Contextually, in J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary lore, the island of Valinor (Tolkien’s version of Avalon), is where the Valar (archangels of the mythos,) settled down after the music of deity Eru Ilúvatar broke an incalculable period of silence and shapelessness in existence to construct the universe. Tellingly, the mere presence of the trees—created by the Valar to light to planet of Arda—dates the era of the image, which can be deduced as taking place during the planet’s primordial period, since said trees would not be long for the burgeoning world. This could also mean that the mysterious cloaked figure—overlooking what appears to be primary city Valmar—is one of the Valar, perhaps Manwë, the oldest and most powerful of the Ainur (holy spirit beings). Named Laurelin (a Gold Tree towards the South) and Telperion (a Silver Tree towards the North), the Two Trees of Valinor were the first sources of light in the universe. Their majesty would conjure jealousy in the bad seed Valar known as Melkor (later better known as Morgoth), who sought to destroy them by recruiting the help of the giant spider creature called Ungoliant, progenitor of Middle Earth’s monster spiders such as Shelob, who notably dwelt in Cirith Ungol. Thusly, the creature invaded the sacred island and consumed the duo of mystical trees, poisoning their remains; an act of ontological vandalism that left their last flowers—which shone gold and silver—to be used as the sun and the moon, respectively. Additionally, the last vestiges of the two trees’ light were captured into the three jewels known as the Silmarils, which would eventually become the titular MacGuffin for most of the First-Age-era stories told in Tolkien’s posthumous tome, The Silmarillion. Inhabited by a race of Men blessed with long life, Númenor’s story is one highlighted by majestic glory at its height and hubris-bred destruction at its nadir. This came about due to the unbridled ambitions of King Ar-Pharazôn, who—due to the insidious influence of a captured Sauron—became resentful of Valinor’s ban of mortals, and sought to seize immortality itself with an attempt to invade the holy island with a fleet of ships. The effort, of course, failed spectacularly after a divine cataclysmic, planetary-scale retribution so powerful that it hid Valinor from the reach of the physical realm, and turned the world from flat to round, leaving Númenor sunk beneath the sea. Of course, with very few narrative bones thrown our way, the story behind this Lord of the Rings teaser image will remain categorized as speculation. Nevertheless, despite the far-off release date, production on the series has moved past its primary obstacle after COVID cost it most of 2020. Indeed, cameras have been rolling for nearly a year now, having commenced since this past September. Notwithstanding occasional hiccups such as the exit of key consultants and this past March’s “studio decision” to nix series regular Tom Budge, things seem to be moving along smoothly in what has clearly been a trial by fire for showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay.
