The Silmarillion V
(QUENTA SILMARILLION: OF THE RUIN OF DORIATH, OF TUOR AND THE FALL OF GONDOLIN, OF THE VOYAGE OF EÄRENDIL AND THE WAR OF WRATH)
With Part 5 of our ongoing review of The Silmarillion, we finally finish the Quenta Silmarillion! This one took the longest to write and frankly, we blame Túrin Turambar. We weren't eager to go back to Middle Earth after that. Another problem was that we've been trying to keep this snarky and there's little to snark about here.
We knew these next three chapters were going to be sad just by reading the titles, but we weren't prepared for just how bad it was going to get. Naturally, much of it was caused by Fëanor’s sons, whose sole function in this whole book is to ruin everything for everyone. At least, this time, they were considerate enough to finally die, which is something they really should've done a long time ago.
Chapter 22: Of the Ruin of Doriath was dark. Really, really dark. It begins with Húrin, aka Túrin Turambar's father, being released by Morgoth. He's a wreck, both mentally and physically. Of course, Morgoth didn't release him out of kindness but as a way to create more chaos - it works. Húrin accidentally reveals the general location of Gondolin and takes the necklace the Dwarves made for Finrod to Doriath, which kickstarts a chain of events that will end in death and destruction. He also kills Mîm for his betrayal of the guy who kidnapped him, and meets Morwen one last time. Unlike his son, though, it's impossible not to feel for Húrin. It’s interesting how well Tolkien managed to bring all his pain and anger to life in so few pages when he failed to do the same for Túrin Turambar in a whole chapter.
Remember that necklace Húrin left at Doriath? Thingol decides that it would look even better with the silmaril Beren and Lúthien took from Morgoth. Luckily (or, more accurately, unluckily), a company of Dwarf artisans from Nogrod has just arrived in Doriath, and Thingol asks them to do it. The moment they lay eyes on the silmaril, Morgoth’s evil works to poison their min... actually, they just decide they want to keep the new and improved necklace for themselves on their own. Because they're greedy assholes. Which may or may not have been one of the insults Thingol used when they refused to hand over the work he had hired them to do. He also refuses to pay them, which is both understandable and unwise. The Dwarves get mad and kill him right then and there. Yes, Thingol is dead. Murdered in the depths of his own kingdom. Nooooooo! Since his second appearance in Of the Sindar, we found him one of the better characters. Probably because he wasn't perfect and showed signs of actually having a personality. His temper and moments of dickishness were part of it, and in the end, turned out to be his doom.
The Elves of Doriath manage to kill all the Dwarves save two, who lie about what happened, making themselves out as the victims, to convince other Dwarves to help them. Unfortunately, Melian is so sad about her husband's death that she stops protecting Doriath and just leaves. Sure, she tells her subjects to look for Beren and Lúthien, but she doesn't even wait for Thingol’s heir to take over. Again, these people have been her subjects for ages and she just leaves them unprotected. Somehow, we have the feeling Thingol wouldn't have liked that. We know we've been complaining about Melian’s lack of character development, but having her turn into a selfish asshole wasn't exactly what we had in mind. And of course, because Doriath is now unprotected and leaderless, the Dwarf army just barges in, lots of people die, and the invaders leave with the treasure, including the silmaril.
Beren and Lúthien have finally learned that things in Doriath aren't going well and the Dwarves are attacked on their way home by Beren and his Elven allies. However, the Dwarf leader curses the treasure they stole from the guy they murdered after he said he wouldn't pay them after they not only refused to do the job he hired them to do, but also wanted to keep his property. You can't be any more in the wrong than this. So, Beren keeps the silmaril necklace and throws the rest of the treasure into the river. The necklace didn't make Lúthien any less sad, but she wore it and everything was beautiful and wonderful. Instead of staying with his parents in this magical land, Dior leaves with his wife and kids to rebuild Doriath.
Everything is fine until Beren and Lúthien die and Dior is sent the silmaril necklace. Because whenever a silmaril turns up, Fëanor’s sons aren't far behind. There's seven of them and they all suck. They were too cowardly to go after Lúthien, but now that it's Dior who has it, they demand it. After he ignores them, Doriath gets attacked. Again. Dior and his wife are killed and their young sons are left in the woods to die. Yes, Maedhros eventually regretted it, but they were never found. But hey, at least Celegorn, Curufin, and Caranthir are dead. Three down, four to go! Oh, and Dior's daughter, Elwing, was taken to safety by a group of survivors, along with the silmaril, which means they still didn't get their father's damn jewel.
