It’s always a good time to dive into J.R.R. Tolkien‘s world and visit the elves, chat with the Ents and maybe smoke some pipeweed with Hobbits. With the return of The Rings of Power, now in the full swing of Season 2 on Prime Video — we can also take a look at some characters who may never get their chance on the screen. While we might be familiar with Sauron (Charlie Vickers) thanks to the series and Peter Jackson‘s movies, one particular villain may just be too sinister for audiences to handle… Ungoliant.
Ungoliant’s Origins Aren’t Clear, but She Has a Complicated Relationship With Melkor
Ungoliant is a character who is developed in The Silmarillion. This is a collection of stories and myths, published posthumously after Tolkien’s death, about Eä, the fictional universe where Tolkien’s stories exist. Middle-earth is a continent on the planet Arda which exists within Eä. The Silmarillion includes Eä’s creation story and discusses Melkor, one of the first beings known as the Ainur created by Eru Illúvatar, the god of this universe. Melkor is the first evil being and ultimately is responsible for Sauron. However, ages before Sauron entered the picture, Melkor allied with another being known as Ungoliant.
Ungoliant is introduced in The Silmarillion when Melkor departs Valinor and enters the dreaded realm of Avathar. Avathar is described as a place where the shadows are the deepest and thickest, and it is the place where Ungoliant lives. She is described as taking the form of a monstrous spider (sounds familiar…), but her origins are not entirely known. She is shrouded in more mystery than Melkor, the epitome and origin of evil in Tolkien’s legendarium. In fact, Melkor could have been responsible for creating, or at least corrupting, Ungoliant, but “she had disowned her Master.” Ungoliant defies Melkor. She is the most formidable foe in Eä next to Melkor. Unlike creatures like the Balrogs, who are subservient to him, Ungoliant holds her own dominion.
Ungoliant Is the Literal Embodiment of Darkness in This Universe
Melkor convinces Ungoliant to aid him in his effort to steal light from Valinor. She “sucked up all light that she could find” as the two of them spread terror. The darkness that Ungoliant weaves is not simply darkness but is actually “Unlight.” This monstrous spider is the antithesis of light in Eä, the embodiment of darkness. They arrive in Valinor and begin sucking light from the trees. Ungoliant is described as swelling to a shape so hideous that she even manages to frighten Melkor. Considering how much evil Melkor is responsible for, this is a mighty feat. No other character across the ages of Middle-earth accomplishes this.
Melkor (who the Valar and Elves call Morgoth) eventually steals the Silmarils, three jewels that hold the purest light from the Trees of Valinor. In his greed, Morgoth does not want to share these with Ungoliant. She wants them, though, and shrouds Morgoth in a formidable and complete darkness that he must summon Balrogs to defeat her.
We Don’t Know What Happened to Ungoliant, but Her Legacy Lives On
After Ungoliant flees the Balrogs, she hides in Ered Gorgoroth, a terrible region of darkness. How she meets her demise is not definitively known. Out of all the villains in Middle-earth, Ungoliant’s demise is the most gruesome: she cannibalizes…herself. In the text, it literally theorizes that “in her uttermost famine she devoured herself.” Even if Ungoliant’s fate is not definitive, her legacy is. In The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, another monstrous spider named Shelob is introduced.
She is described as the “last child of Ungoliant to trouble the unhappy world.” Readers and audience are familiar with Shelob’s malice; she hunts near an entrance to Mordor, devouring all who fall into her traps. She almost thwarts Frodo’s journey to destroy the Ring, but Sam manages to fight her off. Terrible as Shelob is, she is but a fraction as sinister as her ancestor Ungoliant. While we will likely never see Ungoliant portrayed on our screens, if you think Shelob is bad, you ain’t seen nothing yet.
The Rings of Power and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy are available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.
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