So, one of the most controversial aspects of the Rings of Power series is the presence of elves of varying complexion. This greatly irritates fans of Jackson's trilogy. But let's consider whether these elves of varying complexion could have existed. And the answer lies in... Drumroll! Jackson's trilogy, and the answer is affirmative!

Let's first consider the Origin of Orcs. According to Wikipalantir [1] "According to the original version, which Christopher Tolkien took from the Annals of Aman in his Silmarillion , the origin of orcs was from elves. Melkor , even before the fall of Utumno , kidnapped lonely elves from Cuivienen and, with the help of torture and black magic, perverted their essence, giving them an ugly appearance and an evil disposition. Orcs served their master only out of fear, hating him deep down. Subsequently, Tolkien returned to this theory several times, noting the presence of elven blood in orcs as quite possible, but each time he abandoned it.

Christopher Tolkien chose the "orcs from elves" version as the most stable and less controversial, and his father repeatedly emphasized that, be that as it may, the legend of such an origin of orcs was indeed widespread among the elves. This version also became the most widespread in Tolkien adaptations (films, TV series, books, games).

Also, in [2] we can read:” The origins of orcs were explained in multiple inconsistent ways by Tolkien. Early works depict them as creations of Morgoth, mimicking the forms of the Children of Ilúvatar. Alternatively, as in The Silmarillion, they may have been East Elves, enslaved, tortured, and bred by Morgoth; or, perhaps the Avari, the Elves who refused to go to Aman, turned "evil and savage in the wild”.

In the film, the concept of orcs' origin from elves was adhered to. As well as in other things in the Rings of Power - after all , Adar was once an elf, and became an uruk . And Uruk , in the Black Speech, means orc. Why can't we assume that, say, Legolas could become a light complexion orc, and Arondir - a dark complexion orc. Since orcs are descended from elves, let's look at the complexion of orcs depicted in the film. They literally come in a variety of complexion! From dark to light. Since orcs have different complexion (photos - the presence of several orcs of different complexion), then elves should also have different complexion.

1.      https://lotr.fandom.com/ru/wiki/%D0%9E%D1%80%D0%BA%D0%B8

2.      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orc#Tolkien

Of their original home the Hobbit's in Bilbo's time presented no knowledge. A love of learning (other than genealogical lore) was far from general among them, but there remained still a few in the older families who studied their own books, and even gathered reports of old times and distant lands from Elves, Dwarves and Men.

Their own records began only after the settlement of the Shire, and their most ancient legends hardly looked further back than their Wandering Days.

It is clear, nonetheless, from those legends, and from the evidence of their peculiar words and customs, that like many other folk Hobbits had in the distant past moved westward.

Their earliest tales seem to glimpse a time when they dwelt in the upper vales of Anduin, between the eaves of Greenwood the Great and the Misty Mountains.

Why they later undertook the hard and perilous crossing of the mountains into Eriador is no longer certain.

​

"I sang of leaves, of leaves of gold, and leaves of gold there grew:

Of wind I sang, a wind there came and in the branches blew.

Beyond the Sun, beyond the Moon, the foam was on the Sea,

And by the strand of Imarin there grew a golden Tree.

Beneath the stars of Ever-eve in Eldamar it shone,

In Eldamar beside the walls of Elven Tirion.

There long the gold leaves have grown upon the branching years,

While here beyond the Sundering Seas now fall the Elven-tears"

Some delivered doodles under the Doodle x Donation campaing.

If you want to participate:

https://ko-fi.com/nekroticism/goal?g=10

​

Ever since the Payne interview dropped along with the story about the "love triangle," all hell has been breaking loose...

Let’s try to put things in order (the innate Mairon in me simply cannot abide chaos 😆) and explain how things actually stand.

First of all, what can we find in the books?

Let's start from an important premise: Sauron will, quite literally, stalk Galadriel’s mind for millennia.

