I distinctly
remember reading the Silmarillion’s account of Middle Earth being sung into existence,
of evil being a discordant tune, redemption the song of creation improvised to include
even Morgoth’s cacophonous tune, while sweeping up (poorly, I was reading and
sweeping at the same time after all) the converted barn for some sort of soiree
at St. Mark’s, the Anglican youth retreat center in rural England I volunteered
at for a year.
I remember my best friends, Micah
and Billy, going back and forth about whether Balrogs had wings, at the lunch
table at Carey Junior High.
I remember buying the Hobbit after
seeing it at an elementary school book fair.
For years the release of each movie
punctuated hum drum life like a religious festival.
As such,
I was excited about Amazon’s The Rings
of Power, so much so that my dear wife powered through all six movies in
about a week, so she could watch it with me last Friday. (Side note, her
atypical opinion is the first two movies stink, but Peter Jackson figures out
what he’s trying to do starting with the third Lord of the Rings movie).
(MILD SPOILERS)
One of
the main characters of the TV show is Galadriel, and what a character arc she
has! I love the way it is unfolding so far.
We are introduced to Galadriel as a
small child; she creates an origami swan that begins to come to life when sent
down a stream. It is then smashed by the other elf children. Her brother Finrod
steps in and stops this bullying; he is the embodiment of kindness and love, calming
and comforting her in her distress.
Next, we find out Finrod has been
murdered by Sauron. Galadriel responds by growing up and becoming a soldier.
More than a soldier, she is transformed into a vengeful warrior, pursuing her
dear brother’s murderer to the ends of Middle Earth. She is confronted with a choice
between an idyllic heavenly existence or going against all reason and
continuing her quest, avenging her brother, and she chooses the latter.
Those of us
who’ve read or watched Lord of the Rings know where she ends up. Frodo offers
her the Ring, her enemy Sauron’s most powerful weapon. In one of the most intense
scenes in the series, she is sorely tempted, but knows that it would make her “great
and terrible”, the antithesis of her beloved brother. So, she refuses.
Instead, the little hobbits keep
the Ring, and eventually destroy it, thus defeating Sauron. It is, to quote Gandalf,
“the small everyday deeds of ordinary folks that keep the darkness at bay.
Small acts of kindness and love.” The Ring’s destruction wreaks havoc on Galadriel’s
immortality, but she is accepted back into the heaven she had previously rejected
for the sake of her quest.
A hero
who loses their loved one, single mindedly pursues justice for them, sacrifices
it all to try to capture the killer, is given the enemy’s ultimate weapon but doesn’t
use it because doing so would dishonor the very person they seek to avenge, the
killer is defeated in a way that honor’s the dead, and the hero receives back that
which they sacrificed. Wow! This is all being set up just two episodes in, I can’t
wait to see where this all goes! I can't wait to watch Galadriel's whole character arc!
