Where to Watch:
Season 2 Quotes
Forodwaith Sauron: Always, after a defeat, the shadow takes another shape and grows again. Morgoth is gone. Leaving us alone and disgraced. But today, a new age begins. Under me. Your new master. Sauron.
Forodwaith Sauron: [to the Orcs] Doubt me at your peril. You have nowhere else to turn. The Valar will never forgive you. Elves will never accept you. Men will never look upon you with anything but horror and disgust. A corrupted and ignoble race, worthy only to be hunted and slaughtered. I am your only future, and my path your only path!
Diarmid: That way lies death, friend.
Sauron: Then that is my path.
Diarmid: An army of Orcs moves against Men. We were the fortunate ones.
Sauron: Perhaps the fortunate ones were the first to die.
Diarmid: I know you’ve suffered. I can see it in your eyes. There’s another life waiting for you. You just have to turn toward it.
Diarmid: A sure path may crumble, but there’s always another. Often, it can lead us someplace better. Someplace good.
Diarmid: [to Sauron] They say there’s places across the sea, a man can escape himself. Find another path. Perhaps another life. Come with us, if you like. Or, walk on. And keep chasing death. Choice is yours, friend.
Diarmid: Find forgiveness. You are alive because you have chosen good.
Sauron: But what of tomorrow?
Diarmid: You have to choose it again. And the next day. And the next. Until it becomes a part of your nature.
High King Gil-Galad: Now, who is this Man?
Galadriel: He is no Man. He has been masquerading as one. Appearing in fair form, to hide his true self. He is Sauron.
High King Gil-Galad: Those Rings are more than our last hope, they may be the last hope for all Middle-earth.
The Stranger: Panic is the fool’s meal, Nori. We would be wiser to sup on patience.
The Stranger: Some things are best not shared aloud.
Nori Brandyfoot: Except, well, you did sort of share it aloud. So it’s not rightly fair to be all cryptic about it now, is it?
The Stranger: But perhaps, wizards are not always fair.
The Stranger: Strange how that which is left behind can be the heaviest burden to carry.
Galadriel: [to Elrond] I should have trusted you, as I asked you to trust me. But unless we both trust in the Rings now, all will be lost. With three, there is balance.
Elrond: The light of Valinor shone upon your very face, Galadriel, and you turned your back on it. Was it truly to fight the darkness, or was the darkness calling to you? Can you not see? All this may be by his design.
Galadriel: I did what I felt was right. And time alone will reveal whether that was folly or wisdom.
Elrond: What time do you think you have?
Prince Durin IV: You married a prince. But now you’re bound to an outcast.
Princess Disa: I’m bound to the Dwarf I love. And I wouldn’t trade his heart for a mine full of fire opals.
Prince Durin IV: Be nice to have the opals though.
Princess Disa: Aye. It would.
Galadriel: Sauron sees himself not as master of a barren waste, but of all Middle-earth. He seeks to rule it not only through conquest, but by bending the minds and wills of all its peoples to his own. And for that, he needs not armies, but Rings.
High King Gil-Galad: You believe the Rings have kindled your ability to see that which has not yet come to pass?
Galadriel: Have they kindled yours?
Galadriel: [referring to Sauron] He knows my mind. And I know his. Which is why I must face him. Why I alone can slay him.
The Stranger: But don’t you see? No one can give you a name. It is yours already. It is who you are. And when you hear it spoken, you feel your heart glow.
The Stranger: My preference would be to avoid the path on which we would run out of water the first day and die of heat the second. But perhaps that is just me?
Princess Disa: A rumor’s like a songbird. May sound filling from afar, but up close, it’s an empty feast.
Princess Disa: What you call “stubbornness”, some Dwarves call “strength”.
King Durin III: Oh, I imagine it does take strength to carry a grudge so heavy. To keep your wounded heart so tightly bound, it can barely beat.
Elrond: [to Galadriel] In choosing to wear those Rings, you have all chosen to become his collaborators. I will have no part in it.
Círdan: Judge the work, and leave judgment concerning those who wrought it to the judge who sees all things.
Elrond: That feels impossible.
Círdan: It is called humility. And it is difficult for most. But it is the truest form of sight.
Círdan: You are wise to fear this power, Elrond. But do not let that fear blind you to the ways it can be used for good. For it is not your enemy, that bears these Rings, but your most trusted friends. If you believe they have strayed, do not abandon them, but rather open your eyes and guide them. Before the darkness spreads across Middle-earth, and blinds us all.
Poppy Proudfellow: [referring to the stranger] How could someone who hasn’t eaten in so long still weigh so much?
Sauron: The true creators toil till their knuckles bleed, and then they come along, take whatever profits them most, and forget all about us.
Sauron: There is no place for half-truths between those who’ve worked so close as you and I.
