#hobbit hatred

It is said in the Ainulindalë that the Ainur, which includes the Maiar, possessed tremendous powers of foresight - to be able to pierce their vision past the barriers of time, glimpsing into the distant past and far future. Here in the fifth episode of the second season of The Rings of Power, we are shown how Mairon stands at the balcony of Ost-in-Edhil, staring intently down below. We do not know what he is thinking, but contemplating the real-world psychical power of bilocation and remote viewing, we might ponder whether Mairon, at times, was deep in meditation about his future state as the Eye, and even at times spiritually tethering himself to himself from the past to his future state.

One of the most intriguing discussions in the Lord of the Rings community is regarding the fact that Mairon-Sauron poured a tremendous chunk of his fëa (soul) into the One Ring, ultimately separating himself from his spiritual state and imprisoning himself within a material object. Here is the root of materialism in the Sanskrit word māyā, which denotes illusion or a magic art intended to deceive the observer, and is linked to the religious concept of karma and reincarnation in where souls are entrapped within the material womb of death and rebirth.

Mairon's name translates to 'admirable' and 'excellent,' which summarizes his participation in the beautiful creation of the material world by singing holy songs with Eru Ilúvatar, alongside his fellow Maiar and higher-ranking Valar. The Sanskrit root of mā is also found in the word mātā, meaning 'mother.' This has its theme in conjunction to the woman's womb as the vehicle of reincarnation, which binds us to this world.

When Sméagol's dear friend Déagol found the Ring and showed it to his friend, who is overcome with jealously, he is viciously attacked and killed. Taking the Ring for himself, Sméagol is immediately overcome by its power and begins calling it 'precious.' It is thought that he became obsessed with the Ring itself, but this is an example of illusionary māyā. The truth is that he was not obsessed with the Ring itself, but it was in fact, the power of Mairon's soul embedded within the Ring that seeped into his mind without him being aware of what he was holding in his hands.

It is thus Mairon the Admirable who is 'precious.'

This possession of Sméagol's mind by Mairon's soul even seems to have manifested in a manner in which the later-turned Gollum unfurls in anger after Bilbo Baggins took the Ring from him in his cave. When Bilbo first encountered Gollum in the cave, he told him his last name. After taking the Ring without knowing its true nature, Bilbo has made himself a target for Gollum. When some time had passed, Gollum left his cave to go to the far end of the Great River to the outskirts of the Shire in search for a 'Baggins.' We are not told if he succeeded in his quest, but an anomaly tells us that around the same time this happened, Frodo's parents Drogo and Primula were on a boat on a lake. Almost coincidentally, there was some sort of struggle, and they ended up drowning in the lake. This account is obscure, and its full details are unclear. Nevertheless, some discussions regarding this suggest that it was Gollum who murdered Frodo's parents, mistaking them for Bilbo and did not end up finding the Ring.

Gollum - the same creature that led Frodo and Sam to the gates of Mordor, all the while coveting the Ring for himself. His precious.

In this sense, it is not implausible that it was the soul of Mairon who had infected Sméagol's body and used his mind as a puppet to fulfill his desire to retrieve the Ring, no matter how weak he was in the form of the Ring.