Session 1.15

I have a bit of an Orc-Centric response to what is up in Middle Earth:

1) Elves are kidnapped by Morgoth in significant numbers -- enough to form a kind of prison camp. The Balrogs are told to keep an eye on things and Sauron specifically is tasked to watch for any developments that could lead to them coming over to their side. It is made clear to them that Morgoth wants them to follow his lead as the one true ruler of Middle Earth and those who follow him can expect bounty and favor. Those who don't will know his displeasure.

2) As the situation in the camp worsens (lack of food and freedom), some elves begin to bully the others and try to gain favor with their captors. These elves essentially choose to side with Morgoth -- as an act of free will. The ones who resist find their situation increasingly worse as Sauron turns the camp over to the elves that have chosen to follow Morgoth. The abuse grows and some elves knuckle under -- succumbing to the presure of brutality, hunger, and torture. Others continue to resist.

3) In Valinor, as the Valar undertake their work to help protect the awakened Children and debate whether Melchor is all bad, a spirit arrives unexpectedly. It is the first elf to die in Middle elf has died in the camp and tells the Valar of what is happening. In the midst of the debate about what to do, a second appears. Dark deeds are alluded to.

4) The Valar hold a council and determine that the corruption of the Children is the final straw and they prepare for war.

5) In the run up to war, the Middle Earth equivalent of the Olive Branch Petition of US history is sent, explaining that the dead elves have exposed him and asking Morgoth to cease and desist. Sauron begins capturing their spirits of dying elves and capturing them before they can make their way to Valinor. (This is Sauron's Fall.) These elves are doomed to be slaves in the Orcish Halls of the Dead until the fall of Sauron at the end of the Fourth Age.

6) In the aftermath of the War to Begin All Wars, the fallen elves retreat with the captive elves to Angband. On the long march there, hunger overcomes them and they commit canibalism. When they arrive, they tell the waiting Balrogs that they have learned which of their fellows make the best food.

7) The fallen elves now look upon their fellows with contempt and hatred. They don't want to look like them anymore. The Balrogs then set about remaking them in their image and the first orcs appear onscreen.

8) The elves mourn for their lost kindred but the reports of butality, torture, and canibalism incite hatred -- one that Elrond and others will caution against, lest the elves -- in their righteous anger -- become so fixated by a war of extermination that they become as bad as the orcs.

Most of the brutality would be offscreen, of course -- both because our imaginations of the torture and brutality would be worse than whatever is depicted and because this isn't that kind of series.

The real risk to this approach is to make sure that the (admitted) inspiration for this -- the kappos of the WWII death camps -- not become a one-to-one correspondence. As such, the prison camp should be something closer to an inescapable and resource-starved valley (akin, perhaps, to the setting of Gondolin) rather than a walled compound.
 
Welcome, chaosrobie! The timing of the awakening of the elves and the battle are very tricky. Who finds the elves first? Is it Oromë? Or is it Melkor? (Or one of his minions?)

We seem to have decided that Melkor will get to them before Oromë, because the battle is meant to occur before Oromë finds them, and Melkor will be stealing them prior to the battle. I think Melkor beating the Valar to the punch is compatible with what Tolkien wrote.

We are planning to treat Season 2 episode 1 as flashback, in that it will begin with the Awakening of the elves, include the dark rider (Melkor) harassing them and the distant sounds of battle, and then end with Oromë meeting them.

So, having Oromë actually discover the elves on the brink of war, but not show this until season 2, is doable. I do wonder, though, if it will feel like a cheat to the audience? If we have all this buildup to the Children, but then just have characters claim to have found them but not show them? Meaning, is there a *reason* to anticipate Oromë's discovery before showing it? Won't it have more impact if we don't 'know' it's coming in Episode 1 of Season 2?

Not showing the elves is possible, but I think we wanted to see a glimpse as a teaser for Season 2. In other words, we can end everything, and then have a sweeping eagle-eye view of forests, mountains and a lake....to a sleeping figure....whose grey eyes open and then the scene quickly cuts to black, roll credits. Just a brief tease, if you will. I'm not sure that's better than what Haakon has (with them emerging from the woods to walk down to a lake shore), but the intention was always to show them at the very end of the season.


Haakon, I feel your outlines are very Mairon-heavy. He's doing a lot of to-and-fro, spy work, reporting, etc. Many of the other characters are becoming a bit passive as a result. I think we should focus on what we *want* Mairon to do, and then subtract him from the scenes where he is not needed. Personally, I think the most significant thing you have him do is discover the elves and choose to report that to Melkor rather than the Valar. That's huge, and a decisive turning point for him. Having Melkor reward him with the command of Angband after that makes sense. I realize that Mairon is very useful for the purpose of keeping everyone informed, but we can probably do that without having him report everything everyone says to each other. I know we want his reaction to Aulë's dwarves, and of course we want Melkor's as well...but... making Mairon a 'sneak' isn't helping him.

And I still think it's too early for 'Sauron' - I want to see Melkor become Morgoth before we see Mairon become Sauron. I recognize that I am currently in a minority on that. Sauron means 'The Abhorred', and I think he has to earn his street cred with some sustained orc or elf torture before he gets that name. If we're putting him in charge of Project Orc for Season 2...he'll have a chance to make everyone hate him. Then, after Morgoth's return, he can use that name.
Knowing the meaning of the name Sauron puts a completely different light on that. He should fit well with Morgoth. The Abhorred and the Dark Enemy of the World.
 
I have alternate timeline, basically scene by scene. I know I am still clinging to the original ideas of the final scene of Season 1 being the elves awakening (not a flashback) see my previous post Regarding Orcs http://forums.signumuniversity.org/index.php?threads/session-1-15.135/page-3#post-1864 as I think this is a fantastic dramatic scene. The hosts were in the end still open to alternatives. I think this story arc ties in some of the elements that have been hanging around and not fitting so well and tries to give a narrative to the war. I think an important part is Manwe's vision. After the vision there is no more debate. He is at one with the Music. There is no more pussy footing around. He is decisive and the war follows immediately. I also think for the final episode we need to bring back many of the characters that we have gotten to know during the season and show them in really awesome ways.
Someone should work on an outline to the War. I also really think that the stars need to be an integral part of the war. I also don't think the ents and eagles have a role to play in the war. This is an Ainur and warped beast affair. Ents and Eagles will have no impact upon the Ainur.

