Why I Love The Harfoots: An Open Letter To The Path

Witless Worms

“I have not passed beyond fire and death to bandy crooked words with a witless worm!”

Gandalf the White

It has come to my attention that some of you people, my boss and co-worker included, don’t like the Harfoots from Rings of Power. The reasons behind this injustice are unbeknownst to me, but I intend to correct your ignorance thoroughly in the following article. Disclaimer: I wasn’t the biggest fan of Amazon’s Rings of Power, for a multitude of reasons. The Harfoots were not one of those reasons. In fact, the Harfoots were my only source of enjoyment as I, a brand new employee at The Path, was forced to watch a show that I would rather have nothing to do with. And yet these Philistines that I worked with elected to take that away as well.

Shire Reckoning

For those of you in the audience who don’t know, Rings of Power is divided into several different plotlines: one concerning Elves and Men, one concerning Elves and Dwarves, and one concerning the Harfoots, proto-Hobbits mentioned by Tolkien in his prologue Concerning Hobbits from The Lord of the Rings but adapted by Amazon for the purposes of this series, admittedly with many creative liberties taken.  The protagonists of the Harfoots’ plotline are Elanor Brandyfoot (called Nori) and her friend Poppy Proudfellow. As their group of Harfoots prepares to make another Migration, Nori sees a stranger (one of the big people) fall out of the sky. I’ll call him Not-Gandalf for the purposes of this article. Despite Poppy’s warnings, Nori takes pity on the stranger and nurses him back to health in secret. As the Migration rapidly approaches, Nori is unable to keep Not-Gandalf secret. And, even worse, her father, Largo Brandyfoot, sustains a foot injury, making it possible that the family will be left behind during the Migration. However, in the end, Not-Gandalf helps the family migrate by helping to pull their cart, and things are looking up as season one comes to a close. 

Though their ways seem simple and at times brutal, the Harfoots feel like a much-needed dose of whimsical, light-hearted atmosphere in this otherwise fairly serious series. From their introduction to the series–I’m talking about the scene where the whistle is blown and they all come out of hiding–the Harfoots radiate a strange, otherworldly vibe. The worldbuilding and attention to detail that went into the Harfoot scenes–however brief–feel immersive. The setting, architecture, costumes, and makeup are all carefully curated. As a viewer you are taken to a world that is not yours, and is not like any place in Middle-Earth that you have ever been to before. I don’t want to hear anyone complaining this doesn’t look or feel like The Shire from the Jackson Trilogy. This world is secret to everyone except the Harfoots, and is set in a time before The Shire was even an idea. It makes sense that it feels foreign and alien in the larger Tolkien lore.

What About Second Adaptations?

Which brings me to my next point: I feel like a lot of fans complain either that Rings of Power is A) trying too hard to replicate the Jackson Trilogy rather than relying on original creativity or B) should look and feel exactly like the Jackson Trilogy, but isn’t. You can’t have both at the same time, and you’ll be disappointed either way. I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t like Amazon, and that no one would be able to make a LOTR prequel that could even hold a candle to the masterpiece that is Peter Jackson’s work, let alone some insatiable corporation looking for a quick money-grab. However, from an objective perspective, I think that comparing Rings of Power to the Jackson Trilogy isn’t constructive. Rings of Power, though it is meant to act as a prologue of sorts, is one company’s interpretation of Tolkien’s literary works. The Jackson Trilogy is another. 

You Stink of Carts

Addressing grievances with the Harfoots themselves, I’ve heard many a-complaint that they are “too dirty” which is the most ridiculous criticism of a nomadic, wilderness-based tribe of woodland creatures that I have ever heard in my life. Uh, yeah they’re dirty, they don’t have running water for fuck’s sake. Or animals that can be used to make soap. And before you come after me like “oh they could rinse off in a stream or heat up water under a fire and take a bath” yes, they could. And they probably do. But the thing with living outdoors in permeable, temporary structures is that you’re just going to get dirty all over again. 

All jokes aside, I think that there is a lot to be said about criticism of characters who appear dirty when, logically, they should be. The world of fantasy is full of beautiful, flawless characters who, in my opinion, look way too good to be living in a time before plumbing, skin-care, hair gel, or detangler. I’ll stop myself before I launch into another essay altogether, but as a person who works with animals and agriculture and does not always look like Galadriel, I appreciated the Harfoots.

Of Bees and Boiling

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the grievance of the bees. Yes, the Harfoots preach solidarity and teamwork but leave their weakest members behind when they migrate. Yes, one guy was murdered by bees. First of all, what was this guy doing to upset the bees in the first place? Bees don’t bother you unless you bother them first. I don’t know, maybe he deserved it. Second of all, show me a society in Tolkien’s world that doesn’t exist without hypocrisy and injustice. Third of all, how can you say the Harfoots are too brutal when y’all made me watch Shogun the other week and a dude literally got boiled alive on camera. And then they wrote a poem about him. Those who wish to join the “Everyone Not Frankie” faction,  I look forward to your recruitment. We are tiny but mighty. Benjamin and Luis, I look forward to reading your response.