RINGS OF POWER Episode 1 Breakdown: Every Lord of the Rings EASTER EGG + Hidden GANDALF Explained

Who is the man in the crater? I’m sure you have theories; we do too. Amazon’s new series, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is here, and with it comes an elven shipload of lore, characters, and questions… questions that need answering. Here is every Lord of the Rings Easter Egg in the Rings of Power.


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Written by Brian Silliman (  / briansilliman  )
Hosted by Ryan Arey (  / ryanarey  )
Edited by Harriet Lengel-Enright, Randolf Nombrado, Ethan Lavinsky, and Srinidhi Rao

#RingsOfPower #LordOfTheRings #eastereggs
First and foremost, you may be wondering which of J.R.R. Tolkien’s books provide the basis for the series. Did they take the lore from The Silmarillion, or possibly from Unfinished Tales?

You are correct Doug! Amazon doesn’t have the rights to either of those books, they only have the rights to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. How is this show able to access that lore? Tolkien ran down the general events of the First and Second Ages of Middle-Earth in the lengthy appendices that can be found at the end of The Return of the King. The series uses that as a template, and a lot of lore has been invented by the makers of the series. The invented lore, for the most part, fills in gaps that Tolkien left open-ended.

The rights issue is likely why the show only references First Age material and references that can also be found within The Lord of the Rings. There is no mention whatsoever of the Silmarils, and while Morgoth is mentioned, his original name “Melkor” is not. None of the specific names of the Valar are mentioned either, though the land of Valinor is able to be referenced and seen.

Do you have to have read a lot of Tolkien to understand what is happening on the show? Not really. Do you have to have seen Peter Jackson’s two trilogies based on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit? Maybe not, but it would help. Jackson and company did not work on this show, but the design, storytelling, and world building compliment his movies in a number of ways. The premiere almost plays more like a prequel to Jackson’s movies than an adaptation of Tolkien’s writing.

We begin with Galadriel, just as we did in the movie The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. [CLIP: LOTR First Galadriel lines] It’s fitting that we begin once more with Galadriel’s voice in the dark. [CLIP: First lines, “Nothing is evil in the beginning…] Played by Cate Blanchett in Jackson’s movies, the eventual Lady of Lorien is mostly played here by Morfidd Clark. Though Galadriel plays a part in Tolkien’s First and Second Ages, she is hardly a lead character. She is a touchstone character that modern audiences are already familiar with, however, and one that Amazon has the rights to. It makes sense that she provides our entry into this new story.

Though “nothing is evil in the beginning,” the series shows us many instances of decay, with evil slowly taking root as well as evil laying dormant and waiting to strike. It’s the First Age, and we haven’t even gone to Middle-Earth yet. We’re in Valinor, which is where the Valar, the “gods” of Tolkien’s work, first took form and set down roots. It is where the elves were first created, and it is sometimes referred to as the “undying lands.”

Whenever we see elves departing Middle-Earth on ships, this is the land that they are returning to. At the end of The Return of the King, Galadriel, Gandalf, and Elrond all take one of the ships to Valinor. Because of their importance in the events of the Third Age, Bilbo Baggins is permitted to go, as is Frodo Baggins. [CLIP: ROTK Grey Havens departure]

In Tolkien’s lore, Elven lord–and Galadriel’s husband–Kel-eh-born–eventually follows. At the very end of his long and wonderful life, Samwise Gamgee is permitted to take one of the last ships to Valinor. Aside from the fact that the One Ring would never have been destroyed without him, he technically was a Ringbearer for a short amount of time.

This is where the elves began, and it is where they return. Every now and then, a special exception is made for a non-elf to make the journey.

Of course you would. Now, because of this ships–and ship imagery--are a big deal for the elves, and so is the sea. In the Third Age, Galadriel would warn Legolas of “the call of the sea” and he himself hears its call beckoning him later on. Elrond makes it clear what the “call of the sea” is in The Return of the King movie, saying to Bilbo, “the sea calls us home.” As I said, Valinor is the ultimate home of all elves, a blessed heaven-like realm.