Draft outline for Season 2

Trish Lambert

Administrator
Staff member
Hi everyone,

Here is a VERY rough draft of the episode sequencing for Season 2. Our arc will be the Awakening of the Elves through the darkening of Valinor. Frame narrative will center on Arwen and Celeborn, with occasional input from Galadriel.

There is a lot of material not yet included, plus three episodes not populated yet and the frame not slotted in as far as how that sub-story will unfold.

Anyway, this is the start. Please log your comments here and we will discuss this on our upcoming episode this Friday.


General
  • Elf viewpoint of awakening (as opposed to the Orome/Mairon viewpoint from last season)
  • First couple of episodes “backward in time” overlapping with events happening with the Valar. All would be in Cuivienen

Episode 1
  • Mairon and Elves at Cuivienen
  • Orome and Elves at Cuivienen

Episode 2
  • Sending of three ambassadors - three kings on fact finding mission
  • Decide to go west, except they don’t (make the division of Elves clear) - the Avari

Episode 3
  • Long trip west - Noldor/Vanyar, Teleri (one group stay behind at Misty Mountains > Green Elves and Galadhrim)

Episode 4
  • Thingol/Melian - Beleg, Daeron, heavy handed guy stay to search for Elwe (Sindar); Begin Celeborn’s story

Episode 5
  • Departure on Vanyar/Noldor by floating island via Ulmo/Osse - establish themselves in Valinor (question about establishment of Tirion)
  • Cirdan/Ulwe and rest of Teleri arrive at sea, their relationship with Osse and Uinen, love for sea, establishment of havens. Cirdan stays,
  • Ulwe keeps going, establisment of Elvenhome on to Alqualonde

Episode 6
  • Finwe’s two wives and birth of Feanor

Episode 7
  • Feanor’s story/Forging of Silmarils

Episode 8
  • Release of Melkor
  • Melkor spreading dissent and dissatisfaction
  • Conflict between Feanor and Fingolfin
  • Feanor’s banishment

Episode 9
???

Episode 10
???

Episode 11
???


Episodes 12/13
  • Darkening of Valinor
  • Death of Finwe
  • Final confrontation of Morgoth and Ungoliant

(Season 3: Ep. 1 is Feanor’s refusal to give up silmarils/discovery silmarils have been stolen)


Still need:
  • Convey ages passing while Noldor are in Valinor
  • Cirdan/Thingol wars with orcs
  • Green elves/death of Denethor
  • Sauron earning his name/running things out of Angband/Super secret orc project
  • Arrival of Dwarves: Nogrod and Belegost
 
Last edited:
Awesome. This helps us out a lot.

So, I do notice we have a few gaps. What I think is that we may have to invent a few adventures here and there.

The biggest thing I'm thinking of is using those empty two episodes to get at what the Sindar are going through as they get overrun by orcs.
 
Actually, there are 3 empty episodes, as we've skipped 8 here as well.

Another thing that needs to be introduced is the entire third generation of Finwë's grandchildren - the interactions of the half-cousins is going to be really important later, so seeing those dynamics play out here in the peace of Valinor is important. Obviously, everyone wants to see Celegorm hunting with Oromë and befriending Huan. But it will also be important to see Fingon and Maedhros, the eldest sons of Fëanor and Fingolfin, forming a close friendship despite their fathers' feud. [We don't have to go quite Romeo and Juliet with this, but....we need *something* to justify Maedhros defying Fëanor at the shipburning and Fingon launching his solo rescue attempt.] Some of these cousins are married and some are not; Finrod will leave behind his Vanyar sweetheart when they go into exile. Turgon's wife Elenwë will go with him....but we know how that turns out. Her death will be more tragic if we know who she is before she just randomly dies. Aredhel is friends with Celegorm and Curufin, and I'd like to portray her relationship with Celegorm as a romance that doesn't quite get off the ground. (They're half-cousins, not cousins, so it's totally not incest to elves, by the way. Tolkien went to the trouble of spelling that out in Laws and Customs of the Eldar, and considering how rare half-cousins are among elves, he almost definitely had her in mind when he wrote that.)

Oh, and the heavy handed guy is named Mablung.
 
Also, is there a new webinar session set up for Season 2 and if so how do we find a link to sign up for it?
 
  • I think we could flesh out the conflict between Fëanor and Fingolfin somewhat. It could grow over more than one episode.
  • The banishment of Fëanor should not be rushed over; I think we should show the loneliness, the boredom, the anger etc that he feels.
  • I want to see the making of the palantiri. Also, who brings them to Middle-earth (season 3)?
  • The building of Tirion could be one way of showing the passage of time. Also, Tol Eressëa, Alqualondë, as well as the settlements in Middle-earth. (And the Valar add elven-sized structures to their previous sites, like benches in gardens of Lorien, the city of Valmar etc)
  • Celebrimbor is also born in Valinor, and later joins his father (but not after Nargothrond I believe). His arch is interesting, the loving, faithful son who disassociates himself from his father. He obviously swears the Oath but, just as Galadriel, becomes a survivor (for a time). Anyway I'd like to see him with Curufin and his grandfather Fëanor. It would be great to have a (short ) period of joyful family life among the elves in Valinor, as much as we can get, just to make what happens later more tragic.
  • Perhaps episode three is a good episode in which to show Sauron in Angband, doing his necromantic stuff and having a power struggle with Gothmog. We could return to this a couple of times during the season, ending with the return of Melkor, where, interestingly, Sauron does nothing, but the balrogs come to their master's aid. (How does this affect Sauron's career?)
  • Oh and I'd like Arwen and Celeborn to sing rather than tell the stories. :)
 
Last edited:
  • Perhaps Beleg, Mablung, Daeron and Celeborn are the first who encounter orcs? And their search for Elwë could take some time, giving us a possibility to show Beleriand and some of its regions and features. They could run around naming things for us. 'Look, a river! We must give it a name! - Sirion! - Wonderful!' And so on.
  • We need to get Doriath going. After all, that's a well established realm when the Noldor return.
  • We risk losing touch with our friends the Ainur. This is inevitable in the long run, but giving them some screen time this season, not just with the elves, and not just the Valar but the Maiar we are particularly interested in, would be great I think.
  • Ents?
 
