This video has 5 The Lord of the Rings on Prime plotline or perspective theories, which
are my best guesses as to what the story will focus on, or who the main leads will be. Each
one has a character or multiple characters which it will have as protagonists. The list
is as follows: 1. Celebrimbror
2. Galadriel 3. Celebrimbror and Galadriel
4. Annatar 5. None
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First off, I’m going to show all the evidence I’m using, because random speculation would
be fruitless.
Throughout five of The Lord of the Rings on Prime’s Tweets, they wrote out the poem
of the One Ring. In the trailer, they included an image of the inscription of the One Ring,
and from the synopsis, we know the antagonist will be Sauron. Lastly, the very profile picture
of the show’s social media accounts is the inscription of the One Ring.
Something else to note, this time in the synopsis, is that most key words are plural. It says,
“This epic drama is set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The
Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and will take viewers back to an era in which great
powers were forged, kingdoms rose to glory and fell to ruin, unlikely heroes were tested,
hope hung by the finest of threads, and the greatest villain that ever flowed from Tolkien’s
pen threatened to cover all the world in darkness.”
The synopsis and trailer together confirm the appearance of several locations, which
are as follows: Khazad-Dum, Numenor, and Lindon. The show will also have an “ensemble cast
of characters, both familiar and new.” The important thing here, however, is the word
ensemble, meaning that the show will focus on a group of characters. However, there likely
will still be one or two characters that are analogous to leads in the show.
1. With all of that said, on to the first plot: the Celebrimbror plotline. If the show
is focused on this character, we will probably also see Galadriel, Annatar, Elrond, Gil-Galad,
and possibly a craftsman of Eregion or Celeborn as other main characters. In this plotline,
the show would likely start sometime after the year 1000 of the Second Age, when Sauron
began building Barad-Dur, but not before the year 1200, when Sauron, disguised as Annatar,
was turned down from entering Lindon, but subsequently entered Eregion. There he coerced
Celebrimbror and the other Craftsmen of Eregion into trusting him. They proceeded to make
the Rings of Power, and eventually Celebrimbror trusted Annatar enough to usurp Galadriel’s
rule of Eregion at his behest. Then, Galadriel went to Lorien, but eventually, Celebrimbror
took counsel with her, once he discovered that Anatar had deceptively made the One Ring
to rule them all. Galadriel advised him to hide the Three Elven Rings, which Celebrimbror
had made without aid from Sauron. Next, we would see the destruction of Eregion and death
of Celebrimbror, and the series would proceed to show the main events of the Second Age,
like the battle of the Gwathlo and Sinking of Numenor, ending with Sauron’s death at
the hands of Elendil and Gil-Galad. In summary, this plotline would be focused mainly on its
namesake, Celebrimbror, and all those who concern him, such as Galadriel, Gil-Galad,
and a few others, although, naturally, the focus would have to eventually shift away
from Celebrimbror. After the death of Celebrimbror, Numenor and Lindon would be involved more
and more. There are also a few other forms of canon that we could see in the show. In
one form of canon, Celebrimbror ruled Eregion from the beginning, and in another, he loved
Galadriel, and at her request, remade the Elessar for her. The Elessar was a restorative
gem originally made in Gondolin. There aren’t too many opportunities to take advantage of
plot twists like these in the canon, so I would be incredibly surprised if we don’t
see at least one of these, particularly the former, where Celebrimbor revolts against
Galadriel. The synopsis tells us that the cast will be an ensemble, so Celebrimbror’s
death doesn’t definitively mark the end of the series in this plotline. I think this
one is most likely because the show is about the forging of the Rings of Power, and Celebrimbror
was, after all, the leader of the Gwaith-i-Mirdain and friend of Annatar.
2. Next is the Galadriel plotline. I personally don’t find this to be as likely as the last
one with Celebrimbror, because of her relative unimportance during the forging of the Rings,
but it is still notable. In this plotline, Galadriel would be the main lead, likely alongside
Celebrimbror, Elrond, Celeborn, and Gil-Galad. The main reason why they would choose to make
Galadriel the main character is because we have much more source material about her than
Celebrimbror, giving us insight into her character. There is actually a whole chapter in the Unfinished
Tales dedicated to her, her husband Celeborn. In this plotline, the show would probably
also start with Annatar being denied from entering Lindon, with possibly some additional
backstory on Galadriel and her husband. It would proceed to show all the other events
of the Second Age, but it would drastically alter the way most events are seen. This is
due to the fact that Galadriel knew that Annatar wasn’t who he seemed to be, although she
didn’t know he was a servant of Melkor. Galadriel and Celeborn would almost certainly
also be the rulers of Eregion, as Celebrimbror’s revolt would deepen their characters. There
is also a possibility that she will be a narrator of sorts, which leads to my third point. The
history of Galadriel in the Second Age is roughly as follows, in one form of canon:
Early in the Second Age, Galadriel perceived that there was a single evil spirit beyond
the Misty Mountains that was the perpetrator of all the evil works in Eriador. Thus, she
and her husband Celeborn moved to Eregion in the year 700. It is possible that she chose
to dwell in this area because she knew the Dwarves of Moria, a Dwarven mansion recently
filled with the Dwarves of Nogrod and Belegost. Celeborn himself did not like the Dwarves
because of their part in the fall of Doriath, but nonetheless, he dwelt there with his wife.
