Have you read all of the Middle-earth books by J.R.R. Tolkien and watched all of the adaptations by Peter Jackson, yet still find yourself confused by exactly how The One Ring really works? Well, now we have this nifty new video to explain it all in understandable and deep detail paired with fun animation.
Fans of The Lord of the Rings movies are likely well aware with the Galadriel-read prologue that begins The Fellowship of the Ring, which tells of how three rimgs were given to the Elves, seven to the Dwarf Lords, and nine to the race of Men, but this video does a really wonderful job of really breaking down that SparkNotes version and explain just how Sauron used little bands of metal to try and control Middle-earth.
As the video from CGP Grey points out, Sauron wasn't actually so big on trying to gain influence over all of the races with his ring plan at first, and instead actually began the campaign as an attempt to simply control the Elves. It was actually only after this strategy failed that Sauron began looking into the other races, and that idea actually wound up being rather successful. Of course, it all ended in war, bloodshed, and ultimately defeat, so that success obviously wasn't eternal.
In addition to being a good Middle-earth history lesson, what I can appreciate about this video is that it does a fun approach to breaking it all down. I can totally understand why a casual movie-goer or fiction reader might feel extremely intimidated dipping their toe into a universe as expansive as the fantasy world created by J.R.R. Tolkien, and this clip makes it all very clear and simple language and even a few fun little speech bubbles:
The extra good news is that this isn't the only helpful Middle-earth guide from CGP Grey. Back before The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies was released, the same team also put together a short little video detailing the various races that inhabit J.R.R. Tolkien's world. It's just as entertaining as the One Ring video above, and you can check it out over on Page Two!
