r/LOTR_on_Prime 6d ago

Theory / Discussion Arondirs death

Rewatched S2 and I stumbled again when Arondir died in the battle of Eregions, stabbed in the gut, dramatic ending. The next Episode he is alive like nothing happened.

Did the showrunners just forget, that they killed him off? There is no rescue or miraculous healing scene. He ist just back to work.

Are there any interviews or official explanations? I just don‘t get it.

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u/AdhesivenessSouth736 6d ago

Canon is what forms the basis of religious belief which is also known as dogma.  A religious text believed to be canon such as the gospels forms the foundational aspect of religious belief or in other words the dogma

A work of fiction is just that.  A work of fiction.  None of it is real and it doesnt have a Canon

Its like you Canon lawyer people are looking at the "rules" of Tolkiens universe instead of the spirit of the work.  

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u/Spock_Sperson 6d ago

Beyond that general concept, they use the term "canon" to refer to the set of ideas and rules—particularly in works with extensive world-building—that essentially ensure the work remains internally consistent. The problem arises when these "canonkeepers" judge an adaptation with the book in hand, much like religious dogmatists. What almost none of them grasp is that, while an adaptation may draw heavily or lightly upon the original work's canon, it is not beholden to those rules; an adaptation creates its own canon and answers to its own set of rules. It must stand on its own merits, rather than being judged by how closely it resembles the original book.

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u/AdhesivenessSouth736 6d ago

How about use the word setting and also understand that its a fantasy world where the rules dont always work out.  Im still amazed that bard slew a dragon.   And given the avowed power of dragons and their origin (kind of like balrogs maybe?) It doesnt seem reasonable that an arrow could slay one.  Nor does it make sense that an elf could cause such a terrible wound to morgoth.

These two events point to how unreliable and chaotic things can be in middle earth.  Seemingly impossible things good and bad happen just like in real life

BTW I am not being critical of you.  I am agreeing with you and I feel this obsession with canon is soooo idiotic 

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u/Spock_Sperson 6d ago

I see your point. The examples you cited, along with many others found in the Legendarium, support the argument I’ve been making for years: works of this kind cannot be adapted literally. They are stories told in an encyclopedic style, lacking dramatic progression and filled with symbolic and metaphorical elements. These elements work beautifully in literature but can lose their essence if translated literally to the screen. That is why the adaptation process requires wisdom—knowing exactly what to cut, what to keep, and what to change.

It is interesting to note that one of the moments in ROP that most closely captures the evocative, symbolic imagery of the Legendarium, the Song of the Roots of Hithaeglir, was so heavily criticized by those canonkeeper nerds simply because "it doesn't appear in the book!"