Amazon Studios The Rings of Power is here. 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?
- Leaked! Rings of Power Trailer Breakdown
- The Rings of Power Teaser Breakdown
- New EW Rings of Power Pictures
- SDCC Rings of Power Trailer Breakdown
- Who is Isildur?
- The Rings of Power is Here! Read the Reactions
- Who is the Stranger?
- Who is Queen Míriel?
- Who is Ar-Pharazôn?
- What is the broken black blade?
- What is Mordor?
- What is Mithril?
- What are the Silmarils?
- What is Narsil?
- Who founded Númenor?
- Who is Galadriel’s Brother Finrod?
- Rings of Power Adds 15 New Cast Members for Season 2
- Who is Círdan?
- Will Celeborn Appear in The Rings of Power?
- Are Galadriel and Sauron Enemies in Book Canon?
- Who is Narvi?
- Jamie Bisping Cast as Viran
We know from the end of The Rings of Power season 1 that Nori and the rest of her Harfoot clan have gone their separate ways. We also know from J.R.R. Tolkien’s original works ad The Lord of the Rings trilogy of films that these halfling eventually become known as “Hobbits” and settle in a region of Middle-Earth known as “The Shire”. It would seem a fairly natural conclusion in future seasons of the Amazon Studios show that we’ll see The Shire settled and perhaps even the emergence of the village of Hobbiton where such familiar characters as Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, Samwise Gamgee, Merry Brandybuck, and Pippin Took come to be born and raised before the wider world calls them to take part in grander adventures.
I definitely think we’ll get a reunion of Nori and the Brandyfoot family (including Poppy!), if not the rest of the travelling clan. In fact, Nori, herself, Markella Kavenagh, told TechRadar:
“I would love to reunite with the family. The entire community is so wonderful to work with. To me, it will be so difficult to imagine that they wouldn’t [be back]but we’ll just have to see what what happens really.”
The Rings of Power showrunner Patrick McKay has confirmed the return of the larger Harfoot group in
several press conferences – even hinting at the founding of Hobbiton!
*record scratch*
But what does J.R.R. Tolkien and the books have to say about it?
Per The Scouring of the Shire chapter in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King:
The Shire was first settled by hobbits in the year 1601 of the Third Age (Year 1 in Shire Reckoning); they were led by the brothers Marcho and Blanco. The hobbits from the vale of Anduin had migrated west over the perilous Misty Mountains, living in the wilds of Eriador before moving to the Shire.
While I definitely don’t think The Rings of Power will make it 1600+ years into the Third Age of Middle-Earth, the show has diverged from canon on numerous occasion already, so it’s definitely not beyond the pale.
The event which kicks off the settling of The Shire is the fall of the Kingdom of Arnor. As you’ll remember from past Let’s Get Nerdy! features, the Kingdom of Arnor was founded by High King Elendil, Isildur, and Anárion in the North following the fall of Númenor, but before the founding of the Kingdom of Gondor. When Arnor falls the Hobbit elect to self-govern under the authority of a Thain – another tick in the column of Ashley’s conspiracy theory that all Hobbits are Scottish.
Ultimately, establishing The Shire as the home of the Halflings of Middle-Earth would be a very easy way to give a bunch of characters business to do for several plotlines and seasons to come!
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She/her. Canadian actress. Bi Queen. Canadian co-host of Geek History Lesson. Canadian comic book writer: Witchblade, Apollo IX, Jupiter Jet series, Science! The Elements of Dark Energy, Aurora and The Eagle. Award-losing: actor, writer, podcaster. https://linktr.ee/AshleyVRobinson