There’s much more to the One Ring created by Sauron than a simple poem can convey.
The world created by J.R.R. Tolkien is so expansive, much of the lore surrounding the ring in The Lord of the Rings never ended up in the films. Aside from a prologue narrated by Galadriel in Fellowship of the Ring, Peter Jackson’s films don’t really touch on it—well, aside from sharing that it’s nearly impossible to resist and can corrupt even the most good-natured of men, that if Sauron gets it back everyone in Middle-earth is doomed, and the only way to destroy Sauron is to destroy the ring itself.
But what about those other 19 rings Sauron helped create? What was it about Dwarves and Men that he wanted to reward with those rings—only to bring those who wore them under his control? And what was it about the three Elven rings that made them able to resist Sauron’s power? C.G.P. Grey explains that and more in his latest breakdown of LOTR lore.
Sorry, Nazgul. You weren’t his first choice.
Confused about the different species wandering throughout the books? Grey tries to break down the lore mainly covered in The Silmarillion in just four minutes.
Screengrab via CGP Grey/YouTube
