Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 episode 4: Tom Bombadil!
Sure, there are a lot of major events that unfolded on Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 episode 4. However, at the same time we remain rather transfixed on Tom Bombadil. How can we not in a way?
For starters, Rory Kinnear was probably the best casting possible for an iconic character, someone cut from the Peter Jackson films but loved from J.R.R. Tolkien lore. He is an extremely difficult person to translate to screen just because of the way he acts and how much power he perhaps hold. There have long been theories out there that the ancient Bombadil may actually be God!
However, that is not a question the episode answered this week. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, co-showrunner J.D. Payne goes into the obstacles that come with bringing someone like him to the series:
“I think there’s a long tradition of these kinds of characters — the wise trickster … Think about Yoda a little bit. He’s a funny green puppet who’s playing around with Luke’s stuff and then something ends up being the wisest being in the galaxy. We’re trying to walk a similar knife edge with Tom. Does he sing and spout nursery rhymes? Yeah, absolutely. But was he also older than the first rain drop? Yes. And the delight of it is that one being can embody all those things, and Rory plays him with such a grace. In one moment he is singing, and then I love him he turns and The Stranger asks him, ‘Who are you?’ And he just says, ‘Eldest.’ I get chills when I see him say that, because I believe he is the oldest being on all of Middle Earth in that moment. So there are moments where he’s very serious and very intense and other moments he’s laughing and cracking jokes. The fact that both beings can exist in one body is again part of the delight. I’m really curious to see how audiences who’ve been waiting to see him respond. And I dare say there’s a good balance here between the wise, sage, ancient Tom and the Tom who’s just messing with you.”
Dare we say that at this point, Tom is one of the best things about this season? A lot of that is due to Kinnear’s clear understanding of the role and how to make him work, even within the context of a dramatic show.
What did you think about the Tom Bombadil reveal in Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 episode 4?
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