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an-eldritch-peredhel · 3 years

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The Witch-King of Numenor

I've been thinking about Tar-Miriel as the Witch-King. I don’t know if the timeline lines up, but. Just. Mmhhhn. Lots of thoughts and female rage. Like, any way you slice it it's just so bitter? Whether it's sad or angry or triumphant depends on your interpretation, but her story never ends well, per say. It's a satisfying ending at best.

It's taking this faithful queen, this good, pure queen of a slowly corrupting people, who does her best but is ultimately powerless, falling under greater shadows, culminating in her martyrdom at the hand of God, and turning her bitter.

Maybe she takes the ring because she's faithful, still good, because she thinks she can do good with it. She doesn't trust this advisor in a too-fair form, but she can do this, break out of her husband's shadow and fix things, make them good again- only to fall under a greater shadow than before, because you can be good and still be tempted and still fall. And it’s a history doomed to repeat itself, when Boromir thinks the same things about the One Ring and falls just the same, but he was never given the ring freely by it’s maker. He still gets a chance, while she gets nothing but ash and sodden ruins.

Maybe she takes it because she’s faithful, she’s been faithful, but she’s so sick of being powerless, because faith doesn’t get you anything but a pretty place in storybooks. Because she’s just too angry to keep up this facade of an obedient wife and pure queen and this token from a monster is a way out. Because she knows that it’s a bad idea, but it’s the only way she has to get some measure of revenge at the gods who have repaid her faith with nothing but eagles in storm-clouds, warnings that she’d already seen coming from miles away. Because her hands bleed where her nails bite into them and she can’t take it anymore- anything is better than this.

Maybe she takes it because she’s faithful, but only when she needs to be, because she lost her faith long ago, and now there’s a demon who hates her husband almost as much as she does, and who has the power to do something about it, and is offering it to her, and that’s the only faith she needs. She wishes she could care about her people, but most of them are the Kings Men and the rest do nothing but pray to gods who won’t listen and tell her to “have patience, stay faithful, stay good, stay pure” and the demon is telling her she doesn’t have to care, and whispering doomed plans in her husband’s ear for no reason but the sake of it, and cackling as the streets run red with blood he says will bring his master back though it is only his own shadow that grows. And it’s horrific, but at this point so is she, and she wants a shadow like that, big enough to cover others in like she was always covered up. So she says “Let’s make a deal...” and he gives her a ring and her freedom and she gives him a bloody kiss and her oath of service and then they play their parts. So they say that Tar-Miriel ran to Meneltarma, faithful to the last, and that it was Sauron who urged Ar-Pharazôn to seek immortality in the holy land, and no one ever knows that it was Tar-Mairon and the Witch-King who sat in a temple built for both their former masters and laughed and laughed and laughed even as the island was taken and their bodies were destroyed and their spirits twisted, because in the end only the rightful ruler of Anadûnê becomes immortal.

And it was Glorfindel who prophesied, but it was the demon who promised that no man would kill her. And millennia later, what little is left of Tar-Miriel the faithful, the good, the pure, can’t help but smile at the woman shining proudly in the sunlight, under no shadow but the Witch-King’s own.

#tolkien #silmarillion #akallabeth #numenor #tar-miriel #witch-king of angmar #witch-king tar-miriel #tar-mairon #sauron #my writing #my headcanons #sauron/tar-miriel #just a little bit #cw: blood mention #look ar-pharazon is the worst and tar-miriel deserves better and if that means turning evil so be it.#its just such a good take #like the parallels that you can draw between her and eowyn? top tier #just let my woman be angry and bitter and tragic for more than just what was done to her

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nomnomzombies · 5 years

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8x04 Identity, Symbology and Implications

In my 8x04 analysis, I talked about how Ghost and Rhaegal are the physical embodiment of Jon’s dual identity--which, really isn’t news... people have known and discussed at length the symbolism behind the fates of the direwolves and their respective owners. But one thing that I hadn’t talked about were the fates of the two animals in this last episode. In my analysis I talked about how their state after the battle was heavily symbolic of Jon’s security in his identity.

In the face of some of the leaks that have been floating around, I thought it would be important to dissect some of the easter eggs and symbology that’s at play with the two animals. So, given the information that’s already canon, and the information that’s speculative, let’s look at what 8x04 was telling us in terms of the fates of Ghost and Rhaegal, and what’s in store for Jon Snow.

First, and foremost, the Eulogy that Jon gave:

“We’re here to say goodbye to our brothers and sisters; to our fathers and mothers; to our friends; our fellow men and women who set aside their differences to fight together and die together so that others might live (1). Everyone in this world owes them a debt that can never be repaid (2). It is our duty and honor to keep them alive in memory (3) for those who come after us, and for those who come after them, for as long as men draw breath. They were the shields that guard the realms of men, and we shall never see their like again (4).”