Episodes 12 & 13 Plot Outline

  • Opening Scene: Yavanna in Middle Earth. Confrontation with corrupted beast.
  • Mairon’s report to Melkor re. Aule and dwarves. Melkor begins preparation to make his own “Children”. Conversation about how the Valar will be aggressors declaring war. Mairon returns to Valinor for the last time.
  • Manwe and Varda on Taniquetil. The bliss of Valinor vs the unrest of Middle Earth.
  • Melkor’s war preparations.
  • Yavanna comes to Aule
  • Yavanna, Aule, Ulmo and Orome present their case to the first council. Solution: the decision to send Eonwe to offer Melkor a position by Manwe’s side and bring him back into the fold.
  • Eonwe in Uttumno. Sees the creation of orcs in progress. Overhears desire for Melkor to have The Children worship and serve him and that Melkor is harbouring those responsible for the destruction of the lamps. Eonwe captured and imprisoned.
  • Yavanna comes to Manwe, Manwe’s vision includes ents and eagles. His response to Yavanna, saying that the wish of her heart is present in Arda (ie. they have been created already) as was in the music but they will sleep until they are needed for it is time that the Valar put to right what they have let go in Middle Earth for too long.
  • Eonwe’s escape and shedding of body.
  • Eonwe after metamorphosis arrives in Valinor. In the middle of Manwe telling the other Valar his decision Eonwe arrives and after his news there are no more dissenting voices. They are going to war for the sake of Middle Earth and The Children.

Possible break between episodes

  • The Valar’s plans for war. “We need light” Varda can help. She with her Maiar gather silver dew from the vats of Telperion and set off for the firmament.
  • Tulkas and Orome gather their Maiar from training/wrestling grounds.
  • Ulmo, Osse, Uinen and other watery maiar prepare.
  • Mairon comes again to Uttumno after hearing the Valar declare war, now swearing loyalty to Melkor. Uttumno continues to prepare for war.
  • The host of the Valar set off for Middle Earth. The first sortie happens at sea, but Osse and Uinen with Ulmo restrain the watery Maiar who oppose them. The Milky Way is lit.
  • At landfall the earth rises up against them and Aule and Curinir with other followers lock the ground in place.
  • The final obstacle is the air moves against them in hurricane proportions. Manwe with Olorin and his Maiar oppose it and restore calm to the air. Other constellations come to life, light pours down onto the earth from the active constellations.
  • Last is fire. This is where Maiar bodies start to dissipate. Some bodies in a cataclysmic way, others just shrug it off and take on a new body (depending on how attached they are to their bodies).
  • Primitive creatures of tusk and ivory fight the Powers and Melkor’s Maiar join in the fray. Tulkas, Orome and Nessa feature in this fight. All sorts of elemental attacks occur. Maiar on both sides give up their bodies. The Hunter Menelmacar is put in place in the sky sky as a sign that these beasts will be hunted to extinction.
  • The Stars reach their brightest (much brighter than they are today).
  • The war is going badly for Melkor. He takes Mairon aside and tells him it is him (Melkor) that the Valar want. He will give himself up freely and accept their punishment. He entrusts Angband to Mairon and gives him his new name Sauron. Sauron and balrogs leave for Angband via underground paths.
  • Melkor goes out to face the Valar. Tulkas wrestles him to the ground and he is chained. You can see he is not broken.
  • Sentencing on Taniqetil to be bound for an age in the Halls of Mandos. Sentence/pardon given to any captured Maiar who repent. Mention is made of those who escaped their wrath. Nienna weeps for the destruction of Middle Earth and all that has been lost there. Varda says there is one more thing to do. (This delay in the finalisation of the constellation gives us a nice Desolation of Smaug – hidden door moment “WHY ISN’T THE DOOR OPENING?” when our Tolkien fanbase are going “THE STARS ARE LIT SO WHERE ARE THE ELVES?”). She sets the Sickle Valacirca in the North and Manwe pronounces “as a warning to you and any who come after who put their own glory above the protection of the Children of Iluvatar and of Arda.”
  • Melkor looks back with Valacirca over his head, as he is ushered into the Halls of Mandos.
  • Final scene: The elves awake to blazing stars and the Sickle being laid out in the sky. The stars fade slightly and thousands of elves creep out of the trees around the Lake.
Come on everyone!!!
We need alternative timelines, not just tweaking what others have done. I haven't got it right. Let's see what others have. You never know which elements will get the nod from the execs (or do we call them The Valar? They are the Powers after all).
 
Wow, you all have been busy! I've been digging my way out of a bad chest cold, but have finally caught up reading posts.

One brief thought: It was mentioned earlier by a few of you that we may want to minimize the actual on screen time of the elves. Given the meaning of the name they give themselves, Quendi, I think it's highly appropriate that we hear the elves speaking...maybe to the exclusion of seeing them in the finale. (Or at least seeing them clearly)
 
Thinking about Manwe's vision. The only thing I can think of is having a series of images flash over the screen, some being recognisably from the Ainulindale episode and others being of eagles and ents, some of scenes of the war that are yet to happen and others that may be further off in the future. There should also be music from the Ainulindale present like a quick recap directly related to the images.
Anyone got any other ideas? This one is a bit pedestrian.

Hope this doesn't sound like a cop-out... but I actually don't want to portray the actual vision on screen. I think it is far too powerful to be contained in our human medium. It would be better to have the right actors and the right score, show Manwe in his trance, and show the impact of the vision. Any details we need can come through effectively written dialogue.
In other words, just like the greatest horror can come from imagining what's not actually on screen.... so can the greatest wonder.
 
