Eärendil

Eärendil and Elwing for eternity while their sons are going thru numerous tragedies

Thus defining Sauron’s malice not from a point of moral grayness, inherent evil, and/or a moment for full redemption, but with the suggestion that he refused to choose differently again and again and again until he totally lost his capacity to approach the world differently

One thing TROP2 did at prestige TV level and stood out from other productions or even its own precedents was the thematic definition of “goodness” as not necessarily a set of visceral or purely consistent actions but *persistent* and *repetitive* attempts for each new day, moment

Galadriel said this about Celebrimbor’s proposal btw

Literally she is the example I gave on X today…

Elves know better than Men & Uruk how much to take from the nature, similarly Men of “high stature” know better than others that violence should be a mere means to preserve. As usual, one’s proximity to the ‘divine truth’ determines judgement over ‘ethical killing’ and consumption.

This is personally not my own political view but it’s Tolkien’s suggestion that force is legitimatized and measured by need, and there are those who know this measure better than others. Very much like Faramir not loving the battle but rather what the battle is meant to protect. +

Tolkien’s Elves did kill animals and cut trees btw; this whole “we’re vegetarian and we don’t touch trees” thing is very much an extreme cinematic exaggeration of the caution they have against untamed consumerism in the lore. They’re “respectful” and restrained, not abstinent. +

But if Frodo and Gandalf remained mostly unchanged in this cinematic universe there’s no way it makes sense Legolas did not, which is concerning. I for one really don’t wanna see AI-de-aged Orlando Bloom in these films. I wish we could reset this cinematic universe already.

Now how much time passed before Gandalf returns in the cinematic universe is trivial when it comes to Elijah bc one Frodo remained mostly unchanged. Although now he has to play a character in time he played 26 years ago & regardless of the actor’s youthfulness I don’t like this +

This is when as we know Frodo departs from Shire. So this hunt for Gollum is a matter of 17 years any parts of which can be split and spliced to make a film but Frodo is very much there just as we know him, just younger but not so different in appearance as he possesses the One +

Between 3001 and 3008 Gandalf periodically visits Frodo but vanishes after 3008 for 10 years, during which Aragorn finally captures Gollum in 3017, the same year Gandalf reads historical records re. the ring in Minas Tirith. He then finally returns to Shire when Frodo is 49 +

Let me dissect what this might mean, with a timeline.

Gandalf (via Aragorn) begin his search for Gollum in TA 3001 when Frodo is 33 yo. In the film, this is when Gandalf leaves after Bilbo’s bday and comes back with potential answers fairly quickly but it’s actually 17 years +

*prof creates an entire universe to tell the story of unending calamities caused by the earthly desire to resist change and passage of time unnaturally*

His fans a century later: I DON’T WANNA SEE ANYONE ELSE PLAYING ARAGORN OR LEGOLAS USE AI DO WHATEVER TO CATER TO MY NOSTALGIA

"[The Elves] thus became obsessed with ‘fading’, the mode in which the changes of time [...] was perceived by them. They became sad, and their art (shall we say) antiquarian, and their efforts all really a kind of embalming[...]"
— J.R.R. Tolkien, in a letter to Milton Waldman, 1951

elwing undergoing transformation underwater

slowly but surely going to move some of my art here. i’ll start with my absolute fav, my dearest elwing 🕊️
#silm #silmarillion #tolkien #elwing #lotr #art

Yeah, Tolkien gives us some good clues as to how Galadriel leveraged this privilege she had and it’s possible to explore it accordingly

I also would like to see her play a role in Sauron being cornered as further in as the siege of Barad-dûr and play it through the power of mind and will rather than inserting her physically into a very well defined canonical moment with Isildur

Glad u like them!

Making of ‘The Dream’, a small portion of which is coming up with the image, and mostly me changing my mind about things until what I see feels right.

Accompanied by Gregson-William’s ‘A Narnia Lullaby’ which enchanted me, unironically, as a child.

Eärendil on Instagram: "“Lúthien … sprang into the air, and her voice came dropping down like rain into pools, profound and dark. She cast her cloak before [Morgoth’s] eyes, and set upon him a dream, ... 2 likes, 1 comments - gilestelscanvas on January 3, 2026: "“Lúthien … sprang into the air, and her voice came dropping down like rain into pools, profound and dark. She cast her cloak before [Morgoth’...

To see it accompanied by the musical inspiration and the rest of my Tolkien artwork: www.instagram.com/p/DTE1AZ8iGY...

My depiction of Lúthien and Beren claiming a Silmaril from Morgoth, not following the scene word-by-word but rather materializing the image that took shape in my mind and stayed with me for years after reading The Silmarillion.

‘The Dream’

Lúthien sprang into the air, and her
voice came dropping down like rain into pools, profound and dark. She set upon Morgoth a dream, dark as the Outer Void where once he walked alone. Then Beren drew forth the knife Angrist; and from the iron claws that held it he cut a Silmaril.

And that’s very normal. We’re all attached to this heroine in our own ways and her final act on this show will mean different things to each of us. The possibilities are endless + chances of making everybody happy are low. The hope is to not make everyone unhappy —see Dany of GoT

So my theory would be she penetrated Sauron’s mind, as the only person capable of doing so, during this battle and caused damage that eventually allowed Isildur to claim the One Ring. They DID face one another but not in the physical world. Now this wouldn’t make everyone happy +

Is a risky plot choice bc there is a very well established canonical event about 4 people involved in those final moments. In general, Galadriel was smart enough to understand that Sauron was never gonna be undone with sheer force but with diplomacy, strategy and spirit/“magic”+

It’s not that easy to make a very informed guess either. She could totally leave Lórien if she wanted — Círdan, Gil-Galad and Elrond abandoned their Ring-protected posts for this battle. She could fight, as she did against Fëanor, but having her duel directly with Sauron +

Even if they had access to all of Tolkien’s writings, they’d still need to make most of it up. Galadriel is the protagonist of this show one way or another & we don’t know where she was/doing what when Gil-Galad & Elendil faced Sauron, neither in appendices nor in other notes +

A reflection on this: They won’t be able to make everyone happy with the parts they have to make up, particularly regarding Galadriel and Celeborn during The Last Alliance.

Their involvement in this climactic event is unclear and they’ll have to be full-on creative about it.+

Of course most of my followers know about my criticism of TROP for its unnecessarily hefty scope - but next to the flops we’ve been witnessing at least it knows where it’s going and won’t need to redefine its weight too drastically at any point — if I see the direction right