The highly-anticipated The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premiere referenced Morgoth several times.
The first two installments in The Rings of Power are finally available on streaming worldwide, bringing finally back the fans to Middle-earth years after Peter Jackson’s highly appreciated The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies. The episodes set the tone for the high-fantasy series, which pretty much reflects John R.R. Tolkien’s original vision for Arda and Eä. While the story focuses on Galadriel’s obsession with defeating Sauron, it all goes back to what Morgoth did to the Elves.
Who Is Morgoth?
Morgoth was a mighty creature responsible for all evil in Arda, the planet invented by Tolkien. Initially known as Melkor, he was one of the Valar, one of the angelic powers serving Eru Ilúvatar. Morgoth aimed to become a godlike creature himself, so he separated himself from his brothers and sisters. While Norse mythology — the primary source of Tolkien’s works — has significant differences from Christianity, the story resembles pretty Lucifer’s fall from Grace.
To summarize a long and intricate history, Morgoth acquired a host of followers and waged war on the Valar. His army included a promising lieutenant called Sauron, who took his master’s place after years. The Valar first defeated their former brother Melkor once before retiring from Middle-earth and entrusting the Elves to deal with the enemy. After capturing many Elves and turning them into Orcs, Morgoth destroyed the Two Trees of Valinor. He went as far as stealing the Silmarils, the most beautiful jewels ever made by the Elves. After many lost their lives, the Elves triumphed, and Morgoth was then exiled from Arda until the end of time.
RELATED: The Rings of Power Season 1 Episode 1 Recap, Theories, and Thoughts
Even Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy briefly mentions Morgoth. After he clashes with the Balrog in Moria, Gandalf describes the infernal creatures as “a Balrog of Morgoth.” The movies never care to add more information on the corrupted Ainur, mainly because they ignore pretty much the metaphysics in Tolkien. Additionally, Morgoth’s name was almost forgotten when the events of the Fellowship of the Ring occurred.
