The word “Udûn” is not only the title of “The Rings of Power” Episode 6, but also appears in a chorus of orcish speech in the episode itself. What is it all about? In Tolkien, “Udûn” has 2 meanings – and one of them fits quite well.
“Udûn” is without a doubt the most mysterious episode title so far in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. True, as with several other episodes before it, it is a title that is picked up in the episode: When the dam near Ostirith breaks and water splashes up everywhere, and finally Mount Doom erupts, the orcs around Adar (Joseph Mawle) are seen chanting “Udûn” over and over again. But of course that cannot be the explanation for the sequel title – so what is behind it?
In fact, the word “Udûn” is ambiguous in the works of J.R.R Tolkien, although both meanings are related. The first and simpler meaning: Udûn is the name of a valley in the north-west of Mordor, or more precisely the area just beyond the Black Gate, which is also known from The Lord of the Rings films.The second meaning is somewhat more complex, but at the same time more applicable to the events in The Rings of Power Episode 6, for why would the orcs call out the name of an area in Mordor that lies many miles to the north and is probably not even called that at this point? After all, with the eruption of Orodruin, the Southlands only become Mordor, as we know it from “The Lord of the Rings”.
For the second meaning of the word “Udûn”, it helps to recall Gandalf’s fight against the Balrog in “The Fellowship”. In this scene, the wizard addresses his adversary as “Flame of Udûn” – because the Balrogs come from Udûn, the stronghold of the great villain Morgoth (the master of Sauron), otherwise known primarily as Utumno.
The Black Gate in The Lord of the
Udûn/Utumno is also indexed as synonymous with “hell” in Tolkien’s “The Lord of the Rings” books because this fortress was so infernal and corrupt. So Udûn is a synonym for hell in Tolkien – and that fits much better with the fiery volcanic eruption and complete destruction we see in episode 6.
And to return to the meaning of Udûn as the valley in Mordor: There is a widespread theory among Tolkien fans that Sauron simply named the area after the fortress of his former master.
That we can expect a literally post-apocalyptic hellscape in the next episode, where the Southlands once were, is also already shown by the trailer for “The Rings of Power” episode 7. The new episode will be released on Amazon Prime Video on 7 October 2022.