Last edited:
  • I want to see the making of the palantiri. Also, who brings them to Middle-earth (season 3)?

What brought they from the foundered land, across the flowing Sea?
Seven stars and seven stones and one white tree.


The answer to your question is Elendil. Elendil brings the palantíri from Numenor to Middle Earth towards the end of the Second Age. They remain in Valinor for now. But yes, I would like to see them as one of Fëanor's pre-silmaril projects. Also, he invents Tengwar, so we should not see any Tengwar writing/inscriptions prior to Fëanor's adulthood.
 
Great input everyone!

One note: Feanor's sons will get a lot more play in Season 3, so we don't want to do a lot with them in this season, especially since we have a lot of ground to cover. Doesn't mean they'll be ignored, but maybe think in terms of having them in here as support, so the audience gets introduced o them. So for any detail about those guys (and their cousins), keep track of your notes so we can use them next season!
 
Corey has a very high level thought about doing an episode focused on the Green Elves that would include Ents (and Entwives)...give that some thought if you'd like!
One thought I have about that is that the Entwives moved to the brown lands by the river Anduin, which could mean roughly the same area where some of the Teleri decided to settle. I gather the Teleri were frightened by the Misty Mountains, but if they encountered the Entwives at that time, this encounter might contribute to their decision to stay.
 
  • Celebrimbor is also born in Valinor, and later joins his father (but not after Nargothrond I believe). His arc is interesting, the loving, faithful son who disassociates himself from his father. He obviously swears the Oath but, just as Galadriel, becomes a survivor (for a time). Anyway I'd like to see him with Curufin and his grandfather Fëanor. It would be great to have a (short ) period of joyful family life among the elves in Valinor, as much as we can get, just to make what happens later more tragic.

I do not think it obvious at all that anyone other than Fëanor and his 7 Sons swear the Oath. Sure, about 90% of the Noldor decide to follow Fëanor to Middle Earth, but they aren't bound by his Oath (which even this rather sympathetic audience recognized as blasphemous). True, if even *one* more person in the crowd took the Oath, it was Celebrimbor, but...I'm not convinced he did.

But yes, Celebrimbor is born in Valinor, and is likely older than his half-second cousin Idril (who is only a child at the time of the rebellion). So, I'm willing to see teenager-Celebrimbor in that torchlit square in Tirion, and I agree that it would be awesome to have a scene with him, Curufin and Fëanor. We'd really be missing our opportunity if we didn't do that in season 2.

I understand that the cousins, the 3rd and 4th generations of descent from Finwë, will be important in later seasons, which is why I think introducing key relationships among them now (just in the background, but there) will be important. Is anyone going to believe the friendship of Maedhros and Fingon if we don't see it in Valinor? Certainly, the main story should be the feud between their fathers Fëanor and Fingolfin, but this can be there, too.

Also - there are three empty episodes to fill. Either we push the story further in the 2nd season (Oath-Kinslaying-Doom-Ship Burning), or we fill out the Valinorean storyline more. I'm fine with either option, of course, but it seems that we've leaned heavily in the latter direction.
 
Last edited:
Ok we don't have to show Celebrimbor actually speak the words of the oath. He will certainly be a minor character there.
Yes, the young ones of the House of Finwë will be like extras with just a few lines this season. But yes, it would be great to see Fëanor teaching Curufin, with Celebrimbor standing in the close background with curious eyes, taking in as much as possible.
 
Back to the Ents: in the beginning of the season, it would be nice to see Yavanna, Vana, Melian and Aiwendil in Middle-earth, interacting with Ents and Entwives. But did they actually do that? And if they did, they should probably not meet many elves. I can't remember if other Ainur than Oromë, Ulmo, Uinen and Ossë made contact with the Children in Middle-earth, but my feeling is that they didn't. Melian of course met Elwë, but the way it is written it sounds like an exception.
 
I dont think any of the ainur interacted with the ents before the elves. I remember something about the ent(wive)s awakening when the elves tried to teach them elvish. Or am I totally wrong? Some must have made them. Had Yavanna made them like Aulë made the Dwarfs, just with help from Ilúvatar? Or was Ilúvatar/Yavanna all alone in the making of them?
 
We didn't really go into a lot of detail about their making, but we do have them help defend the newly awoken Children in episode 13.
 
Oh Yavanna did not make them. It was Ilúvatar.
A lot of time passes between the awakening of the elves and the arrival in Valinor. Ainur did visit Middle-earth. They might have interacted with Ents. It's a matter of looking at what consequences this could have and if we like those.
 
Ok I dont think the ainur should interact much with the ents. The elves on the countrary should. I think that for the elves they have kind of always been there. Or at least they should come in to their history very early.
 
Back
Top