Leading up to the release of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series, there was much speculation as to whether Amazon would choose a Game of Thrones-like level of violence for the grand fantasy series. It didn’t come to that in the end. Nevertheless, Halbrand actor Charlie Vickers now revealed that a truly brutal scenes were filmed that never made it into the final version. And with a bitten ear.
Amazon didn’t want to subject the Lord of the Rings audience to this bloody scene
If you remember: In episode 3 of The Rings of Power (Adar), Galadriel’s companion Halbrand takes on a few other locals on the island of Númenor (around minute 32) with the blacksmith Tamar (Jason Hood). Cornered, the thieving southerner shows amazing martial talent and kills four enemies at once – including blood splattered on camera, a broken arm on the door frame and a head banged against a wall.
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Lord of the Rings Figure Halbrand (Charlie Vickers)
Originally, however, this physical altercation was probably during the shooting of the Lord of the Rings series much more brutalas Halbrand actor Charlie Vickers divulged in the in-house Amazon podcast * (Episode 3):
One of the guys attacked me: I grabbed him, spun him around and bit off his earjust to give it to another who ran at me then spit in the face. Why did Amazon scrap the brutal Rings of Power scene?
Why the ear scene didn’t make it into the Lord of the Rings series has two possible explanations. First: with one Age rating from 12 at Prime Video*, should be the Lord of the Rings series “creepy and sophisticated” but still remain potential family entertainment. The inevitably bloody biting off of body parts would probably have crossed a line that even the battle in episode 6 (with orcs dripping black blood from empty eye sockets) didn’t reach.
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Lord of the Rings series with a more brutal semi-rim?
Secondly – and with that we are now going into the Spoiler territory — the gruesomely brutal act would inevitably have raised questions about Halbrand’s character that the Lord of the Rings series hasn’t wanted to make too obvious at this point in the narrative. Torn ears would probably all too obviously have fallen on the side of evil. By keeping Halbrand ambivalent, the fantasy series allowed Sauron’s identity to be veiled from many for a little longer.
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Was the Lord of the Rings series “brutal enough” for you or would you have liked to see more?