The Rings of Power season 1 teased the Balrog’s destruction of Moria, but the creature creates a major problem for the Lord of the Rings canon.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 1 teased that the Balrog’s attack on Moria will come sooner rather than later, but this introduces some problems for The Lord of the Rings canon. The Rings of Power has already made several changes to J.R.R. Tolkien’s story, including a Balrog’s involvement in the origin of Mithril, so another change would come as no surprise. However, some of these alterations have a bigger impact on the already-established canon in The Lord of the Rings.
Gandalf once recounts how the Dwarves of Khazad-dûm had long ago become so greedy to mine their beloved substance, Mithril, that they dove their mines too deep, albeit The Rings of Power retcons Mithril’s mythology. The Dwarves awoke a powerful being called a Balrog who annihilated the great kingdom, including its leader, Durin VI (Prince Durin IV’s grandson). Much of The Rings of Power season 1 is spent building up the discovery of Mithril, with episode 7, “The Eye,” revealing the very active Balrog beneath the mines, hinting that season 2 will see the monster become Durin’s Bane. However, Tolkien’s canon dictates that the beast would not wake up for several centuries.
The Rings Of Power’s Balrog Could Break Canon (Again)
While The Rings of Power‘s pre-established timeline change is enough to explain the difference in the Balrog’s emergence, it significantly alters the cautionary tale that the devastation of The Rings of Power‘s Khazad-dûm is supposed to be. The canon states that the Balrog destroys Khazad-dûm only because the Dwarves are too greedy in their search for Mithril. By delving for more than they need, they destroy their whole kingdom. However, in The Rings of Power, the Balrog has been awoken before they even seriously begin to mine it, and Durin IV’s motivation has been to help his friend, Elrond. Greed has nothing to do with it, at least so far.
This isn’t the only way the background surrounding The Rings of Power Balrog has been changed from canon. Gil-galad asks Elrond to recount the origin story of Mithril, which tells of an Elf and a Balrog battling over a tree containing the last light of the Silmarils. There are similarities between this tale and the one surrounding Glorfindel and a Balrog. Yet, the tree contradicts everything known about the Silmarils and implies that Mithril can only be found in the Misty Mountain. Ultimately, The Rings of Power is trying too hard to include Balrogs where they don’t fit.
Rings Of Power Season 2 Can’t Ignore S1’s Balrog Tease
Since The Rings of Power season 1 shows the Balrog waking up beneath Khazad-dûm, audiences can assume that they will see the downfall of the great kingdom at some point. If the Prime Video series wishes to keep with canon, the destruction needs to happen several seasons from now. If this was the writers’ intention, they significantly ruined the big moment by placing a tease as early as season 1.
If season 2 ignores the Balrog reveal, it would be a huge disappointment and would affirm once and for all that the moment had only been included in season 1 to pander to fans of Peter Jackson’s winged Balrog in The Lord of the Rings. So, it’s far more likely that the Balrog will make a lengthier appearance in the coming season. In this case, die-hard fans of the Tolkien canon will be the disappointed ones. Ultimately, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power can’t win no matter which way they go with their big Balrog moment.
