Again, this is an attempt/draft for revisions before the final review session/podcast. I didn't think this needed much further revision, other than clarifying Huan's role and that Fingolfin, Galadriel, and the others don't begin with swords in hand intent to kill the Teleri. I did listen to the 3 podcasts about this and I
think I grok the compromise that was reached, so in Act 4 I'm only trying to put in clarification,
not changes of substance. Elsewhere I do suggest that Feanor is a little bit less polite to Olwe, and kills more people than just Olwe.
As with Episode 1, suggested additions are
in purple. Suggested deletions are
red strikethrough. Small punctuation/capitalization/diacritic tweaks are unmarked.
Season 3 Episode 2: The Kinslaying
Protagonist(s): Fingolfin, with Maedhros as a secondary protagonist.
The events in this episode are
not seen from Fëanor's point of view, but he is driving the action.
Introductions: N/A
Final Appearances: Olwë, (potentially) Eärwen, Irimë...and a
lot of Telerin sailors.
Characters: Fëanor, the seven Sons of Fëanor, Irimë, Fingolfin, Anairë, Fingon, Turgon, Aredhel, Finarfin, Eärwen, Galadriel, the sons of Finarfin, Olwë, Uinen, Huan.
Summary: Fëanor's sense of urgency and attempt to expand his rebellion has tragic consequences for the Teleri.
Theme: Extreme failure to communicate. A game of chicken in which the vehicles continue to speed towards one another and neither swerves, both presuming the other will have the good sense to back down. Ie, brinksmanship leads to nuclear annihilation.
Frame Teaser – Young Estel is discovered to be missing from Rivendell. Elladan and Elrohir are sent to look for him. On his own in the Wild, Estel faces some basic survival challenges successfully. Elladan and Elrohir find his trail.
Act I
Scene 1. Farewells and Packing in Tirion. Fingolfin and Finarfin talk to their wives (Anairë and Eärwen, respectively). Fingolfin reiterates his intention to be true to his word and follow his older brother. Finarfin thinks there are worse things than breaking your word, and he's not convinced this entire enterprise won't end in disaster. Eärwen is in tears, and says she will not depart
Valinor Aman, the only home she has ever known. Anairë says that she won't leave
Valinor Aman, because she wishes to stay with Eärwen, who is like a sister to her, but she will at least see her husband on his way. Irimë comes in and tells them to hurry up and get moving – it's time to go.
Scene 2. Alqualondë - Olwë and Uinen meet in the harbor
of Alqualondë. The Teleri are hanging lamps to drive back the darkness. Olwë is not afraid, and expresses trust that the Valar will deal with Melkor as they did before. He is concerned for the well-being of the Elves left behind in Middle-earth now that Melkor is there. [Name-drop Círdan.] Uinen alludes to Olwë's purpose in Ulmo's plan, being the link back to Middle-earth.
Scene 3. Tirion - The Sons of Fëanor are urging the Ñoldor to pack quickly and to travel light. They can make new things in their new realms across the Sea. Parting artisans from their craftsmanship is difficult, though, and there are many who have trouble leaving their work behind. In particular, some of the builders insist that they can't leave their beloved city. Fëanor's urgency has been translated to his Sons, and they're not all polite in their efforts to get the people moving. Celegorm has Huan herd them like sheep, nipping at their heels or head-butting them if they don't move quickly enough. Maedhros chastises his brother and is more reasonable, but still insistent that they have to leave – the sooner the better. [For all his brave words, Fëanor expects an intervention from the Valar, and would like to leave before they figure out the Ñoldor have rebelled. But, this will be unstated.]
Scene 4. Tirion - Eonwë, herald of Manwë, arrives and speaks for the Valar. He makes it clear that the Valar will
not intervene, and that the Ñoldor are free to depart. Fëanor answers him back proudly, addressing his remarks to the crowd rather than the herald, but Eonwë does not show any indication of having been insulted. The people murmur a bit, but no one goes back to their homes after Eonwë departs. The contingent lead by Fëanor is ready, and they depart. Fingolfin's people are still in the city of Tirion.
Act II
Scene 5. Eärwen goes to Alqualondë to talk her father Olwë. She gives an outsider/citizen of Tirion view of the events since the Darkening and of the death of their King. Olwë advises patience and trust in the Valar – who will surely do something about Melkor. He has been witness to the power of the Valar (in the War of the Powers). Olwë reminds us of the elvish view of death, and expresses that he does not personally fear death. The Teleri are much more chill than the Ñoldor in general, but especially now. Olwë more explicitly mentions his purpose in building a fleet of ships that can cross the ocean.
