¶ 7: Broken Silence
Then the spell of silence fell from Beren, and he called to her, crying Tinúviel; and the woods echoed the name. Then she halted in wonder, and fled no more, and Beren came to her. But as she looked on him, doom fell upon her, and she loved him; yet she slipped from his arms and vanished from his sight even as the day was breaking. Then Beren lay upon the ground in a swoon, as one slain at once by bliss and grief; and he fell into a sleep as it were into an abyss of shadow, and waking he was cold as stone, and his heart barren and forsaken. And wandering in mind he groped as one that is stricken with sudden blindness, and seeks with hands to grasp the vanished light. Thus he began the payment of anguish for the fate that was laid on him; and in his fate Lúthien was caught, and being immortal she shared in his mortality, and being free received his chain; and her anguish was greater than any other of the Eldalië has known.
I introduced this idea in the post about Sauron calling Galadriel to him.
Then the spell of silence fell from Beren, and he called to her, crying Tinúviel; and the woods echoed the name.
For the record, I would never have considered as much as I have said in this post, had I not heard Patrick say:
…there are hopefully some layers to this. Is her obsession, which character after character in the show tells her is not a good thing… Is he calling her to him? I think you could look at it through that prism.
BELOW IS AN ATTEMPT TO SUMMARIZE GALADRIEL’S OBSESSION PART 4
When Patrick said this, he and J.D. were specifically speaking of the scene on the boat, and whether Galadriel’s decision to leap was a good thing. If he suggests that we can view her obsession with finding Sauron as the outward manifestation of Sauron calling her to him, I will accept the invitation to experiment.
Thondir knew something was amiss when Galadriel stepped back, but instead of simply telling her to stay, he reached out and urged, “Give me your hand.” He tried to save her from something.
Thondir must have had a good reason to immediately suspect that Galadriel was going to leap from the ship; for not only were they leagues away from any shoreline, but they were bathed in the light of Valinor, which is “more intoxicating than any sensation in all of Middle-earth.” Thondir’s concern becomes more understandable once we consider Galadriel’s disorientation:
He perceived something bizarre. Any negative pull on Galadriel would have to be powerful enough to combat the light of her home in front of her. This pull was her obsession, and in our experiment, it was caused by Sauron calling her to him. His power may have been strong enough to oppose the intoxication of the light; and such rivaling forces upon any single being would be extremely disorienting.
We could not see Sauron, so he evidently used powers of the unseen world. What better way to portray this than through music?
The additional conspicuous element of this scene is the presence of Sauron’s theme interval, which echoes just before Galadriel stepped backward. The voice is identical to the one in the vision of episode 8, and precisely resembles a distant call.
(0:07)
More faint; sings only the first interval [E♭, C].
(0:03)
In the foreground; sings the theme in its entirety.
“Then the silence fell from Beren [Sauron], and he called to her, crying Tinúviel [?], and the woods [sea] echoed the name.”
Is Sauron calling Galadriel to him? I believe so.
Then she halted in wonder, and fled no more, and Beren came to her.
This suggests that the encounter between Sauron and Galadriel was planned, instead of coincidental, which would be a given if he called to her, but where is the evidence?
Did [Sauron] put himself [on the raft] to meet Galadriel or was their meeting, as she puts it, arranged by a higher power?
So, I know this. But I think that question is best left unanswered. Because we find out that backstory [in season two]. That question will be answered in due time.
We introduced part of this theory on page 5 with the idea that Sauron wanted to go to Númenor from the beginning. In Unfinished Tales, we read that Númenóreans were landing in Harad, which confirms the existence of a port whence Sauron could sail. As mentioned on page 4, Abigail said that two weeks prior to being stranded, they set out from (what sounds like) Harad, before Eamon interrupted.
Abigail: “We set out two weeks ago, sailing from Hara—”
Eamon: “Need we tell her all our affairs?” (1×02).
I have no definitive answer as to what secret Eamon wanted to conceal, but it is likely that their secret affairs, and whatever initially convinced them to sail, was related to Númenor. What other business do Southlanders have sailing so far west? Sauron said Númenor is “a paradise, ripe with opportunity.” What if he said the same to this group?
