Hey, guys, so we’ve got a bonus video this week as news just broke that Shelob will be
making an appearance in the upcoming second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings
of Power.
I decided to do a quick video on this news to cover some theories on how they could be
bringing this character into the fray - and naturally, to talk about some of the lore
behind the character.
Now it’s been a few months since we had a Rings of Power related video here on the
channel - that being my 75-minute review of Season one which has been viewed over a million
times here on YouTube.
So if you want to dive deep into my thoughts on Season 1, check it out.
Turning back to today’s news, Shelob will be among the list of characters added for
Season 2.
When I joined Fellowship of Fans for their conversation announcing the scoop - Harry
noted that this is going to be a small appearance, likely only in a single episode of the show.
Personally, I think this is a good call as seeing too much of a character like Shelob
could take away some of her scariness and undermine her reputation as a mysterious dark
terror.
As I’ve thought over the possible circumstances of Shelob’s appearance, I’ve got 3 main
theories on how we could see this play out.
But first, let’s cover a bit of the history behind the character prior to the Second Age
and where we might find her in the show.
Shelob is the offspring of the giant spider-like creature Ungoliant - a creature who grows
so great that she very nearly kills Morgoth himself.
Before this, Ungoliant assists Morgoth in destroying the two trees - something we only
got a hint of in Rings of Power season 1, with Ungoliant herself being omitted.
After being driven off by Morgoth’s balrogs, Ungoliant settles in the mountains of Dorthonion,
which is then named Ered Gorgoroth - the Mountains of Terror.
It is there that she mates with, and devours, other foul creatures of spider form, giving
birth to Shelob and her siblings.
While Ungoliant would leave this area for the forgotten South of the world, Shelob and
her kind inhabit the valley south of the mountains, which is then named Nan Dungortheb - the valley
of dreadful death.
After the War of Wrath and the destruction of Beleriand, Shelob flees to the lands of
Mordor.
While we don’t know for certain when she came to dwell there, we know that by the time
Sauron claims Mordor as his own around 1000 SA, Shelob has already long been settled in
the Ephel Duath, where Frodo and Sam would encounter her over 5000 years later.
With that base of Shelob’s history, let’s talk about a few guesses I have of how The
Rings of Power could use Shelob in the story of the Second Age…
First, we have what a lot of folks will guess - that we will see Sauron meet Shelob.
We last saw Sauron heading into Mordor at the close of Season 1, so it’s a fair theory
that we could see the encounter where Sauron learns of her existence.
As was brought up in the Fellowship of Fans talk, we could get a first meeting that mirrors
the legendary confrontation between Ungoliant and Morgoth, with Shelob attempting to capture
and devour Sauron.
Considering the number of First Age nods we saw in the prologue of season 1 alone, I could
see this taking place, as the show did enjoy showing some things that looked like Silmarillion
moments, but weren’t for legal rights reasons - one example being Finrod taking an oath
- ala the Oath of Feanor.
While I think it would be best if they forged their own path forward, I would much prefer
something that alludes to The Silmarillion rather than The Return of the King.
We’ve already seen Samwise the Brave face off against Shelob, so whatever happens here
should feel like its own moment.
My second theory involves another character who was last seen in the lands of Mordor - Isildur.
Oh yeah, spoiler alert, the guy who shows up in the prologue of Fellowship of the Ring
didn’t die in a collapsed house in season 1.
Somehow, some way, Isildur is going to eventually find his way back to Numenor, but first, he’s
going to have to find his way out of Mordor.
If, say, the passage between the mountains is blocked by orcs, Isildur may attempt to
travel in stealth through the mountains, where he could encounter Shelob.
It could make for a tense episode as Isildur attempts to escape her tunnels.
Not to mention, it could be the beginning of Shelob’s reputation as a dark terror
dwelling in the Mountains of Shadow.
And you could give a little extra reasoning why Isildur would later establish the Gondorian
city of Minas Ithil guarding against Mordor of course, but also controlling an important
pass between the realms.
The natural question would arise as to why the later Gondorians wouldn’t know exactly
what Shelob was if Isildur had been there, but this could be answered with the encounter
Isildur’s own ancestor had with the spawn of Ungoliant - and possibly Shelob herself.
In the first age, Beren makes his way through Nan Dungortheb.
After fighting his way through this land of dreadful death we are told: But he spoke of
it to no one after, lest the horror return into his mind.
If this experience is truly as horrifying as one could imagine, it’s easy to see why
someone would only speak of it with vague warnings - what eventually will be known through
rumour of bygone days - a dark terror in the passes of the Ephel Duath.
Finally, at least for now, I have a third theory that again involves Sauron, but also
a big send off for a Season 1 character.
As we know, we currently have both Sauron and Adar in Mordor and at some point the leadership
of the orcs will have to go from Adar to Sauron.
If we see these two come into conflict with one another, I’d expect Sauron to have the
upper hand, and to defeat Adar and put him in his place.
Not only that, but if Sauron were to defeat Adar, it stands to reason that he wouldn’t
leave Adar alive and instead kill him in order to both make an example of him and strike
fear into the hearts of his orcs.
What better way to kill off an important character from S1 like Adar than having Sauron throwing
him into Shelob’s lair for him to meet his demise?
In The Two Towers we learn that Sauron refers to Shelob as his cat and would send her prisoners
that he had no better use for.
It could make for a memorable death for Adar, a chance for Sauron to display some of his
cruelty and malice, and make for a short but impactful appearance for Shelob.
This could also work in the respect that we would see Sauron using others as the manipulator
he is.
He uses Shelob to dispose of his enemy and he uses his enemy’s death to show the orcs
they are back under his command, causing them to serve him out of fear.
Now, I know what you’re thinking - what if Shelob shows up and can take the form of
a woman, and is actually kinda like Sauron’s ex-girlfriend?
I feel fairly confident that we will get a purely spider Shelob here, but I guess you
never know - there’s been things in this show I definitely didn’t have on my bingo
card.
Still, I would expect to see Shelob in a depiction reasonably similar to what we saw in The Return
of the King - though it would be interesting if they opted for the book-accurate bite vs
the film’s stinger for poisoning her prey.
Again, I think having Shelob appear in a limited capacity is definitely the way to go.
And the potential of seeing Sauron use Shelob as a means to dispose of enemies could be
a cool way to benefit Sauron’s character while also working in another character that
would both make sense lore-wise and be recognizable to casual fans.
Let me know in the comments what you think of Shelob making an appearance in Season 2
of Rings of Power.
And let me know your theories on how this might play out.
And don’t forget to go check out the discussion over on Fellowship of Fans where we talk through
this news and some other bits relating to Season 2 of The Rings of Power.
Thanks so much for watching, and we’ll see you next time on Nerd of the Rings.