“There are powers beyond darkness at work in this world.”
Galadriel, 1×07
Galadriel’s Obsession Part 4: The Boat
The Epic Cue
I have come to the tentative conclusion that the Epic Cue has something to do with one victoriously tapping into the powers of the unseen world at a cost. Instead of [G#, A], I am specifically talking about [D, C#, A], indicated by the timestamps before each clip below. The perilous results of tapping into said powers, in each instance, are shown in the pictures associated.
The Boat
In this case, it was not Galadriel who tapped into the powers of the unseen world, but rather Sauron himself. He coaxed Galadriel to leap from the ship in order to pursue a perilous path, and won.
“Sometimes the perilous path is the only path. I would not be standing here, otherwise” (Galadriel, 1×08).
There is something to be said about Sauron having “the mastery.”
“…Felagund strove with Sauron in songs of power, and the power of the King was very great; but Sauron had the mastery.”
Of Beren and Lúthien
In the beginning of the season, he was rebuilding his power, but knew much more about these things than the Stranger, who used them instinctively. The Stranger’s cue is short-lived, and plays over seemingly smaller stakes, while Sauron’s was mightier over higher stakes. The Stranger tapped into these powers at a cost when he saved Nori, Poppy, and Malva from three wolves. In both instances (the boat and the wolves) the ones using these powers are the only two known sorcerers in the world.
This instance is ominous. Sauron is the only victor, and depending on your loyalties, it may or may not qualify as a perilous result.
If you are wondering what Sauron did this time by tapping into those powers, look no further than the title of the track in which this cue is found: “Transformed by Darkness.” The track begins with the scene in the barn (which can fill up an entire post by itself, but we shan’t get distracted yet), where Adar says:
“It would seem I’m not the only Elf alive who’s been transformed by darkness” (1×06).
The scene ends with Theo’s dilemma over the cursed hilt (not an accident).
“When he saw that many [of the Noldor] leaned towards him, Melkor would often walk among them, and amid his fair words others were woven, so subtly that many who heard them believed in recollection that they arose from their own thought.”
Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor
The track includes the conversation on the log, where Galadriel told Sauron to be free of whatever he had done before, and that she felt the same thing he felt (all after his “bind it to my very being” stunt).
But there’s also a good case to be made that every step of the way, he sees her as his ticket back to power, and he’s playing hard-to-get to get her to dig in; to get her to do what he needs her to do.
Sauron: “You’re asking me to go to the one place that I swore never to return! The least you can do is tell me why. Why do you keep fighting?”
Galadriel: “Because I cannot stop!”
Her obsession was not about vengeance. She could not stop because Sauron did not want her to stop. She had this obsession for centuries because he wanted her to find him, and he put a tag on her to ensure she was not able to be free of him. The question is: when did he do this, and by what means? What is the “tag?”
Here is a hint. Galadriel said she could not stop, and the camera cut to Sauron’s face. Then, as Galadriel turned around in mental anguish, the following music played:
