S02E08:The Trial of Melkor

As a heads up, we forgot to put in the scene where Fëanor makes the palantiri and gives one to his father (to find Elwë) and gives some to the Teleri (to see their friends/family back in Middle Earth). So, once we get the outline up, we'll have to squeeze in 2 scenes for that. I think that whatever cause Fëanor has for hanging around Aulë's shop is related to palantiri-making, so it would fit there, and then a followup later when they're ready for use.
 
Yeah, that occured to me while editing the video. Internet is giving me a hard time at work, but I'm hoping to get at least two segments released this evening. The good news is that we have another week before the next session.
 
Beginnings of Outline for S2Ep08: The Trial of Melkor

Protagonist: Melkor
Dilemma: Melkor tries to win back the trust of the Valar after his disastrous battle with them last season. Ulmo and Tulkas are having none of this.

Intro: Melkor, imprisoned in the Halls of Mandos, is shown alone in darkness. Flashbacks are shown to his trial at the ruined Utumno at the end of the War, where Manwë condemned him to be imprisoned for 3 Ages until his 'probation hearing'. We see or hear some indication that the time is up, as Melkor is released.

Act 1
1. Melkor is brought to the Máhanaxar, the Ring of Doom, with all of the Valar seated on their thrones. No elves are present. Melkor, still in chains, observes the light of the Trees. He is told not to get used to it, as he will soon be returned to his cell in the Halls of Mandos.

2. The Trial begins. Melkor's crimes are read out (by Eonwë?), and the viewer is given flashbacks to the first season as a refresher (and excuse for some action sequences!) Melkor must answer for each of the crimes. For the destruction of the Lamps, he admits that he had the power to prevent that, and he failed to do so (he still blames the balrogs, if anyone asks). For the War, he might admit to the destruction, but still maintains the Valar started it. For the attack on the Children, he *does* admit to his anger getting the best of him, and being wrong.

3. Seeing actual remorse from him, Nienna pleads his case. Mandos says nothing (even when prompted).

4. Manwë grants him temporary pardon, limiting his movement to Valmar, and placing him under the constant watch of Eonwë. A link of the chain that bound him is left on his person (wrist? ankle?) to indicate and enforce this restriction.

Act 2
 
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Outline for S2Ep08: The Trial of Melkor

Protagonist: Melkor
Conflict: Melkor tries to win back the trust of the Valar after his disastrous battle with them last season. Ulmo and Tulkas are having none of this.

Teaser: Melkor, imprisoned in the Halls of Mandos, is shown alone in darkness. Flashbacks are shown to his trial at the ruined Utumno at the end of the War, where Manwë condemned him to be imprisoned for 3 Ages until his 'probation hearing'. We see or hear some indication that the time is up, as Melkor is released.

Act 1
1. Melkor is brought to his Trial from Mandos to the Máhanaxar, the Ring of Doom, with all of the Valar seated on their thrones. No elves are present there, though some may have seen the prisoner in transport. Melkor, still in chains, observes the light of the Trees. He is told not to get used to it, as he will soon be returned to his cell in the Halls of Mandos.

2. The Trial begins. Melkor's crimes are read out (by Eonwë?), and the viewer is given flashbacks to the first season as a refresher (and excuse for some action sequences!) Melkor must answer for each of the crimes. For the destruction of the Lamps, he admits that he had the power to prevent that, and he failed to do so (he still blames the balrogs, if anyone asks). For the War, he might admit to the destruction, but still maintains the Valar started it. For the attack on the Children, he *does* admit to his anger getting the best of him, and being wrong.

3. Seeing actual remorse from him, Nienna pleads his case. Mandos says nothing (even when prompted). Manwë grants him temporary pardon, limiting his movement to Valmar, and placing him under the constant watch of Eonwë. A link of the chain that bound him is left on his person (wrist? ankle?) to indicate and enforce this restriction.

