Editor’s Note: This article contains spoilers for ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ Season 2, Episode 4, “Eldest.”
Nature is furious in this week’s episode ofThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. In “Eldest,” Arondir (Ismael Cruz Cordova), Isildur (Maxim Baldry), and Estrid (Nia Towle) have an encounter with the Ents, who are among Middle-earth’s most beloved creatures.As it turns out, it was an Ent that kidnapped Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin), but matters are quickly solved thanks to Arondir’s quick diplomatic approach. Seeing the Ents in live-action again is an absolute delight to fans ofJ.R.R. Tolkien’s lore, even if they look a little different from what we are used to seeing onscreen! But why are they so angry?
The Ents Are Guardians of the Trees in Tolkien Lore
Middle-earth is filled with all kinds of strange and curious creatures. Some of them, we can’t help but fall in love with, and the Ents are exactly among those. They may seem slow and boring at first, but they will surprise anyone after a few moments of interaction.They are essentially “tree-herders,” tasked with protecting the forestsand the trees. Being like trees themselves, the Ents deeply love nature, and are willing to do whatever it takes to protect it, even if it involves being a little aggressive at those who pose a threat to trees anywhere.
The Ents were created in response to a request by Yavanna, the Valar responsible for nature and all things that grow.She was concerned that her trees and plants would be defenseless against the Children of Ilúvatar(Elves and Men, both created by Erú Ilúvatar, the Legendarium’s equivalent to God). She asked Manwë,the chief of the Valar, for guardians, and thus the Ents were conceived as the “shepherds of the trees.” The Elves played an important role in first awakening the Ents and teaching them to speak, which reflects the strong bond between the Ents and the Elves, who are also known to have a deep connection to nature. This explains how Arondir is able to get through to them in “Eldest.”
Ents are often described as resembling the trees they shepherd. They are large, powerful creatures, with some standing 12 feet (or more) in height. Their bodies are reminiscent of tree trunks, andtheir appearance varies greatly depending onthe type of treethey resemble. For example, some Ents are akin to oaks, while others resemble birches or firs. Despite their tree-like appearance, they are highly intelligent and possess deep, expressive eyes. They are also known for their slow, deliberate nature, both in speech and action, reflecting their ancient and enduring existence. Ents are peaceful by nature, but, as we see in “Eldest,” they can get furious, especially when their beloved forests are threatened.
The Ents Are Furious in ‘The Rings of Power’ for Good Reason
They are an essential part of Tolkien’s writings in the sense thatthey are an obvious metaphor for how humankind relates to nature. Even in their live-action debut inPeter Jackson’sThe Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Treebeard (John Rhys-Davies) made these issues clear to Merry (Dominic Monaghan) and Pippin (Billy Boyd). Now,The Rings of Powerintroduces us to two new Ents, Snaggleroot (Jim Broadbent) and Winterbloom (Olivia Williams), and they are just as engaged in defending nature.
Snaggleroot and Winterbloom say that they went to Pelargir to protect the trees of that region. Given howthe Southlands become Mordorat the end of Season 1, and a huge conflict between the Orcs, Elves and Numenóreans ensued, many trees certainly died.They are usually the first victims in any conflict, taken down to provide wood and timber for weapons and the overall war machine. “The spilling sap and burning branch called to us from afar,” Snaggleroot says, revealing that he and Winterbloom aren’t reallyfrom the Southlandsthemselves. In fact, the trees that were killed by the Orcs were nourished by Winterbloom herself, making them even angrier at the whole situation.
Arondir quickly tranquilizes Winterbloom, andhe and Isildurpromise not to cut down any more trees. Only then do the Ents release Theo before moving on. As tree shepherds, they feel nature’s destruction unlike any other type of creature.Ents are usually extremely protective of trees and wildlife in general, but, unfortunately, destruction is not stopping anytime soon in Middle-earth, given how war is continuously brewing, and will rage on for most of the Second Age. By the time ofThe Two Towers, Ents exist only in Fangorn Forest, close to Isengard.
Who Are the Faithful in ‘The Rings of Power’ Season 2?
This group has a tougher go of it than you might think.
Why Are Snaggleroot and Winterbloom Different From the Ents in ‘The Lord of the Rings’ Movies?
Something interesting about Snaggleroot and Winterbloom inThe Rings of Poweris how different they seem from Treebeard inThe Lord of the Ringsmovie trilogy.They speak faster, move quicker, and seem angrier. They also have a different appearance, with their eyes being like hollow chameleon eyes, while Treebeard’s are like actual human eyes, with pupils. The obvious reason for that is, of course, the fact that both are produced by completely different creative teams, but there may be more to that, storytelling-wise.
While the movies take place in theThird Age of Middle-earth, the series is set in the Second Age, millennia earlier. This means the Ents here are literally younger. They may be among the oldest beings in Middle-earth, but a whole age passing is certainly bound to influence them. In the books, it’s explained thatEnts are extremely slow when talking because of their perennial nature, with sentences in their language, Old Entish, sometimes taking a full hour. Luckily, they have a specific language for dealing with other beings, New Entish, which consists of using regular Quenya vocabulary with Old Entish grammatical structure, so it isn’t all that quicker, really.
Another key difference is the fact that, inThe Rings of Power, Winterbloom is an Entwife, a female Ent. InThe Two Towers, Treebeard explains that the Ents are at risk of extinction in good part due to the disappearance of the Entwives, who love planting new trees and making them grow.They are the ones responsible for nourishing young trees, for example, and, since their extinction, there have been no more Entings (young Ents). Because of this, over the ages, many Ents began to “go tree-ish,” as Treebeard says, describing how some Ents become more like the trees they guard, becoming less active and eventually indistinguishable from trees.
The Ents are an interesting corner of Tolkien’s Legendarium thanks to their deep connection to nature.They are symbols of asorrowful awarenessof the changes brought by timeand the rise of civilization, acting as a reminder of the ancient powers that once held sway in Middle-earth and how those powers also inevitably enter themselves into decline as the world continuously changes.
Season 2 ofThe Lord of the Rings: TheRings of Poweris streaming on Prime Video in the U.S. New episodes air weekly on Thursdays.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Epic drama set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’ follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth.
