If you’re relatively new to the world of J.R.R. Tolkien and you’ve just watched episode 7, The Eye, the you might be wondering what the monster is in The Lord of the Rings The Rings of Power TV series. It arrives right at the end of the episode and you only get a fleeting glimpse of it, but it’s clear that it’s going to be a big part of the show.
The monster raises it’s fiery head when Durin III throws the Mithril rejuvenated leaf down the shaft before issuing the order to seal it up. It floats past all of the seams of the precious metal before coming to rest at the bottom with small wisps of smoke around it.
AdvertisementIf you’ve seen The Lord of the Rings films then it’s a monster that you’ve definitely seen before and it’s presence in the TV series only means bad things for the Dwarfs in the mine and the Elves looking to get the Mithril. They’re among the most powerful beast of Middle Earth and it’s going to be interesting to see how much it features in the series.
Episode 7 monster explained
The monster that smoulders into action at the sight of movement in episode 7 of The Lord of Rings The Rings of Power is known as a Balrog. In fact, it’s the very same one that featured in the films, because it’s in the same location, Khazad-dûm, which is also known as the mines of Moria.
AdvertisementIn the films it was also referred to a Durin’s Bane, which should tell you everything you need to know about how much of an impact it’s going to have on the Amazon Prime series. Clearly, it’s not just going to wake up for a bit at the sight of a leaf falling and then drift back asleep like a hibernating bear.
Instead, it will have been waiting for some sort of sign that his dark master, Sauron, has arisen once more before climbing out to join the battle. We’re expecting it to be pretty disruptive in the next episode of The Rings of Power, which will be the season finale.
AdvertisementAs it’s the same monster as the one that Gandalf fought in the depths of Moria we know for a fact that it’s going to come out of this altercation unscathed, but trapped once again beneath the heavy rock of Caradhras, the tallest of the Misty Mountains. However, at this stage it’s only just about to begin its real menace.
Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter to see news and updates on upcoming films, games, TV and music. You can see more on the series with the official Amazon Prime Video Twitter page at https://twitter.com/primevideo.
What is a Balrog?
A Balrog is a foul beast of fire and darkness. Their history is traced in The Silmarillion, which shows that they were originally angelic beings called Maiar. To put this into context, the Maiar were created before the world by the supreme being Eru Iluvatar and include Sauron, Saruman and Gandalf.
However, the Maiar that went on to become Balrogs were corrupted by Melkor, the strongest of the Valar (more powerful angelic beings created by Eru). After he had twisted their being into the monsters that we now know, they became his weapons of destruction and he went on to be the dark lord Morgoth.
His second in command was Sauron, but when Morgoth was defeated in the War of Wrath, the remaining Balrogs hid themselves deep underground. The monster at the end of episode 7 was one of those Balrogs, who had been in hiding for more than five millennia.
At this stage in The Lord of the Rings The Rings of Power, we haven’t seen it in all it’s glory, but if you’re wondering what it looks like you might want to check out the scene at the end of Peter Jackson’s film, The Fellowship of the Rings. It’s massively tall and menacing with fire, darkness and sooty smoke all around it.
It carries a fire-laced whip with many thongs, a fiery sword and has large horns surrounding its burning, monstrous face. You can see Gandalf fronting up to Baldur’s Bane in the video below with the immortal line, “YOU SHALL NOT PASS”.
You also fight a Balrog called Tar Goroth in the Lord of the Rings game, Middle Earth Shadow of War. It’s a big beast monster and one of the toughest bosses in the game, which shows how tough the one in The Rings of Power is going to be.
You can also check out our TV news section to see other big releases, or visit the Amazon Prime Video website to see more on The Rings of Power at https://www.amazon.com/gp/video/storefront/.
