Warning: spoilers ahead for The Rings of Power episodes 1 & 2Galadriel's brother receives an extended cameo in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power episode 1 - here's everything you need to know about Finrod Felagund. Amazon's long-awaited TV show set during J.R.R. Tolkien's Second Age begins with a flashback to happier times. A young Galadriel lives in the blessed realm of Valinor during the Years of the Trees, making boats and getting bullied by other elf children (ok, not that happy). Getting into a scrap she absolutely would've won had it continued, Galadriel is pulled away by her big brother, Finrod Felagund.

Played by Will Fletcher, Finrod imparts a slice of sibling wisdom upon his little sister, but when war against the fallen Vala Morgoth breaks out, Finrod goes a-hunting for the villain's top lieutenant, Sauron. As Galadriel tells it, Sauron outmaneuvered Finrod and struck the first blow. His corpse was recovered following the War of Wrath, now bearing deep claw marks and Sauron's personal mark. Morfydd Clark's Galadriel takes her brother's blade and inherits his will, developing a burning desire to vanquish Sauron herself.

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This brief but important role in The Rings of Power only scratches the surface of Tolkien's original character. Far more floats beneath Finrod's iceberg, while Amazon also rings significant changes to how Galadriel's brother met his demise. What else is there to know about this mighty figure of the First Age?

Finrod's Departure From Valinor Is Very Different In The Rings Of Power

Cate Blanchett as Galadriel in Lord of the Rings and Valinor Amazon

The Rings of Power tells a highly truncated version of how the Elves departed Valinor for Middle-earth. Rather than a noble quest to defeat Morgoth and avenge the Two Trees of Valinor, the Ñoldor clan were led by their king, Fëanor, who sought to reclaim the Silmarils Morgoth stole around the same time as his lumberjack antics. This exodus, dubbed the Flight of the Ñoldor, was not in accordance with the Valar's will, and also saw Fëanor lead his followers in committing horrific acts of violence against their own kind.

Although Finrod and Galadriel both joined this journey from Valinor to Middle-earth, they did so to avoid abandoning their people rather than because they concurred with Fëanor. Indeed, their father would abandon the journey and return to Valinor after learning of Fëanor's violent betrayals, leaving Finrod and Galadriel to push forward on to Middle-earth. Another bitter note that The Rings of Power glosses over is how Finrod left his one true love, Amarië, behind in Valinor.

Finrod Ruled His Own Middle-earth City During The First Age

Lord of the Rings Peter Jackson Rivendell Valley Fellowship of the Ring

The Rings of Power's episode 1 history lesson creates the impression that Finrod rode from Valinor to Middle-earth with the sole intention of bringing about Sauron's destruction. In J.R.R. Tolkien's mythology, however, Finrod plays a much larger role in the early development of Middle-earth, and his actions have consequences that ripple across both The Rings of Power and The Lord of the Rings.

Related: How Old Is Elrond In The Rings Of Power?

For starters, Finrod established the original Minas Tirith. Located much further north than its Third Age Gondor namesake, Minas Tirith stood as a watchtower against Morgoth for several centuries until Sauron invaded and transformed the fortress into a base of operations when Mordor was still just a twinkle in his fiery eye. By the time Minas Tirith fell, Finrod had already moved onto greater ventures.

Because Finrod never abandoned the Valar like that pesky Fëanor (and because some in Valinor wanted Morgoth defeated) the Vala Ulmo appeared to Finrod and showed the elf a hidden network of underground caves. Here, Finrod would build the great, nigh-on inaccessible city of Nargothrond, which he ruled over as king completely obscured from Morgoth's gaze. Neither Minas Tirith nor Nargothrond survived into The Rings of Power's Second Age.

How Finrod's Friendships Affect The Lord Of The Rings

Arwen and Aragorn facing each other in The Lord Of The Rings

Finrod's influence over Middle-earth wasn't defined by the strongholds he built, but the friendships he made along the way... During J.R.R. Tolkien's First Age, the Elves and Dwarves bickered far less than in The Rings of Power and The Lord of the Rings, with working alliances forged between these contrasting species. Among the most friendly collaborators was Finrod, who built Nargothrond with dwarven assistance and paid his hairy helpers handsomely for the privilege. Finrod's good relations with the Dwarves (who called him Cave-Hewer in their own tongue) are remembered still in The Lord of the Rings, as Gimli sings about "mighty kings in Nargothrond" during The Fellowship of the Ring. This history tacitly bleeds into Gimli's reverence for Finrod's sister, the Lady Galadriel, during his visit to Lothlórien.

