The Lord of the Rings: Age of Kings
Everything is a ‘Cinematic Universe’ these days. Studios can’t get enough of them, they’re such an easy cash cow! It’s easy to be pessimistic about the creative practice of making a cinematic universe, but the phenomenon couldn’t have begun without storytellers deciding that THIS story needed to span multiple mediums and franchises.
That’s why I, a penniless writer, am engaging in the creation of my own ‘Cinematic Universes’ based on various sources. I have no reason to do this beyond being creative.
This is the second ‘Age’ of my Lord of the Rings Cinematic Universe. You can see the first ‘Age’ here.
After the events of the ‘Age of Fellowship’, war has come to Middle-Earth, and none are free from its effects. Sauron’s forces are rising, and the Men destined to defend against him are woefully unprepared.
This is:
The Age of Kings
Between the Two Towers (movie)
The second instalment of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, this is the first ‘coming together’ of characters of differing storylines to fight an immense battle.
Starting in the days leading up to the Fellowship’s arrival, the royal family of Rohan fear that Sauron’s forces will face no resistance when they come to Rohan. King Theoden is under the influence of a dark, unmovable magic.
When the Fellowship liberate the King from his shackles, Theoden must reassert control over Rohan in order to save it. With an emboldened council, the Rohirim are assembled. They are, however, not enough. Many villages and hamlets have already faced the scourge of Saruman’s half-breed Uruk-Hai.
With Theoden refusing to call Gondor for aid, stalwart mentor Gandalf seemingly abandons the men in their time of need. Theoden insists the men of Rohan are able to defend their lands, but they must do so where they are strongest.
The people of Rohan, escorted by Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, flee from their homes, all heading to Helms Deep.
When the forces of Saruman reach Helm’s Deep, the battle is bloody. Theoden’s confidence in his peoples skills wavers, and all hope seems lost. It is then that Aragorn reveals the truth of Gandalf’s departure. He has gone for aide. Not the men of Gondor, someone infinitely less reliable.
The battle continues to go badly. Many brave soldiers perish at Orc blades. But then, when all hope seems lost, they arrive. Gandalf leads a host of wood-elves into the fray, cutting through Orc lines. The battle is won. The people of Rohan live for another day.
Humbled by his near defeat, Theoden thanks Aragorn and his companions for their aide. Gandalf reveals Aragorn’s identity to the King, though Aragorn is loathe to accept the accolade of ‘king’. It works, though. Theoden bends the knee.
With the help of the Elves who have delayed their journey to Valinor, potentially indefinitely, the army turns their eyes East. Gondor calls for aide. Only one thing stands in their way… the tower of Isengard and the Wizard that’s encamped there.
The Courage of Hobbits (theatre)
Act 01
Little is known of the Hobbits that were taken by Orcs when the Fellowship of the Ring disbanded. Well, after giving a passing squirrel the complete rundown of his adventures to date, Pippin Took finds himself once again hauled onto the back of an orc, closer than ever to the threat of Isengard and the turned White Wizard Saruman.
Despite words of support from his best friend and fellow captive, Merry, Pippin shakes like a Longbottom leaf. All his zeal for adventure seemed to escape him after witnessing the death of Boromir, the only member of the fellowship that seemed to offer Pippin any genuine kindness.
Merry, however, refuses to accept their fate. One night, while the orcs fought amongst themselves over scraps of forest meat, Merry urges Pippin to join him in escaping. Not wanting to disappoint his friend, Pippin tries to follow all of Merry’s instructions, but his fear reveals them and the two are returned to captivity.
The journey is hostile, gruelling, and on more than one occasion almost deadly for the Hobbits, seen frequently as the orcs only source of food. Their commander struggles to keep the bloodthirsty minions at bay. As they pass through Fangorn Forest, the final hurdle before the Hobbits meet their end, Merry grows panicked that they won’t make it. Not in once piece, anyway.
