We ended Part 2 with the answer to Sauron’s question about Finrod: “What happened to him?” Galadriel gave a perfect summary.

“He was killed in a place of darkness and despair, by servants of Sauron” (1×05).

But there was missing information. Remember, Finrod told Beren:

“I fear that [the sons of Fëanor] will show neither love nor mercy to you, if your quest be told. Yet my own oath holds; and thus we are all ensnared.”

Of Beren and Lúthien

Galadriel may not have even been aware that Finrod set out to help Beren retrieve a Silmaril. It seems their quest was told to no one as Finrod spoke before his people. However, after songs were sung in Beleriand of Beren and Lúthien, Fëanor’s son, Maedhros, knew of their deeds.

“For Maedhros and his brothers, being constrained by their oath, had before sent to Thingol and reminded him with haughty words of their claim, summoning him to yield the Silmaril, or become their enemy. […] [Thingol] sent back the messengers with scornful words. Maedhros made no answer, for he had now begun to devise the league and union of the Elves; but Celegorm and Curufin vowed openly to slay Thingol and destroy his people, if they came victorious from war, and the jewel were not surrendered of free will.

Of the Fifth Battle: Nirnaeth Arnoediad

Even so, how much would Galadriel have known of Finrod’s part in all of this? His oath was not to seek Sauron out and destroy him, but rather to aid Barahir and his kin in every need. His specific task was to help Beren, but Galadriel viewed everything inside-out. Finrod’s oath was selfless, based in friendship, not vengeance, and was fulfilled when he gave his life for Beren.

“Galadriel was sister of Finrod Felagund, Friend-of-Men, once king of Nargothrond, who gave his life to save Beren son of Barahir.“

The Lord of the Rings: Appendix B (The Second Age)

Galadriel said:

“My brother gave his life hunting Sauron. His task is now mine” (1×01).

There must be a reason Galadriel viewed things so incredibly backwards. The answer is a long one, but it changes everything.

When Sauron saw a suspicious company of twelve in his dominion, what would be his natural assumption? Upon discovering the company to consist of one Man and eleven Elves—all unidentifiable enemies—and perceiving one to be a “Noldo of great might and wisdom,” what would he automatically conclude?

One of his hypotheses would be that they sought to destroy him.

Let us briefly cover more things in the first few pages of Of Beren and Lúthien, for background.

Barahir would not leave his homeland, Dorthonion. Morgoth pursued him there, until only Barahir and twelve companions remained. They withdrew to the waters of Tarn Aeluin, and made a lair which Morgoth could not discover. Note the interesting choice of words.

“But the rumour of the deeds of Barahir and his companions went far and wide; and Morgoth commanded Sauron to find them and destroy them.“

One might say Sauron was particularly familiar with the phraseology. According to Galadriel in the prologue, Finrod vowed to do the same thing Morgoth commanded Sauron: find and destroy.

“My brother vowed to seek him out and destroy him. But Sauron found him first” (Galadriel, 1×01).

(Considering how careful the showrunners have been with word usage, I suspect this was purposeful.)

One of the companions of Barahir was Gorlim, whose wife was Eilinel. Gorlim returned from war and found that his house had been plundered, “his wife gone; whether slain or taken he knew not.” He fled to Barahir, but held onto the hope that Eilinel was still alive, for he loved her dearly. Occasionally, he would visit his house in secret, which became known to Morgoth’s servants. One day, he thought he saw a light in the window of his house.

“…coming warily he looked within. There he saw Eilinel, and her face was worn with grief and hunger, and it seemed to him that he heard her voice lamenting that he had forsaken her. But even as he cried aloud the light was blown out in the wind; wolves howled, and on his shoulders he felt suddenly the heavy hands of Sauron’s hunters.”*

* Hunt is another word used by Galadriel in reference to her pursuit of Sauron.

Gorlim was taken captive and Sauron’s servants tortured him “to learn the hidings of Barahir and all his ways.” Gorlim remained silent, but they promised to released him and restore him to Eilinel if he would yield.

“…and being at last worn with pain, and yearning for his wife, he faltered. Then straightway they brought him into the dreadful presence of Sauron; and Sauron said: ‘I hear now that thou wouldst barter with me. What is thy price?’

“And Gorlim answered that he should find Eilinel again, and with her be set free; for he thought that Eilinel also had been made captive.
Then Sauron smiled, saying: ‘That is a small price for so great a treachery. So shall it surely be. Say on!’

“Now Gorlim would have drawn back, but daunted by the eyes of Sauron he told at last all that he would know. Then Sauron laughed; and he mocked Gorlim, and revealed to him that he had seen only a phantom devised by wizardry to entrap him; for Eilinel was dead.
‘Nonetheless I will grant thy prayer,’ said Sauron; ‘and thou shalt go to Eilinel, and be set free of my service.’ Then he put him cruelly to death.*

* “I think he sends her into the water to drown her. I’m not necessarily thinking that he thinks she’s going to live, although he probably has a strong idea” (Charlie Vickers).

“In this way the hiding of Barahir was revealed, and Morgoth drew his net about it; and the Orcs coming in the still hours before dawn surprised the Men of Dorthonion and slew them all, save one.”

