Give Them a Means of Mastering It
There was a crucial, secret meeting that we did not witness.
“The council regrets to inform you, you will not be permitted to attend the next session. Elf-lords only” (Elf Attendant, 1×01).
Before the finale, many theorized that the Elves’ sudden fear of fading* would require Annatar himself to be in Lindon and/or Eregion—even in attendance at the meeting—to provoke the fear. Thus, the Elves were led to believe dubious things like The Roots of Hithaeglir.
* During a time when fading should not be a problem for a few millennia.
Now that we know Sauron is Halbrand, the possibility of him being in Eriador at that point in time has been ruled out; but he still may have directly influenced the meeting. His physical presence would not be required to provoke a fear of extinction, and to give suggestions on how to master it. Before we uncover by what means he could do this, we must establish the subject of the meeting.
Whenever Celebrimbor or Gil-galad said the words “we” or “our” when speaking of a recent conclusion, it is safe to assume that whatever belief they put forth was established in that meeting, or in other like meetings held before Galadriel returned to Lindon.
Gil-galad: “We first took notice of [the blight upon the Great Tree] just prior to Galadriel’s return” (1×05). “We foresaw that if [her search had continued], she might have inadvertently kept alive the very evil she sought to defeat” (1×01). “We hoped that by sending her away, and so bringing an end to the last vestiges of war, that we might arrest the decay” (1×05).
Celebrimbor: “I begged him to allow you into our confidence from the start, but the High King forbad it. […] We believe if we can secure vast quantities of it quickly, enough to saturate every last Elf in the light of the Valar once more, then yes. Yes, it very well could be” (1×05).
From this, we know the plan that was conjured. Their object was to arrest the decay of the tree. The solution to send Galadriel away was Gil-galad’s idea, which failed. Utilizing mithril based on The Roots of Hithaeglir was Celebrimbor’s idea, a.k.a. the backup plan.
Now, look at this basin of water:
This is no random dish, but a “basin of silver, wide and shallow,” also known as a Mirror, in which one may look and see visions, similar to a Palantir.
“‘But the Mirror will also show things unbidden, and those are often stranger and more profitable than things which we wish to behold. What you will see, if you leave the Mirror free to work, I cannot tell. For it shows things that were, and things that are, and things that yet may be.’”
Galadriel, The Lord of the Rings: The Mirror of Galadriel
This is why Gil-galad was at liberty to say:
“We foresaw that if [Galadriel’s search had continued], she might have inadvertently kept alive the very evil she sought to defeat” (1×01).
He said “might” because, as is the case with a Palantir, some of those visions will never come to pass.
“Palantiri show many visions. Some that will never come to pass. […] Avoiding this war may be the very thing that brings about your downfall” (Galadriel, 1×04).
“‘Remember that the Mirror shows many things, and not all have yet come to pass. Some never come to be, unless those that behold the visions turn aside from their path to prevent them. The Mirror is dangerous as a guide of deeds.’”
Galadriel, The Lord of the Rings: The Mirror of Galadriel
Galadriel said she had touched Palantiri before, and the similarities in her warnings to Frodo and Míriel prove it. She was already acquainted with the nature of visions before she spoke to Míriel, and may have used a Mirror in addition to Palantiri.
Concept art for Eregion shows the healing chamber whereto Sauron was tended, with the “reverse view” (as it is titled) of the same room, where Galadriel is seen pondering next to a Mirror.
This was no accident, and that Mirror was not omitted from the story. It was shown in the moment everything came to a head, when Galadriel and Elrond reunited and asked each other how it was that they were in the same place.
Elrond: “King of the Southlands? How is it your path crossed with his? How is it you are here?”
Galadriel: “How is it you are here?” (1×08).
To answer Elrond’s question: Galadriel remained in Middle-earth for a few reasons, but the events on the boat caused her to cross paths with Halbrand, who eventually (from injuring himself) led her to Ost-in-Edhil.
To answer Galadriel’s question: Elrond was in Ost-in-Edhil because of mithril.
At the center of the frame are Sauron and a Mirror.
Again, how was Gil-galad’s council able to foresee? —Perhaps by means of the Mirror beside the Great Tree. How could Sauron still influence the secret meeting while not physically present? —If he is able to communicate through Palantiri, he is able to communicate through Mirrors. The vision of episode 8 would not be the first potential future he showed in a still body of water.
