Notes from today:
Girdle of Melian
- Melian is continuously exerting her power to upkeep the girdle
- She is not weakened by the Girdle, only fully occupied
- The audience shouldn’t be thinking “Poor Melian”, she's fine
*Will need to introduce lembas at some point (blessing of Melian to her people, sets elves of Doriath apart). Probably save for next season...
*Season 4 – show the beginnings Sauron's dispersal of his energy
*Morgoth pouring energy into the orcs to match the imbued power of the elves coming from Valinor
Q: What action/conflict do we have in episode 6?? (Address later)
The Court of Thingol
Q: What’s Thingol and Melian’s relationship like?
- Thingol is benevolent and loving
- Melian is wise and wouldn't have chosen him if he was a jerk from day one
*Doriath full of silver trees (beech trees vs birches)
*some elves living in flets in trees, not all of them live in Menegroth
*Melian should not monopolize conversation, shouldn’t say as much (like Mandos, mostly silent so that when she speaks her words carry weight)
Daeron and Luthien
- should be a matched set
- portray the bliss of Thingol’s court
- everyone just assumes they’re meant to be together
- need to make Daeron more of a sympathetic character – his loss later on should seem like a true tragedy
- The match between Daeron and Luthien should be Thingol’s plan, so when Melian doesn’t ourtright oppose it, the wedge begins to form between them
- Luthien should be gorgeous, not sexy. Her dancing should arouse joy, not lust. Should be dressed modestly at all times
* Should Luthien flirt with Morgoth….(dressed as Thuringwethil)??
Beleg & Mablung etc.
Mablung – Primary military leader (general army) Thingol’s no. 1 guy? Or Celeborn?
Beleg – Chief scout, more of a maverick (special forces)
Celeborn…
- chief advisor
- should have battle experience before meeting Galadriel
- gift-giver (not in a way that supplants Thingol)
- Thingol’s herald
Oropher and Thranduil?
- introduce during Fall of Doriath
- Oropher as one of Dior’s people
- Oropher introduced with the Nauglimir story
Galathil (father of Nimloth)
- Nimloth someone else’s daughter?
- Thranduil’s sister? (But that would make Legolas older than Elrond...)
Doriath Culture
- court moves from place to place
- no palace or throne pre-Menegroth
- no agriculture ?
- established trade with Haven elves (fish, PEARLS, etc)
- lots of leisure time, lots of partying, moveable feast (Thranduil tries to capture this lifestyle later in Mirkwood)
*Hall of Fire a Gondolin concept, not Doriath (Pengelodh)
Angband
Goals:
- Establish Sauron’s relationship with the proto-orcs
- Morgoth concerned about Valar coming after him, knows Feanor will
- Worried about Tulkas and Orome so puts Gothmog and Balrogs on Northern Front
- Gives Sauron the charge of destroying the elves in the south
Boldog…
- Boldog a spirit of wrath and violence
- Embodied in an orc body
- A fallen Maia of Tulkas (delight in slaughter and killing things)
- Boldog beats his own drum but is not a plotter
- follows orders but also serves himself and follows his own initiative
- Sauron or Morgoth have to keep him in line through fear
*Sauron’s corrupted elves still beautiful before Morgoth twists them
Orc encounter....
- Doriath elves shocked that there are creatures like this
- Beleg’s reaction should not be military, but hunting (later)
- Beleg should try to befriend them at first ("Hi, guys!")
- Gets wounded, bears scar from this encounter for the rest of his life
- Scene should be a visual parallel to Finrod’s discovery of Men later
- No proto-orc encounters. They meet Morgoth’s orcs from the get-go.
- Sauron not happy that the orcs wandered off and blew the element of surprise (punishes Boldog?)
- The Spell of Bottomless Dread (ties will of captured elves to Morgoth)
* Mairon/Sauron mirrors Aule's desire to create followers (like with the dwarves). The orcs are more his protogees vs slaves. Then Morgoth comes in and transforms them, which Sauron considers a waste.
Transition from storm….
- need to show that some survive
- end the storm scene with a meeting between Fingolfin and Feanor (with plenty of foreshadowy undertones)
- Fingolfin looks like he’s drawing his sword on Feanor but breaks it instead
- cut to Angband after this scene (creation of orcs, meet them later at the end of the episode)
- orrrr cut to Cirdan after storm scene.....
Eol…
- save for episode 4 ?
- should introduce in this episode, if there’s enough time
- pushing him back enables orcs to be the first discordant note in Beleriandic paradise
- Everything should be great until the discovery of the orcs
- Nan Elmoth encounter for episode 4
*Dwarves for episode 4
*Title for this episode: “Paradise Lost”
- theme of paradise lost/sense of inevitability/creeping sense of doom
>> I missed some bits here and there due to failing audio but this is the main gist, I think...