Attack on Dol Guldur

Dol Guldur is Sauron's fortress and base of operations and established after the year TA 1000 in the Third Age. It is in the south of Mirkwood. Its original name was Amon Lanc (Bald Hill). It also went by a more sinister name of the Hill of Dark Sorcery. It was the capital city of Oropher's Silvan Elves.

Sauron disguised his identity and changed his name to "The Necromancer." He secretly hid in Dol Guldur, slowly regaining his power. Once a little stronger, he took over Amon Lanc's command post and defeated the Silvan Elves. They were forced to exile without a home. Oropher's son, Thranduil, led his remaining Elf-kind over the Forest River to Mirkwood, where they stayed for hundreds of years. The Council of the Wise had surmised that the Necromancer might be Sauron and sought the help of the Five Wizards, which included Gandalf. In TA 2063, Gandalf went to Dol Guldur to investigate. Sauron, who then was still recuperating his strength, escaped to Mordor before Gandalf could find the truth about him.

In TA 2460, during the time of the Watchful Peace, Sauron returned to Dol Guldur. By a strange coincidence, it was the same year that Smeagol found the One Ring at the bottom of a stream. In time, Smeagol disappeared with the One Ring into the caverns of the Misty Mountains. In TA 2845, Thrain II, Thror's son, Thorin Oakenshield's father, the King of Durin's Folk, was put to prison in Dol Guldur's prison cells. He was the Ring-Bearer of the last of the Seven Rings of the Dwarves. Five years later, Gandalf once again returned to Dol Guldur and found Thrain almost dead. Before dying, Thrain entrusted him a key and map to give to Thorin II, yet didn't provide his name. Gandalf, at that point, was aware that Sauron was the Necromancer and Dol Guldur's master and commander. Gandalf convened with the White Council, informed them about the Necromancer's true identity, and advised an assault on Dol Guldur.

Saruman, having befallen into envy and corruption, advised against it. By then, Saruman was actively looking for the One Ring and knew of its whereabouts. He learned that Sauron was also looking for it. Gandalf again urged the White Council to attack Dol Guldur while Sauron was not yet powerful enough. Saruman thought of agreeing to this. He thought the attack would prohibit Sauron's search for the One Ring. In TA 2941, Saruman finally agreed to the Council's plan of attacking Dol Guldur (this was also the same time as The Quest of Erebor occurred). Gandalf was the chief architect of the attack and separated Sauron and Smaug during the assault so they couldn't be together and fight alongside.

In Tolkien's mythology, very little information is available about the actual assault. It is vague at best, whether the opposing armies used weapons, magic, or a duel between the Necromancer and Saruman or Gandalf. Yet some facts are provided by Gandalf: the Necromancer was unmasked and retreated before the White Council because of Saruman's deliberate actions. Sauron then fled to Mordor. Sauron expected that the Council would drive him out since he had been preparing to rule Middle Earth for a long time. So he again waited for the right time.

After Sauron's defeat, Gandalf left the White Council to go to the Lonely Mountain where Thorin and his Dwarf subjects were in seclusion. He helped Thorin with whatever he could to prepare them for the Battle of the Five Armies.

The assault is prominent in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies. [1] It is among the many main plot points. Other important plot points are the dragon Smaug's attack on Lake-town and the battle at the Lonely Mountain. In The Desolation of Smaug, Gandalf was defeated and captured after fighting Sauron and the Nine (Nazgul). Saruman, Galadriel, Radagast the Brown, and Elrond, the current members of the White Council, had intended to help Gandalf fight Sauron. In the Battle of the Five Armies, Gandalf was put to prison after his defeat from Sauron. He was suffering in his cell. He was chanting a magic spell with the help of Radagast the Brown, who was in Rhosgobel on a different location. Gandalf didn't finish the chant, he was interrupted by the Orc captain, who had openly despised Gandalf for using magic against Sauron. He threw him out of his cage and demanded to know where the Rings of Fire were.

As mentioned earlier Sauron only knew the Ring's general whereabouts, not a specified location. Gandalf fought back and flogged the Orc captain's mouth with a chain. Unruffled, he then noticed a mark on Gandalf's hand that stood for the power of Narya. The Orc captain tried to cut Gandalf's hand off but a mysterious power stopped him. Galadriel appeared from nowhere and told the Orc captain to stand down or else be killed. He yelled in defiance, unafraid of the threat. Galadriel raised her hand and summoned a deadly beam of light that incinerated the Orc captain on the spot. She carried Gandalf in her arms and took him away from captivity. Sauron tried to stop her by chanting in Black Speech, specifically the part referring to the Rings of Power.

She responded in common speech or Westron, "Nine for mortal doomed to die." Then they were surrounded by the Ringwraiths and prepared to fight. Galadriel shielded the unconscious Gandalf and retreated to the dais. Sauron cautioned her that their defeat was sure if they fought in the darkness, especially if she was all alone. She said that she wasn't alone, then Saruman and Elrond suddenly appeared, bracing for a fight. Elrond brought along with him his Ring of Power and his magical Elven-sword. For a frail-looking old man, Saruman was light-footed and adept in the fighting. He had a magical staff and used it as a weapon in fighting the Ringwraiths. Both of them tried to separate the Ringwraiths' limbs from their bodies, but they kept on regenerating.

