After setting up Galadriel’s quest and Gil-galad’s heavenly kingdom of Lindon, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power passes over a large landmass of Middle-earth to arrive at a place called the Southlands, where the human town of Tirharad is located.
There, we meet one of the protagonists called Arondir, an Elf ranger who, alongside others of his kind, stands guard over the settlements of Men in that region. There also appears to be a certain animosity between Men and Elves who co-exist in the Southlands, with the humans spurning the Elves and the Eldar returning that hostility with mistrusting eyes of their own.
Since there isn’t much data on the way the remaining tribes of Men organized themselves before the foundation of Gondor and Arnor in the Second Age, and Rohan in the Third, it’s become clear that the writers for Amazon’s adaptation have had to fill in the blanks on their own. Though to know what the town of Tirharad stands for — or why the High King of Noldor has deemed it wise to keep watch over it with a squad of Elven rangers — we have to bring our attention to some of the subtleties that underlined their dynamic in the first two episodes.
Almost as soon as Gil-galad disbands Galadriel’s search party and announces that Sauron the Deceiver has left them in peace at least, the High King writes to the watchtower to disband the rangers. As for why these people — Arondir among them — were tasked with keeping a watchful eye on the towns of Men, we’re once again reminded of the larger rift between the Eldar and the rest of the Children of Iluvatar.
Indeed, the Elves don’t hold many human tribes in high esteem due to the fact that some of them — especially those toward the east and the Southlands — allied themselves with Morgoth in the War of Wrath. And even though it’s been long since the Dark Lord was defeated, the Elves remain suspicious of Men and their darker nature, which makes them vulnerable to such things as greed, ambition, and cruel tendencies.
In essence, Gil-galad is of the opinion that if Sauron were to return, then towns such as Tirharad might join forces with him and betray the rest of the Free Peoples. Even if not for that, it might generally be a good idea to keep a watch on the borders of the realm in case the Enemy’s minions start stirring again, and they almost certainly are by the looks of things in the first two episodes.
For all we know, the watchtower might be on the verge of being overrun by an army of Orcs as early as the next episode, so stay tuned as The Rings of Power reveals more about the Southlands and Arondir’s purpose in the narrative when it returns this Friday with another outing.