One of the things that theRings of Powerseries has touched upon, that none of the other adaptations have ever quite acknowledged, is the presence of the ethereal beings who have been around long before Middle Earth was ever even created. J.R.R.Tolkien is renowned among scholars and writers alike for his incredible world-building, and this goes far beyond the scope of maps and languages and cultures, and right the way back to a Genesis-like origin story involving the creator Eru Illuvatar, the Ainur who watch over Illuvatars children (men and elves) and the maiar, who were sent to Middle Earth in physical form, some of whom chose to guide its peoples, like the wizards, and some of whom chose to rebel and seek destruction, like Sauron.
There are manyValar references in theRing of Power, and a far greater acknowledgment of the part that these over-seers have in everyone’s fate. Even Galadriel herself tells Theo is episode 7 “there are power beyond darkness at work in this world. Perhaps on days such as this, we’ve little choice but to trust to their designs.”
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But possibly a far more important reference to the creation story of the world is one that Halbrand gives. When Galadriel first confronts him with the scroll of the lineage of the Southlands, and demands to know who he is, because she has discovered that the line was broken long ago, and that there is no heir to the throne of the Southlands as Halbrand has pretended to be, his response is chilling.
Rather than revealing his true name to be Sauron, he tells the she-elf that he has had many names, and that he has “been awake since before the breaking of the first silence” and then he traps her inside her own memories before she cantell the others his secret. So what is this mystical reference to the powers that be in the world, and why is it such a terrifying revelation to Galadriel?
The most obvious answer is that in this moment, Halbrand is nodding back to the Music of the Ainur, which is included in the creation story of Tolkien’s Silmarillion. Before anything else existed, Eru lived in a great blank void, and longed to share it with others whom he could love and nurture. He, therefore, created the Ainur, who would later come to be known as the Valar, and with them, he shared his love of creation. He gave them the gift of song, which allowed them to sing the world into existence:
“Then the voices of the Ainur, like unto harps and lutes and pipes and trumpets, and viols and organs, and like unto countless choirs singing with words, began to fashion the theme of Illuvatar to a great music, and a sound arose of endless interchanging melodies woven in harmony that passed beyond hearing into the depths and into the heights, and the places of the dwelling of Illuvatar were filled to over-flowing, and the music and the echo of the music went out into the Void, and it was no longer void.”
So the Valar created Middle Earth and Eru filled it with elves and men and all manner of creatures for them to watch over. But a part of the Void remained, which is where Morgoth would later be banished forever after trying to destroy everything that the other Valar had made. That is, in partwhy Morgoth was afraid of the elven craftsmith Feanor,because he knew that stealing the Silmaril’s battling in a war with Feanor, and wreaking havoc on the world would eventually get him sent to this place beyond hope of return. But why would the idea of Halbrand having been alive since before this heavenly song be so terrifying?
First of all, it is a confirmation of her deepest fear, that Halbrand is not who he says he is, and that despite beingdepicted in physical formhe’s not even human. He is in fact the very darkness and evil that she has spent the last thousand years trying to rid the world of. She was tricked by him, and did exactly what he needed her to do by bringing him to Eregion and giving him access to the creation of the rings. But more than this, it denotes and sinister power and understanding beyond what she can even comprehend. She has been alive for thousands of years, but he has been alive for FAR longer than that. How can she possibly hope to defeat a being who was around to watch the world be built?
And one thing more than that, is the way in which he was able to manipulate her and gain her trust. The way that he says it is smug, almost cruel, which undoes everything that he says aboutactually wanting to heal the worldrather than destroy it. This almost mocking reference to the creator and to the Valar shows that Sauron really is still evil at heart, and that he helped Morgoth to defy the wishes of Illuvatar willingly. It is hard to know whetherthe fall of Morgoth weakened or strengthened Sauron, but it most certainly was not the relief that he pretends to attempt to regain Galadriel to his side.
But on a positive note, the void that was filled with the Ainur music when they created all of the beautiful things that the elves know and love, does still partially exist, and is ready and waiting as a cage for all eternity for those who go against Eru. So although Sauron doesn’t actually die when the one ring is destroyed, his essence is probably locked deep away where he can never harm the world again.
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