Act 2
4. The Princes of the Noldor are being formally presented to Ingwë the High King in Valmar. Fëanor makes it very clear that he is not happy to be here. Afterwards, Nerdanel has a private conversation with him, exasperatedly asking him why he even bothered to come if he was going to be this way. He informs her that he was not about to let the sons of Fingolfin and Finarfin be presented as princes of the Noldor and overlook their boys. Fingolfin and his wife Anairë, meanwhile, are also discussing Fëanor's behavior. Anairë asks why her husband doesn't confront him when Fëanor is so shockingly rude to everyone (this is your mother's house!) And Fingolfin informs her that it's better just to appease him; he's always been this way. They are standing on a terrace looking out over the city, and Fingolfin notices that the Valar have gathered at the Ring of Doom.

5. News begins to spread through Valmar that something is going on, but no one knows anything about it, even Ingwë. Then, Melkor is brought to a central location and 'introduced' to the elves by a proclamation stating the terms of his probation, but not much is said of his crimes. Ulmo is standing there looking disapproving.

6. Meanwhile, the grandsons of Finwë are exploring Ingwë's palace and having boyish adventures. Fingon leaves his toddler brother behind and runs off to have fun with his cousins. The Sons of Fëanor [well, Maedhros, Maglor and Celegorm] all decide to do something (go into a dark tunnel? enter an 'off limits' area?) and Fingon hangs back, not wanting to. Maedhros mockingly calls him 'Fingon the Valiant.'

7. Melkor is talking to random elves, including Fingolfin. If we overhear the conversation at all, it's only about the structure of Valmar or something innocuous. The Vanyar seem a bit hesitant to talk with Melkor. They are polite only. Tulkas is clearly unhappy with recent developments, and tells Eonwë that he won't let him get away with anything. Eonwë responds with something along the lines of, uh, why do you think I'm here?

Act 3
8. Ulmo and Irmo discuss the situation concerning Melkor. Ulmo expresses his grave doubts about how everything is going to turn out terribly. Irmo says that even if things do go as badly as Ulmo fears, there are still things they can do about it - not all hope will be lost.

9. Celegorm climbs down into an abandoned well to rescue a trapped animal that was crying. Unfortunately, he slips and falls and is unable to climb back up himself. He calls for his brothers to help him. When they see him down there, Maedhros runs off to get an adult and/or some rope. Maglor keeps talking to Celegorm, to make sure he's okay, but doesn't know what else to do. Fingon decides to climb down into the well himself to help Celegorm get out. Maglor doesn't stop him, and with Fingon's help, both Celegorm and the critter are rescued. When Maedhros returns, he thanks him for saving his little brother, and calls him Fingon the Valiant again - this time not as a joke. It is clear that they will be headed back to Tirion soon.

10. Tulkas plays detective, trying to figure out what Melkor's intentions are. Edit: Nessa teases him for his single-mindedness and (perhaps) somewhat bumbling approach.

11. {Frame and Timejump} Nienna asks Melkor about how his probation is going. He expresses that he feels he is doing too little to make up for all the damage he caused, but is hopeful his next project will be a small start in the right direction. She encourages him, reminding him that rebuilding trust is difficult and takes time.

Act 4
12. Fëanor is at the workshop of Aulë (Amon Mara: The Mount of Everything Good and Useful), and showing Aulë how his new palantíri work. {Demonstration of 2-way communication with one in Fëanor's home or Finwë's palace?} Aulë is encouraging, but not unduly impressed/flattering. Fëanor explains that he intends to give some of these to the Teleri, so they can see their kin back in Middle Earth, but the primary reason he made them was for his father. Tulkas stops by and asks what was so important that Melkor needed to get there? Aulë rattles off a list of materials he supplied to Melkor for his latest project. Fëanor startles at one of the ingredients, suggesting that it's dangerous. Alarmed, Tulkas leaves the shop at a run.

13. Climax 1: Tulkas arrives at the site of Melkor's project, [which appears to be a terraced garden and hot spring]. Tulkas goes about destroying it while accusing Melkor of trying to hurt the elves. Everyone is shocked by Tulkas' behavior. Aulë shows up to explain while, yes, that item *can* be dangerous, it's also useful for other purposes....such as...hotsprings. Ulmo seems quite put out by Tulkas' actions.

