lord of the Rings or The Hobbit film trilogy.
It seems Amazon is still intent on keeping the majority of the narrative close to the vest with a few extra seconds of footage of High King Gil-galad joining the familiar faces of Galadriel and Elrond who have dominated the teasers up to this point. This Brazilian leak definitely highlights the Harfoots even more. Saddoc Burrows (played by Lenny Henry), gets even more features the more and more media we are getting from The Rings of Power. It seems increasingly likely The Rings of Power is centering their halfling characters in the same style as J.R.R. Tolkien’s original work.
As for the dialogue being spoken, it strikes me as appropriately cryptic per the opening monologue of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring’s opening monologue spoken by Galadriel. Let’s break it down:
[Hobbit] Woman: “The elves protect the forests; The Dwarves, the mines; Men, their crops; But we Harfoot have each other.”
Speaks to the divides between races which The Rings of Power seems to be exploring.
Galadriel: “The Enemy is still at large. My question is ‘where?'”
Who this enemy refers to will be interesting. The first idea is Annatar, but per canon – and I suspect – Annatar is going to get his heel turn into Sauron over the course of The Rings of Power rather than right out the gate.
Elrond: “You’ve fought too long, Galadriel. Hand over your sword.”
An intentional echo to Elrond bequeathing Anduril to Aragorn during The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.
Galadriel: “You didn’t see what I saw. You didn’t.”
Galadriel is noted for her visions. If you’ll recall in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring when she tempts Frodo to look into her mirror and he catches a glimpse of the Scouring of the Shire.
Gil-galad: “Darkness will march over the land. It will be the end of all peoples.”
There’s been a bunch of images surfacing of the new style of orcs who populate The Rings of Power. This is definitely a face value reading into the line. It speaks to the shifting morality and seat of power in Middle-Earth. It heralds Annatar and the coming of Sauron. As a prophetic line it is deeply ironic to be spoken by Gil-galad since we know from the book he dies in the heat of Sauron’s hand.
Elend[ei?]: “The past is dead”
As the leader of a newly emerging kingdom I do find this line compelling. The Fall of Númenor and burgeoning birth of Gondor heralds a shifting of power in Middle-Earth from the elves to the humans which we see the tail end of during the events of The Lord of the Rings.
Durin IV: “This could be the beginning of a new Era”.
The events of The Rings of Power largely take place at the end of The Second Age. My bet? This line refers to the coming “Darkness” Gil-galad referenced earlier in the trailer. Arguably, the most evil threat Middle-Earth has ever faced: Sauron and the One Ring.
When the trailer drops tomorrow we’ll have another installment of Let’s Get Nerdy! breaking down the new trailer in the hopes of something new being added or gained since last week’s leak!
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