Mithril and the Dagger = Galadriel and Sauron
This last section contains many suspicious connections.
The dagger was undoubtedly peculiar. On page 10, we examined Sauron doing something odd to the dagger and mithril when he touched them. But something else was amiss. Was that the first time he touched them?
Lest we forget:
“I’ve been awake since before the breaking of the First Silence” (Sauron, 1×08).
The dagger and mithril already possessed unusual traits. The dagger had attachment qualities, shown by Galadriel struggling to let it go on the boat (yes, it held sentimental value, but even Thondir deemed her unwillingness to depart from it a bit odd). The mithril had enchanting qualities, shown by Elrond’s face in this scene:
When Galadriel took the dagger from Finrod, we heard her say:
“And there, in the darkness, his vow became mine” (1×01).
Disa was the one who detected the mithril vein during a routine gold-seaming. Later, we heard her say to Durin:
“That mithril belongs to us” (1×07).
What in the world was Sauron doing before Adar’s betrayal? He was responsible for Finrod’s death, so it is more than safe to say that he already knew about the dagger, and recognized it when he found it on Galadriel’s waist:
He was Aulë’s apprentice, so it is safe to say that he was very familiar with all the elements of the earth.
“[Aulë’s] lordship is over all the substances of which Arda is made. […] His are the gems that lie deep in the Earth and the gold that is fair in the hand, no less than the walls of the mountains and the basins of the sea.”
Valaquenta
“These gemstones. I’ve never seen anything like them” (Sauron, 1×08). —Hasn’t he?!
How much would you bet that in the above images, he was actually looking at the mithril, but spoke of the gemstones in order to lure Celebrimbor into a conversation?
Oh, he knew exactly why the Elves needed mithril. When Durin took the mithril out of the small chest to show Elrond, we heard Sauron’s little whispers in the background. When the mithril seemed to be healing the leaf, in the episode called The Eye, wherein Halbrand was missing for the majority, we heard Sauron’s little whispers again in the background.*
* See: Sauron Rebuilt
Here, we merely scratch the surface of an overwhelmingly loaded topic.
The alloy of the dagger and mithril was a type of Sauron and Galadriel.
Sauron already knew the true qualities of mithril, but he would also know that Celebrimbor believed mithril contained the light of the Valar. Celebrimbor was afraid of diluting its light by combining it with other ores, but in expressing that fear, he contradicted himself. Sauron noticed the contradiction.
“Elrond, I have tested it under every duress…”
She’s terrified by actually seeing the whites of [Sauron’s] eyes, and seeing how powerful he is.
Mithril seems to symbolize Galadriel, so I decided to include a visual representation of the irony of Celebrimbor’s line. Sauron told her, “I alone can see your light,” but when he grew angry, the light surrounding her diminished. This might speak to the validity of Celebrimbor’s assessment that nothing diminishes the light within mithril, for he later said that alloying it with another ore would do that very thing. That is a blunder from Celebrimbor, and Sauron indirectly called him a fool for it.
Now, if mithril represented Galadriel, then the mithril’s alloy would represent Sauron.
“…couldn’t the right alloy also amplify those qualities?” (Sauron, 1×08).
To know Sauron, really all you need to do is step back and look at the effects the One Ring ultimately will have on characters in the Third Age. […] It takes your strength and it turns you into the uber version of that, to the point that the strength actually corrupts you and becomes a weakness. […] you’ll look at Halbrand/Sauron’s relationship with both Galadriel and other people in the show. He would empower them to be the most amazing version of themselves, but then ultimately, that tips over into being something that will become a liability, and lead to first their corruption, and then domination of the world.
First, Sauron can see/perceive many things.
Hi. Melanie here, speaking on December 26, 2024:
I included a link to my theory about Sauron’s sight, on page 7, but there are a few adjustments I must make in light of recent interviews with J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay. Keep in mind that I recognize the intentions of the showrunners/creative team are often different from my theories—especially theories solely based on visuals; but it’s fun. So, just for fun, I shall write a whole post, revising this theory to align as closely as possible with what we know with certainty. Now, moving on.