This was just a never-ending tragedy. Doriath got wrecked twice. And to make things even worse, the killing blow was dealt by Fëanor’s stupid sons. Really, Tolkien? Couldn't it just have stayed wrecked the first time? Ugh!
Chapter 23: Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin introduces readers to Túrin Turambar's cousin, Tuor, who's actually a good character. He's raised by Elves and captured by evil Easterlings, but manages to escape and spends the next few years fighting them. He's then contacted by Ulmo, who sends him to Gondolin. Turgon welcomes him, though he's become too attached to his secret city to listen to Ulmo's advice and leave. Well, at least Ulmo is trying to look out for the Elves. Unsurprisingly, the king's daughter, Idril, falls in love with Tuor, which pisses off Maeglin. He gets even more bitter after they marry and have a son. Despite her happiness, Idril senses something bad is going to happen and has an escape path built in secret. One day, Maeglin is captured by Morgoth and ends up agreeing to betray Turgon in exchange for Gondolin and Idril. That was a pretty underwhelming betrayal. Maybe if Tolkien had actually written Maeglin's interactions with the other Elves after Morgoth sends him back, it would've been better.
The attack is epic, but it reads like a synopsis and suffers from the same problem than most of the other battles - we don't know the majority of these characters. A movie would be able to tell several little stories with a few images of the nameless people of Gondolin, but Tolkien just gives readers a handful of names. This is a shame because the attack by Morgoth's army, the individual battles, and the survivors' escape using Idril's secret path sound amazing.
Predictably, Tuor, Idril, and the other Gondolin refugees meet up with Elwing and what's left of the people of Doriath. In his old age, Tuor decides to sail West and Idril goes with him. He may or may not have been the only mortal man to end up where the Elves go. Meanwhile, Ulmo keeps showing why he's the best of the Valar by trying to convince Manwë to go fight Morgoth to protect the Elves and recover the silmarils. Manwë, of course, does nothing. Because he sucks. Tolkien also adds something about both the Elves and the Men having to ask for forgiveness. Hmm, why? The Noldor who followed Fëanor were the ones who went against the Valar. The Sindar and the other Elves who stayed behind did nothing, nor did the Men. Oh, and let's not forget the Dwarves, who are also living in Middle Earth, at the mercy of Morgoth and his allies. Is it because they didn't collectively reject the Noldor even though they weren't immediately told what had really happened in Valinor? Is there something else that Tolkien never got around to writing? Seriously, there's no real reason for Manwë's behaviour. Especially since the Valar themselves have a strong motive for wanting to go after Morgoth, so they wouldn't be fighting solely on the Elves' behalf.
The Quenta Silmarillion ends with Chapter 24: Of the Voyage of Eärendil and the War of Wrath. This is the chapter in which the Valar finally do something. And it only took them twenty-three chapters and a few millenia.
Everything is going well for the survivors of Doriath and Gondolin. Eärendil became their ruler and married Elwing with whom he had two sons - Elrond (yes, that Elrond) and Elros. However, much like his father, he just can't stop sailing. During one of his trips, the last four sons of Fëanor attack and finish killing everyone. They also had to kill some of their own people because they tried to help Elwing. Frankly, we're shocked they still have subjects. Who the hell wants to follow these dumbass losers? At least, there's less two now, after Amrod and Amras die, leaving only Maedhros and Maglor. They capture Elrond and Elros, but they still don't get the silmaril because Elwing jumps into the sea with it. We have the sneaking suspicion that the universe may be trying to tell them something. Ulmo saves Elwing and sends her to Eärendil in the form of a white bird. He was on his way back because he sensed bad things were going to happen. After seeing the seaside destruction caused by the battle, Eärendil decides to sail West and find Valinor. Meanwhile, Maglor, who is tired of the oath, begins to care for their sons and they don't have to fear execution anymore. Aww, that’s nice. Though it would've been nicer if he hadn't helped massacre their people and nearly caused their mother's death.
