The following contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2, Episode 4, “Eldest,” which debuted Sept. 5 on Prime Video.
In The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2, fans are seeing a clever evolution of J. R. R. Tolkien’s lore. To the point, it feels at times that Prime Video is rebooting the Lord of the Rings from the movies people experienced. One of the major aspects of this comes down to the new stories being told about the Hobbits’ predecessors: the Harfoots.
It centers around Nori and Poppy: the young women who have been trying to help the Stranger unlock his powers in Rhûn. However, as much as it seemed like they were going to be plot crutches and supporting acts for his journey, the show is giving them a bigger purpose. It may well be the building blocks for what the Peter Jackson films were based on.
Rings of Power’s Nori and Poppy Meet the Stoors
The Stoors Are the Hobbits’ Ancestors
Actor Name
Markella Kavenagh
Megan Richards
Rings of Power Character
Nori Brandyfoot
Poppy Proudfellow
Date of Birth
Jan. 30, 2000
Mar. 30, 1999
Place of Birth
Australia
England
Notable Movies
True History of the Kelly Gang, My First Summer
N/A
Notable TV Shows
The Gloaming, Bad Behaviour
Pan Tau, Doctors, Wanderlust
In Rings of Power Season 2, Nori and Poppy get separated after the Stranger’s sandstorm backfires. They’ve been swept away from the reach of the Dark Wizard’s hunters, but they’re lost. Luckily, they end up meeting a Harfoot-looking boy named Merimac, but he isn’t one of them. He’s a Stoor, another of the Hobbit ancestors that Tolkien wrote of. His books dissected more of them in the Third Age, not the Second Age this series is based on.
Merimac takes them to his leader, Gundabel, but she doesn’t like the girls. She sees them as either spies for the Dark Wizard, or reasons he’ll send his minions to cause trouble. Amid all the drama, Nori and Poppy are struck with wonder. The Stoors have a similar setup to the Harfoots, except, they’re not nomads. They have a cottage, more advanced machinery, and seem more about inventing. It’s a proper village rooted in stability and immobility.
That’s not to say the Harfoots aren’t geniuses, but they have a more primitive way of living. It’s more simplistic, compared to this pseudo-industrial revolution the girls are seeing. To them, it’s what the future will look like. They embrace these scenes in full, as they would like their lives to be like this someday as well.
Gundabel eventually admits that while she wants to keep them as prisoners, they may not be dangerous, after all. It all changes when she tells them of a prophecy. It’s due to them mentioning their Trail-finder, the deceased Sadoc Burrows. That last name is legendary for the Stoors as it’s tied into where Tolkien grounds them later on in their lives.
Rings of Power’s Sadoc Burrows Is the Descendant of a Legend
Nori and Poppy May Have to Follow the Burrows’ Legacy
Gundabel shows them glyphs and admits the Stoors had a Chosen One: Rorimas Burrows. He left the dusty village to find a land filled with rolling hills, lush grass and cold rivers. She calls it the Sûzat, which Tolkien students know is the Shire. The problem is, they never heard back from him again. It’s a problem the Harfoots encounter as well, losing their people to animals and monsters when they roam. Sometimes, they have no idea what happened to these individuals.
It does feel like Rorimas settled down, started the Harfoot tribe, but couldn’t get word back to the Stoors. Given the distance he’d have to travel and the perils on the road, it’s understandable. This cultural exchange is quite enlightening because Gundabel now views the girls as the answer to their riddle. The True North to what Rorimas was supposed to find. It sets Nori and Poppy up to take the clan to the destination carved into their rocks.
This approach makes Nori and Poppy a couple of Chosen Ones. They have lost loved ones along the way, yet they selflessly devote themselves to helping the Stranger. Alas, they may well be creating something bigger, more impactful and enticing in terms of how much their species influenced Middle-earth.
Rings of Power’s Nori and Poppy Are Being Targeted
The Dark Wizard Wants the Girls So He Can Capture the Stranger
A massive hurdle will be the Dark Wizard’s hunters. Some of them come to intimidate Gundabel to capture the hostages. Gundabel warns them off, but they confess they’ll be back with reinforcements. It could be other hunters, or the Dark Wizard himself. He wants to use the girls to bait the Stranger in. It plays into him being a potential Sauron ally who wants to spread death and destruction across the realm.
The Stranger is training with Tom Bombadil, but seeds are sown for them to clash with the Dark Wizard. All the villain needs is the girls as pawns. He may end up using the Stoors as bargaining chips, too. If the Stranger is later revealed to be Gandalf, this teases a story where he is protecting Hobbits before they officially come to be. It would be very emotional and serendipitous.
It would make both parties thorns in the side of Sauron before movie buffs saw the evil overlord working with the likes of Saruman. Conversely, Nori and Poppy could end up being war leaders of sorts. They helped the Stranger fight off the Dark Wizard’s mystics in Rings of Power Season 1. They are positioned to help the Stoors steel up, not just at their desert base, but for when the time comes to hit the road.
It won’t be easy, as the girls have targets on their backs and a huge contingent who they are endangering. They will feel guilty if Stoor lives are lost. This has viewers eager for the Stranger to improve his magic with Tom and come to the aid of the “small-folk.” In the end, they need firepower with the Dark Wizard’s legion impending and encroaching. Ultimately, this portends an arc of endearment with the Stoors, as well as a mystical battle to come that will redefine a new era for Middle-earth.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power debuts new episodes Thursdays on Prime Video.