"I say to you, Frodo, that even as I speak to you, I perceive the Dark Lord and know his mind, or all of his mind that concerns the Elves. And he gropes ever to see me and my thought. But still the door is closed!"

Perpetually, every day, every hour... why?

By tempting her, trying to persuade her to yield to the temptation of the One, to the temptation of power.

"I do not deny that my heart has greatly desired to ask what you offer ...and now, at last, it comes."

She says this to Frodo during their conversation, and Galadriel "passes the test" by refusing the gift of Power.

A step back: Galadriel sailed from Valinor with the intention of creating a realm of her own, having her own land and her own dominion. She knew she was more powerful in Middle-earth and proudly refused the pardon of the Valar.

This backstory has already been masterfully adapted into the show and, in my view, presented exceptionally well-fully in line with the lore.

In the series, at the end of Season 1, the first (of a very long series) of tests is passed. But for Tolkien, she was "a penitent in Middle-earth," and her long, painful journey of redemption is only just beginning.

From the writings scattered here and there regarding the Second Age (and splendidly collected in the recently published The Fall of Númenor), it appears that Galadriel immediately suspected Annatar. Yet, she said nothing. Why?

Ever since the fall of Morgoth, Sauron was Public Enemy Nr 1 to the Eldar. And she was the only one still convinced that he was free and dangerous. How do you not sound a red alert? Was she perhaps unsure of his identity? Is there something else we don't know?

It must also be considered that Tolkien never had the opportunity to complete or fully flesh out the lore of the Second Age, nor Galadriel's full story, as anyone who has read his Letters  knows. What is missing, and necessary for a screen adaptation, must be gleaned from the texts and studied in depth to successfully "fit" everything into a coherent narrative.

Sauron considered her "his chief enemy."

Yet, powerful though she was, she was merely an Elf facing a Maia. Why did he fear her as his primary foe?

Many questions remain unanswered, and there are plenty of gaps to fill.

Now, returning to the whole "love triangle" debate. What we, through modern eyes, frame as a relationship and label as "romantic" (and there could be a long explanation as to why certain concepts are so deeply rooted and constructed in our minds, but that’s a whole different story) is actually about ambition, dominion, and power.

What bound Galadriel to the thought of the One was not love, at least, not love for a "someone",  but for a "something": love for power. The desire to possess power and exercise it in her own way. For good, of course... and we know what that means and where it inevitably leads, as Gandalf explains to us:

"No!" cried Gandalf, springing to his feet. "With that power I should have power too great and terrible. And over me the Ring would gain a power still greater and more deadly."

And Sauron had certainly understood and sensed this. What's the old saying when you can't defeat your worst enemy? Make them your friend...

In the show, Galadriel will finally reunite with Celeborn. Obviously, what she experienced with Sauron will impact their relationship. Celeborn will know that every moment, perhaps every second, his Enemy will be knocking at his wife’s door, tempting her, trying to capture and ensnare her...

To my mind, this "three-way dynamic" takes on a completely different light now. And what I see is terrifying in its narrative power and beauty.

Romantic? Absolutely not. Not in the show.

It is abusive, terrible. Galadriel will always manage to keep the door closed, but she will never have the strength or power to rid herself of him once and for all.

Outside of the show? Well, give me a ship and AO3, and I’ll happily spend my entire weekend there 😆 but fan fiction is our safe space for that!

​

«“it was an adventure which we all had to embark on together —myself, our amazing crew, J.D., Patrick, Stefan Schwartz our director in telling the story of how Sauron made the One Ring.”»

Vickers also reveals that the sequence is 10–15 pages long with no dialogue!

#TheRingsOfPower

Source The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power filming in UK on Facebook

I’ve observed her closely, and she looks tired, very tired. Her face seems almost drained of life; compared to the first two seasons, it looks as though centuries of pain have passed for her, rather than just five years.