Scene 6. Kalakiryan near Alqualondë - The Fëanorean host have stopped and set up some tents near to Alqualondë (but not in sight of the harbor). Fëanor sends his sons into the city. Maedhros et al. ask around for Olwë, to set up a meeting. Rather than being directed to the palace, they are directed to the harbor, where Olwë is seen doing something surprisingly mundane. [Fishing, helping out with the hanging of lamps, etc.] Maedhros is surprised – Olwë is not who he expected him to be. Olwë agrees to meet with Fëanor.
Scene 7. The Host of Fingolfin leaves Tirion. Someone expresses for the first time the fear that the Fëanoreans will leave them behind. Turgon keeps turning around to look back at the city of Tirion as they depart. Fingolfin chastises Turgon, saying that once you make a decision you have to stick with it and see it through. You can't keep looking back and be divided. The first expression of 'you can never go home.' Galadriel expresses a desire for realms of her own in Middle-earth.
Scene 8. Fëanor meets with Olwë in the palace of Alqualondë, with the full court gathered. The court of the Teleri is made up of master shipbuilders and ship captains, mostly. Eärwen is there with her brothers, but Fëanor gives no indication that he sees her, and he does not address her in his greeting to Olwë. Fëanor brings some (but not all?) of his sons with him.
- Fëanor begins by inviting the Teleri to join in their endeavor – they are going back to Middle-earth to reclaim what is theirs (the Silmarils) and to make Morgoth (a name he has to clarify for them) pay for the death of their King (Fëanor's father).
- The Teleri are sad to hear that the Ñoldor are leaving, and Olwë invites them to stay awhile longer, as they will be sorely missed. Fëanor is a bit thrown that his oratory, which has always swayed and persuaded people towards his viewpoint in the past, seems to have no affect on them.
- Fëanor emphasizes that he cannot stay or delay his mission in any way – it is imperative that he go immediately. He hopes that, if the Teleri will not join them, they will
at least be willing to aid them by ferrying them across Belegaer.?
- Olwë seems to consider this idea for a time, knowing that it is one of his purposes in having built the fleet of swanships in the first place.
- Olwë brings up the Valar, and asks what they think of the Ñoldor's mission to Middle-earth? Fëanor cannot help but reveal some of his scorn for the Valar, and the fact that while they have not forbidden him from leaving, they haven't exactly given their blessing, either.
- At this point, Olwë's entire court looks extremely skeptical of having anything to do with the Ñoldor. Olwë declines to aid the Ñoldor in their mission if it is not Valar-sanctioned.
- Fëanor brings up all that the Ñoldor have done for the Teleri, including building Alqualondë, and finally
requests says that if they will not take them to Middle-earth, can they not they should at the very least lend the Ñoldor their ships.?
- The Teleri are scandalized by the suggestion, and reply by comparing the swanships to the Silmarils – the works of their hands and precious to them... and not for others' use.
- While they are able to speak Fëanor's language, he (apparently) cannot speak theirs. The negotiations have broken down, and Fëanor storms out, furious.
Act III (Alqualondë)
Scene 9. The sons of Fëanor go to reconnoiter around the harbor, determining the number of ships and whether or not they're manned. At this point, it is clear that they intend to steal the ships, since they do need them to reach Middle-earth. They (particularly Caranthir and Celegorm) express anger that the Teleri have insulted them and refused to help them, and have many disparaging things to say about their lack of courage and stinginess in refusing to help their own kin. They call them 'shoreland pipers' and don't think it takes much skill to sail a ship. They do not have anything unkind to say about the ships, though,
being unable to help but admire the craftsmanship. Curufin notices the strategic importance of the Arch at the entrance to the harbor, and points this out to Maedhros (who seems confused as to why his brother would bring that up). They meet some Teleri who are suspicious of the Fëanoreans' intentions, and then the Sons leave to report back to their father.
Scene 10. In the camp of the Fëanoreans, everyone is packing up and getting ready – putting on full armor. The force from Formenos is uniform; the Ñoldor of Tirion are more lightly armed and do not match. Fëanor gives his people a speech to prepare them for taking the ships. He says that the Teleri have allied themselves with Morgoth by refusing to aid the Ñoldor. He also says that they are cowards, who will back down as soon as they see the might of the Ñoldor. His fiery oratory has a much stronger effect on his followers than it did on the Teleri of Olwë's court.
