In all J. R. R. Tolkien, little is known about the formation of Mount Doom. Morgoth, the first Dark Lord to attempt to rule Middle-earth, chose the area as his base during the First Age because of the three mountain ranges surrounding it. He created the volcano himself after taking over the land and named his new home Mordor. Even before the end of the First Age, the great spider Shelob, who eventually captured Frodo (Elijah Wood) and the battle with Samwise (Sean Astin), brought her offspring to settle on Mount Doom. The arid and dark environment of Mordor was maintained by the volcano and the many wars that have been fought on the earth over the centuries.
The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power however, completely changes the history of the origin of the land of Mordor. Instead of the land always being consumed by darkness, this show creates the story of the Southlands and the descendants of those who served Morgoth. The way this storyline shows the struggle of a populace seeking to reclaim their integrity and rid themselves of the shame and guilt of what their ancestors have done gives Tolkien’s universe a huge amount of nuance and tension that makes it even better.
Southern lands represent humanity’s struggle with self-doubt
This history rewritten in Rings of Power The action takes place later, in the Second Age, many generations after Morgoth was defeated and his servant Sauron (Charlie Vickers) disappeared. The inhabitants of the Southlands are the descendants of those who served Morgoth, and constantly live with a shadow of shame and guilt because of the failures of their ancestors. Just like the elves who stayed in the watchtower, there are southerners who believe their bloodline means they have a penchant for darkness. There are a lot of good and honest people there, like Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi), try to do good as often as possible, and it is their insecurity that the rest of Middle-earth sees them as evil that makes them want to prove themselves even more. However, there are those who were overcome by their uncertainty, such as Waldreg (Geoff Morrell), and believe that the Dark Lord Sauron will return to rule the land, so the southerners would be better off serving him than living with their supposed persecution under the rule of the elves.
Relations between Arondir (Ismael Cruz Cordova), and Bronwyn teaches the audience the importance of overcoming their insecurities. Bronwyn did a great job of shedding her shame and guilt by the time the show began. She sees the elves not as oppressors, but as insurance against her fellow Southerners returning to serve the Dark Lord. However, she is the only one who can see the value of their protection and surveillance. She knows none of her neighbors can see beyond their prejudice against elves, but that doesn’t stop her from trusting Arondir. If Bronwyn hadn’t forged a relationship with Arondir, they would never have found the orc tunnels in Hordern and Adare (Joseph Mole) would have a huge advantage. Adar could have brought his legion of orcs to destroy the people in their own homes instead of going to the tower where many of them were killed by Arondir’s trap. Bronwyn, who overcame her insecurities about the Southlands’ evil history and prejudice against elves, saved the lives of many people and allowed her to easily take over leadership.
Mount Doom’s New Creation
Adar, leading his orcs to cause a volcanic eruption right under the southerners’ feet, teaches a lesson about evil that many could learn. Evil begins to secretly build up power. Those who wish to harm others for personal gain seldom state their intentions in public. Most of their initial attempts to seize power and control begin in the shadows, recruiting like-minded people and playing on their insecurities. Villains promise eventual glory if their followers secretly swear allegiance to them, but publicly they must act as if nothing has changed. This is why it comes as such a surprise to good people when a leader and his followers finally reveal their true intentions. Good people are working daily to overcome their own problems, and it is completely invisible that their neighbors are working against them.
Adar and his orcs are successful in causing Mount Doom to erupt because they keep everything they’ve been doing a secret until they’re ready to take over. As Arondir discovers, anyone who stumbles into their maze of tunnels is captured and forced to dig tunnels for them. They kill anyone who tries to escape and direct their tunnels right under the houses of the people they plan to attack. When TheoTyro Muhafidin) discovers a tunnel under their house, it’s only because he’s attacking what he thinks are mice burrowing under the floorboards. If the orcs are working so hard to keep quiet, they must have made the secret of the plan their top priority. This story arc about how Adar managed to take over the Southern Lands is a stark warning of what can happen if good people become complacent. Like Arondir and the elves in the watchtower, good must remain vigilant lest evil take hold in the hearts of others.
Mount Doom’s new origin brings nuance to Middle-earth
In many of Tolkien’s stories, the concepts of good and evil are clearly defined. Each character is clearly on one side or the other. Changing the creation of Mount Doom from the source material brings some much-needed nuance to the characters in these stories. Southerners are so divided in their ideals that it is impossible to tell who is good and who is bad until they openly declare it.
We first see Waldreg working as a bartender and butchering meat. When Arondir enters and is confronted by a prejudiced boy named Rowan (Ian Blackburn), Valdreg is actually protecting him. Later, when Adar offers a favor for their loyalty, Valdreg shows his true colors to his neighbors by bringing half of them to the orcs to swear allegiance to Sauron. Until now, Bronwyn had trusted him to lead the evacuation of the people and feed them while they remained in the tower, but all this time he had simply bided his time, hoping that one day he would see the Dark Lord rise to power again. . Whether Theo would go down a darker path was also a big question during the first season, giving the story a higher suspense. This type of nuance blurs the lines between good and evil, making the story less predictable and much more intriguing and realistic.
The origin of Mount Doom is one of many changes. Rings of Power made with the source material, but it’s a massive improvement over the original story and provides a level of depth that made this show so much better.
Source: Collider
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