Pippin is noticing, too, but something else. While Merry looks to their captors, Pippin looks to the dirt, first in shame and then curiosity. There are deep prints, almost like footprints. When he tells Merry, the friendly Hobbit finally snaps. Pippin needs to grow up or they’re both going to die.
Merry is almost right, as with the setting of the sun, the orcs hunger overrides their reason. But as they move in for the kill, something attacks. From the woods, unseen, enormous oak weapons sweep orcs into the air, to the ground, and none can stop them. Merry again takes the cue to run. Freeing Pippin, they run. Pippin insists they go towards Isengard, the way of the giant footprints. Merry thinks he’s mad but away is away.
Out of sight and safely up a tree, the Hobbits catch their breath, only to find that the tree has a face. And a voice. And it’s angry.
Act 02
The Hobbits try, and fail, to escape the angry tree. Firmly in its grasp, the Ent debates what to do with the ‘little orcs’. In a rare show of courage, Pippin convinces the Ent, Treebeard, that they aren’t orcs, and are in fact Hobbits, creatures who very much love nature and want nothing less than to harm this majestic creature and his home. Still wary, Treebeard needs to convene a council of Ents to decide their fate. Happy to go along, Pippin agrees, but Merry is incensed. Isengard and its forces are mounting, they should instead do something about that, not worry about whether he is or isn’t an orc (he isn’t by the way). But Treebeard is bigger, and Merry is still in his hand, so he doesn’t have much of a say in the matter.
On the path, Pippin and Treebeard strike up a friendship, and Treebeard finds himself lowering his guard. The tree regales the young Hobbit with stories from his youth, of Ents roaming Fangorn Forest with joy and abandon, something Pippin can of course relate to from his time in the Shire.
Despite Merry’s apprehension, whatever Pippin is doing is working, Treebeard seems to be of a mind to let the ‘little orcs’ go. Pippins joy of getting away without a fight is quickly turned to ash when, upon returning to Treebeards childhood home, they find flat and scorched earth as far as the eye can see. At the epicentre of the wasteland stands the once welcoming tower of Isengard.
Treebeards fury is immense. His bark cracks under the weight of his grief. All those stories of ultimate joy now sound to Pippin like mourning cries. It’s then that Pippin realises:
Ignoring the fight only hands victory to the enemy.
Difficult though it is, Pippin rallies Treebeard. They must fight. Saruman won’t stop here. The Ent still has friends and family in Fangorn Forest that need saving. They all need to fight, and Pippin will be right there with them.
Merry, suddenly aware of how big the fight is and how small he is, balks. Pippin turns on him at that point. Imagine this was the Shire. Where would Merry run if Saruman scoured the shire? Nowhere. They must fight, even if the odds are against them.
And so they do.
As an army of Ents, the last march of their kind, emerge from what remains of the forest, they take the wizards tower by surprise.
The battle is a dance. A great, bloody, tragic dance. Despite Saruman’s knowledge and skill of magic, he cannot match the old ways of the Ents that were born on this Middle-Earth before he ever set foot here.
When the battle is done, and Pippin’s courage has won the day, Saruman is pulled from his tower before the council of Ents. When Treebeard sentences him to death, however, he is revealed to be Wormtongue. As the lickspittle dies, Saruman’s Palantir rolls into the moat around Isengard’s tower.
Though Saruman is in the wind, the battle is won.
One tower down, one more to go.
The Line of Minas Tirith (novel)
Faramir has always known he’s the ‘second son’. Though his victories are great and numerous, his father showed only eyes for his older brother, Boromir.
But Boromir is dead.
The news reaches Faramir’s ears from an unlikely source. There is a bloody battle. In any other age it would be the stuff of heroes, but these days attacks from Sauron’s forces are always swiftly followed by a larger, deadlier one. After the battle, which Faramir’s rangers fought against Southron forces, including assistance from Oliphaunts, Faramir finds himself in custody of two strange captives. Two Hobbits
In his hidden stronghold of Henneth Annun, Faramir questions the Hobbits. He’s no fool, he knows who they are, and that they are on a secret quest with his brother. Their tidings, however, turn Faramir’s joy to ash. The ashes kindle into a fiery fury as he understands that Boromir, heir to the custody of Gondor, is rotting in a forest somewhere. Not the fate of a hero. His fury is not truly about his brothers fate, but his own. Faramir would now inherit stewardship of Gondor, a role he is unprepared for and unwilling to take.