It is no coincidence that all outcomes from the Elves’ plan benefited no one but Sauron.
trap #1: send galadriel away
“I should never have set you on that ship. I should have trusted you. It is a mistake I will not make again” (Elrond, 1×08).
The Elves truly foresaw Galadriel keeping Sauron alive, but their mistake was in trying to prevent it. Again, she told Frodo that some visions may never come to pass, “unless those that behold the visions turn aside from their path to prevent them.” The very act of sending her away brought to pass what the Elves feared.
“Tell the others to rest while they can. At sunrise, we move on to take the search farther north” (Galadriel to Thondir, 1×01).
“I go to seek the Enemy that escaped us in the north. Alone, if I must” (Galadriel to Elrond, 1×01).
If left to her own devices, Galadriel would have gone north—the opposite direction of Sauron, who was south. But by some miracle, Sauron bumped into her, the golden ticket to power. This part of the plan failed for the Elves, but it worked perfectly for him.
Do you see where possible suggestions come in?
In episode 8, it is apparent that Sauron was aware of the nature of Galadriel’s exile. We may have assumed that he discovered it at some point, since Galadriel told him:
“The company I led mutinied against me. My closest friend conspired with the King to exile me. And each of them acted as they did because I believe they could no longer distinguish me from the evil I was fighting” (1×05).
But Sauron’s dialogue truly pairs most closely with Gil-galad’s dialogue from episodes 1 and 5. It appears that Sauron always knew more than even Galadriel did.
Gil-galad: “We foresaw that if it had, she might have inadvertently kept alive the very evil she sought to defeat” (1×01). “We hoped that by sending her away, and so bringing an end to the last vestiges of war, that we might arrest the decay” (1×05).
Sauron: “A sea that you were on because the Elves cast you out! They cast you out for deigning to beg them for a few, petty soldiers. What will they do when you tell them that you were my ally? When you tell them that Sauron lives because of you?” (1×08).
Nevertheless, Sauron was not a mere bystander. Here are the words Elrond used to describe Galadriel’s ticket home:
Elrond: “This is the gift of your king.”
Galadriel: “A gift I have decided to refuse” (1×01).
Those particular words connect Sauron to Galadriel’s reward of being sent home. In episode 8, when Galadriel decided to refuse the offer of the Lord of Gifts, she said, “And you, my king. The Dark Lord.” The sail to Valinor was Gil-galad’s gift, but in a twisted way, it sounds like it was a gift from Sauron.
What if this was Sauron’s idea? What if, unbeknownst to anyone, he suggested to the council by means of a Mirror that sending Galadriel to Valinor was a way to prevent the spread of Darkness? What if it was all a trap? While she was vulnerable at sea, Sauron would call her to him, isolate her, build trust, and use her as a key to get into the right rooms.*
* If you recall the events we discussed in Galadriel’s Obsession Part 4, he succeeded.
Sauron could not force Galadriel to be at his side in episode 8. He could only tempt her. She could have joined him to become exceedingly powerful, and she would be his servant forever; but she chose to decline. Likewise, any influence Sauron may have had on the boat would simply be a temptation. He could not force Galadriel to leap from the ship, no more than he could force her to join him. She was free to return to Valinor, where she would be out of Sauron’s reach, but she chose to jump.
She always had a choice.
The end mirrored the beginning, but we could not see Sauron until he revealed himself. And although he won in the beginning, it will turn to his demise in the end. We know this, not only from the end of The Lord of the Rings, but from Eru Ilúvatar and Galadriel:
“‘And thou, Melkor, shalt see that no theme may be played that hath not its uttermost source in me, nor can any alter the music in my despite. For he that attempteth this shall prove but mine instrument in the devising of things more wonderful, which he himself hath not imagined.’”
Eru Ilúvatar, Ainulindalë
“And you will die because of me!” (Galadriel, 1×08).
Trap #2: Use Mithril
Mithril indisputably contains a certain type of power, but is it a good power? Well, almost seeming lit from within is a bad sign.
“But sometimes, the lights shine just as brightly reflected in the water as they do in the sky” (Galadriel, 1×01).
“It is strange how [the mithril] catches the light. It almost seems lit from within” (Elrond, 1×04).