Sauron: [to Celebrimbor] At this very moment, all Middle-earth balances on the brink of the abyss. Soon, every realm will fall. Not just Elves, but Dwarves. And Men. The darkness is growing stronger. And the Rings of Power are our last hope of restoring the light. You and I have work to do.
Sauron: A storm is coming, Celebrimbor. I can bring you the knowledge none other possesses. I can unlock your grandest abilities. And when our work is complete, never again will the world overlook you as the mere scion of Feanor but forevermore revere you, The Lord of the Rings.
Lord Celebrimbor: What am I to call you?
Sauron: I am your partner. No more, no less. A sharer of gifts. Annatar.
Lord Celebrimbor: Annatar. Lord of Gifts.
Lord Celebrimbor: These Rings will be beyond any power yet devised by Dwarf, or Man, or Elf. They shall be Rings of Power.
Prince Durin IV: I was thinking, whoever that Annatar is, he doesn’t know Elrond from a hole in the ground.
Princess Disa: How do you know?
Prince Durin IV: Because Elrond would never say such nice things about me.
King Durin III: You look terrible.
Prince Durin IV: Miners have calloused fists. Their punches land hard.
King Durin III: Wait till your children grow up.
Arondir: I felt such anger. Toward Morgoth. But I felt the most anger towards myself. It is a thirst that can never be slaked, Theo. And in the end it will drink you dry.
Poppy Proudfellow: If everybody calls you Nobody, doesn’t anybody call you somebody?
Tom Bombadil: [to the stranger] Tell me, who are you, alone, yourself, and nameless? But you are young, and I am old. Eldest, that’s what I am.
Tom Bombadil: All things belong each to themselves. Just as you belong to yourself. Arondir: We all do foolish things sometimes. Especially in moments of hopelessness. Sauron: Men are capable of great frailty. But when the darkness falls, there are always some who rise forth and shine. Queen Regent Míriel: Not every battle must be fought to be won. Sometimes maintaining stillness of heart is the greatest victory of all, the greatest act of faith one can perform. Tom Bombadil: [to the Stranger] There are times when one path becomes two, and you must choose. Turn away now, and you can never return to this path. Captain Elendil: Faith is not faith if it is not lived. Elrond: My heart sings to see you, old friend. Sauron: [to Celebrimbor] I have learned so much from you, since I came to Eregion. But no lesson more lasting than this. True creation requires sacrifice. Elrond: [in Sindarin] Forgive me. Lord Celebrimbor: But perhaps, the Elves need only remember that it is not strength that overcomes darkness, but light. Armies may rise, hearts may fail, yet still, light endures, and is mightier than strength. For in its presence, all darkness must flee. Queen Regent Míriel: One does not need eyes to lead in the dark. Sauron: Galadriel, surely you of all Elves must understand that to find the light, we must first touch the darkness. Arondir: What course would you advise, Commander Galadriel?
Tom Bombadil: [to the stranger] A wizard’s staff is like a name. It’s yours to wield already, if you prove yourself worthy of it. You showed today that you’re not. Yet. Whether you can become so, well, we shall soon discover.
Tom Bombadil: Old Tom’s a wanderer, not a warrior. Great deeds are left to the hands they were placed in. And I shall gather lilies, while yet they grow.
The Stranger: You mean my hands. Is it my task to stop the fire? Is it my task to face Sauron?
Tom Bombadil: Your task is to face them both.
Galadriel: I know you believe this Ring is deceiving me. But I believe it is guiding me, and that following it may be our only path to victory.
Elrond: Is there no point at which the cost of victory becomes too great?
Galadriel: I have yet to reach that point.
Galadriel: Protecting that which is most fragile, most dear, is a task entrusted to all Elves. And one that is not yet complete. And I promise you, there will be more painful sacrifices.
Galadriel: Promise me, Elrond, you will put opposing Sauron above all other considerations. Even my life.
Elrond: I will make no promise whose asking is borne of that Ring. But I swear to you, defeating Sauron will come first. Even before you.
Lord Celebrimbor: [to Sauron] It is a game you play, is it not? Sowing seeds in others minds and then convincing them that the fruit is of their own thought.
Lord Celebrimbor: We cannot give Rings to Men. The risk of corruption is simply too great. Whatever problems we might solve will be nothing against those we could create.
Captain Elendil: You are walking a treacherous path.
Eärien: And yours is made of seawater. Take care to keep your feet beneath you, it’s a long way to the bottom.
Sauron: Some who behold the Unseen world are never quite at home in this one again.
Sauron: As one who so masterfully manipulates metals, just be mindful someone is not manipulating you.
Lord Celebrimbor: You see daggers where there are none.
Sauron: And you ignore them, until they are right at your throat.
Lord Celebrimbor: My mind must be going.
Sauron: Or you are going so deep into it, coming out again has become an incredible burden. So deep. I imagine at times you must be tempted simply to stay there awhile, gain some clarity.