These diplomatic efforts with the Dwarves are eclipsed only by Finrod's relations with the Men of Middle-earth, whom he encountered entirely by chance. Finrod shared his knowledge with these mortals, learned their language and customs, and helped heal an emerging rift with local green-elves (who never made the voyage to Valinor, and stayed in Middle-earth). Finrod grew especially close to the House of Bëor, and invited Bëor himself to spend the rest of his days in Nargothrond. Again, this relationship proves crucial in later stories, as the House of Bëor is one of three houses that settle on Númenor in the Second Age. Bëor's descendants trace all the way through to Elendil and Isildur, then, of course, The Lord of the Rings' Aragorn.

Related: How Middle-Earth Was Created In Lord Of The Rings: Lore Explained

Why The Rings Of Power Changes Finrod's Death

Morfydd Clark as Galadriel and Will Fletcher as Finrod in Lord of the Rings The Rings of Power

Morfydd Clark's Galadriel is perfectly clear about the manner of her brother's death in The Rings of Power - Finrod fought the Lord, and the Lord won. Arguably the biggest change Amazon makes to live-action Finrod, his death as written by J.R.R. Tolkien in The Silmarillion is markedly different.

Tolkien's First Age is defined by a string of major battles between Morgoth and the Elves, building toward the conclusive War of Wrath. The Dagor Bragollach is among the most infamous of these clashes, and resulted in huge elven casualties. Finrod would've been one of those corpses were he not rescued by Barahir - a descendent from the House of Bëor. Naturally, the honorable Finrod pledged an oath to Barahir by handing over his ring as a symbol of friendship, and this ring - a symbol of the bond between Men and Elves - would pass down all the way to Aragorn, who gifts it to his beloved Arwen.

Though Barahir himself doesn't invoke Finrod's oath, his son, Beren, does. Going the extra mile for parental approval, Beren needed a Silmaril stolen from Morgoth to appease his girlfriend's dad (his girlfriend being the elf-princess Lúthien), so traveled to Nargothrond and requested Finrod fulfill his oath by joining the mission. Only then would Galadriel's brother openly hunt the enemy - not to kill Sauron, but to spirit away one of Fëanor's famous jewels and score his friend a wife. Tragically, Beren and Finrod's company was captured by Sauron and taken to the latter's old watchtower of Minas Tirith, now under the Dark Lord's command. It was here as a prisoner that Finrod gave his life to protect Beren.

The Rings of Power switches Finrod's quest from one of friendship to one of vengeance, seemingly to provide Morfydd Clark's Galadriel with a more personal motivation to hunt down Sauron. The Rings of Power episodes 1 & 2 explore in detail how Galadriel is alone in her determination to eliminate every last scrap of evil in Middle-earth, and the death of her older brother provides a justification for this unquenchable inner fire. Whether Finrod's entire history needed to be eliminated in order to achieve that will be a matter for The Rings of Power's audience to decide, but there's no denying Finrod becomes a plot device for his sister, rather than a character in his own right.

Related: The Rings Of Power Can Address A Gimli Complaint From The LOTR Movies

Why Finrod & Galadriel Are So Close In The Rings Of Power

Morfydd Clark as Galadriel in Lord of the Rings Rings of Power

J.R.R Tolkien's writings on the Finrod-Galadriel sibling relationship largely concern their adulthood, but it's clear the pair remained close, with Galadriel regularly visiting her brother in Nargothrond. Tolkien also writes that Galadriel was closer to Finrod than her other brothers, and The Rings of Power takes that cue by essentially erasing the remaining two siblings altogether. Although brotherly-sisterly closeness is canon to The Lord of the Rings mythology, Galadriel never sought vengeance so directly. She remained proud that Finrod fulfilled his oath to Barahir, and the incident almost certainly sharpened her hatred for Sauron and the forces of darkness, but Galadriel never set out to kill her brother's murderer.

The Rings of Power depicts Finrod and its young Galadriel akin to a human sibling dynamic, with the big brother watching out for the little sister. Though not necessarily a contradiction, Tolkien wrote family relationships between elves with a more formal tone, and because of their immortality, the concepts of "big brother" and "little sister" were often less pronounced than The Rings of Power's flashback implies. This distinctly human depiction of sibling love is likely designed to make the personal journey of Morfydd Clark's character more relatable as she guns relentlessly for Sauron's head.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power continues Thursday/Friday on Prime Video.

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