Barahir had sent his son, Beren, on a “perilous errand to spy upon the ways of the Enemy, and he was far afield when the lair was taken.” Gorlim’s ghost appeared to Beren in a dream to tell him all that he had done, urging him to warn his father. But Beren returned too late. Barahir and his company were slaughtered, and Beren was the sole survivor.

Finrod never swore an oath of vengeance, but guess who did.

“…Beren buried his father’s bones, and raised a cairn of boulders above him, and swore upon it an oath of vengeance. First therefore he pursued the Orcs that had slain his father and his kinsmen […] and because of his woodcraft he came near to their fire unseen. There their captain made boast of his deeds, and he held up the hand of Barahir that he had cut off as a token for Sauron that their mission was fulfilled; and the ring of Felagund was on that hand.”

Beren slew their captain, took the ring, and escaped.

Think about everything from Sauron’s perspective. When he had Finrod, Beren, and their company captive, would he have expected them to tell him everything, or would he have actively tried to uncover every detail himself by doing what he is famous for: seeing?

He could not discover their names or purposes, but he did perceive some things about Finrod, and “deemed that in him lay the secret of their errand.” Could he also have perceived that one of the company (Beren) had once been sent to spy on him and his ways?

What if he also perceived a vow of some sort? There were a few oaths at work, rumbling under the surface, which Sauron might have considered.

1. Finrod’s Oath of Friendship and Aid.
2. Beren’s Oath of Vengeance—made because of the death of his father. This was not the reason anyone was there, unbeknownst to Sauron.
3. Fëanor’s Oath of Hatred—repeated by his son Celegorm, after Finrod spoke before his people. Because of Thingol’s requirement, Finrod said to Beren: “…it seems that this doom goes beyond [Thingol’s] purpose, and that the Oath of Fëanor is again at work. For the Silmarils are cursed with an oath of hatred, and he that even names them in desire moves a great power from slumber.“

Sauron may have known the nature of each, instead of the details. So, putting some pieces together, he would think: There are oaths at work. One of friendship, one of vengeance, and one of hatred. Which one brought them here? It would mimic Galadriel’s pondering in episode 1:

“These Orcs were meddling with the powers of the unseen world. Some dark sorcery of old. But what was their purpose?” (1×01).

Thanks to Thingol naming the Silmarils in desire, there is a chance that Sauron noticed a great power being moved from slumber, yet he could not discover their secret “no matter how much blood he spilt in its pursuit.” Fëanor’s vow loomed over everything, and Beren’s oath was underneath; but Finrod’s was the reason they were there.

There was enough information and evidence for Sauron to pass on a story to someone who did not know the truth, even if he did not truly believe it himself: “The head of this company vowed to seek me out and destroy me. But I found him first.”

I do not believe that in the end, Sauron thought the driving motive of that company was vengeance, but everything above certainly gave him room to corrupt the story. But why, and what for?

Again, what or who convinced Galadriel of such a twisted account? Why was it a major reason she became obsessed with finding Sauron? We saw who was able to plant certain ideas in her mind.

Galadriel: “Your task was hunting Sauron.”

Sauron as Finrod: “My task was to ensure peace. But I learned that was Sauron’s task, as well” (1×08).

The two things that fueled her obsession with finding Sauron were the mark and the vow (or its token: the dagger).

“My brother vowed to seek him out and destroy him. But Sauron found him first, and marked his flesh with a symbol. One whose meaning even our wisest could not discern. And there, in the darkness, his vow became mine” (Galadriel, 1×01).

We will expound on all of these things in due time (much is on page 12 in Sauron: The Perfect Inverse of Beren). We have more rhetorical questions to answer.

As we have said before, it seemed Sauron wanted Galadriel to figure something out in episode 5, so he tried to make her stop and think, as he did in prison. Charlie said Sauron wanted her to figure out who he was, at least in episode 8:

Someone might ask, “If he asked those questions in the forge to make Galadriel realize who he was, why would he express concern with that very thing, right before the interrogation?”

“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. And when these people discover it, they will cast me out. So will you” (Sauron, 1×05).

That was a warning; but Galadriel did not care. Sometimes to find the light, we must first touch the darkness. Sauron turned around, eyebrow raised, as if to say, “Interesting. Are you ready to know the truth? Let me test the waters.”

“What do you know of darkness?” Each subsequent question was an extension and answer to the first. “Whose dagger was it, Galadriel? Who is it you lost? What happened to him?”

“Oh, so this is about vengeance?”

“One cannot satisfy thirst by drinking seawater” (Galadriel, 1×05).

In other words: no. It was not about vengeance. Sauron, knowing as much, essentially asked: “Do you truly believe this obsession is because of vengeance?” He managed to make her verbalize that she was neither bound by a vow nor a task to avenge her brother, then he pushed her even more, as if to say: “Great! Now, think harder. What is it?” He even gave a hint.

Galadriel: “He was killed in a place of darkness and despair, by servants of Sauron. Is that enough for you?”

Sauron: “Oh, so this is about vengeance?”

Galadriel: “One cannot satisfy thirst by drinking seawater.”

Sauron: “Then, what is it? Why do you keep fighting?“

What is it?

“You told me once that we were brought together for a purpose. This is it” (Sauron, 1×08).

TO BE CONTINUED

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