Hmmm this is a hard one. I love Glug and Mrs. Glug and Glug Jr., I love drum playing Uruk, I love scary Uruk that attacks Bronwyn because it was such a refreshing change from the Orcs in the Hobbit (both in terms of not being CGI and being actually threatening and scary in combat), and I have a super soft spot for the three Uruks that torment Arondir, Medhor, and Revion: Vrath, Lurka, and Magrot.

They were the first Uruks we met who had personalities, I love their designs, and of course I'm obsessed with the scene between Magrot and Adar. I also just learned that Robert Strange, our beloved Glug, also played Lurka, even more of a reason to love him.

Chapter 47: Children

“Meet the Uruks” BAZUR, GRUGZÛK, LURKA (”DIGBY”), MAGROT,  VRATH, “FABIO”, “FURY(?)” (”unofficial names”)

Uruks in The Rings of Power   In the Nerd of the Rings interview (https://youtu.be/eDJ9SgAyjL4) the uruk cast talk about some of their orcs. They each played more (“at least two characters”) than the uruk we know the name of, some of them got a nickname from the cast. Most about the individual orcs is mentioned within the first 15 Minutes. How they portrayed them depended on aspects like what their job is (digger orcs or fighting orcs) and in general they “came from a basis of them trying to be more upright, not as crouchy than the ones we played in the third age.” Jed Brophy speaks more about them having a lot of talks regarding the physicality of the orcs with the movement coaches and about wanting to make them more upright. (e.g. as them trying to emulate their elven father, and because they are probably the first generation bred, rather than ones that were taken and tortured from elvendom, “if you give credence to what Tolkien was talking about.”) They talk about their physicality being not as broken as the one of the orcs that are seen in the Third Age. The way they approach playing different characters also revolves a lot around the different places of how they breathe and where they put the tension (~12:30) when moving etc.

Jed Brophy  VRATH  - Jed Brophy on twitter: “Meet Vrath . He’s a Scorpio and very handy in the garden. Likes quiet nights at home watching villages burning and chasing elves”  https://twitter.com/brophyjed/status/1569427731640877056  “FABIO” -  is the one with hair, starting the nampat chant, the one sniffing out Galadriel (~15:24) - and the modelling kind of guy; “Fabio is good at fighting, not injured yet, almost like an elf .. closer to elves in terms of uprightness in gait”  - In this context Jed mentions how a lot of how they portray the orcs and their backstory comes from the sculpt and how they look!  - Fabio the Uruk, #fabiotheorc, “the Uruk I named “Fabio”” gets mentioned in three of Jed´s Instagram posts. - Jed Brophy shared some great behind the scenes pictures (x)  of the uruk makeup.  https://www.instagram.com/p/CkETU-EDVet/?hl=de / https://twitter.com/BrophyJed/status/1584261382538608641 https://www.instagram.com/p/CjJTxIdB3lR/?hl=de /// https://www.instagram.com/p/CjcjgiLtVB7/?hl=de /// https://www.instagram.com/p/Cj58vY6Bs1Q/?hl=de /// https://www.instagram.com/p/CiTK838hFaZ/?hl=de /// https://www.instagram.com/p/CginH2IufpQ/?hl=de /// https://www.instagram.com/p/CgWDkBPu07P/?hl=de   Phil Grieve played BAZUR and another orc just mentioned as “OTHER ORC” that is bolder?balder?, in this context he mentions trying to stay on his feet, and having a reputation of slipping over and falling, there being a lot of obstacles on set; talks about costume, statue, physicality and “trying to be just an in charge kind of guy” for that orc.

[Unrelated gif of an uruk falling in 1x6 (bottom right corner)]

Luke Hawker  MAGROT  - Hawker mentions his scar, chipped away teeth and, how he had one of his shoulders always gnarled (also having a sore shoulder himself), with Magrot he was pushing forward from the chest and chin - has a thrakatul black speech line before the warg scene “FURY”(?) - can be seen at the treelines screaming when Arondir & Bronwyn escape  - played him much more aggressively through hips and back of leg muscles - was always angry and ready to murder and destroy - should be the same orc as the one he confirms as being him in an Instagram post  “PROLOGUE ORC” -  also plays an “ORC IN THE PROLOGUE” the one that got an arrow through the throat (~12:30) I´m guessing that one:

https://www.instagram.com/p/CiSG56WrXAA/  ///  https://www.instagram.com/p/CjjL3RPPctr/   ///   https://www.instagram.com/p/ChbCiE9v1kg/   ///  https://www.instagram.com/p/CfF5G11PhUW/