Haakon, I feel your outlines are very Mairon-heavy. He's doing a lot of to-and-fro, spy work, reporting, etc. Many of the other characters are becoming a bit passive as a result. I think we should focus on what we *want* Mairon to do, and then subtract him from the scenes where he is not needed. Personally, I think the most significant thing you have him do is discover the elves and choose to report that to Melkor rather than the Valar. That's huge, and a decisive turning point for him. Having Melkor reward him with the command of Angband after that makes sense. I realize that Mairon is very useful for the purpose of keeping everyone informed, but we can probably do that without having him report everything everyone says to each other. I know we want his reaction to Aulë's dwarves, and of course we want Melkor's as well...but... making Mairon a 'sneak' isn't helping him.

And I still think it's too early for 'Sauron' - I want to see Melkor become Morgoth before we see Mairon become Sauron. I recognize that I am currently in a minority on that. Sauron means 'The Abhorred', and I think he has to earn his street cred with some sustained orc or elf torture before he gets that name. If we're putting him in charge of Project Orc for Season 2...he'll have a chance to make everyone hate him. Then, after Morgoth's return, he can use that name.

Agree that we could use less Mairon in the action. However, I think turning him into a 'sneak' is actually perfect. Look at what he does later on. He is constantly trying to pit people against each other in classic "divide and conquer" tactics. This contrasts with Morgoth who would really rather just destroy them all. So when his fall his complete, he really is a total sneak. For example, he 'reports' to Denethor only the information that he thinks will help his (Sauron's) own cause. He probably tricked men with their rings in this way. His own ring has the effect of making Hobbits sneaky. I can totally see having him start down this road in season 1, even if we haven't seen a full fall or revealed his new name. He is a master manipulator and "sneaking" is a perfect way to start that.
 
Big Picture Question:
Time????

As in, how much time elapses during season 1, and how do we portray that? Does it even matter in a pre-Children world? (But it's a question Estel is sure to ask, based on his age).

Normally our medium uses one of three methods to show time: date-stamps on the screen; clear mention in dialogue; or the use of "scientific" clues like aging, changes in season, etc. The last one seems pretty irrelevant in this season, although someone may have an idea of how to incorporate it.
 
Phillip, I like what your outline does in the war, emphasizing the four elements of earth, wind, water, and fire. But I would put them in this order based on power and drama: wind-earth-fire-water.
Haven't fleshed out details, but what I'm thinking is this:

Round 1: Wind - goes to the Valar. Melkor is scared, and counters with earth, building massive walls to block or deflect the wind.
Round 2: Earth - a draw. The Valar are able to manipulate Melkor's walls against him. Melkor senses the tables may be turning.
Round 3: Fire - goes to Melkor. Many on the Valar side are badly injured by some new form of fire. The Valar are on the brink of losing it.
Round 4: Water - goes to the Valar. The sea overwhelms the battle, healing the injured Valar and devastating Utomno. Melkor's fires are quenched.
At the end of round 4 Tulkas is able to subdue Melkor due to so much of his power going out in the Fire round, only to be bested by Ulmo's waters.

rationale:
1. It's Manwe's word that starts the war officially so it seems logical to have his winds go first.
2. It emphasizes and fleshes-out Melkor's eternal hatred of the sea.
3. The crashing of the waves will be what causes much of the land to sink, so it may as well be near the end of the battle.
 
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Give us a War worthy of Tolkien....

The battle of Helm's Deep, the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, Unnumbered Tears, the Battle of Five Armies....these are all masterfully conducted battles, with plenty of suspense and surprise, and of course told by a storyteller who knew what he was about.

The Battle between the Valar and Melkor need not have quite as many twists and turns, of course. Here at the beginning, we're not going to get unexpected reinforcements from Gondolin, or an unexpected change of the weather, or assistance finding a secret path from Ghan-buri-ghan. All of that is going to have to wait for later battles with more players and more landscape and more history. But I would hope that we would still manage to capture some of the excitement, suspense and surprise of the unexpected that Tolkien was able to launch at his readers. Think of the back-and-forth and how the tide turns multiple times at the Pelennor. Think of the unexpected arrival of the Eagles at the Battle of the Five Armies or the Huorns at Helm's Deep. Think of how Morgoth's forces draw out the attack on the Western front at Unnumbered Tears.

I would recommend choosing a historic battle for inspiration, and then using some aspects from that to direct our action here in this War to Begin All Wars. Yes, I recognize that it's not being fought with traditional weapons and no one really dies. This is all gods and monsters. But the back and forth of who seems to have the upper hand, the strategy and tactics employed, how the walls of Utumno are breached....make this sound like interesting military history!

Military history is not my thing. None of the few battles I know about really leap out at me as a good model for this epic battle. So, maybe I will have to look for bits and pieces of inspiration from a bunch of different battles. In Gettysburg, it was all about who controlled the high ground, who ran out of ammo, and how successful each side was about breaking the line of the other side. At the Battle of Hastings, it was a fairly big deal that William the Conqueror was able to bring horses across the English Channel. The Spanish Armada hit some bad weather. Knights in heavy armor drowned in the mud at Agincourt, and the English bowmen decimated the French. Something something siege warfare <I have no clue>

Clever tactics and well-planned strategies may seem out of place for this First War. But...there should be some rudimentary strategic thinking at play. More importantly...it should not just be a straightforward battle where each scene makes Melkor's defeat more and more inevitable. Melkor should be able to surprise and push back the Valar....even if in the end he proves unsuccessful. He has ALL OF THE BALROGS AT FULL STRENGTH...that has to count for something! And he is defending a fortress on territory that he knows well and has literally poured his own strength into. The land where Utumno stands will fight for him.