(1) Jon’s Wildling speech at Hardhome

(2) ADWD “The North Remembers” Speech--”Even when I threatened to have her tongue out, [Wylla] reminded me of the debt White Harbor owes to the Starks of Winterfell, a debt that can never be repaid.” Interesting note? Wylla was the name of the woman that Ned Stark had said was Jon’s mother.

(3) Jon’s conversation with Qhorin Halfhand, “...your death will be a gift for them South of the Wall. They’ll never know what you’ve done, they’ll never know how you died, they won’t even know your damn name, but they’ll be alive because some nameless bastard North of the Wall laid his life for theirs.”

(4) Obvious Night’s Watch reference.

Everything about the eulogy is in reference to The North, and the Night’s Watch. This seems pretty obvious, right? Because that’s every part of who Jon Snow is. How he was raised. His entire life up to this point has been centered around the North and the Night’s Watch. Jon was never going to embrace a Targaryen identity that he doesn’t have. He was raised with Ned Stark’s values, teachings, ideologies.... Everything. The only thing that Jon knows about the Targaryens are from 1) Dan and 2) literal horror stories that he was told throughout his entire childhood.

Any hope that Jon had for developing a Targaryen identity died with Daenerys’ ambition for the throne.

And this is directly addressed in canon by Dan forcing an injured Rhaegal to fly south and Rhaegal being shot down as a result. In my previous analysis, I talked about how Dan marching south on the backs of a compromised host was telling of her current mental and emotional state following RLJ, and it’s likely that Dan forcing Rhaegal to fly south despite being gravely injured is an allusion to the fact that Dan is relentless of Jon in the wake of RLJ and “begging for secrecy.” (Rhaegal is shown as flying poorly. Euron was able to shoot down Rhaegal so easily because he first shot him in the chest--the exact place where Viserion had ripped apart his scales. Rhaegal was also an easy target because he was injured and flying poorly as a result. Not only that, but we’ve only seen dragons die when they are riderless, likely pushing the “lone wolf dies” mantra).

Ghost should have stayed in Winterfell with Sansa.

There, I said it. Ghost has been in Winterfell and in the presence of Sansa for years now. They’ve bonded, they’ve connected. /rant

Fanservice aside, what does it mean?

WHY should Ghost have stayed in Winterfell with Sansa? (symbolically speaking) If we look at Game of Thrones like the massive chess match (or cyvasse, arguably, since we have dragons and shit), Sansa is Jon’s queen. Regardless of shippers, regardless of all of the parallels between Jon/Aragorn and Sansa/Eowyn, Sansa is playing the game. And the queen is the strongest piece on the board.

So why did Jon send Ghost go North of the Wall? Just like with the death of Rhaegal, the animals are representing what is happening NOW, not what WILL happen. Jon’s hope of a Targaryen identity died between Jon and Dan in “begging for secrecy.” He chose his Stark heritage by telling his family, and sending Ghost North of the Wall is one form of protection, but it’s also respect. He knows that he can’t give Ghost the life he deserves at Winterfell, and wants to give him the opportunity to live the life he was born to live. Sending Ghost North of the Wall represents his desire to escape, but also his feelings of inferiority as a “real Stark.” He’s refuting his Stark identity because, after everything, he still doesn’t feel good enough. His gazing down at Lyanna’s body during the funeral showed all of his guilt for feeling as though he betrayed the North for bending the knee to Dan.

Moreover, they’ve done a lot to parallel Jon and Dan to Jon and Ygritte. The infamous How to Train your Dragon sequence in 8x01 was an interesting parallel to Ygritte showing Jon the ways of the Wildlings, right down to the banter. And where did it end up? At the waterfall, with Daenerys saying, “We could stay here for a thousand years,” and Jon’s pensive silence. This is a direct reference to the playful banter between Jon and Ygritte that lead them to the cave and Ygritte saying, “I never want to leave.” And what did Jon say? *insert pensive silence here*

What’s the point of paralleling Jon and Ygritte other than to emphasize Jon’s inner turmoil in the face of a broken oath and a doomed romance.

Jon felt like an oathbreaker for running with the Wildlings, just like Jon feels like an oathbreaker for bending the knee to Dan. It was obvious that Jon was enjoying his time with Ygritte, and had a deep affection for her. There’s evidence that Jon’s enjoyed his time with Dan and had affection for her, too. There’s plenty of things to like about Dan, but it doesn’t change the fact that she’s fundamentally flawed. Her entire arc, since season 1, has been a direct parallel to Cersei, and her interactions with Sansa have been very telling of the Cersei 2.0 action that’s been happening while Dan’s been in Winterfell.

