But realistically, I don't think that Celeborn and Annael will have any opportunity to discuss the Kinslaying with one another.
I just realized that by the time the Kinslaying is revealed, Annael may already be in exile.
from the point of view of Morgoth, the Doom of Mandos is way more significant than the kinslaying.
That's a very good point, and significant enough that we may want to show the scene when Morgoth finds out about it. Eventually he will find out (or simply realize) that the Valar have largely abandoned the Elves and Men, and be very happy.
What are the chances that this even comes out along with the Kinslaying, vs. being known only to the Noldor? Is it something that Noldor would admit to Sindarin best friends/lovers eventually? Is it something that would become generally known among the Sindar?
I am not sure how much sense it makes to invent a child, just to introduce them and then make them captive and subtract them from the story again, but I will certainly suggest that we give Caranthir or Maglor a son (cousin to Celebrimbor) who would serve as the captive-who-is-never-rescued.
Thanks Marie. I think it makes as much sense as introducing a wife who barely exists just to 'fridge' her -- in both cases, the well-known character is the relative left behind, wondering if they'll ever see their loved on again, agonizing over their suffering and fate, wondering if there's anything they could do or could have done...
The advantage is that it doesn't change the life story of a character with a known story. I know the Hosts are certain that adding any characters will ruin everything, but I'm going to mention to them that excellent shows like Firefly do have minor characters that only appear in 1-2 episodes, and they don't suddenly jump the shark.
This would....potentially cloud the Oath. Morgoth would be in the perfect position to demand that the Fëanoreans stand down, or he'll make life a living hell for whoever's son. But presumably the same thing would be true if he had one of their wives as prisoner. They aren't going to stand down, so.....
It doesn't seem that it would be any different if they have Maglor's wife, his sister-in-law, his son, or his brother. This already happened in a way, and the Feanorians believed they couldn't abandon the Oath, no matter what. (We could even use the opportunity to emphasize that, but maybe we made it clear enough already with Maedhros' captivity.) But Maedhros is also going to point out that Morgoth won't keep his word regardless of what anyone does -- and his brothers already knew this before he was rescued.
The advantage of using both a Feanorian and another person like Angrod is to emphasize that most prisoners never escape. We don't have to ever specify their fate(s), except that when the War of Wrath is over they aren't found alive. *shudder*
What if Angrod and Gwindor recognize each other? Depending on how old Gwindor and Finduilas are when they're betrothed, her grandfather may have been around at the time. Maybe Angrod even asks Gwindor to let Orodreth think his father died, for his piece of mind.