A year and a half ago I wrote a deep dive into the huge base of material Amazon purchased the rights to from the Tolkien estate. There are many stories to tell from Middle Earth, stories that stretch across thousands of years of Tolkienesque history. My money was on a Young Aragorn story, and it seemed in the weeks after I made my prediction that it had come true. Reports from high and low stated the Amazon was in fact making a Young Aragorn series. But to paraphrase Galadriel, ‘we were all of us deceived.’
For there was another show, forged in secret. It turns out another of my predictions has come true instead. Last month Amazon released a series of maps full of clues for the keen-eyed fan. The first, with clues more subtle, has several key pieces of evidence.
First, you’ll notice in the northwest that Eriador is not the only major name for the region that will be the future home of Hobbits. Lindon is also a major region. Why does that matter? Lindon was home to a powerful Elvish Kingdom during the Second Age of Middle Earth. It was here that Gil-Galad ruled all elves left on Middle Earth as the High King. Another clue is the area we know as Rohan is called Calenardhon, which is what the region was called before Eorl was gifted the plains as the future home of the Eorlingas (the Rohirrim). The area we know as Gondor in the Third Age began as a colony of the Numenoreans (from whence Aragorn’s family came). The chief cities were Osgiliath, Minas Anor (“Tower of the Sun”) and Minas Ithil (“Tower of the Moon”). But by the time we see them late in the Third Age, they are known as Minas Tirith (“Tower of the Guard”) and Cirith Ungol (“The Spider’s Cleft”). From all these clues we can surmise that this show must take place during the late Second Age period. Why late? Since Annuminas (the old capital of Arnor, the Northern Kingdom) and Minas Anor are around, that means the two kingdoms have been established, which means it is late in the Second Age, when the Numenorean conquest and colonization of Middle Earth was well underway.
In this second map we get clear cut confirmation that the series will revolve around Numenor. By this point in time, several major events are likely to have happened. Sauron has returned from his exile in the east and has built Barad-dur. The Rings of Power, the Elven Rings and the One Ring have all been forged by Celebrimbor and Sauron. Several major cities have been built by the Numenoreans in Middle Earth, and the palantiri are all still held by men, specifically by Elendil’s family. Orthanc and Helm’s Deep are probably around, as are many of the great cities of Middle Earth ruled by men. This is very late in Numenor’s life. In the end (SPOILER ALERT) the island is utterly destroyed by the Valar, and the world completely remade near the end of the Age. But only a couple hundred years separate the capture of Sauron by the last king of Numenor, Ar-Pharazon,the fall of Numenor, the creation of Gondor and Arnor, and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. Still, that’s a lot of material to cover in one show. All of this comes to us from The Silmarillion, Chris Tolkien’s summary history of the First and Second Ages taken from thousands of pages of the 12 volume Histories of Middle Earth. Specifically, the material that details the fall of Numenor comes from the 11th and 12th volumes, summarized into a book within the The Silmarillion called the Akallabeth. It is from this wealth of source material that the Amazon writers and producers can draw inspiration from the show, but still have a great deal of latitude to shape and depict events.
So what do I think will happen in the show? As I stated in my original guess, I think the show will primarily be about the Fall of Numenor. During this time, a “darkness” has descended on Numenor, and the hearts of mean are increasingly corrupted as the Kings of Numenor grow increasingly suspicious of elves, covetous of their long life, and thirsty for power as they grow their control over Middle Earth. A group of people on the island led by Elendil are known as “the Faithful” and have kept their loyalty with the Valar and the Elves. But these families are increasingly harassed by the King over hundreds of years (these folks all live to be 300-400 years old, so grudges can last a long time).
Into this mix enters Sauron, but not the Sauron you know from the movies. This Sauron is a pretty smooth talker – think a mix of Loki and Littlefinger from Game of Thrones. I would like to see JJ Feild cast as Sauron, as he is really the perfect mix of the two characters and could easily pull off such a subtly charming role. Sauron is captured and brought to Numenor as a prisoner, but he eventually worms and wheedles his way free to act as a voice of poison in the King’s ear, and the royal court.
We have great, powerful houses with lords and ladies, some, like Elendil and Sauron, who we already know. Elendil was the old man who died in the opening sequence of the Lord of the Rings movies. His son Isildur, is the one who took The One Ring for himself against the advice of Elrond. We have political intrigue, and a powerful island already set up as a powder keg with rival factions. We have Sauron thrown into the mix, spreading poison and turning everyone against each other.
The show could be about how all these factors play out and how it leads to the destruction of the Kingdom. If they wanted to keep it going, they could toss on a couple seasons at the end that show Elendil surviving the destruction of Numenor and fleeing to Middle Earth, where he founds two great kingdoms and allies with Gil-Galad in the Last Alliance of Elves and Men to defeat Sauron.
It has all the makings of the next Game of Thrones, but they will have to dramatically speed up the timeline, cutting out decades or centuries and compressing everything into a few seasons. It would also likely have a massive budget, as the scale of the things in Numenor is easily that of the LOTR movies. But it could be the next great epic fantasy, with enough rich material and great events to pick up with Game of Thrones is leaving off.