So Jon sending Ghost north could be seen as heavily symbolic of his Ygritte arc, as well. Tormund even told Jon that he’s got the real North in him. And, let’s not forget, that Ghost was running around North of the Wall the entire time that Jon was with the Wildlings, as well.

So where do we go from here?

Honestly? I think that there are a handful of really great metas floating around that discuss the LotR parallels that are emerging, and in my humble opinion, I’d have to say that Jon is emerging to be Aragorn, NOT Frodo. But I’m really not a Tolkien wiz, so please see @fedonciadale for insight on that.

If you’ve made it this far, thank you so much for your overwhelming support of my last analysis! I know that I initially talked about analyzing the Sansa/Dan dynamic and literary symmetry, but the more time has passed the more I’ve been consumed with the unethical treatment of Ghost. And.... I also typed up a several page essay that paralleled Dan and Cersei’s arcs without doing my research first.... (this is awkward), but I spent a lot of time on it, and if you have the time to give it a read, I’d really appreciate it! I had a lot of fun doing the analysis. If you’re enjoying my metas, please drop a line and let me know, or give me suggestions about what to talk about/how to improve! I’m still very new to this. Cheers!

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bloojayoolie · 5 years

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Beautiful, Disney, and Horses: overthinkinglotr Ok but the subplot where Aragorn becomes the protagonist of a Horse Girl MovieTM is one of my FAVORITE things to come out of the Two Towers. In the stables of Rohan, there is an unruly horse named Brego. This horse is so wild that even the horse-masters of Rohan can't tame him. He's just a lost cause, they say. "There's nothing you can do- leave him," they say BUT THEN ARAGORN COMES IN. And like the heroine of a Horse MovieTM he's all: "You just don't UNDERSTAND the horse! The horse is wild and rebellious and free- like me!" Aragorn begins gently talking to the horse, first in Rohirric, then in Elvish. He calms him down and asks him what's wrong. You could easily draw a parallel between Aragorn and Brego's "rebelliousness." To Theoden, Aragorn was acting overly unruly and difficult. "Ahen last-T looked, Theeden, not Aragorn, was King-of Rehan." Then Brego acts unruly and difficult - and Aragorn's like "the people of Rohan just don't understand you!!!!!" And then Eowyn explains that Brego used to belong to Theodred Suddenly Brego's unruliness IS completely understandable- his master was killed in battle He's a horse with a Tragic Backstory. Your name is kingly "Your name is kingly," Aragorn tells the horse. Aragorn is also a king. Aragorn is projecting. Now that she's explained the horse's tragic backstory, Eowyn tries to get Aragorn to open up about his own Tragic BackstoryTM. (have heard-of the magie ef elves, butldid netHeek fer it in a Ranger from the nerth.." She fails. Aragorn is briefly like "yup I was raised by elves," does not elaborate, and then peaces out. But as he leaves Aragorn dramatically says: "turn this fellow free; he has seen enough of war." And Eowyn is forced to wonder whether Aragorn is talking about the horse....or about himself.... Then Aragorn has a Near-Death-Experience, but Arwen's elven-magic (just rell with it) saves him. And the horse who comes to carry him to safety is none other than Brego It's Brego, repaying the kindness and understanding Aragorn showed him earlier in the film! Aragorn set Brego free, and in return Brego saves Aragorn's life! Because they UNDERSTAND each other, as fellow free spirits who "have seen too much of war." Both of them are KINGLY but also WILD, they've lived through too much and lost people they cared about, and their strong wills cannot be tamed by anyone in Rohan! It's beautiful. Aragorn canonically has Disney- Princess-level animal friendship powers. When they arrive at Helm's Deep, Aragorn smiles and earnestly says in Elvish: "thank you Brego, my friend." And we know that Brego understands.... overthinkinglotr Literally every time I watch this subplot I think of that one tumblr post on the plot of Every Horse Movie asensuality Every horse movie Sarah aynn: "no one understands me I hate you Mom for making us move out here in the middle of no where Old man wilkinson: "this right here lil lady is a hourisey if yer can tame t it's yoires if not it's goin back to the horse factory Sarsjh: *walks up to horse and starts to pet its nose* "see girl? You and me aren't so different after all" Your name is kingly why I don't believe it she done tamed ol misery I reckon she ought to sign her up for the horuse show and save the farm" runs away and almost gets hit by car but then the horse pushes the car out the way Mom: "fucjkfidnb maybe that's a good horse after all" 10,176 notes A The Best (Unexpected) Horse Girl Movie

#funny #lol #humor #memes #meme #memehumor #dank memes #funny pics #rolf #lmao #Beautiful #Disney #an

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