Melkor should be surprised that the Host of the Valar can cross the sea of Belegaer so easily. Perhaps some of the back-and-forth emissaries have been swimming or relying on a slow ferry. An isthmus that wasn't there before or a method to ferry the entire host at once (or let them walk on water) would be a surprise to Melkor. There is no Helcaraxë yet, and if there were, it would be under Melkor's control. And we shouldn't have boats yet (floating islands are okay). Certainly, Melkor will attempt to impede their passage, but most of them will make it across. Ulmo thus has the opportunity to strike the first blow against Melkor, and Melkor's hatred of the Sea intensifies.

Once they get to the mainland, they would reach the first level of Melkor's defenses. Is this like storming the beach at Normandy? Do the Valar have arial hosts that drop in past Melkor's front line?

The next surprise should be Melkor's. Whatever he unleashes, the Valar were not expecting it, and it causes some confusion on their side. Perhaps he rends the earth, creating a large chasm, separating their forces? Maybe it's beasts we have not yet seen. Perhaps there are casualties among the horses and hounds on the side of the Valar. :(

The host reaches Utumno, and Melkor has fortified it. I would expect the area around it to have pits and shifting rocks and other obstacles that make it difficult to cross. Perhaps more beasts lie in wait there. This is not Home Alone levels of booby traps, but at least *something* that sounds like Saruman's Orthanc.

At this point, Aulë reveals his plan for taking down the gates/walls of Utumno. I don't know if he invents a battering ram or a catapult or just makes spikes of rock grow up and crush the structure, but....something.

I would be okay with the Ents and the Eagles being surprise additions to the forces of the Valar in this War. I mean, Eagles are more appropriate, but we could maybe slip the ents in too. It would be unexpected, but would be a sign that the Children are awake (thus lending to the urgency and danger of the War) as well as give us some soldiers who can die :eek:

Tulkas is first through the gate, and he finds smashing things in Utumno to be fun. The Valar who come in with him have to not all win their individual fights. Eventually, Tulkas finds Melkor, wrestles him to the ground in his own throne room, and chains him up with Aulë's chain (right?) He is carted off in disgrace to Valinor, and Eonwë is seen overseeing the cleanup of Utumno, razing the walls, etc.

The audience sees that the Balrogs and Mairon have escaped to Angband, which the Valar know nothing of.

The intro should make it quite clear that I am not satisfied with my own outline here. I'm trying, but planning battles is really not my thing. Help please?
 
Big Picture Question:
Time????

A vast amount of time has passed over the course of this season. To give you an impression of just how much time it might be, the Years of the Lamps were roughly 15,000 years the way we count them. In our show, the Lamps are created in Episode 5 and destroyed in Episode 6. Time speeds up a bit in the later episodes of the season, so that there are 'only' 1,000 Valian years (9,582 years) between the creation of the Trees and the Valar debating what to do about Morgoth. It takes Varda 50 Valian years to make the new stars. The siege of Utumno is 8-10 Valian years. Melkor is chained 1,100 Valian years (10,540 years) after the creation of the Trees. Obviously, these timelines accompany particular versions of the story, and we aren't following them. Rather than have a Valian year be just under 10 years, Tolkien considered making it 144 years at one point. So, the time spans we're dealing with are arbitrarily really long.

One way to show that is to show the evolution of the flora and fauna. So, in episode two, Yavanna would be mucking about with algae, only moving past pond scum in Episode 4 with Almaren, and not progress to trees until the Lamps. We're not actually doing something that extreme, because a rocky landscape devoid of plant life would be quite stark and barren as a backdrop. Sure, you could film Season 1 in Iceland, but even so.

We can, however, have dinosaur-like beasts at the beginning of the season, and then allow the destruction of the Lamps to be the metaphorical meteor that wipes out the dinosaurs, allowing for the rise of mammals (including horses and dogs) in later episodes. Melkor can keep (and twist) some of the prehistoric beasts, because of course. If we do something like that, it should give the audience some impression of the geologic timescale at work. The constellations in the sky could change, as the stars form into different patterns, but that is too subtle for the audience to notice.

Having beasts that go extinct before the Elves even wake up should work.
 
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Give us a War worthy of Tolkien....

The battle of Helm's Deep, the Battle of the Pelennor Fields, Unnumbered Tears, the Battle of Five Armies....these are all masterfully conducted battles, with plenty of suspense and surprise, and of course told by a storyteller who knew what he was about.

The Battle between the Valar and Melkor need not have quite as many twists and turns, of course. Here at the beginning, we're not going to get unexpected reinforcements from Gondolin, or an unexpected change of the weather, or assistance finding a secret path from Ghan-buri-ghan. All of that is going to have to wait for later battles with more players and more landscape and more history. But I would hope that we would still manage to capture some of the excitement, suspense and surprise of the unexpected that Tolkien was able to launch at his readers. Think of the back-and-forth and how the tide turns multiple times at the Pelennor. Think of the unexpected arrival of the Eagles at the Battle of the Five Armies or the Huorns at Helm's Deep. Think of how Morgoth's forces draw out the attack on the Western front at Unnumbered Tears.

I would recommend choosing a historic battle for inspiration, and then using some aspects from that to direct our action here in this War to Begin All Wars. Yes, I recognize that it's not being fought with traditional weapons and no one really dies. This is all gods and monsters. But the back and forth of who seems to have the upper hand, the strategy and tactics employed, how the walls of Utumno are breached....make this sound like interesting military history!

Military history is not my thing. None of the few battles I know about really leap out at me as a good model for this epic battle. So, maybe I will have to look for bits and pieces of inspiration from a bunch of different battles. In Gettysburg, it was all about who controlled the high ground, who ran out of ammo, and how successful each side was about breaking the line of the other side. At the Battle of Hastings, it was a fairly big deal that William the Conqueror was able to bring horses across the English Channel. The Spanish Armada hit some bad weather. Knights in heavy armor drowned in the mud at Agincourt, and the English bowmen decimated the French. Something something siege warfare <I have no clue>

Clever tactics and well-planned strategies may seem out of place for this First War. But...there should be some rudimentary strategic thinking at play. More importantly...it should not just be a straightforward battle where each scene makes Melkor's defeat more and more inevitable. Melkor should be able to surprise and push back the Valar....even if in the end he proves unsuccessful. He has ALL OF THE BALROGS AT FULL STRENGTH...that has to count for something! And he is defending a fortress on territory that he knows well and has literally poured his own strength into. The land where Utumno stands will fight for him.