Instead of allowing these tidings to cloud his focus, he instead gives his full attention to the treacherous Hobbits before him, the reason for his brothers death. The stronger Hobbit accidentally reveals their true purpose. Their quest was not for some trinket, but the One Ring. The Hobbit tells Faramir of his brothers weakness, how he succumbed to the Ring’s power. Faramir won’t believe it, but he too feels the pull.
Faramir knows that more than just his own fate is balanced on the outcome of this exchange. But the pull of the Ring, it does not come with the voice of the Dark Lord Sauron, but that of his father. His father calls for him to take the ring, to prove that he is the son he always wanted him to be. Do not let Boromir’s death be for nothing. His father finally forgives him for his mother’s death.
This final declaration pulls Faramir from his trance. He resists the Ring and its pull.
The laws of his land are clear, however. The Hobbits will be taken to Minas Tirith and his father, Denethor, will decide if their journey is to continue.
As this new, strange Fellowship make their way to the capital city of Gondor, now with the Hobbits strange pet in tow, Faramir requests a brief respite in the ruins of Osgiliath. Though his brother is dead, he would consult his spirit of his next actions.
Lamenting his position, Faramir almost misses that the city ruins are under a pending attack. It is sudden, fierce, and brutal. Fighting more for the safety of the Hobbits than for the ruins themselves, Faramir’s rangers are victorious. Faramir had hoped to bring the Hobbits to Minas Tirith so they may tell his father the news of Boromir’s death. Better to direct the wrath of the man at those that were present at the death than bear the brunt of it himself. But should the ring fall into the wrong hands… potentially even his own fathers hands… the risk is too great.
To the fury of his men, Faramir allows the halflings to depart on their quest. They will be safer without an army at their back.
Now Faramir knows he will likely face the same fate as his brother. He welcomes this. Better to die in pursuit of the light than to live knowing he brought the darkness to his door. If the law would not put him to death, Denethor would likely kill him in a grieving fury over the death of his favourite son.
Knowing the strategic strength of Osgiliath, and fearing his fathers wrath, Faramir and his rangers remain in Osgiliath to cement their defences. However, not two days later, another wave of Sauron’s forces descend on the city. This time there’s too many. Despite ordering a retreat, many of Faramir’s rangers fall to the Nazgul and their Fell Beasts. Their only saving grace is a single rider with another Hobbit on his horse. Gandalf the White.
Denethor’s grief and fury were greater than any could have foreseen. Despite this, Faramir remained in his father’s presence to confess his crimes in full. Including allowing the Ring to leave in the hands of Frodo Baggins.
As Denethor lost himself to his grief, Faramir turned his attention to the defence of the capital. With Osgiliath overrun, Minas Tirith will need a strong army to defend its walls. With the help of Gandalf, his former mentor, Faramir is looked to by all citizens and refugees of Gondor. For a brief moment, and with Gandalf’s permission, Faramir allows himself to truly feel the love of these peoples.
That is culled, however, when Denethor summons his ‘captain’ to the throne room. Osgiliath must be reclaimed. Despite urges to be dissuaded from this course, Denethor is singularly minded. Faramir knows the truth of it. The order isn’t to reclaim Osgiliath, it is to die.
Gandalf urges Faramir to ignore the order. Denethor is a fool. Faramir turns on Gandalf. Denethor is his father, and steward of Gondor in the absence of the king that Gandalf has failed to bring. It is his duty to follow the orders of the steward, and it is his honour to restore love into his father’s heart, even if it is borne from great loss. He will, however, only take volunteers.
