The Lord of the Rings: Episode 108

In this series of blogs, I explore the musical details of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. For a comprehensive introduction to my approach and my creative experience, start with my introductory four-part “Appendices:” Part 1 “Journey to Middle-earth,” Part 2 “Themes of Middle-earth,” Part 3 “Forming a Fellowship,” and Part 4 “There and Back Again.” I also blogged about scoring episodes 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, and 107.

SCORING EPISODE 108
“ALLOYED”

SPOILERS AHEAD: In the summer of 2021, I began scoring The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. In my original creative video conference with the showrunners discussing the premiere episode, I had one crucial question. “Where is Sauron?” That was the tightly guarded secret of the season finale, but the producers recognized my need for a complete understanding of the entire story.  They sent me the script to the final episode, “Alloyed.” My jaw dropped to read this episode, one packed with tension, drama, and revelation. I knew then, even before I had written a note of music, that I would need to tailor certain musical themes specifically for the shocking twist.