Melkor should be surprised that the Host of the Valar can cross the sea of Belegaer so easily. Perhaps some of the back-and-forth emissaries have been swimming or relying on a slow ferry. An isthmus that wasn't there before or a method to ferry the entire host at once (or let them walk on water) would be a surprise to Melkor. There is no Helcaraxë yet, and if there were, it would be under Melkor's control. And we shouldn't have boats yet (floating islands are okay). Certainly, Melkor will attempt to impede their passage, but most of them will make it across. Ulmo thus has the opportunity to strike the first blow against Melkor, and Melkor's hatred of the Sea intensifies.

Once they get to the mainland, they would reach the first level of Melkor's defenses. Is this like storming the beach at Normandy? Do the Valar have arial hosts that drop in past Melkor's front line?

The next surprise should be Melkor's. Whatever he unleashes, the Valar were not expecting it, and it causes some confusion on their side. Perhaps he rends the earth, creating a large chasm, separating their forces? Maybe it's beasts we have not yet seen. Perhaps there are casualties among the horses and hounds on the side of the Valar. :(

The host reaches Utumno, and Melkor has fortified it. I would expect the area around it to have pits and shifting rocks and other obstacles that make it difficult to cross. Perhaps more beasts lie in wait there. This is not Home Alone levels of booby traps, but at least *something* that sounds like Saruman's Orthanc.

At this point, Aulë reveals his plan for taking down the gates/walls of Utumno. I don't know if he invents a battering ram or a catapult or just makes spikes of rock grow up and crush the structure, but....something.

I would be okay with the Ents and the Eagles being surprise additions to the forces of the Valar in this War. I mean, Eagles are more appropriate, but we could maybe slip the ents in too. It would be unexpected, but would be a sign that the Children are awake (thus lending to the urgency and danger of the War) as well as give us some soldiers who can die :eek:

Tulkas is first through the gate, and he finds smashing things in Utumno to be fun. The Valar who come in with him have to not all win their individual fights. Eventually, Tulkas finds Melkor, wrestles him to the ground in his own throne room, and chains him up with Aulë's chain (right?) He is carted off in disgrace to Valinor, and Eonwë is seen overseeing the cleanup of Utumno, razing the walls, etc.

The audience sees that the Balrogs and Mairon have escaped to Angband, which the Valar know nothing of.

The intro should make it quite clear that I am not satisfied with my own outline here. I'm trying, but planning battles is really not my thing. Help please?
I like where you're going MithLuin. I think the elemental route does a lot to achieve this back a forth...particularly when we think about Melkor's strengths: earth, fire, heats and colds. I can see Melkor easily countering Aule, or Ulmo to start. In doing so, it would be natural for storms and freak 'natural' disasters to develop and wreak huge levels of damage on the land.

Perhaps this is how it begins...where the Valar attack without these repercussions in mind, but are soon forced to stop, think, plan and coordinate their attacks. It seems to me a combined attack is necessary, otherwise Melkor can counter each alone.

The same sort of attack -counter can work between the beasts of horn and ivory and Yavanna and her creatures (who it may be interesting to involve). Same too between the rank and file Maiar and the Balrogs.

In a sense this makes it a bit like a master chess match.

As the battle progresses, Melkor's defeat does begin to seem inevitable. But, at the same time, it should also be seen that the longer the battle and the more uncontrolled the attacks the more likely all of Arda will be destroyed, not just marred.
 
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Alright - another draft. It's got slightly less of Mairon and no Sauron. I sketched some more on the battle. Perhaps it's closer to the upper part of the "Nailed it!"-scale...
EDIT: This is my final draft/work in progress.

EPISODE 12:

1. (Could be transferred to the end of episode 11) Manwë and Varda are on Taniquetil, looking at the view of wonderful Valinor. The gardens of Lorien, the woods of Oromë - the lands are in bliss: Valar , Valier and various Maiar are at peace, and the light of the Trees mingle as the silver of Telperion wanes and Laurelin’s golden light is waxing. Behind them we see the Máhanaxar, the Ring of Doom. It is empty. They then turn and look in the other direction – at Middle-earth. There, chaos reigns. The plants are not growing. Of the beasts, some are dying and some look monstrous. Terrible sounds of agony are heard. The land is in tumult: volcanoes are erupting, waves are crashing on the shore, earth crumbling into the sea and cyclones pass through forests, ripping up trees – Manwë has certainly lost his influence over there. Towards the north there are bogs and swamps, and in the far north ice is mounting, and there, sometimes covered by fumes and smoke, lies the shining palace of Utumno in black obsidian and glass.

2. Yavanna is in Middle-earth, in the decay and death of a kind and to an extent that makes her more and more sad. A monstrous beast breaks out of the woods and charges in her direction. She stops it, calms it, puts it to sleep. The tragic looks of the animal breaks her Valië heart. Oromë turns up. He is also worried. She implores him not to kill the beasts unless he has to. He says he is not only hunting beasts, but searching for the Children, who might or might not have awakened.

3. Yavanna returns to the peace and harmony of Valinor and is met by Aulë, who confesses his transgression and tells her of Ilúvatar’s intervention. She is glad that Aulë also is concerned but says that he should have spoken to her about it. Also, she is troubled by the image she gets of the Dwarves and is worried that they will kill defenceless Olvar. That would perhaps not be a problem though, if they had someone, a guardian…

4. She goes to Manwë and speaks of tree guardians. He rejects the idea but she reminds him that it was in the Music. He goes into a trance and has a vision (I think that we don’t want this to be too much like when Ilúvatar intervened with Aulë, so perhaps no visuals and only Manwë’s face reveals that he is in a trance. Perhaps we can do some cgi effect across his face, making him a bit transparent, or have his eyes look like the visuals from the Music) in which Ilúvatar makes him understand that Yavanna is right and also that there will be Eagles as well, that both of these groups of guardians were foretold by the Song and are part of Ilúvatar's plan. But the Trees of Yavanna will not arrive until at the awakening of the Children, and the Eagles will come just before that, but the timing of that was not revealed. In any case, the Valar cannot rely on their aid now. On the other hand, the vision has strengthened Manwë's faith in Ilúvatar's plan and in his own path of diplomacy, although the path includes an inevitable war. Manwë calls the Valar to the Ring of Doom.