Thanks to the silmaril, Eärendil and Elwing arrive at Valinor. He gets to speak to Manwë and asks for both forgiveness for the Noldor and help for the people of Middle Earth. Manwë's answer? He tells him that he, Elwing, and their sons have to choose with which side of their families they will be tried: Eldar or Man. After Elwing chooses to bind their destiny to the Eldar side, the Valar send Eärendil and his ship sailing across the skies. They also build a tower where Elwing waits for his return. Oh, and she learns to talk to seabirds and grows her own pair of wings. Those are some weird priorities. When they see the new glow rising from the West, Maedhros and Maglor realise it must be a silmaril. Well, they're definitely not getting that one.
And now, it's time for another epic battle: the final attack on Morgoth. The Teleri weren't eager to help due to that whole massacre thing, but Elwing convinces them to take the army in their ships because apparently, the mighty Valar are dependent on a single Elven tribe to get to Middle Earth. They really don't have any other way to leave? In all the time they've spent in Valinor, it never occurred to Manwë that it would be a good idea for them to have their own mode of transportation? And aren't they powerful enough to take everyone themselves? This is dumb. Anyway, the army arrives and marches against Morgoth, who throws everything he has at them. However, they're relentless and unstoppable and this time remember to look under his evil lair. Morgoth is found, chained, and the silmarils are recovered... which of course, means the last living sons of Fëanor, Maedhros and Maglor, are going to get stupid again. The Valar say that after all the awful stuff they did, they're not entitled to the jewels anymore, but they refuse to submit to their judgement. Maedhros is afraid of what might happen because they swore by Ilúvatar, so they sneak into the camp, murder the guards, and steal the silmarils. God, Fëanor’s sons are the worst. The Valar let them leave and after finally getting the damn silmarils, they realise that they made a mistake. Maybe they should've thought of that a couple of massacres ago. Maedhros ends up jumping into a fiery abyss with his silmaril, and Maglor throws his into the sea. This would've been more tragic if we had spent more time with Fëanor’s sons rather than their victims. After everything they did, all we can say is good riddance. (Yes, we know Maglor didn't die, but he spent the rest of his life wandering and singing sad songs, so we're just going to ignore him)
When this war, which caused some cataclysmic changes in the landscape, ends, most of the Elves sail to Valinor with the Valar and their army. Some stay, like Galadriel, Elrond, and Gil-Galad, the High King. As for Morgoth, he's thrown into the Timeless Void. That sounds bad, so it’s probably a good thing. Unfortunately, his lies will forever affect the Elves and Men and bear dark fruits. Hmm, that's all very poetically ominous, but Elves, Men, and Dwarves have good reasons not to like each other - reasons that have nothing to do with Morgoth. Usually, people who blame a higher power for their bad behaviour are confronted with the fact that it's really their own fault. Here and in Of Túrin Turambar, Tolkien did the opposite, pointing directly to Morgoth as the source of all evil. Ironically, only the sons of Fëanor appear to be expected to just stop acting like assholes.
Once more, the chapters feel like a detailed synopsis rather than a full narrative. We barely get to know the new generation of Elves, and even the omnipresent sons of Fëanor aren't that developed as characters. Celegorn and Curufin, who were present throughout the Quenta, quickly die in the end of Of the Ruin of Doriath. Caranthir, Amrod, and Amras are just names. Maedhros seemed to be the one with a conscience when he changed his mind about Dior's sons, but ends up being as awful as his dead brothers while Maglor, who's done nothing so far, becomes fond of Eärendil's sons and begins doubting their oath. It would've made more sense if that had been Maedhros as it would've fitted what little character development he had. We were kinda shocked at how awful the Dwarves were. Yes, many didn't join the attack on Doriath, but the whole thing was still terrible. When we add the way he wrote Mîm's death, Tolkien's opinion of this particular creation of his doesn't seem to have been that high, even if he described them as fierce fighters during the Nirnaeth Arnoediad. Then again, it's clear he seemed to believe Manwë was a benevolent and wise ruler, when he repeatedly wrote him as passive and unconcerned with the fate of the non-Noldor people of Middle Earth, so...
And after the Quenta Silmarillion, the Akallabêth and Of the Rings of Power and the Third Age. We're not sure whether we'll write separate reviews, yet. We do hope to finish them much quicker than this one, though.