The fourth episode of The Rings of Power is a reunion with some things that will be familiar to both readers of JRR Tolkien and those whose knowledge is limited to the Lord of the Rings films and The HobbitWe are not going to go into details to avoid spoilers, but we will talk about a specific character.
Who on earth is Tom Bombadil in Tolkien’s universe? The series makes it clear that he is an affable and very enigmatic character. His name is Iarwain ben-adar in Elvish, which means “the oldest and the one without a father”; Forn in the Dwarven language and Orald in the language of men. There are many debates surrounding this figure, since his origin and nature are not clear.
The Old One, that’s what I am. Pay attention, my friends: Tom was here before the river and the trees. Tom remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn. He blazed trails before the Big People came, and he saw the Little People come.
He was here before the Kings and the Graves and the Barrow-wights. When the Elves marched west, Tom was here, before the seas retreated. He knew the darkness beneath the stars before fear came, before the Dark Lord came from Outside. The Lord of the Rings
The series uses the character’s words from the works for his introduction, although it does not quote them as such or in full. It is clear that he does not like to meddle in world affairs and that he is a simple observer. Other details are revealed such as his longevity, wisdom, mastery of magic and affable personality. Although the most interesting thing is that he uses phrases that we have heard before from Treebeard and that relationships or similarities can be established with Gandalf of The Lord of the Rings. And to top it off: it is incorruptible, even for the One Ring.
The question that’s probably on your mind is, who is the woman’s voice heard singing with Bombadil in the house? Fans believe it’s Goldberry, who we know as his wife from Tolkien’s works. Both are a complete mystery, though we know that Frodo got to know old Tom during his childhood. The Lord of the Rings in a similar situation to how she meets the Stranger. And as a curious fact: it is believed that both are versions of Tolkien himself and his wife.
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