5. (Quick scene while the Valar assemble) Aulë is relieved and thankful and speaks openly of his experience with the Dwarves and Eru's intervention. Mairon hears this and as he looks around and notices the Valar’s positive reaction to Aulë’s story, he quietly leaves.

6. The Valar, in the Ring of Dooom, discuss the fact that the Children are about to awaken and the state of Middle-earth is really bad. It is clearly perilous land. Even without Melkor, there are plenty of dangers. Mandos confirms the imminent awakening and Varda decides to collect the light of the Trees to kindle more stars. She leaves the meeting.

7. Mairon arrives in Utumno. Melkor greets him. The Maia tells the Vala about Aulë, and Melkor finds Aulë's behaviour revolting but also inspiring. He thinks that Ilúvatar, by accepting Aulë’s Dwarves (are they called Dwarves immediately?), has accepted that all Valar, and especially Melkor, could create their own Children – it’s just a matter of finding the souls. He speaks to Mairon (mostly because Mairon happens to be there, it's more or less a soliloquy) of the coming of the Children, and that he should create his own people, one that would match the so-called "Firstborn". And regarding the Children of Ilúvatar – when they eventually awaken, surely they should prosper most under Melkor’s protection. They should obey him – he is the only one who could form them into their fullest potential.

He has come to the conclusion that he shall declare himself Lord of Middle-earth and that all Valar and Maiar are welcome to his realm as long as they bow to him. He says to Mairon, in a friendly way, that the building of Angband is progressing, but slowly, he could use Mairon there, "Are you with me – or against me?" Mairon is undecided. He has doubts, and is remorseful and wondering whether he has gone too far, maybe he is on the wrong path. Does he dare to take that step? He asks for some time to think, which Melkor gladly gives him, but the Vala says that time is moving on, he can’t wait with his decision forever. Mairon goes back to Valinor.

8. (Mairon has told Eonwë and now) Manwë announces that Melkor has declared himself Lord of Middle-earth and demands that all Ainur must follow his bidding when in his domains. Most of the Valar now expect Manwë to punish Melkor, imprison him or at least give him an ultimatum. But Manwë, who still loves his brother, wants to give him the opportunity to repent and decides to send Eonwë to offer Melkor the seat next to him in Valinor. He must give up his Lordship of Middle-earth and never go back there, but he will be close to Manwë, as in the beginning, as in the thought of Ilúvatar. Mairon is utterly disappointed with this and leaves Valinor, forever. (He takes a horse?)

9. We see Mairon travelling in Middle-earth. He stops to watch the sky, where a new star has been born. Then another star is being kindled – in fact, a whole new constellation (Soronúmë). A great Eagle suddenly sweeps across the sky. It cries, making Mairon uncomfortable. Another Eagle follows the next. Mairon changes his route to avoid being spotted.

10. Eonwë comes to Utumno and delivers his message to Melkor. Melkor is offended by this and decides that he has had enough. This humiliation cannot go on. He calls for Gothmog, who instantly appears in the doorway. Melkor then invites Eonwë a tour of his palace. He shows him his dungeons, and some monsters of horn and hide. A pool with tentacled beasts.

11. We see Mairon travelling in Middle-earth, but in a different setting this time. He journeys (rides?) along a mountain range, just above the tree line. It is a rather quiet part of Middle-earth. He looks like he is in deep thought. Above him, we see the Wilwarin constellation being kindled. Suddenly he looks up. He has heard a noise he does not recognize. There, over by the sea. Voices?

12. Back in Utumno, Melkor shows Eonwë a prison cell, which he tells him is where he is to spend the rest of eternity. Eonwë says that that is a mistake, he is a peace messanger, but the Vala orders his captain to arrest Eonwë, who is a spy and an aggressor. The Balrog grabs Eonwë and throws him into a wall. He picks him up and starts to throttle him with his flaming, clawed hands.
Thuringwethil shows up, saying to Melkor that there is a guest. The Vala leaves Gothmog and Eonwë. Gothmog inflicts as much pain as possible, showing what Eonwë’s eternity is going to be like.

13. Melkor’s guest is Mairon, who tells Melkor that he has news. He kneels before him and says, “My Lord, I have found the Children”. Above them, we see the Valacirca.


EPISODE 13:

1. A) Frame : Gilraen and Elrond, watching Estel during weapons training with Elladan and Elrohir, discuss the question of his heritage and true identity. They come to the agreement that he should be told about the Dunedain and that he is one of them. B) Elladan and Estel have a conversation about fighting and about how a fighter defends not only himself but his group.

2. Later, Gilraen (and Elrond?) reveal to Estel that he is one of the Dunedain, and she tells him something about what that means.

3. Bilbo and Gandalf return from the Battle of Five Armies. Estel asks Bilbo about the battle and the Dwarves. Bilbo only hints at the horrors of the battle, and plays down his own part. He says he did everything he could to avoid the battle, tried to make thing turns out differently. He also speaks fondly of the friends he has lost. Estel asks Elrond why there are wars to begin with. Elrond tells him that sometimes, wars are necessary. He tells him of the first battle.

4. We are at Utumno. Melkor and Mairon go down into the dungeons, and come to the cell where Eonwë is being tortured. Melkor informs Gothmog that Mairon is the new lieutenant of Angband. Gothmog squeezes his victim really hard. Eonwë collapses, giving up his body. Melkor looks concerned – he has a bad feeling about the consequences.

