Session 4-27, 4-28: Post-production Script Review, Parts 3 and 4

Haakon said:
I also think the word pet doesn’t work well in this context, in the death scene of a tragic character and coming from the mouth of a balrog.
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Sorry that was perhaps a bit short and vague.

What I mean is, calling Edhellos pet does work by degrading Edhellos and expose her as someone who has had submitted to Sauron, but 1) in this scene, in which Edhellos will die, this smearing risks tainting her end and setting the tone of her death, and working against her redemption, and the feeling her husband, and others, will have of her after her death. To me, calling her 'pet' implies a more willing deference, someone who is tamed, while 'slave' implies that a person has been chained or broken but needs to be reminded of it from time to time, and most importantly, someone who performs certain tasks - in this case, betrays her people. Calling her 'slave' works better imo since it implies a betrayal while simultaneously allowing for redemption. 2) The Word 'pet' is full of sarcasm, which is a weapon fitting for some of Morgoth's people, but perhaps more something Sauron
would say (or later, The Mouth of Sauron). I Believe Gothmog is cruder.
 
Haakon said:
Sorry that was perhaps a bit short and vague.

What I mean is, calling Edhellos pet does work by degrading Edhellos and expose her as someone who has had submitted to Sauron, but 1) in this scene, in which Edhellos will die, this smearing risks tainting her end and setting the tone of her death, and working against her redemption, and the feeling her husband, and others, will have of her after her death. To me, calling her 'pet' implies a more willing deference, someone who is tamed, while 'slave' implies that a person has been chained or broken but needs to be reminded of it from time to time, and most importantly, someone who performs certain tasks - in this case, betrays her people. Calling her 'slave' works better imo since it implies a betrayal while simultaneously allowing for redemption. 2) The Word 'pet' is full of sarcasm, which is a weapon fitting for some of Morgoth's people, but perhaps more something Sauron
would say (or later, The Mouth of Sauron). I Believe Gothmog is cruder.
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Another reason I liked “pet” was that it implies personal ownership, but maybe “slave” could imply that if Gothmog calls her Sauron’s “favorite slave” or something like that.
 
Rhiannon said:
Another reason I liked “pet” was that it implies personal ownership, but maybe “slave” could imply that if Gothmog calls her Sauron’s “favorite slave” or something like that.
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Ok I see what you were getting at. Yes, for me, 'favorite slave' works.
 
I understand. I'm not really after a specific word, so it does not have to be 'slave'. Minion? Creature? Scrub?
 
I really like the word 'minion' and would be happy to use it, but I think 'slave' conveys most of what we want here. I would argue that calling someone a slave has not always granted them personhood status....though perhaps is a step above an animal.

So, a less cute reference to an animal kept by someone might fit, such as saying, ah, the latest mongrel from Sauron's kennel or some such.
 
Yeah, we probably shouldn't have Gothmog refer to her as 'Sauron's goose who won't lay.' :p

There are tons of words for castrated livestock (ie, steer for cattle, gelding for horses, wether for sheep) that would probably make for good insults, but a) we can't very well use them for a female elf, and b) the audience isn't super likely to be familiar with some of them.
 
Maybe it could be something that suggests affection since he was, after all, pretending to be her husband. Darling? Dearest? Favorite? Beloved?
 
Sauron only has one Precious, but I do like the idea of associating that word with him from the get-go.....
 
Another question:
Are we saying that this is how the name Sauron is being conveyed to the Elves? Does Gothmog using it now inspire Elves to use it? I don't mind Gothmog using the name at this moment, but I would much rather that the Elves start using it themselves after hearing an escaped prisoner talking about the enemies naming him. A prisoner could say: "The Enemy has many subjects: there are the Balrogs - the demons of fire, and the dirty, evil orcs. There are unspeakable horrors. One of his liuetenants is a master of Vampires, of Werewolves and huge cats, and of black arts and torture. The Balrogs call him Sauron, The Abhorred, and even those demons do not like him."
 
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