Got to attend the session! Notes from today:
Broad adaptation Questions
Sleep of Yavanna
- Story needs to align internally
- We have to consolidate the elves food supply with the sleep of Yavanna somehow
Solution:
- bring in the Sun and the Moon earlier (everything else awakes when the elves do)
- Have starlight be enough to nourish
- Have the sleep continue and feed the elves some other way
*To adapt the laws of nature, everything would have to be covered in (attractive) fungus. But then we’d run into problems once the sun rises.
- We should preserve the concept that Yavanna has not abandoned Middle earth
- can be achieved by depicting her casting the sleep after the destruction of the Lamps, and then when the elves awaken, she and Varda bless the plants and animals and allow them to thrive under the stars
^ We risk losing the radical nature of the rising of the Sun and the Moon and the significance of its division of the epochs of Arda’s History
Ways we can manage this:
- emphasize the visual effect of the rising of the Sun and Moon (make it clear that a new age has come in the reaction of the plants, i.e. flowers and blossoms). Visuals as radical as the shift in color in the Wizard of Oz
Doom of Mandos
- relationship between Valar and Noldor a major theme
- Only House of Feanor and those who follow bear the wrath
Q: How much of this is Mandos just stating what are the natural consequences of their choices and declaring that these consequences are what the Valar will inflict upon them? I.e. just consequence or actual punishment? Prediction vs. Cursing?
Elements of the Valar’s hand in this
- “We will fence Valinor against you”
- The Noldor's experience in Mandos will be changed
Response:
Finarfin
Q: Does Finarfin have any intention of leaving? (He always planned to go back to Valinor?)
Three stages of his decision-making:
- Pre Kinslaying
- Post Kinslaying, Pre Doom
- Post Doom
Pre Kinslaying:
- This is the turning point for Finarfin
- he goes to only to convince his people to turn back OR
- He intends to go, to protect them from the folly (What does he hope to accomplish here?)
- ^He has to believe that he will get people to follow him, or that he could influence Feanor over time (Basically he’s waiting for heads to cool off, but they don’t)
Post Kinslaying, Pre Doom
- Completely changes his mind about going, gives up on Feanor
- Goal now becomes talking as many people as he can out of going
Post Doom
*Finarfin doesn’t end up looking weak this way (resolved to turn back before the Doom)
*Foreshadowing of War of Wrath appearance: emphasis on deliverance (Finarfin leads the army of deliverance later [So we’ll need to revisit the Noldor in Valinor storyline at some point…]). Here, deliverance from Feanor’s fey mood.
Fate and Destiny vs Free Will
- some of the Noldor know they have a calling to ME
- mixed up with bad choices, though
Q: What’s the difference between Finrod’s desire to rule and Galadriel’s desire to rule?
- Galadriel’s more questionable. More about being in charge, more about her own power
- Finrod wants to build something and find new places
Fingolfin
*Mindset Pre Kinslaying, Post Kinslaying, Post Doom
Pre-Kinslaying
- On board with following Feanor and taking vengeance on Morgoth (Morgoth just killed his dad, so...)
Post Kinslaying
- Dawning realization of what exactly following Feanor will entail
- He is himself guilty, feels a degree of shame (doesn’t deserve to return to Valinor, feels he should indeed be an exile after what he did). In a way, he sentences himself.
- So, two motivations: vengeance and guilt
Q: What is his mindset after the burning of the ships? Why does he still go after that?
Turgon
- motivated on the premise of protecting Aredhel from the bad influence of Feanor’s sons
- His unique role is his connection with prophecy. There’s a doom about him.
- should be wanting to accomplish something. (Turgon should be the center of this concept). Should be most outspoken in favor of going over when they cross the Helceraxe.
*Episode should end with someone bursting in while Finarfin and Fingolfin are talking and tell them the ships are gone. (?)
Attack on Havens
*Retreat or Defeat?
- Going to the ships should be the original plan (Emphasizes what’s important. i.e. ships vs. city)
- They don’t flee sooner because they don’t want to leave their cities if they don’t have to
- Some defenses set up in place to delay the enemy and allow them to get to the ships
- Sacrificial rear guard in place (no named characters among the Falathrim besides Cirdan)
- battle more of a stalemate rather than complete victory on either side (Sauron fails in achieving his goal to destroy them all)
Q: What is the Falathrim’s long-term plan?
- stay safe
- set up somewhere else if they can (the island in the Firth of Drengist)
- run some reconnaissance on the orcs
Boldog’s Campaign
- Boldog comes through the March of Maedhros
- Shift Amon Ereb further north
- No fortifying of anything on the part of the orcs
- Boldog could use Hills of Himring as his base or closeby
- One scene of the orcs in the hills building a wooden fortification and Boldog sending troops out to find as many elves as they can and kill them, destroy things, etc. etc.