We all knew that sooner or later we were going to see The Rings of Power a few orcs move as if they were a shapeless mass of beings looking for blood, but no one expected that upon confirming it, gave us the feeling of behaving like a vampiresa those that sunlight can blind and burn. Now, do you know why that happens in the Prime Video series? Why do those orcs from the previous ages run away from the light of day?
The origin of the orcs
As in all the work of JRR Tolkien, there are many sources in the books and written annexes that can give interpretations, but it is true that in the case of the orcs there is a clear reference to how they were created according to the lord of evil that they were lucky to have, and that in the end he was the one who was in charge of make them. And there are two: Morgoth on one side and Sauron on the other.. The first is the one closest to us in the narrative of Los Power Rings and the second is the one that Peter Jackson’s movies focused on.
So why can’t these Prime Video series orcs be exposed to sunlight? Well, this consignment of bloodthirsty diabolical soldiers was born when Morgoth needed to create his own army, which took place in a time of complete darkness in which the two trees of Valinor were not able to fill all the confines of the earth with light. Middle Earth. During that time, and according to interpretations of Tolkien’s work, the orcs grew up and made their way in a world stricken by darkness so that the passage of time was getting them used to that lack of light.
We could understand this explanation in the same way as Charles Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, in which he comes to say that the circumstances of the environment can mark key characteristics of each species, and just as the giraffes saw their necks grow to reach food tallest of the trees, orcs adapted to darkness by creating a natural repulsion to lightwhich cannot touch your skin or your eyes.
Are all orcs like this?
This is the million dollar question because, as we have already seen in Peter Jackson’s films of The Lord of the rings Y The Hobbit, those orcs had no problem exposing themselves to daylight so many fans have clamored for the criteria to be unified. Well, even here, those most knowledgeable in JRR Tolkien’s work do not agree and it is not possible to say if a feten orc must be like this or that.
And they don’t do it for one reason: the British writer, who gave his novels a historical background and a lore incredibly extensive that affected practically all the creatures and peoples of Middle-earth, it did not make clear what is the true origin of these orcs or their characteristics and limitations, offering justified options for everyone to think what they like best. Thus, while those of Peter Jackson are created during the reign of Sauron from rock and mud, all those of The Rings of Power they are corrupted elves minions of Morgoth that they do not share that origin and that they are previous to those of the Third Age.
So that’s what we have: in the Prime Video series the orcs can’t be exposed to the rays of sunlight… is that okay with you?
