I Would Do Unspeakable Things For Tom Bombadil’s Hedgehog Teapot

I’m still not sure whether Tom Bombadil has a place in The Rings of Power or not. While I like his whole vibe, I’m less convinced he’s important for the plot and not just a liberal serving of fan service to placate the critics of season one. And while Rory Kinnear’s turn as the mythical creature is more lighthearted than I expected – a positive for me – that West Country accent needs some work.

A part of Bombadil’s problem is that he’s entered the Stranger/harfoot storyline, a narrative thread that has felt stretched to breaking point since it was introduced. I’m in disbelief that the showrunners are keeping us in the dark about the Stranger’s identity halfway into the second season – and beyond, if actor Daniel Weyman is to be believed – but they’ve also added another wizard whose identity is obscured? This isn’t storytelling, and the payoff (whether they be Gandalf and Saruman, Allatar and Pallandro, or anyone else) will inevitably be unsatisfactory.

I don’t think istar nor harfoot needed to be included in The Rings of Power, a show with a great premise and far too many characters, and I wasn’t convinced about Tom Bombadil, either. Now I’ve seen his on-screen debut, my position has shifted from ‘completely against’ to ‘uncomfortably on the fence’.

Like I’ve said, I don’t think Tom Bombadil was a necessary addition to The Rings of Power. I think he was a necessary cut from Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. In the 500,000 words of The Lord of the Rings books, Tolkien has plenty of space to describe characters irrelevant to the larger plot, for purposes of mysticism, worldbuilding, and because he can do whatever he wants, he’s J.R.R. Tolkien. In 12 hours of movies, you don’t have the space for that. In 50 hours of TV show, it’s still looking a little tight, but there’s maybe room for a little of Tom’s iconic twinkle.

I still err on the side of ‘Tom Bombadil doesn’t have a place in The Rings of Power’. The dwarves have been chronically underrepresented across the first one and a half seasons. The harfoots, offensive accents and all, take up too much screen time for no real reason other than the show ‘needing hobbits’ because it worked for Peter Jackson. If The Rings of Power was more focused, it would be a better show in my eyes. I understand it wants to show the effects of the eponymous rings on the races of Middle-earth, but the Second Age is a tale of Elves and Númenóreans. They should be our primary protagonists, and the story keeps getting waylaid.

That said, I think Arondir is excellent and would greatly miss him if the Southlanders storyline was cut. I’m also a sucker for Ents, so the fanservice in that department worked on me.

Whatever your thoughts on Tom as a conceptual addition to The Rings of Power, I think the show nailed the execution. I was worried it would make him too gritty, too grim, which wouldn’t befit his characterisation in the book at all. He’s not as jolly as he is in the books, sure, instead wistful, pensieve, and measured, but he still sings his little ditties to himself, cracks little jokes at the Stranger’s expense, and plays with our expectations in clever, on-brand ways.

I’d prefer a brighter blue coat and some more eye-smartingly yellow boots (I know it wouldn’t fit the vibe of The Rings of Power, but it would definitely fit the vibe of Tom Bombadil), which is a shame because the costuming in the show has been great so far. I particularly like the scaled Númenórean armour and Arondir’s magnificent carved wooden breastplate, but the costumes are generally excellent across the board.

Costume aside, Tom’s vibe is otherwise spectacular. And accent aside, a lot of this comes from Kinnear’s performance. It’s no Iago, but his bumbling tomfoolery interspersed with moments of profundity is exactly how I imagine Tom Bombadil when reading the book. And his home in Rhûn is even moreso.

Obviously the desert landscape is a far cry from the idyllic Withywindle, but Tom’s multi-levelled hut, assortment of magical candles (or are they regular candles and he has the magic?), and eccentric tea set match his character perfectly. It’s the tea set in particular that I immediately fell in love with.

It’s spectacular. It’s a small clay thing, clearly handmade, and fashioned into the shape of a hedgehog. And it’s perfect.

It’s perfect for Tom, a being who cares for all living creatures in a way that only one who considers the stars newcomers can. I like to think he made it himself, maybe as a birthday gift for Goldberry – if the ethereal pair celebrate something as mundane as a birthday. But it’s also perfect for me, and I want it, I need it in my house.

I don’t even make tea in a pot, but I could change. I could buy real tea leaves in various blends rather than sticking to the tried-and-tested Yorkshire brew. I could become a Nature Man and get a job Outdoors carpenting or park ranging or frolicking or something. This teapot could change my life if only I owned it. I feel its pull through the screen. I wish to become Bombadil, eldest, wisest, and outdoorsiest. But most of all, I wish I had his little hedgehog teapot.