“The ship feels the darkness, as well, striving moment by moment to master her and pull her under” (Finrod, 1×01).
In Míriel’s Court, Sauron already gave Galadriel a means of mastering her fear (peace) so that he could master her.
“Perhaps some peace could do you good, as well. And at the very least, do try not to make any new enemies” (1×03).
The conversation sounded too much like an early, innocent version of his ultimate offer. For example, he gave her the dagger in both instances, with the same suggestion: Let me keep my peace, and I will give you yours.
“You bind me to the light, and I bind you to power” (Sauron, 1×08).
I did not take these lines out of context for the video. Sauron and Galadriel were brought together because Galadriel kept fighting, but by what or whom were they brought together, and why?
I cannot remember where, but J.D. Payne said that Celebrimbor’s rant about the mithril after the explosion in the forge was what Sauron tried to do with Galadriel:
“The mithril* is proud. It refuses every effort to bond it with lesser ores.*“
* Galadriel
* Halbrand (the lowman/lesser ore)
In that context, Elrond’s response is frightening, to say the least, for it reveals what Sauron had been doing:
“Tapping into the powers of the seen and unseen world seemed to soften the boundaries between the two” (1×08).
“It darkens the heart to call dark deeds good. It gives place for evil to thrive inside us. Every war is fought both without and within” (Galadriel, 1×07).
“What do you know of darkness? […] Why do you keep fighting?” (Sauron, 1×05).
All of this applied to Sauron’s friendship with Galadriel, but let us review things from a literal perspective for a moment.
Sauron “came up” before the breaking of the First Silence, a time when precious metals were more than scarce. He was the apprentice of Aulë, who made “the gems that lie deep in the Earth, and the gold that is fair in the hand, no less than the walls of the mountains and the basins of the sea.” In speaking about that time and place, Sauron told Celebrimbor:
“I’ve seen a trace of nickel added to iron to make a blade lighter and stronger” (1×08).
What are the true unique qualities of mithril?
“Lighter than silk, harder than iron. As weaponry, it would best our proudest blades” (Durin IV, 1×04).
Unfortunately, that information was included in Elrond’s oath:
“Anything you tell me here will end in my ears alone” (1×04).
As a result of keeping that secret, some Elves continued to believe that in addition to being light in weight, mithril contained the actual light of the Valar because of a fable. Whose idea was this?
The distressing thing is that, considering Sauron was involved in the creation of Arda, he knew how to use (and what would result in) the kind of pressure that would fuse the very heavens with the earth.
Sauron certainly used a lot of pressure on Galadriel in the workshop to obtain information. But he later realized that he was doing everything inside-out.
Sauron: “‘Pushing ourselves too hard.’ Supposing that’s the trouble. Supposing we’ve been using too much force.” […]
Celebrimbor: “Now, if that’s true, we’ve been doing it all inside-out” (1×08).
In episode 6, Galadriel witnessed the consequences of her obsession. Sauron likely knew what brought them together, so when Galadriel told him that it was done by a higher power, he suggested something else:
“All I see is an Elf who won’t put down her sword” (1×03).
If you wondered where I got the idea that Sauron had been seeking a power of the unseen world since before Morgoth’s defeat, here it is:
Sauron as Finrod: “My task was to ensure peace. But I learned* that was Sauron’s task, as well.”
Galadriel: “No. No, you died. Along with countless others because of him.”
Sauron as Finrod: “No, Galadriel. He was seeking a power. Not to destroy Middle-earth, but to heal it. Just as your fellow-Elves are seeking to do this very moment” (1×08).
* Did Finrod have to learn what Sauron’s task was, the hard way?
The details of this must be reserved for a future post. Suffice it to say that Finrod died well before Morgoth’s defeat, and Sauron said he was seeking a power at that time. Seeking a power of the unseen world for the purpose of healing Middle-earth would likely have to be done in secret, since Morgoth was still present. So, in the hour of Finrod’s death…
“Sauron stood in the high tower, wrapped in his black thought.”