As the day rolls on, Faramir’s suicide mission becomes something of a hopeful battle. Volunteers from all walks come to the aide of their true leader. Legions wish to take the fight to the Nazgul, and to do so following the heir to stewardship adds a flare of legend.
Allowing hope into his heart, Faramir leads his legion into battle. It is, of course, futile. The Witch King of Angmar leads the assault of orcs and foul creatures, adding magic beyond human comprehension to an already mismatched fight. Faramir fights on, but cannot stand to see his volunteers perish in a futile war between father and son. Ordering a retreat, Faramir is struck.
As he sinks into the mud, clawing for breath, he sees a familiar figure walking through the battlefield towards him.
Boromir, calling him to the next life.
Path of the Ring-Bearer (season 02)
Gollum is up to something. The gates to Mordor open and close frequently, but there’s never an opening to enter. Sam is growing impatient. The longer they wait, the more of Middle-Earth falls to Sauron’s evil. Gollum insists they must wait. Sam knows he’s hiding something, he’s been talking about ‘she’ for miles. When the gates erupt with magic light and the Witch King of Angmar and their forces exit through the gates of Minas Morgul, Frodo is overwhelmed by the pull of the Ring. Sam stops his friend from using the Ring, and decides they will need to find another way into the city.
Gollum knows another way. He always does.
They take the stairs of Cirith Ungol. Dangerous and deadly. Frodo grows weaker as they enter further and further into Mordor’s grasp. Sam tries to remind him of happier times, of the Shire and of Gandalf and his fireworks. Remember the light. Gollum, however, works Frodo’s mind into a frenzy of paranoia about Sam’s intentions.
When the trio reach the top, and the Hobbits collapse from exhaustion, Gollum insists they rest. The rest is short lived, however, when Sam catches Gollum trying to steal the ring from Frodo’s sleeping body.
The confrontation is heartbreaking, as Frodo is forced to choose between his best friend and the creature he most relates to in the world. Feigning the hurt of Smeagol, Gollum rushes away.
-
Frodo insists they follow Smeagol. His rage at Sam’s ‘betrayal’ masked only by his exhaustion. Following Smeagol’s tracks, the duo stumble into Shelob’s lair, the giant spider and scourge of orcs. Sensing evil, Frodo fears for Smeagol, and the two fight their urge to flee by pursuing Frodo’s friend. The two are separated when Shelob attacks. Frodo, during his escape, is stung and paralysed.
Seeing Shelob prepare his friend to eat, Sam believes Frodo is dead and flies into a fury previously unseen. Shelob is unable to protect herself and dies at the hand of the former gardener. Confirming Frodo is dead, Sam is forced to make a horrible decision. The mountain of Mordor is in sight, and the ring still needs to be destroyed.
Sam takes the ring. But as he hides from coming orcs, he hears them talk of Frodo’s still living body. He’s made a horrible mistake.
-
In a final episode that centres on Sam, the gardener must find a way into an orc stronghold to save his friend. When Frodo comes to, he finds he is trapped in a room full of squabbling orcs. As they fight and kill each other on petty whims, Frodo works himself free of his bonds. Realising the Ring is gone, he assumes the orcs have it. He demands it back. The orcs laugh at the strange halfling with some mad courage, but something is changed in Frodo.
When Sam reaches the room where Frodo was held captive, he finds a room of dead orcs. Something above Sam catches his attention. On the roof of the building, in air thick with ash and fire, Sam finds Frodo crawling around looking for his ‘precious’. Sam talks his friend down. He uses tales of their adventures, reminders of his uncle, and all tools at his disposal to pull Frodo back from the brink. As he does, Frodo finally understands that Gollum betrayed them. The exhaustion almost overwhelms the Hobbit, but Sam is there to catch him.
Finally free of the Ring’s influence, and free of Gollum’s venom, Frodo reclaims the Ring. He now has the mental fortitude to destroy the ring. They need only take it up the mountain. How hard can that be?