As it relates to Galadriel, Sauron theoretically provoked the Worm to separate himself from his raft-mates. He may have convinced them to come with him to Númenor, but he never intended to arrive with them. Their involvement would end at supplying Sauron with “a few planks and rudder” to reach what he wanted to find: Galadriel.
If Sauron arrived in Númenor with Southlanders, many questions would arise. His supposed birthright would not help his case…
“King or carpenter, the Southlander will face judgment” (Míriel, 1×04).
…but rather would highlight him as the head of the company, bringing all attention and questions to himself. If he evaded suspicion down the road, he would still have no use for the lowly Southlanders, since they could not elevate him to the position he wanted.
On the other hand, Galadriel was an Elf who needed an army, and Elves had been shunned from Númenor. Arriving with her would give Sauron the ability to avoid all suspicion. Nevertheless, she could open doors and put him in a position of great influence. “Reluctant heir” was the best role for him to play in order to gain Galadriel’s trust and that of Númenor’s leaders, so that eventually, he would become a king with a powerful army.
In short, Sauron set sail from Harad with the express purpose of meeting Galadriel and dragging her to Númenor. He called to her and she fled no more—this was manifested again when he called her name at the end of the season. Galadriel halted in wonder, fled no more, and Sauron came to her. For Beren and Lúthien, all of ¶7 took place in one meeting, but for Sauron and Galadriel, it encompassed an entire season.
Once again, pay attention to details that are inverted.
But as she looked on him, doom fell upon her, and she loved him; yet she slipped from his arms and vanished from his sight even as the day was breaking.
This may connect to their first meeting; she looked on him, but instead of loving him, she did not trust him: an inversion. However, one piece would be missing. What doom fell upon Galadriel? Perhaps it was illustrated by the constellation she saw after leaping from the ship.* But the constellation was not a sign of doom that fell upon her. It fell upon Sauron.
* See end of page 11.
The sentence more discernibly summarizes the scene in which their connection was forged. One clause marked the beginning of the cosmic connection between Beren and Lúthien: “But as she looked on him, doom fell upon her, and she loved him.” Likewise, one scene displayed the forging of the cosmic connection between Sauron and Galadriel:
When she looked upon Sauron, saying, “Give me your hand! Bind yourself to me!” doom literally fell upon her in the form of lightning. Her actions in this scene prove that she loved him to a degree, evidently not wanting him to die. (Eventually, she loved him as a much closer friend, in the same way she loved his mirror image, Elrond).
After doom fell upon Galadriel, she proverbially slipped from Sauron’s arms and vanished from his sight, even as the day was breaking.
Then Beren lay upon the ground in a swoon, as one slain at once by bliss and grief; and he fell into a sleep as it were into an abyss of shadow, and waking he was cold as stone, and his heart barren and forsaken.
More small details are backwards, such as ground versus water; the image even depicts Sauron sleeping in the light instead of the shadow in which Galadriel lay (but given the constitution of his mind, Sauron certainly fell into a sleep as it were into an abyss of shadow).
The most unexpectedly crucial inversion is the end of the sentence.
When Beren awoke, he was (for lack of a better term) depressed. In episode 2, Sauron fit this description, being cold as stone, his heart barren and forsaken; but in episode 3, he awoke lively and invigorated.
His sudden change in temperament from episode 2 to episode 3 is critical for more reasons than are relevant here, so we will save that for another time.* Suffice it to say (again) that Sauron is the inverse of Beren.
* That other time: Sauron Rebuilt.
Now, in the whole story of Beren and Lúthien, this next sentence is the most unsettlingly applicable to Sauron and Galadriel.
And wandering in mind he groped as one that is stricken with sudden blindness, and seeks with hands to grasp the vanished light.
One of the first things J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay discussed in the writers room, to create a compelling dynamic between Sauron and Galadriel, was the following line from The Lord of the Rings:
“‘I say to you, Frodo, that even as I speak to you, I perceive the Dark Lord and know his mind, or all of his mind that concerns the Elves. And he gropes ever to see me and my thought. But still the door is closed!’”