Meanwhile, Galadriel didn't fight because she was still tending to Gandalf. She kissed him on his forehead and healed him. This action seemed to weaken her. Radagast arrived on the scene, riding his rabbit sled. He put Gandalf on the sled and prepared to take him away from the prison. Gandalf implored Galadriel to come with him. She almost went along but told Radagast to take Gandalf away. He complied. He then rushed off on the rabbit sled. Saruman and Elrond fought on and was close to defeating the Ringwraiths. Galadriel was still weak and lay on the floor. Sauron emerged from the shadows and brought forth his real form as a large fiery eye. He saw that his Ringwraiths were almost defeated, thus prepared to fight. Saruman was afraid at the sight of the Dark Lord, while Elrond fought on, unafraid. Sauron announced that their time was over and commanded the reinvigorated Ringwraiths to destroy them.

With her last strength, Galadriel herself in spirit form (like what happens in the Fellowship of the Ring, when Frodo gave her the One Ring). On her hand was the Phial of Earendil, which glared in brilliance and dispelled the Ringwraiths away. Galadriel was still physically weak, but she still fought Sauron. They were fighting with their minds, trying to dominate and control each other's mental will. Sauron tried to mock and insult her, Galadriel countered back. Sauron weakened his silhouette, flickering, and changing shape. Galadriel continued with the assault, and Sauron was close to defeat. She then screamed, "Go back to the voice from whence you came!" Finally, Sauron relented and fled the fortress in a humiliating defeat. Galadriel was all too weak from the extreme effort and collapsed on the floor. Elrond rushed to catch her fall. Elrond declared that Sauron should be destroyed, along with his minions, and Gondor should be warned. He told Saruman to take Galadriel to safety and leave Sauron to him (a hint to his downfall in the Lord of the Rings).

The movie had additional scenes that ended up on the cutting room floor. In the cut, a huge Orc tried to interrogate Gandalf about the missing Elven Rings. Sauron was looking for the Rings, and he told his Orc minions to look for any information they could find. The huge Orc tried to intimidate Gandalf, and he responded by lashing the Orc with a chain on the side of his face. The Orc seized Gandal's hand and found the mark of Narya on his finger. The Orc drew a blade to cut it off, but Galadriel appeared and halted the Orc. The Orc walked around her, looking for a weak spot to strike. She gave him the warning to stand down. The Orc growled and pounced. Then Galadriel disintegrated the Orc away with her magic. There are few extra footages of Saruman and Elrond fighting the Ringwraiths.

In The Battle of the Five Armies, the Necromancer had powers of seduction that brought his intended victims into a dark void, causing despair and decay. Galadriel fell victim to this. She summoned every ounce of her power to resist it. This forced her to bring forth her full potential. This action also showcased her strength of character and spirit. Cate Blanchett, the Australian actress that played the Elf-lady Galadriel, said that "Galadriel has finesse and strength of spirit, and how quickly power for goodness could be turned to evil." She also said that Galadriel, "uses the language of the enemy," referring to the Black Speech. Costume designer Daniel Falconer said that Galadriel's spirit form referred to, "an Elf revealed in wrath." This came from a line in The Fellowship of the Ring: Many Meetings. This part was about Gandalf telling Frodo about the Eldar and its power. The Eldar were the wisest among the Elf-races.

They lived in the blessed realm along with the Valar and two other Elf-races. The Eldar had powers uncommon in other Elves, one was the power to fight against the seen and unseen, referring to the spiritual and physical realms. In the movie, the spirit from Galadriel manifested was the representation of her wraith-form. Her fight with Sauron and the Ringwraiths referenced the passage in The Fellowship of the Ring: The Mirror of Galadriel. This passage was about Galadriel's statement that she could read Sauron's mind, yet he couldn't do the same to hers. She said that he couldn't do this because "the door is still closed." This instance in the story is mentioned in the movie. Galadriel had wanted to challenge Sauron on the spiritual plane. She turned to her wraith-form to enter Sauron's mind and break his will. She succeeded in doing this since Sauron cried in pain and fled the scene.

The same moment in the fight between Galadriel, Saruman, and Elrond versus Sauron was further expounded on. The commentary suggested that Saruman and Elrond may have the same spiritual powers as Galadriel because, like Galadriel, they were powerful enough to fight Sauron and the Ringwraiths back. Since spirits cannot be harmed by any type of weapons, Elrond may have been using some kind of special power besides his weapon. The Elven Rings were used in the fight sequence, yet only Nenya was afforded a prominent role. The Three Guardians of the Elven Rings, namely Gandalf, Galadriel, and Elrond, fought the Ringwraiths with all the strength and power they had. Sauron had little chance of defeating them because they were imbued by another kind of power: the power of goodness. Sauron and his evil minions could never win.

There are six movies Peter Jackson made about the many adventures in Middle Earth. The LOTR trilogy [2] includes The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002), The Return of the King (2003). The Hobbit trilogy includes An Unexpected Journey (2012), The Desolation of Smaug (2013), The Battle of the Five Armies (2014). A debate can be made about which trilogy is better. Most movie critics and moviegoers agree that the LOTR trilogy were better movies. From a storytelling perspective, the LOTR movies were designed as a trilogy and based on three books. So the pacing was consistent. However, the Hobbit was intended for only two movies, and there was only one book the three movies were based on. As a result, some storylines in those movies didn't mesh. Yet both trilogies were successful at the box office. The LOTR trilogy made almost three billion dollars and The Hobbit almost one billion. No one lost and everyone won, especially the moviegoers.

1. ^The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014).
2. ^The Lord of the Rings Trilogy.