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"But Even Then, There Was Light": Rings of Power Full Teaser Released

Kaitlyn Facista

Prime Video has released the full teaser for their forthcoming series, The Rings of Power, this morning as promised! The teaser is two and a half minutes long and finally provides a more developed frame of reference for the show.

The teaser opens with a panning shot of Númenor, voiced over by Galadriel, “There was a time when the world was so young, there had not yet been a sunrise.” And with this, we are taken back to Valinor to see, for the first time up close, the Two Trees of Valinor. “But even then, there was light.”

The shot of Valinor was breathtaking and immediately brought tears to my eyes. I hope we’ll be able to see more of the Blessed Realm in the first few episodes as they have to set the stage for the rest of the show.

The teaser shifts focus to the Harfoots, as Marigold says “Dwarves their mines; Men their fields of grain; But we Harfoots have each other. We’re safe.” This is, however, immediately followed by a shot of Nori watching the mysterious meteor landing, implying that safety is now in peril.

It appears that the show will be using the Harfoots to frame the narrative, giving casual Tolkien fans a Hobbit connection to help familiarize them with this new story set in Middle-earth. I’m not particularly fond of this approach but I can understand it, though I hope the Harfoots will play a minimal role.

Elrond counsels Galadriel to put up her sword, but she replies that the enemy is still out there and she must find them. “It is over,” Elrond urges. “You have not seen what I have seen,” Galadriel insists.

As she speaks the shot cuts to a red-tinted scene of dead bodies floating underwater, a truly hellish scene. There appears to be the ruins of a city surrounding them, as well as plenty of fire above the water. It’s unclear whether this is a memory or a vision of things to come, but in my opinion it’s more likely a memory.

Throughout all the realms of Middle-earth, evil looms ahead as the lives of all peoples are threatened. In Lindon, Gil-galad warns Elrond of a coming darkness; elsewhere, Adar is seen leading a company of Orcs along a bridge.

One character says, “The past is with us all.”
Elendil then replies, “The past is dead. We either move forward, or we die with it.”

The Dwarves are crafting something from stone, and Durin IV can be seen holding a small piece of Mithril and saying, “This could be the beginning of a new era.”

As the teaser draws to a close, the Harfoots are walking down a large hill together, likely migrating.

The Light, especially of Valinor, and its power against Darkness appears to be a major theme of The Rings of Power. The fading of the light, the growing of light, the effects of light versus darkness.

The tension between the immortal Elves and mortal men is already being heavily emphasized. The desire of the peoples of Númenor to leave the past behind is at odds with the connection to the past of the Elves. We also see this with the Dwarves as Durin IV says, “This could be the beginning of a new era.” Everything is about to change.

The theme of “wandering” is also emphasized throughout the teaser as many groups of people are seen on various journeys, and the lyrics of the song heard in the background also dwell on wandering in particular.

View the Teaser Below:

Diving Deeper into the Teaser

The Rings of Power In the Press

One final note, I wanted to share that I’ve decided to attend the San Diego Comic-Con next week in order to cover the Lord of the Rings / Rings of Power events that will be happening over the week! I will share as much as I can about the panels, events, parties, etc.

If you’d like to make a small donation to help me cover the costs associated with attending this event, I would be incredibly grateful! You can do so here.