14: Climax 2: Manwë praises Melkor for fulfilling the terms of his probation and gives him freedom to travel within Valinor. He very courteously acknowledges the good that Melkor has done and expresses hope for the future. The chain link comes off.

Tag:
Ulmo seeks out Nienna, asking her how she can stand by and support this travesty? She explains why it is important to give people chances, even when they don't deserve it. He dismissively writes off her viewpoint, saying we can't all be that way.



Please note that people are *more* that welcome to suggest alternatives to the ideas presented here. What project can Melkor be working on in Valmar? It would have to be something that helps the elves. What childhood incident leads to the 'Fingon the Valiant' moniker? It certainly doesn't have to be the scenarios we've presented here. Oh, and the critter that Celegorm was trying to rescue was a kitten in our script discussion, but you are welcome to come up with something better than a kitty cat 😉.

Also - do we need adult Finarfin? And if so, what should he be doing in this episode?

I feel we had a very clear and solid idea of what was happening in Acts 1 and 4, but Acts 2 and 3 are a bit vague as to what is happening as far as a clear story goes.
 
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Screw pumps are simple enough to be used in this project without looking too much like modern machinery, I think. I realize that we might not want any form of pump in Valinor (a land that should have artesian springs wherever you need them), but this is Melkor we're talking about, so having him 'mar' the naturalness of Valinor with his 'machinery' is maybe...in character?

Even if he's just making the Hanging Gardens of Babylon for the ungrateful Vanyar 😛

http://www.unmuseum.org/hangg.htm


Of course, these aren't true 'pumps', being more screw conveyors/bucket elevators that can handle water. But whatever, they existed in the ancient world. He can power it with a windmill or something 😛

I have to admit that I was thinking of a simple positive displacement pump, such as a peristaltic pump which is essentially a hose that a rotating gear forces the water to move through. These are simple enough for homebrewers to build their own. But obviously the ancient 'technology' is the best here, so that it doesn't look like modern technology at all and avoids the 'science or magic'? question.



And while I am *not* suggesting that the Noldor had plastic tubing and electric motors lying around, Nick wasn't wrong when he said he could build a simple pump easily:
 
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The other thing I've been thinking about is water/sanitation systems as designed by the Romans, or even the more modest projects of the 12th century Cistercians.

Here is a description of a Cistercian abbey in England. As is typical, they diverted the river and made use of it for mills, sanitation, and as a source of irrigation/well water.
https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1014395
"There is a complex water management system running east to west through the site. The River Skell was rerouted in the 1140s to run 28m further to the south along stone revetted and lined channels to form the edge of the inner precinct, whilst a stone drain was constructed along its old line to flush latrines that were built above. A further channel fed water from a weir and sluice to the west of the outer precinct to provide motive power to the corn mill before rejoining the main channel. The woolhouse and malt house were fed by a ghyll running down Kitchen Bank to the east. The river continues under bridges, and through channels and tunnels, beneath the west claustral range and both the infirmaries, where it flushed latrines and aided sanitation in the buildings above. The river continues to be channelled to the east, across two weirs and becomes part of the formal gardens of Studley Royal. Water was provided to the abbey itself through a system of pipes leading from wells. One such well, known as Robin Hood's Well, lies to the east of the infirmary and dates to the 1160s. The wellhead has an ornate 18th century cover and is fed from a reservoir on the slope above. On the slope to the south of the river are the earthwork remains of 21 buildings with yards and linking roads. They are concentrated along the banks of a ghyll running north to south, fed in part by a reservoir at the top of the hill and culminating at the woolhouse at the bottom. They are believed to be the remains of buildings associated with the ancillary industrial and agricultural activities of the abbey such as workshops and stores. However the full extent and nature of these earthworks is not yet fully understood."
And with photos:
http://www.timetravel-britain.com/articles/churches/fountains.shtml


I don't *really* want us to make the connection Melkor=engineer, but he certainly has some of that 'I'll mold this all to my will' attitude going on. Luckily, Aulë is thoroughly a good guy (aside from that dwarf-making blip 😉 )
 
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