Following the concluded first season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the series' creators dish on why they decided to veer away from author J.R.R. Tolkien's writings regarding a certain mined mystical element.

In an interview with Vanity Fair, showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay addressed the lack of source material explaining how the precious, nigh-indestructible metal mithril came about. The duo was asked if having characters in the show describe the story as "apocryphal" allowed more room to create a backstory for the mythical ore. "Definitely," Payne responded. "Especially when you're playing with such primordial elements of canon, like the Silmarils, mithril, the Balrog. You want to make sure that you're giving yourself a little bit of wiggle room because people have obviously strong feelings canonically."

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A Lord of the Rings Mythos Bound in Mithril

Payne further explained the mythos-expanding element. "We wanted to make sure that the rings themselves are invested with this otherworldly kind of power and energy," he continued. "As they're making it, it's made with a special kind of process. But we wanted to put a little extra spice on top of that and say, "Does it actually have some kind of light that comes from beyond what mortal or even immortal beings could generate?"

McKay was also keen to stress how they wished to tie their story for mithril to the wider lore and the creation of the rings of power in particular. "Rings are the nuclear bomb in Middle-earth," he said. "It changes everything. Everyone needs a ring, everyone wants a ring. They become the ways that these different cultures are subdued. It creates immortality. Sauron's ring creates the entire mythos. Everything is different from here. The One Ring defines everything for thousands and thousands of years. It defines the Second Age and the Third Age. And we're just trying to find ways to invest the process of this creation with as much richness and meaning as possible."

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Of course, mithril already figured prominently in Tolkien lore, both in the books and director Peter Jackson's films. In The Hobbit, Bilbo finds a small chain mail shirt made of mithril, which he wears for protection throughout his ordeal to retake the Lonely Mountain from the dragon Smaug. Several decades later, in The Fellowship of the Ring, he gives the shirt to his nephew Frodo for his journey to destroy the One Ring. In fact, the uncanny durability of mithril would save Frodo's life during a battle in the Mines of Moria, in which he was stabbed by a spear; a hit inflicted by an orc chieftain in the book and, more dramatically, a cave troll in the movie.

The Rings of Power's first season conclusion came after a tumultuous first few weeks for the series. Amazon suspended its review system after the release of the first two episodes following significant review bombing. There has also been considerable criticism aimed at more specific aspects of the show, including Morfydd Clark's portrayal of Galadriel and the realization of many of the costumes.

Since its commissioning, the series was always designed to tell the story of the Second Age across five seasons. The central conflict between Sauron and the free peoples of Middle-earth lasts centuries in the original works and the showrunners have shared that their plan for the show intends to reflect this accordingly. "There is a long-term plan with tent pole moments along the way and a very specific and clear endpoint," McKay recently said. "And that goes not just for sort of big narrative plot lore things, but also for character arcs."

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 1 is available to stream on Prime Video.

Source: Vanity Fair