5. Valinor. In the Ring of Doom, some Tulkas is arguing that they should throw Melkor into the Void right now. Manwë asks him to find just a little more patience, and wait for Eonwë’s return. Mandos says that Eonwë is back. A shapeless cloud appears, from which Eonwë’s voice speaks (I'm not sure about this gas/cloud form thing at all...perhaps he just reappears and then changes style later). He speaks of what happened in Utumno, emphasizing that the destroyers of the Lamps are under Melkor’s command. Manwë decides to put an end to Melkor’s domain by force. He asks Eonwë to take a new body. The new Eonwë is the Champion of Manwë, significantly more martial than before. Aulë goes to make a chain for Melkor.


6. Utumno. Melkor realizes that when the death of Eonwë is known, armed conflict is highly probable. He escalates work on the defense. He instructs the Balrogs to break down the tunnels between Utumno and Angband at his command, in case of emergency or tactical necessity.


7. The host of the Valar arrive at Middle-earth. In the sky, Menelmacar is kindled. They are repeatedly assailed by smaller elemental Maiar, but they cause small trouble. Oromë blows his horn. Great Eagles follow them as they go.


8. A) Finally at Utumno, Manwë orders Eonwë to call Melkor to surrender. He does so, but Melkor does not answer. Manwë says that they must prepare for war. This is the first war then. The War to begin all wars. With his song, he sets up a surrounding storm shield, to make escape impossible. Also, he asks the others, Aulë in particular, to contain any damage within the boundaries of the storm shield. Another call to surrender is made, but Melkor does not answer. Manwë lets Tulkas, Nessa and Oromë go forward. A third call to surrender, and now Melkor attacks, causing several geysers to erupt around and among the Valar.


B) There is a battle were the Valar are using elemental force as well as close combat. The elemental forces are released through the singing of the Ainur. This singing reminds us of the Music. It should grow more and more intense, somewhat disharmonic because of Melkor and his followers. (The sound of the Balrogs? Perhaps like rythmic violent shouts or shrill screams? Like someone in torment?) Manwë sends lightning on Utumno from the surrounding storm. Aulë and his Maiar send waves of earthquake towards the palace walls. They prove quite resistant initially. (Aulë could notice that Mairon is not around, Curumo could remark that it feels like one of their kind is on the other side, battling them). Melkor opens lava pits and builds ice walls. (Though not too close to each other)

C) Beasts and lesser Maiar pour out of the gates of Utumno. Eonwë, Oromë, Tulkas and Nessa (along with some Maiar) are engaged in close combat with beasts of horn and hide. The Eagles sweep down from the air and grab monsters, then drop them from above.

D) Eonwë, Oromë etc. manage to push into the palace. They are met by the Balrogs, Thuringwethil and some more Maiar (Tevildo? Maybe he just runs away – it’s not really his fight). Eonwë takes on Gothmog. The counterattack of the Balrogs are initially too strong for the Valar (By the way, this is when Olorin meets the "Flame of Udun") and they are forced to retreat (and during these moments the disharmony in the music will be most prominent), but with the aid of the Eagles and the elemental attacks, they manage to once again push the defenders back.

E) The walls are collapsing and several of the beautiful structures and buildings of Utumno are falling down as well. Chasms open. Pools containing tentacled beasts are boiling.

F) Eventually, the host of Valar is too powerful for Melkor and his hideous forces. The beasts are mostly killed. The only music heard is the song of the Valar (and Ilúvatar's theme?). Melkor and his most trusted pull back but Tulkas follows them, and Melkor does not make it into the tunnel to Angband – it collapses and he is caught by Tulkas, who wrestles with him and chains him. Utumno is in total ruin. The area around it is devastated, broken. We could see the ice of Helcaraxë. (The shielding storm of Manwë might have worked more or less well)

9. Melkor is taken to a small cell in Mandos. (Maybe unnecessary. Perhaps we just need to see him chained) (I feel that we should hear Manwë say something to Melkor, somewhere around here - som kind of sentence)

10. At Lake Cuiviénen, everything is quiet. It is quite dark, only starlight. As we come closer, we hear the sounds of voices talking. Maybe singing. Perhaps laughing. The voices sound young and innocent. (We might see figures in the dark by the shore. We can hardly see them. They drink water and laugh. A close up catches how one of them looks up at the stars and marvel at the sight, eyes glistening, reflecting the starlight.)
 
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Yes, this feels much less like the Mairon show, though we still have two separate scenes of him riding a horse, when one would probably do. Someone else could react to the first new constellation, perhaps? I do like the order of the new constellations, and how they build up to the Valacirca as war breaks out. I was kinda hoping for a 'lighting of the beacons' scene with at least some of Varda's new constellations. Do we want Aulë to be involved in this at all? In at least one version of the story, the Sickle of the Valar is his, not hers.

Also, at the end, we can hear the elves first, but I still think we should get a least a brief teaser glimpse of them.

The role of Manwë's vision and the timing of the decision of the Valar to go to war still feels too drawn out and passive here. I realize they waited 100 Valian years between debating the war and going to war, but our audience isn't going to see the patience of immortal beings as anything other than being passive and inactive. I'm not sure what I have in mind, but will try to give it some thought over the next day.
 
Yes, this feels much less like the Mairon show, though we still have two separate scenes of him riding a horse, when one would probably do. Someone else could react to the first new constellation, perhaps? I do like the order of the new constellations, and how they build up to the Valacirca as war breaks out. I was kinda hoping for a 'lighting of the beacons' scene with at least some of Varda's new constellations. Do we want Aulë to be involved in this at all? In at least one version of the story, the Sickle of the Valar is his, not hers.

Also, at the end, we can hear the elves first, but I still think we should get a least a brief teaser glimpse of them.