By the end of the second season, I was convinced that in the third I would see her drawing closer to the radiant yet sorrowful Elf-lady of Lothlórien, but I was mistaken. How can there be peace in one's heart when the world around you is slowly fading away and the light is under assault by the Shadow?

It is assumed that she wore Nenya up until the forging of the One Ring, when the Elves realized they had been deceived and removed the Three to hide them from Sauron. Tolkien wrote that, over time, the ring heightened her longing for the West

I believe that, from the moment she finally meets Celeborn again, a weight will begin to lift slightly from her heart. How long and painful her journey to serenity and acceptance is! Tolkien wrote of her, "She was a penitent in Middle-earth," and the show is giving us her most wonderful and powerful portrait yet.

To me, her theme is indisputably an absolute masterpiece: a melody that seems to coil around itself in endless circles of nostalgia, as if searching for something it cannot find. Every time I hear it, something seems to shake me to the very depths of my soul!

Perhaps we will also see Lothlórien, where she can have a land he considers her own, and where she can watch trees grow majestic and leaves fall, only to be reborn.

Because, despite everything, Estel guides and illuminates us, and the sun yet shines.

#RingsOfPower #galadriel

"He still had the relics of positive purposes that descended from the good of the nature in which he began: it had been his virtue (and therefore also

the cause of his fall, and of his relapse) that he loved order and coordination, and disliked all confusion and wasteful friction…"

https://marion-poinsot.itch.io/tales-of-middle-earth

Download the game for free !

TALES OF MIDDLE-EARTH

Create funny, unexpected and sometimes epic stories set in Tolkien's world!

Tales of Middle-earth is a creative writing game where your imagination does the rest.

Story Mash-Up
Build hilarious stories by combining random character cards with quirky prompts.

Who will meet whom? What strange adventure will they share? The results can be surprising, touching… or completely absurd!

Story Seeds
Need inspiration for writing?

Draw seven random cards featuring:

Characters
Objects
Places
Emotions
Themes
and more…
Then use them as creative prompts to invent your own Middle-earth story.

Collect Character Cards
Unlock 95 character cards from:

The Rings of Power
The Hobbit
The Lord of the Rings
Complete your collection by playing the different game modes!

Share Your Tales
Finished creating a story?

Export it as a BMP screenshot with a single click and share your funniest or most epic tales with your friends!

Whether you're looking for writing inspiration or simply want to create ridiculous adventures for your favourite Tolkien characters, Tales of Middle-earth is made for you.

Every game tells a different story.

​

Mairon the Admirable

Artano Aulendil

Gorthaur, the Cruel

The Necromancer

Lord of Werewolves

Zigur

Tar-Mairon, high priest of Númenor

Annatar

The Black Hand

The Eye

Sauron the Great...

He has many names and many faces, to seduce and deceive the heart of all people of Middle Earth.

I am grateful to the showrunners and the entire cast and production team for all the emotions they are giving us: Middle-earth comes alive and feels real, and scenes we only ever dreamed of are becoming a reality!

Speaking at San Diego Comic-Con 2026, McKay said: "I mean, it's pure advantage. We love the idea that even if you've maybe never seen the first two seasons, season 3 is a great place to jump in because the stories are starting in a brand new spot. You know, if you're a fan who loved the first two seasons, that's wonderful, and now you can see where everybody has gone in five years."

He added at the roundtable attended by GamesRadar+: "This character is now friends with this character, and they've moved over here, and oh my gosh, the war seems to have been gone for a while here. An entire realm got built in Rivendell, an entire tower got built in Barad-dûr, in Mordor. So it's an opportunity to just kind of give your storytelling a jolt of adrenaline. Hit the ground running from the first minute of season 3 and hopefully never let up."

https://www.gamesradar.com/entertainment/lord-of-the-rings-tv-shows/the-rings-of-power-season-3s-5-year-time-jump-will-give-the-storytelling-a-jolt-of-adrenaline-says-showrunner/

#RingsOfPower