Galadriel, The Lord of the Rings: The Mirror of Galadriel
There is little here upon which to expound. Wandering in mind, groped (in mind), vanished light. All of these words were used to describe Sauron’s and Galadriel’s dynamic, and the parallels are found in the books alone. As it pertains to the show, there are three possible moments of Sauron beginning to ceaselessly attempt to see Galadriel’s mind.
- When he became aware of her existence, before they met.
- When the cosmic connection was forged at sea, in episode 2.
- After Galadriel refused Sauron’s offer in episode 8.
All are suitable, but as with the Doriath comparisons with Khazad-dûm, Númenor, and Mordor, only one of the above fits all four of the previous sentences.
Galadriel said that Sauron gropes ever to see her and her thought. Recalling the frequently-referenced quote from J.D.,* Sauron was able to see her and her thought from the beginning (#1). We also know with certainty that he continually sought to see her and her mind after #3. #2 is the only possible starting point that chronologically fits this paragraph in Beren and Lúthien’s story.
* …that Sauron sees Galadriel, and knows that what she needs more than anything else is to find the evil that has plagued her for so long and save Middle-earth.
The paths of Sauron and Beren diverge once again when it comes to seeking for vanished light. Recall the line from Celebrimbor’s story: “It was only after […] he was faced with the evil of his own reflection that the reverie was finally broken. From that moment, he looked upon their light no more.” We can spot this exact moment for Sauron: in the forge.
He faced the evil of his own reflection when Galadriel admitted that she could not stop fighting, then she proceeded to say that her people could no longer distinguish her from the evil she fought.
From that moment, he looked upon her light no more.
Thus he began the payment of anguish for the fate that was laid on him; and in his fate Lúthien was caught, and being immortal she shared in his mortality, and being free received his chain; and her anguish was greater than any other of the Eldalië has known.
What was Sauron’s fate?
“The Dark Lord was suddenly aware of [Frodo], […] and the magnitude of his own folly was revealed to him in a blinding flash, and all the devices of his enemies were at last laid bare. Then his wrath blazed in consuming flame, but his fear rose like a vast black smoke to choke him. For he knew his deadly peril and the thread upon which his doom now hung.”
The Lord of the Rings: Mount Doom
Sauron did not begin the payment for his fate until he met Galadriel. It was sealed after their cosmic connection formed, indicated by the lightning strike. This was manifested at the end, when Galadriel said that he would die because of her, immediately after which lightning struck again.
(An interesting note: The first image depicts one, solid lightning bolt, and the second image has a bolt split in two.)
Sauron’s payment may not have been of anguish, yet perhaps that is another inverted detail, similar to the difference in his and Beren’s demeanor upon awakening. Still, Sauron would eventually realize his fate at the last second when Frodo had his Ring in Mount Doom, causing him immense fear and pain.
As it pertains to Galadriel, there is much depth in the statement: “in his fate Lúthien was caught.” On one hand, Galadriel was caught in Sauron’s fate, in that he would be destroyed because of her. On the other hand, she refused to join him, and thus avoided his fate; he failed to catch her in his fate.
Do you remember how none of these parallels are Easter eggs?
It was Sauron who constructed a plan by corrupting already-existing narratives in the form of Morgoth’s tale and The Roots of Hithaeglir. Remember page 10, where we considered that since Sauron crafted his persona around Beren, it is not difficult to imagine him reading the sentence below, as if speaking of his own great deeds?
“That journey is not accounted least among the great deeds of Beren, but he spoke of it to no one after, lest the horror return into his mind; and none know how he found a way, and so came by paths that no Man nor Elf else ever dared to tread to the borders of Doriath.”
He conveyed that precise idea to Galadriel, in his own words:
“You don’t know what I did before I ended up on that raft. You don’t know how I survived. How we all survived.” (Sauron, 1×05).
These eight paragraphs in Beren and Lúthien’s story don’t just outline Sauron’s backstory and schemes for fun.
Sauron is the teller of the story.
The remainder tells of what Sauron would have expected if Galadriel accepted his offer. Beren and Lúthien’s side sounds bitter-sweet, yet endearing. But read the same thing from Sauron’s perspective, knowing his fate and the sort of being he is, and it becomes exceptionally disturbing:
“…and in his fate Galadriel was caught, and being free received his chain; and her anguish was greater than any other of the Eldalië has known.”