The role of Manwë's vision and the timing of the decision of the Valar to go to war still feels too drawn out and passive here. I realize they waited 100 Valian years between debating the war and going to war, but our audience isn't going to see the patience of immortal beings as anything other than being passive and inactive. I'm not sure what I have in mind, but will try to give it some thought over the next day.
The timing is really difficult... Yes maybe we can make the Valar seem less passive if we split e12.7 in two and have the Valar begin their council meeting in the Ring of Doom directly after Manwë's vision and so we also will hear Mandos speak of the Children and see Varda begin collecting light from the trees before Mairon arrives in Utumno to tell Melkor about the Dwarves. E12.5, where Aulë tells his story, will be in connection to that, also in the Ring of Doom, or just a short scene before all the Valar are assembled. Then we see Mairon and Melkor and after that we are back at the council and Manwë recieves the message from Eonwë that Melkor calls himself King.

EDTIT: Changes made in the outline according to these thoughts.
 
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You could give the scene where Mairon sees Soronúmë to someone else but I kind of like that it makes him take a different route which makes him more or less stumble across the awakened elves. Well, it's certainly not necessary.
 
Fair enough that it does flow and build to something.

I think that it's important to remember that things are allowed to happen off screen and time is allowed to pass. So, we don't need to (necessarily) have Aulë announce the dwarves publically *just* to make it clear that Mairon knows about them to be able to tell Melkor. I mean, yes, if it's important for the buildup of the Children and we want to see Mairon's reaction of finally losing all confidence in the Valar...then, yes, keep that scene in. But anything that is *just* included for logistics can be cut.
 
Fair enough that it does flow and build to something.

I think that it's important to remember that things are allowed to happen off screen and time is allowed to pass. So, we don't need to (necessarily) have Aulë announce the dwarves publically *just* to make it clear that Mairon knows about them to be able to tell Melkor. I mean, yes, if it's important for the buildup of the Children and we want to see Mairon's reaction of finally losing all confidence in the Valar...then, yes, keep that scene in. But anything that is *just* included for logistics can be cut.
I'm not seeing Aulë telling people about his experience as a long scene at all, we don't need to hear more than a few words to understand what he is talking about, and then we see Mairon's reaction and exit.
 
I like the coming of Men story much more than the coming of the Elves. In that the Valar are just reacting to the crisis of the darkening of Valinor. One fruit and one flower grow. That won't help anyone unless everyone can see it. Let's launch them into the sky so everyone can see them. Unbeknown to them this is the act that wakes the Men. The waking of the Elves is much more stilted. The children are coming so let's light the stars which then wakes the elves. It is circular reasoning and I was never satisfied with it. The Valar need to light the stars for their own reasons and I feel it should be to support the war and because they have finally come to the conclusion that they have to act in Middle Earth. "The Children will need light when they come" is a minor reason. When the stars are lit the Valar should be surprised at the unforseen result that the Elves awake.
 
Big Picture Question:
Time????

As in, how much time elapses during season 1, and how do we portray that? Does it even matter in a pre-Children world? (But it's a question Estel is sure to ask, based on his age).

Normally our medium uses one of three methods to show time: date-stamps on the screen; clear mention in dialogue; or the use of "scientific" clues like aging, changes in season, etc. The last one seems pretty irrelevant in this season, although someone may have an idea of how to incorporate it.
Hi Michael,
We had a discussion about this back in September last year. <a href="http://forums.signumuniversity.org/index.php?threads/pasage-of-time.84/">Pasage of Time</a>
I think in the end the hosts thought that the frame story can deal with that issue the best. http://silmfilm.mythgard.org/session-1-4/
You may want to listen to the beginning of that session to hear in detail. I think that we can use a range of interesting methods to depict this.
 
A vast amount of time has passed over the course of this season. To give you an impression of just how much time it might be, the Years of the Lamps were roughly 15,000 years the way we count them. In our show, the Lamps are created in Episode 5 and destroyed in Episode 6. Time speeds up a bit in the later episodes of the season, so that there are 'only' 1,000 Valian years (9,582 years) between the creation of the Trees and the Valar debating what to do about Morgoth. It takes Varda 50 Valian years to make the new stars. The siege of Utumno is 8-10 Valian years. Melkor is chained 1,100 Valian years (10,540 years) after the creation of the Trees. Obviously, these timelines accompany particular versions of the story, and we aren't following them. Rather than have a Valian year be just under 10 years, Tolkien considered making it 144 years at one point. So, the time spans we're dealing with are arbitrarily really long.

One way to show that is to show the evolution of the flora and fauna. So, in episode two, Yavanna would be mucking about with algae, only moving past pond scum in Episode 4 with Almaren, and not progress to trees until the Lamps. We're not actually doing something that extreme, because a rocky landscape devoid of plant life would be quite stark and barren as a backdrop. Sure, you could film Season 1 in Iceland, but even so.

We can, however, have dinosaur-like beasts at the beginning of the season, and then allow the destruction of the Lamps to be the metaphorical meteor that wipes out the dinosaurs, allowing for the rise of mammals (including horses and dogs) in later episodes. Melkor can keep (and twist) some of the prehistoric beasts, because of course. If we do something like that, it should give the audience some impression of the geologic timescale at work. The constellations in the sky could change, as the stars form into different patterns, but that is too subtle for the audience to notice.

Having beasts that go extinct before the Elves even wake up should work.


I wasn't so much asking how much time passes in Tolkien's telling, since I knew that was a moving target and PubSil gives few clues here. I'm asking how much time passes in OUR telling. We can compress or expand anywhere we want in season 1 without worrying about 'canon.'
Personally I think up to about dwarf-making-time we can be incredibly vague and the evolutionary aspect will suffice, maybe commend with some fatigue and with the changes in how the powers are embodied. Script, setting, and costume people need to be thinking about how to incorporate this as we go.
But in the last 3-4 episodes we may want to compress. I see in other comments about speeding up the final sequence leading to the war, and also the battle itself. How detailed do we need to be? Would we explain the timeframe here within the frame dialog? Within the main scenes? Date-stamps seem inappropriate at this point in time, since our modern measures don't apply to a sun/moon-less world. But we're talking about too short a time for the evolutionary
things.

This will come up again in season two. That's a long time under the light of the trees.
 
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