With Tom Bombadil (Rory Kinnear) being introduced in the latest episode ofThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power“Eldest”, it may come as a shock to some viewers that they have just met the most powerful character that was not adapted in bothPaul BakshiandPeter Jackson’s adaptations ofJ. R. R. Tolkien’s works. Tom Bombadil’s powers are never fully explored, though the limited power he does show in Tolkien’s texts shows that, whatever he is, he can perform feats unimaginable by other great beings in Middle-earth. However, despite his great power, Bombadil is not a Deus-ex-Machina, as people sometimes refer to the eagles as (which is just wrong, but that’s an article for another day). He may be powerful, but even he cannot stand against Sauron alone, hence why he tells The Stranger (Daniel Weyman) it is his duty, as he similarly tells Frodo in the books.
Tom Bombadil Is Unaffected by the One Ring
InThe Lord of the Rings:The Fellowship of the Ringtext, Frodo and the hobbits, Merry, Pippen, and Sam, meet Tom when they are saved by him before they can be killed by Old Man Willow, a tree with a nasty spirit that tries to swallow the hobbits, much like how Tom appears to The Stranger inRings of Power.Tom displays the power of disappearing at will and speaking to trees, like he did with Old Man Willow. However, when Frodo offers him the One Ring, Bombadil displays what has never been seen before or since inLord of the Rings. Tom merely takes the Ring, sees it as trivial, puts it on yet remains visible before making it disappear, and then reappears to Frodo.
Tom not only gives up the Ring willingly, butbeing a ‘ring-bearer’ has seemingly no impact on him. Even when Frodo puts on the Ring after making himself invisible to check the Ring is working, Tom can still see Frodo. Up to this point in the book, and after, we have seen every character who comes into contact with the ring be either terrified or tempted by it, so to see Bombadil make light of it is incredible.The fact he can see Frodo in the Unseen Worldcould hint that his origin is something similar to theValar and Maiar, but the mystery around his origin is far more interesting. As seen inRings of Power, Tom is similarly shown to be incredibly powerful, able to save The Stranger from Old Man Ironwood, as well as clearly being much older than he appears. The obvious question becomes “why doesn’t Tom take the ring to Mordor himself?”.
Tom Bombadil Isn’t the Biggest Surprise in ‘The Rings of Power’s Latest Episode
This is exactly the type of lore ‘Rings of Power’ should focus on.
Why Doesn’t Tom Bombadil Take on Sauron Himself?
This is explored inThe Fellowship of the Ring’s text, but the answer is similar to Tom’s answer to The Stranger in this episode: “Tom’s a wanderer, not a warrior”. As shown inRings of Power, Tom was in Middle-earth before trees, acorns, and refers to stars as “newcomers”. This alludes to the idea thatTom is simply not of this world. Not only is this why the Ring doesn’t tempt him, but it’s also why he cannot interfere in this world. His power is almost like a different source code, unaffected yet unable to affect Sauron’s power.
It is even discussed in theFellowshipbook at the Council of Elrond if the Ring could be hidden in Bombadil’s kingdom. However, the idea is dismissed as it is assumedeven Bombadil could not withhold the entirety of Sauron’s forces. What’s fascinating about this is how it shows even the most powerful beings cannot defeat evil on their own. It takes everyone in Middle-earth to work together, but Tom is not from Middle-earth - he’s simply something else. Tolkien explained in a 1937 letter to Stanley Unwin, published inThe Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, thathe saw Bombadil as a representation of the English countryside, and this places Bombadil as something to protect, rather than corrupt by asking him to go to war.
In the end, Tom Bombadil could only have this small appearance in “Eldest” andhe would already be the most powerful character we have ever seen adapted inThe Lord of the Ringsfranchise. Not only is he unaffected by the Ring in the text, but his immense age and ability to see into the Unseen World hints at his mythological origins. As a being representing the English countryside, however, Tom cannot fight man’s wars for them. He’s a wanderer, not a warrior, and that’s the way our Tom should stay.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Poweris available to stream on Prime Video
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Epic drama set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’ follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth.
