Season 1, Episode 1: A Shadow of the Past
Galadriel's hunt for Sauron ends in the frozen north, and the High King sends her company home to sail West. Elsewhere, Elrond is paired with Celebrimbor, Arondir finds a burned village in the Southlands, and a stranger falls from the sky near the Harfoots.
Who went where
Galadriel
Forodwaith → Lindon → Grey Havens → the Sundering Seas
Finds Sauron's mark in Forodwaith, returns to Lindon, boards the ship for Valinor — then leaps into the sea.Elrond
Stays in Lindon
Gil-galad assigns him to help Celebrimbor with a mysterious new forge.Celebrimbor
Stays in Lindon
Meets Elrond and asks for his help building a great forge in Eregion.Arondir
Ostirith → Hordern
Leaves the watchtower to investigate sick cattle and finds Hordern burned.Bronwyn & Theo
Stays in Tirharad
Bronwyn worries over the signs; Theo finds a broken sword-hilt bearing Sauron's mark.Nori & Poppy
Harfoot trails → Meteor crater
Nori sees a burning meteor land and finds a giant man in the crater.The Stranger
Stays in Meteor crater
Falls from the sky in fire, with no memory.Advertisement
Key moments
Sauron's mark
In an abandoned fortress in the far north, Galadriel's company finds Sauron's sign carved in ice, the first proof he may have survived.
In an abandoned fortress in the far north, Galadriel's company finds Sauron's sign carved in ice, the first proof he may have survived.
The Stranger falls
A burning meteor crashes near the Harfoots' camp. Inside the crater lies a giant man with no memory.
A burning meteor crashes near the Harfoots' camp. Inside the crater lies a giant man with no memory.
Places in this episode
Forodwaith
The frozen far north. Galadriel's company searches an abandoned fortress here and finds Sauron's sign.
📖 Books: The cold northern waste.
The frozen far north. Galadriel's company searches an abandoned fortress here and finds Sauron's sign.
📖 Books: The cold northern waste.
Lindon — Gil-galad's court
The Elven realm west of the Blue Mountains, ruled by High King Gil-galad. Its great tree fades until the Three Rings restore it.
📖 Books: The last Elf-kingdom west of the Blue Mountains, ruled by Gil-galad.
The Elven realm west of the Blue Mountains, ruled by High King Gil-galad. Its great tree fades until the Three Rings restore it.
📖 Books: The last Elf-kingdom west of the Blue Mountains, ruled by Gil-galad.
Grey Havens (Mithlond)
Círdan the Shipwright's harbour at the head of the Gulf of Lune, where Elves take ship into the West.
📖 Books: Mithlond, the harbour of Círdan the Shipwright, from which Elves sailed West. Círdan held Narya before giving it to Gandalf.
Círdan the Shipwright's harbour at the head of the Gulf of Lune, where Elves take ship into the West.
📖 Books: Mithlond, the harbour of Círdan the Shipwright, from which Elves sailed West. Círdan held Narya before giving it to Gandalf.
Ostirith watchtower
The Elves' watchtower over the Southlands, where Arondir is posted and the villagers shelter.
📖 Books: Not in Tolkien’s writings.
The Elves' watchtower over the Southlands, where Arondir is posted and the villagers shelter.
📖 Books: Not in Tolkien’s writings.
Hordern
A neighbouring village found burned and empty in Episode 1 — the first sign of the orcs.
📖 Books: Not in Tolkien’s writings.
A neighbouring village found burned and empty in Episode 1 — the first sign of the orcs.
📖 Books: Not in Tolkien’s writings.
Tirharad
Bronwyn and Theo's village in the Southlands. Site of the battle with Adar's orcs in Episode 6.
📖 Books: Not in Tolkien’s writings.
Bronwyn and Theo's village in the Southlands. Site of the battle with Adar's orcs in Episode 6.
📖 Books: Not in Tolkien’s writings.
Harfoot trails (Rhovanion)
The wandering Harfoots migrate across the wilds of Rhovanion each season.
📖 Books: Harfoots are Third Age hobbit ancestors; hobbits do not appear in Second Age histories.
The wandering Harfoots migrate across the wilds of Rhovanion each season.
📖 Books: Harfoots are Third Age hobbit ancestors; hobbits do not appear in Second Age histories.
Meteor crater
Where the Stranger falls from the sky in a blazing meteor in Episode 1.
📖 Books: Not in Tolkien’s writings; the Istari arrive by ship about a thousand years into the Third Age.
Where the Stranger falls from the sky in a blazing meteor in Episode 1.
📖 Books: Not in Tolkien’s writings; the Istari arrive by ship about a thousand years into the Third Age.
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