Session 2.13 for S2E09

We do have Fëanor constructing the palantíri in the same episode as Melkor's release. And we're struggling to come up with a 'good guy Melkor' community service project that he can complete in Valmar as part of his 'now I am all about making up for what I did wrong'. Hmmm....
 
The main problem is getting Feanor making them without knowing at the time that it's good guy Melkor's idea, while still letting good guy Melkor get credit for them.

I suppose Feanor's public hissy fit afterward would do a good job of adding to Melkor's "hey why so mad I'm just trying to help" vibe, along with Melkor being thwarted in his desires by the palantiri all being given over in a huff to the Teleri (who don't really have any truck with Melkor, good guy or not) before he can get his hands on one.
 
I like that Melkor had a hand in the construction of the palantiri. And we could use that as reasoning as to why we don't see the Noldor using the palantiri during their war with Morgoth (despite the obvious advantages). We can go with Feanor giving the palantiri to the Teleri or the Noldor aren't sure whether or not Melkor has one so they dare not use them (although that doesn't say much for Feanor that he would give away something potentially tainted by Morgoth to the Teleri).
 
I don't know if we want tainted, exactly - Melkor was nowhere near them at any point. They are a bit tainted in their very conception (see: palantir use, 3rd age), but they are completely clean otherwise.
 
amysrevenge said:
I don't know if we want tainted, exactly - Melkor was nowhere near them at any point. They are a bit tainted in their very conception (see: palantir use, 3rd age), but they are completely clean otherwise.
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You might check out the outline we've generated for this episode and see if it helps. The issue is that the episode doesn't center on Melkor, but on the Silmarils and their creation.
 
I know. It's not a Silmaril issue, it's a Melkor issue. At some point, in between his release/parole and the darkening, he needs to be seen doing something that appears helpful/useful. And if he's getting screen time being helpful already, the seed of the idea for the palantir can be one of those things he does. I put the idea here in S2E9 because that's the session of the podcast where the idea occurred to me. But it could go anywhere after Melkor comes back on the scene (is it even required that the palantiri be crafted before the Silmarils?)
 
The Exec's decision was that we would have Fëanor craft Tengwar --> palantíri --> silmarils --> Fëanorean lamps (in that order).
So we put the invention of the Tengwar and the crafting of innocent farm equipment in Episode 7,
the invention of the palantíri in Episode 8,
the silmarils in Episode 9,
the Fëanorean lanterns and swords in Episode 10,
...oh, and a lock for the gate of Formenos in Episode 11.

Fëanor does not invent swords, and he does not invent Noldor gem-making.

He does invent ridiculous helms and probably Wi-Fi :p
 
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Previous to Feanor, they relied on dialup and AOL. :rolleyes:

One of the risks that we run if we have Melkor involved in redemption projects is that once he is revealed to be evil, the things that he helped devise and worked on will, in the audience's eyes, become suspect. While if its a fountain, people aren't going to say "Oh no! It's the fountain of evil!": but, for something like the palantiri, there could definitely be a sense in the audience of "hey, why would Melkor/Morgoth help with something like this if there wasn't something in it for him?" So, once we see Morgoth for what he is, then many in the audience will see anything that he worked on as part of Arda Marred.
 
Yes, not only is Episode 8 rather early for Melkor to have elvish allies (he's still on probation and being followed around by Eonwë), but the idea of Fëanor gifting the palantíri to the Teleri was supposed to be one of the 'good guy Fëanor' moments - he doesn't give them away to dump them or get rid of them, but because the Teleri have been sundered from their kin in Middle Earth and might want to see what is back there. He is thinking first of his own father's friendship with Elwë, but it's meant to be a thoughtful gesture on his part to share the wealth before he starts jealously guarding the work of his hands.

So, my first inclination is to view this idea with trepidation and 'wait, no, don't ruin the palantíri!'

We do, however, really, really need some projects for Melkor to be involved in (particularly in Episode 8), and so I don't want to toss out potential ideas without suggesting something better.
 
They do kind of end up being ruined anyway - they're built without safeguards, such that Sauron can use his to twist the mind of Denethor. Maybe if Feanor had been more careful about it, that wouldn't have been a problem.

Basically, the palantiri are awesome, but I've always thought of them as almost too dangerous to use. Maybe it's my 3rd age bias speaking - the Dunedain used them for centuries without problems.
 
One way to look at the Palantiri is that they were designed for elven minds. Feanor did not know the mind of Man yet (and never would), so there were always going to be glitches in the use of the palantiri when used by men, especially as men drifted away from their association with elves.

The Melkor Reclamation Project needs to be handled carefully. Maybe it's a grove of trees by Ezellohar that is lauded for it's beauty, but later provides cover for Melkor and Ungoliant as they approach the Trees. Maybe its the creation of a beautiful plaza with images of the Valar in the central square of Tirion, that provides a dramatic backdrop when Feanor repudiates the Valar and leads the rebellion. It would be interesting that no matter what we decide as the MRP, it does become symbolic of Arda Marred.
 
In Episode 8, Melkor is still on probation. The terms of that probation are, of course, up to us, but he should not be allowed to move freely about Valinor until the end of the Episode when Manwë releases him.

So, it would be best if the Melkor Reclamation Project could be in Valmar. It would be 'under the noses' of the Valar, and right near the Trees. Perhaps he is allowed to interact with the Vanyar on the slopes of Taniquetal? Or, after a time, he is allowed to leave Valmar so long as he travels with his escort? We can make the rules, but there needs to be some sort of restriction on him.

In Episode 9, we will see Melkor in Tirion without an escort.
 
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