If You're Watching 'The Rings of Power,' You Should Know About Tom Bombadil
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A new bombshell has entered the villa on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power in season 2 and it's kind of a huge deal for anyone who has read and enjoyed J.R.R. Tolkien's novels. The Amazon Studios series has made a fandom dream come true. Here's what you need to know about Tom Bombadil, played in The Rings of Power by Rory Kinnear.
The quirky character is introduced in poem called "The Adventures of Tom Bombadil" that Tolkien published in 1934, before The Lord of the Rings and even before The Hobbit. Tom then appeared in The Fellowship of the Ring. At the beginning of their epic journey, the four hobbits Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin visit Tom and his wife Goldberry at their cottage in the woods, and Tom Bombadil has a feather in his cap, a blue jacket, and bright yellow boots. He rescues the hobbit friends from forest perils and sends the traveling party on their way after some rest and relaxation, complete with a few pearls of wisdom, good food, and a lot of songs. Tolkien wrote about Bombadil and Goldberry's antics in other poems throughout the years, and in 1963, a collection titled The Adventures of Tom Bombadil was published.
But Peter Jackson infamously cut Tom Bombadil's entire chapter out when adapting the first novel in the trilogy for the screen. In an interview way back in 2001, Jackson admitted they briefly considered including a cameo and/or musical moment but ultimately decided against it. So The Rings of Power season 2 is the first time (!) that ol' Tom has been seen in a major live-action adaptation of Tolkien!
What is Tom Bombadil's deal?
Tom is not a wizard, despite his pointy hat and powerful magical abilities. He is a "forest-folk," a human-like creature Tolkien doesn't explore as thoroughly as he does elves, dwarves, hobbits, wizards, or men. Tom is kind of the oldest living being in Middle-earth. He is a wife guy. He protects the nature of the forest around him. That's enough!
Bombadil has been a subject of fascination for Tolkien fans, scholars, and philosophers over decades. He's charming and mysterious! He has also inspired other works of art, including an instrumental Nickel Creek song from the year 2000. People really, really love this minor character.
He's also completely uncorrupted and unbothered by the Ring. (Even Frodo Baggins, our pure-hearted hero, can't say that.) Tom doesn't disappear when he puts the ring on or anything...but his level of IDGAF isn't exactly helpful to the quest at hand. When the members of the Council of Elrond ask Gandalf if Bombadil could just hide the Ring from Sauron, the wizard says, "He would not understand the need. And if he were given the Ring, he would soon forget it or most likely throw it away. Such things have no hold on his mind. He would be a most unsafe guardian; And that alone is answer enough." Oh!
Rufus Wainwright lent his voice to the Bombadil cause on The Rings of Power.
The soundtrack for season 2 of The Rings of Power includes "Old Tom Bombadil," sung by none other than Wainwright and including a lot of that original Tolkein poem and the songs the character sings in Fellowship in the lyrics.
There's also another song on the album, "The River Daughter," (sung by Raya Yarbrough, whose voice you probably recognize from the Outlander theme) which I feel fairly confident is about Goldberry. The lyrics are taken directly from Tolkien's text as well.
So what is Tom Bombadil doing in The Rings of Power?
All we know that is that Tom will meet The Stranger, an unnamed wizard on a personal quest. While he may or may not find the answers he's looking for, at least we know he'll find some good hospitality and good tunes!
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