Timeline

Compression

I have already explained my view of the show’s timeline, so feel free to read it for more context. Rather than completely reiterating, below is a brief overview.

The show began at the very end of the Second Age.

“For though Morgoth fell an age ago, some feared a new evil might arise from his shadow. So, for centuries now, these soldiers have swept across crag and crevice…” (Gil-galad, 1×01).

There is a time compression, but rather than squishing three thousand years into three centuries, the major events of the Second Age have been shifted to the end of the timeline—major events, such as:

• The forging of the Rings.
• The war between Sauron and the Elves.
• Sauron’s influence in Númenor.
• The downfall of Númenor.
• The establishment of Gondor.
• The Battle of the Last Alliance.

All minor events, such as births and reigns of kings, have been left in their original places. The time between the major events is compressed, but everything else remains, including the duration of the Age.

One Thousand Years

Amidst the lack of specificity around the time since Morgoth’s defeat, there was a recurring mention of a one thousand-year period.

It is unlikely that that was the time since the War of Wrath. Adar provided a extensive list of events that followed the War. Morgoth fell, then Sauron bid as many as he could to follow him far north, where he endeavored to craft a power of the Unseen World. As much as he tried, and no matter how many he sacrificed, a specific piece of knowledge remained hidden from him, until finally, he was betrayed. We do not know how long Sauron was in the North, but that list of events showed the passing of some time.

Still, according to Charlie Vickers, Adar betrayed Sauron at the beginning of the Second Age.

In Sauron: The Perfect Inverse of Beren, I theorized that since Sauron paralleled Beren so closely, Adar must have managed to only incapacitate him, but Sauron survived and was forced to flee, or was “chased” from his homeland.

“The way I see it, it wasn’t Elves that chased me from my homeland. It was Orcs” (Sauron, 1×02).

“…Beren was pressed so hard that at last he was forced to flee from Dorthonion.”

Of Beren and Lúthien

Upon further consideration, it is very likely that Sauron did die, but it was his spirit that fled. He would still parallel Beren. From the Third Age:

“Then Sauron was vanquished and his spirit fled and was hidden for long years, until his shadow took shape again in Mirkwood.”

Gandalf, The Lord of the Rings: The Shadow of the Past

If the duration of the Age remained, Adar would have defeated Sauron roughly 3,000 years before Sauron met Galadriel on the raft. The pattern we see is that instead of taking shape immediately after his death, Sauron’s spirit would be hidden “for long years.” How long?

“Year gave way to year. Century gave way to century. And for many Elves, the pain of those days passed out of thought and mind. More and more of our kind began to believe that Sauron was but a memory, and the threat, at last, was ended” (Galadriel, 1×01).

If a 3,000-year gap must be filled, two thousand of those years would qualify as enough “long years” for even Elves to believe that the Enemy was no more. This reveals the significance of the one thousand years before the show began. Below is every line that specifically mentioned that time.

“The lot you lump us in with died off a thousand years ago. When are you people going to let the past go? […] One day, our true king will return and pry us right out from under your pointy boots!” (Rowan, 1×01).

“Elanor Kellamark Brandyfoot! Our way has kept us alive a thousand years!” (Marigold, 1×03).

“With any luck, the people there can help you find your stars. Because all I can tell you is, Harfoot-folk haven’t seen them since the days our ancestors lived in parts unknown, over a thousand years ago. And that’s a long time to wander. Even for a fellow with big legs” (Sadoc, 1×07).

Galadriel: “The last man to bear your crest died over a thousand years ago. He had no heir.”

Sauron: “I told you I found it on a dead man” (1×08).

“Over a thousand years ago” marked a particular change. Each case was accompanied by suspicious activity.

• The Harfoots’ ancestors may have been forced to flee their previous dwelling (even if indirectly) and adopt a nomad lifestyle for survival.
• The last king of the Southlands died childless, and Sauron may have been the cause of his death. Then, the people were promised that their true king would one day return.
• Númenor began to divide into King’s Men and Faithful. (According to Appendix B, the division between the King’s Men and the Faithful began in the year 2251 of the Second Age. Pharazôn seized the scepter in 3255. That is 1,004 years—just over a thousand years.*)

* Thus, the two sects were well-established when we met them in the third episode.

Galadriel was correct.

Thondir: “The mark is centuries old! Whoever left it could be long dead.”

Galadriel: “Or lying in wait, gathering strength, perfecting whatever dark art eluded him here!” (1×01).

“Always after a defeat and a respite, the Shadow takes another shape and grows again,” Gandalf said. Two thousand years constituted Sauron’s respite; after he physically reformed, he would begin to cultivate his plans. “His plans are far from ripe, I think, but they are ripening.” Despite his low condition, he accomplished nefarious things and sowed many seeds/lies that would grow over centuries, as Morgoth did in Valinor. How long could it have taken for those to grow? —Over a thousand years. “And that’s a long time to wander. Even for a fellow with big legs.” But something was missing.

We met Sauron at the beginning of the season at a low state. He seemed stuck, although he presumably had been physically reformed for over a thousand years. Then suddenly, when he met Galadriel, he was wholly rebuilt in a matter of months. In the Third Age, he needed the One Ring. What did he need in the Second Age?

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