Scene 11a. The Kinslaying begins - The host of the Fëanoreans descend upon the harbor of the Teleri. Some ships are unmanned, and taken quickly [Fëanor is on one of these.] There are many Teleri on the quays, and they try to prevent the Ñoldor from reaching the ships. Some brawling breaks out, but it's weaponless fist-fights at first. Some of the apparently unmanned ships had Teleri below decks, so there is fighting on the ships as well. The Ñoldor struggle greatly to get the ships underway. The Teleri retaliate by throwing Ñoldor in the water – but the heavy weight of the armor combined with the deep water of the harbor makes this a fatal action in some cases. Maedhros is the first to run a Teleri
n elf through with a sword, reacting to someone attacking Maglor. Bloody, deadly fighting does not break out in all locations simultaneously, but the fighting quickly escalates to a massacre throughout the harbor.
Scene 11b. The host of Fingolfin comes upon the abandoned/hastily deconstructed Fëanorean camp. They don't know what has happened, but Fingolfin suspects an ambush from the Teleri. He gathers his fighting force (including Irimë,
and Galadriel, and his sons), and leaves others (Anairë, and Finarfin
and his sons) behind with the baggage. Someone complains about Aredhel being lost again.
Scene 12. The death of Olwë - The Teleri have no armor and no swords but they are not weaponless. They have knives, harpoons, nets, grappling hooks, spears, bows and arrows, etc. Olwë sends some archers up onto the Arch, with the instruction not to let the ships leave the harbor. Eärwen goes with them (she too is an archer). Olwë and his sons get into smaller boats to try to re-board the ships the Ñoldor have manned. Pirate fighting, with the Ñoldor repelling boarders
, some of whom Fëanor slays. Olwë does not leave his rowboat, but shouts up to Fëanor, imploring him to put a stop to this madness. Fëanor answers him with a spear, and Olwë dies. Eärwen, seeing the death of her father, gives the command for the archers to fire.
Act IV (Alqualondë)
Scene 13. Celegorm's ship is overrun by Telerin boarders. Huan helps to chase them back off
of the ship non-lethally. He is defending his master, and 'herding' the Teleri the same way we saw him herding the Ñoldor earlier. Some Ñoldor die from Telerin arrows (in the eye, throat, gaps in the armor), but for the most part the armor of the Fëanoreans works to protect them from these light hunting bows.
Scene 14. Fingolfin's host comes upon the scene in the harbor. He sees the Teleri shooting from the Arch and takes some of his force to put a stop to that
, but they don't have a clear plan what to do. They don't even draw their weapons, but rush forward bare-handed. The rest
of Fingolfin's force go to the piers to back up the Ñoldor still fighting there. Seeing this, Maedhros leads a force to try to take the other side of the Arch, trapping the Teleri archers. The archers turn on Fingolfin's (lightly armored) host. Irimë dies from an arrow. Fingolfin goes mad
, draws his sword, and charges into the archers
with his sword.
Some other Ñoldor in the first couple rows also draw blades, Fingon among them, and they start cutting down the archers. Turgon and Galadriel are near the back and do not draw nor fight. But Eärwen
, seeing her daughter among the charge, takes a swan dive off the Arch [striking a rock outcropping on the way down?]. Galadriel
, who was not involved in the fighting but nearby, drops her sword
-belt and shield and runs down to the base of the Arch, diving into the water to try to save her mother.
Scene 15. Maedhros and Fingolfin meet in the middle of the Arch. Maedhros is elated and covered in blood. Fingolfin is grieving and upset. Fëanor's ship escapes the harbor under the Arch, the first of the stolen fleet to leave Alqualondë. Fëanor on the deck of the ship looks up and meets Fingolfin's eyes on the Arch.
Tag: Alqualondë - Finarfin arrives in the harbor, horrified by the carnage and bloodshed. There are dead bodies floating in the water (nearly all Teleri, but a few Ñoldor amongst them) and blood everywhere.
More corpses litter the quays and stairs, while the wounded are struggling and moaning. Galadriel has found Eärwen [or her dead body, and Finarfin is grieved to see that his wife has died. Anairë grieves the loss of her friend (and says she will remain in Valinor to wait for her?)
] Weeping of the Teleri in the relatively quiet aftermath of the battle. The last of the stolen ships leave the harbor, passing under the Arch out into the Sea.