Quote:
|
By 1918 all but one of my close friends was dead.~Foreward to Lord of the Rings
|
Quote:
|
Perhaps in landscape. The Dead Marshes and the approaches to the Morannon owe something to Northern France after the Battle of the Somme.~Letter 226
|
Along the same lines of
G55 likes the little hints to actual Tolkien stuff. The orc work camp scenes reminded me of these quotes.
The trenches the captives were digging, and the landscape above the trench reminded me of reading about WW1 trench warfare, as well as Tolkien's experiences. The experiences of soldiers who knew they'd probably die if they left the trench. Then all of Arondir's friends dying in the trench or trying to escape.
I find it hard to believe the critics who have said the series creators never read Tolkien or don't understand it, after scenes like the orc work camp. The buildup of hope, to all of Arondir's friends are dead, and the industrialization of warfare to a ruined landscape above the trenches.