Mithril does not contain the light of a Silmaril. The light that shines may seem like the light of the Valar, but it is a reflection designed to lure one into the water to drown. It was Sauron who planted the belief that it contains the light of a Silmaril, and (somehow) created the illusion that it was lit from within. He cornered the Elves and granted three choices:
- Leave.
- Stay and refuse the gift (mithril).
- Stay and accept the gift.
His scheme is perfect. No matter what the Elves choose, he wins.
- “If the Elves abandon Middle-earth now, the armies of darkness will march over the face of the earth. It will be the end, not just of our people, but all people” (Gil-galad, 1×05).
- If the Elves refuse the gift, they fade more quickly.
- If the Elves accept the gift, they are thereby enslaved.
Everything surrounding mithril is a direct threat.
Sauron’s identity was not the only truth revealed in episode 8. The entire vision consisted of him carefully unveiling almost all his intentions to Galadriel, and when he grew angry and stopped placating her, he revealed the truth behind the Elves’ plan. The first part of the plan (Galadriel’s exile) was explained when Sauron said that her quest for another company was the reason for her exile. Immediately preceding this, the second part of the plan (mithril) was addressed in a single sentence.
Sauron: “Without me, your people will fade, and the shadow will spread and darken to cover all the world. You need me” (1×08).
Elrond: “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” (1×05).
Sauron said, in other words: “If you don’t want to live under my rule, you can either leave by spring, or die.” It is not mithril that the Elves needed, but Sauron. Galadriel confirmed this after over three thousand years:
“‘Do you not see now wherefore your coming is to us as the footstep of Doom? For if you fail, then we are laid bare to the Enemy. Yet if you succeed, then our power is diminished, and Lothlórien will fade, and the tides of Time will sweep it away. We must depart into the West, or dwindle to a rustic folk of dell and cave, slowly to forget and to be forgotten.’”
The Lord of the Rings: The Mirror of Galadriel
Sauron unfortunately did not lie in saying that the Elves would fade without him. Nevertheless, although Elrond may have used the same words as Galadriel—dwindle, slowly, diminish, and even the concept of being swept away by the tides of Time—notice that whoever told him the manner in which they would fade took everything a step too far. The Elves always knew of their fate, which was fixed from the beginning. Why would they be afraid now?
“In an instance like this, it seems to me that you’d do well to identify what it is that your opponent most fears. […] Give them a means of mastering it, so that you can master them” (Sauron, 1×04).
I am not suggesting that Sauron himself told Elrond of this type of fading; but at some point, someone gave the Elves the idea that every description their fading applied to their very souls—that they will perish, fade and dwindle into nothing, turn into shadows, and be swept away by the tides of Time, forever. Ninety-five percent of that is correct, but the remaining five percent that is incorrect renders the interpretation entirely false.
- Their souls will not diminish; their power will.
- Their souls will not fade and be swept away by the tides of Time; their lands will. Once Lothlórien exists, it will fade away as Galadriel said.
- Their souls will not dwindle into nothing; they will dwindle to a rustic folk of dell and cave.
- They will not perish if they fail to go West by spring; they will slowly forget and be forgotten.
We can probably guess who twisted the facts so carefully. After all, Sauron is known as “master of shadows and of phantoms.” But there is the catch. The Elves would not turn into shadow without mithril, but the Nazgûl will, with mithril (or whatever material will be used to craft the Rings for Men).
It is all a trap. Sauron conveyed that if he was refused, the Elves would turn into shadow and perish, but that only happens if they do accept and serve him. “Without me, your people will fade,” but also, “With me, your people will fade.” Those final remarks to Galadriel not only reveal that he was aware of the Elves’ whole plan, but that it was unwittingly contrived from his intriguing suggestions.
Since J.D. Payne has compared Sauron to Gollum, let us do the same. Gollum truthfully told Frodo and Sam that there was a way into Mordor, but he had ulterior motives:
- He led Frodo and Sam into a trap: Shelob’s abode.
- He coveted the Ring.
Likewise, Sauron gave the Elves a solution to their problem. However, he “dissembled his mind and concealed the dark designs that he shaped in his heart.”
- The Elves sent Galadriel into his trap.
- He coveted mithril, with which he wanted to craft a power over flesh, designed to enslave the Elves.
To summarize, Sauron successfully identified his opponents’ greatest fear, and gave them a means of mastering it so that he could master them.