Adar: [referring to Sauron] But sooner or later, he sees you. Not just who you are, but who you wish to be. His eye bores a hole and the rest of him slithers in. For a while, he even makes you believe that his power has become yours. Irresistible power, that makes every desire’s fulfillment seem inevitable. An ocean of color against which everything else feels forever thereafter…
Galadriel: A dull gray.
Tom Bombadil: [to the Stranger] Many that die deserve life. Some that live deserve death. Who are you to give it to them?
Tom Bombadil: Sauron rises in the west. A Dark Wizard in the east. Every soul in Middle-earth is in peril. Will you abandon them to their doom?
The Stranger: She is my friend.
Tom Bombadil: Your friend or your destiny? The choice is yours.
Captain Elendil: I would rather die with a heart that is whole, than live with one broken by cowardice.
Sauron: We are close, now, Celebrimbor. So close to achieving what we set out to do. I give you my oath, upon my immortal being, when the history of this Age is written, the Silmarils, well, they will merit little more than a whisper. But your Rings, the Rings of Power, they will be deemed the most precious creations in all Middle-earth. Do not turn back now, at the very moment your boots are kissing the threshold.
Lord Celebrimbor: When the world is still, then the ideas can flow freely.
Prince Durin IV: You tidal-haired, flowery-tongued flagpole.
Elrond: “Tidal-haired”?
Elrond: I know I ask too much of you, Durin, but I need your axe, old friend. I need it now.
Lord Celebrimbor: What have you done to me?
Sauron: Done to you? You welcomed my instruction. You practically begged for it.
Lord Celebrimbor: You are He. Are you not? You are…
Sauron: I have many names.
Galadriel: Win.
Prince Durin IV: At this moment, the great tale of our Age is being written. And it falls to us to decide whether it will end in tragedy, or triumph.
Sauron: [to Celebrimbor] Be not afraid. This too shall pass. I promise you, when Middle-earth is healed, and its people see what you and I did here, all our sufferings will be worth it.
Sauron: All depends on the Rings. And since you forced me to torment you to bring them into being, I am but a victim of your obstinance. And you, the true author of your own torment.
Lord Celebrimbor: You truly are the Great Deceiver. You can deceive even yourself.
Galadriel: I’m sorry. I brought him here. I’m sorry I wasn’t stronger.
Lord Celebrimbor: Neither of us was strong enough. There might not be anyone in Middle-earth who is.
High King Gil-galad: A king’s place is wherever the need is greatest.
Adar: [in Sindarin, to Elrond] Have you forgotten your Rúmil? “Never make war in anger.”
Prince Durin IV: [referring to the ring] Be strong again, Father. Take it off. I beg you.
King Durin III: A Dwarf should never beg.
Lord Celebrimbor: [to Sauron] Your only craft is treachery. So pure, it shall betray the very hand that forges it.
Lord Celebrimbor: Hear me! Shadow of Morgoth. Hear the dying words of Celebrimbor. The Rings of Power shall destroy you. And in the end, I foresee, one alone shall prove your utter ruin!
Sauron: [as he stabs Celebrimbor] I am their creator. I am their master.
Lord Celebrimbor: No. You are their prisoner. Sauron, Lord of the Rings.
Adar: It would seem, even wounds that have endured an age, can sometimes yet be healed.
Galadriel: [after the Orcs betray Adar and kill him] All this was your design from the beginning.
Sauron: Please. You think too much of me. The road goes ever winding. Not even I can see all its paths.
Galadriel: We are not alike. We never were. It was just another of your illusions.
Sauron: Not all of it. Fighting at your side, I felt, if I could just hold on to that feeling. They could no longer distinguish me from the evil I was fighting. Are they not the seeds you planted?
Sauron: I see you. I know your mind. The door is still open.
Galadriel: The door is shut.
Poppy Proudfellow: Some things can’t be fixed. Some things lost are lost forever. No matter how hard we fight. How much it hurts, or how much our hearts yearn to put them back together. Because this world’s so much bigger than any of us. And sometimes the winds blowing against us are just too strong. At those times, we’ve just got to accept it. What’s broke is broke and won’t fix. And all anybody can do is try and build something new.
Poppy Proudfellow: Don’t be a stranger now.
Merimac: Thank you kindly, Grand-Elf.
Nori Brandyfoot: It’s high time I walked my path, and you walked yours.
The Stranger: We are very different creatures, Nori. When all is said and done.
Nori Brandyfoot: Not so different at all, if you ask me.
The Stranger: It was all a test, wasn’t it? Another one of your riddles. I was meant to choose friendship over power. I was meant to help them. I was meant to find this.
Tom Bombadil: A wizard does not find his staff. It finds him. Like his name.
The Stranger: Gandalf. That’s what they’re going to call me, isn’t it?
Galadriel: I would remember the counsel of our dear friend, Celebrimbor, Greatest of Elven-smiths. And remind our people, that it is not strength that overcomes darkness, but light. And the sun yet shines.