Of Beren and Lúthien
When Morgoth was finally gone, Sauron had the freedom to devote himself.
“After Morgoth’s defeat, the one you call ‘Sauron’ devoted himself to healing Middle-earth, bringing its ruined lands together in perfect order. He sought to craft the power. Not of the flesh, but over flesh. A power of the unseen world.”
Sauron was no longer seeking the power; he sought to craft it. But he did not yet have everything.
“He bid as many as he could to follow him far north, but try as he might, something was missing: a shadow of dark knowledge that kept itself hidden even from him, no matter how much blood he spilt in its pursuit” (Adar, 1×06).
Eventually Sauron found this knowledge and perfected “whatever dark art eluded him” in Dúrnost.
“Galadriel! We found it. I don’t know how we missed it before” (Sauron, 1×08).
“Without it, my kind must either abandon these shores by spring, or perish. […] Our immortal souls will dwindle into nothing, slowly diminishing until we are but shadows, swept away by the tides of time, forever” (Elrond, 1×05).
That description is certainly akin to the kind of fading Galadriel described to Frodo in The Lord of the Rings. But Elrond went a bit further by saying that their souls will dwindle into nothing. That does not describe the Elves’ fading. That describes the Nazgûl.
Sauron gave another direct threat: If you don’t want to live under my rule, you can either leave or die. And as he did so (his words connecting to yet another metaphor of tides—”swept away by the tides of time”—spoken by Elrond), he and Galadriel stood on a raft upon literal tides:
“You have no choice. Without me, your people will fade, and the shadow will spread and darken to cover all the world. You need me” (Sauron, 1×08).
To summarize:
Celebrimbor looked upon the mithril with doubt and contradicted his own early studies. Nothing diminishes its light, and yet in the amounts they need, an alloy would “too greatly dilute its unique qualities.” Sauron called him a fool, then told Galadriel (whom the mithril represents):
“All others look on you with doubt. I alone can see your greatness. I alone can see your light” (1×08).
He claimed that a suitable alloy would amplify the unique qualities of the mithril, knowing what Celebrimbor believed those qualities to be. “Without me, your people will fade,” he told Galadriel. Not without mithril. He said that he would make Galadriel lighter and stronger, in a sense—Fair as the Sea and the Sun, stronger than the foundations of the earth. But sometimes, the light of the sea shines just as brightly as the light of the sun.
“It is strange how it catches the light. It almost seems lit from within” (Elrond, 1×04).
“You have been told many lies. Some run so deep, even the rocks and roots now believe them. To untangle it all would all but require the creation of a new world. But that is something only the gods can do, and I am no god” (Adar, 1×04).
Why was the song of the Roots of Hithaeglir (as well as the tale of Morgoth’s near change of heart) so close to the relationship between Sauron and Galadriel?
Why was attention drawn to the table with the mithril story, as with Durin’s fake story, which did not convince Gil-galad even for a moment?
Why did Celebrimbor readily accept it while Elrond and Gil-galad were skeptical? And in the same vein, why did Celebrimbor befriend Annatar, yet Elrond and Gil-galad were suspicious of him?
“But Sauron had better fortune with the Noldor of Eregion and especially with Celebrimbor, who desired in his heart to rival the skill and fame of Fëanor. […] Now Celebrimbor was not corrupted in heart or faith, but had accepted Sauron as what he posed to be.”
Unfinished Tales: The History of Galadriel and Celeborn
“Only to Lindon [Sauron] did not come, for Gil-galad and Elrond doubted him and his fair-seeming, and though they knew not who in truth he was they would not admit him to that land.”
Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age
Why is it unwise to live one’s life guessing after signs and portents?
Because Sauron made it up, a long time ago.
“You made it up, didn’t you?” (Elrond, 1×05).
THE END