Yet again Galadriel showed her wisdom because she knew that only by a unity of the free
peoples could the shadow in the east be defeated. Alongside Celeborn and Galadriel came Celebrimbror,
the grandson of Fëanor and, only behind his grandfather, the greatest craftsman. Celebrimbror
had an obsession with the Dwarve’s crafts, and his best friend was Narvi the craftsman.
Not too long after the year 1200 of the Second Age, Sauron, disguised as Annatar, the Lord
of Gifts, came to Eregion and began teaching the Smiths of Eregion ringmaking and other
crafts. Galadriel could see that something was not quite right with Annatar, who claimed
to be an emissary of the Valar. Thus, she became his “chief adversary and obstacle.”
Between the years 1350 and 1400, Annatar convinced Celebrimbror and the other Gwaith-i-Mirdain
to revolt against Celeborn and Galadriel. Thus, Galadriel went to Lorien to stay, but
Celeborn remained in Eregion. In Eregion, all the Rings of Power were made, and, in
the year 1500, Annatar was revealed to be Sauron. When this happened, Celebrimbror,
who remained pure of heart, went to Galadriel for counsel. She told him to put the three
unsullied Rings into hiding. Thus, Gil-Galad was given two of the rings, and Galadriel
herself inherited Nenya. After the destruction of Eregion, the Elves of Lorien alongside
the Dwarves of Moria rescued Elrond from being overwhelmed by the armies of Sauron. Other
than all of this, Galadriel played a minor role in the Second Age. This story, summarized
from the Unfinished Tales, also says that Galadriel left Lorien, and went to Rivendell,
where she was reunited with her husband. 3. Point number three is a mixture of the
past two points, meaning that both Celebrimror and Galadriel will be the main leads of the
show. This might be the best way to approach the show because it not only gives conflicting
viewpoints, but it would mean that we can have one of the leads last throughout the
entire show. Really, I think this one ties with point number one as the most likely point.
It not only gives two different perspectives on the most important events that are almost
polar opposites but also splits the fandom and creates empathy for one character or the
other. There are also some additional facts to back up this theory. Morfydd Clark has
been casted as Galadriel, and, we can be certain that Galadriel will be a main character. Because
of this, and because we also know that the show will be about the forging of the Rings,
it’s a very safe guess to say that these two characters will indeed be lead characters.
4. For the fourth point, we’ve got Annatar as the focal point of the show. Now, this
one is less of a plotline or perspective, and more of a general assumption. If there’s
one thing we know about the show, it’s that Sauron/Annatar will be the antagonist of the
show, and it will probably begin and end with his involvement in the Second Age. There are
multiple potential side plots, but when it comes to the main plot, the only real option
is Sauron. Annatar is really the one person binding together all of the other races and
kingdoms of Middle-Earth, without whom the Second Age would have been a very bland time
period. There is really no chance that Sauron will be the main character, but there are
still several directions in which Amazon could take this character. For instance, they could
keep the audience unaware that Annatar is actually Sauron for the first few episodes
or even the first season, or, they could let the audience know that Annatar is Sauron,
and let us watch Celebrimbror being deceived, and neglecting the advice of Galadriel. I
think we will see the latter in the show, simply because it would create a lot of suspense,
and would still serve well those who have read the books.
5. The very last point is that there won’t be one, two, or even three distinguishable
leads in the show. I don’t find this to be very likely, but there is still a chance
that the show will focus equally on Numenor, Lindon, Eregion, and even Moria. I think it’s
also unlikely because Lindon and Numenor not only had very little to do with the making
of the Rings, and are also very far away, but again, these two places become more and
more important as the Second Age goes on. On the flip side, we do know that the series
will include people from a variety of places, and the synopsis hints that Numenor and Lindon
will be seen. To clarify any questions that might come up in the comments, I’d like
to say that I’m fully aware of the importance of both Numenor and Lindon, but I would still
keep my belief that the show will start in Eregion, with a little bit of association
with Lindon, and later in the second age move on to more heavily Numenor, Lindon, and Rivendell.
I did not make any theories about these places for several reasons, like that there are fewer
conflicting forms of canon for those places, and their involvement would occur later in
the show.
I know there could still be a few issues or disagreements with one of the plotlines, so
I’d be happy to discuss any of them in the comments. This is at its core a speculatory
video, although it does have in it both lore from predominantly the Unfinished Tales and
news from The Lord of the Rings on Prime, so again, it’s totally fine if you disagree
with me on one of these points.
That’s the end of this video, but if you enjoyed it, please be sure to leave a thumbs
up, subscribe, and leave your opinions in the comment section below. You can also follow
me on Twitter for news about this show and much more, and you can also check out the
community tab to interact with me there. I know there could be a few issues with one
of the plotlines, which I’d be happy to discuss in the comments.