Robert Strange LURKA  - they say they were lucky they had a tall orc (but don´t go into why that´s lucky?) - For Lurka Strange tried to let the sculpt influence the physicality - but they don´t see the full makeup long before the shoot, there does not seem to be much time between the makeup test and the shooting - Lurka´s scar on the left side of his face and the cataract scarred contact lens meant that Strange let a tooth stick out on that side and did a limp on that side, as if this was a war wound or some kind of scuffle with a warg! - Instagram post: “Meet my first Orc baby: LURKA. He's a beast. Known fondly as DIGBY to me and the utterly astounding artists who birthed him”  https://www.instagram.com/p/CiX5fU6ohQ6/   ///  https://www.instagram.com/p/CjYZJMdIVTI/  ///  https://www.instagram.com/p/CipzycSI1h8/   Edward Clendon  was not in the interview but mentions on Instagram that he came in “at the last minute” to be part of the “awesome orc team.” His character is the “stunning beauty” GRUGZÛK. His name only gets mentioned in context with the scene where Adar burns his arm in the sun, and I was not sure if that´s the same uruk that can be seen in other scenes (e.g.. telling Adar they found what they were looking for while Adar watches the warg eat an arm) but the pictures on the post seem to confirm that.   https://www.instagram.com/p/CjONSQuvHNp/ Phil Grieve  has no specific orc post on Instagram but e.g. commented on Edward Clendon´s post: “Glad to have you on the team!”

“Nampak uglursha.” The Death of Magrot

Nampak uglursha    (1x04)                (likely: Farewell, Rest in Peace *)  Kishdibatoth             (1x04, 1x06)     “Search it.”         Izmûmbogh              (1x04, 1x06)     “I smell him” Nampat                     (1x05, 1x06)     (likely: Death, Die!)

Nampuk??  ozomasdyon?? Gimbatul!   -  “All of you! Fan out! Find them!” (Bazur 1x06) azujuk ?? imor ???           -  “Get out, now!”         (Adar 1x06) ushan?? nampuk??          - “They all must die.”   (“Fabio” 1x06)  

thrakatul  - “bring them” (1x03 Magrot and others pulling the chains*)   Nampat sha ghash, Nampat burzum akh   - being part of Bear McCreary´s composition that´s certainly there, but I feel like in the episode there might be another line first after the Nampat, there might be another udûn or something else.  (“Marching chant”  in 1x05, 1x06) - Not counting the couple “voices whispering in (unintelligible?) Black Speech” e.g. in 1x01 and 1x02. - Not counting udûn (e.g. chanted in 1x06) because it is Sindarin not Black Speech - I´m unsure what they chant when the tree gets cut down in 1x03, udûn would make sense but it almost sounds like uruk to me. - 1x03 mentions Black Speech in general when Galadriel finds a plan “to create a realm of their own”.  - Gimbatul is part of the Ring-inscription, same with burzum (“darkness”) - with durb/at/ulûk & gimb/at/ul & thrak/at/ulûk  & krimp/at/ul  from the ring inscription perhaps Nampat could be a verb too and not a noun, maybe making Namp/at  -“kill/put to death”,  then Nampatulûk would be “Kill them all”.  This would have been easier had I found this wonderful site first: http://blackspeech.ru/board/viewtopic.php?id=194 Look here for Linguistics eg. possible semantics of “uglursha”, some connect it with either fear or honour, I would find a combination of both in that scene really interesting!  In The Nerd of the Rings Interview (https://youtu.be/eDJ9SgAyjL4) you can hear about how the Uruk actors including Joseph Mawle (x) were passionate about having Black Speech in the show and actively tried to get more in.  Most about that is after ~15:24 but the whole thing is worth a listen. * Nampak uglursha is mentioned by Phil Grieve as meaning “farewell” (~ 23:30); also said by Robert Strange (~22:35)  * Jed Brophy mentions ushan?nampuk?  - “They all must die.” (~ 17:30) * after ~15:45 Luke Hawker talks about Nampat Burzum Akh  “into darkness” and a Magrot line said in ?? burzum akh a? thrakatul?? “bring them into darkness”  Probably like the ring inscription part “thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi” but I can´t find where Magrot says it? The thrakatul is in 1x03 but I don´t hear the burzum, but maybe he just gave that as example form the ring inscription, or they cut a part of the scene.  * Luke Hawker  (Magrot) spells the phrase as  Numpak Uglu sha  in an instagram post (https://www.instagram.com/p/ClpkYnBJKKb/)  (They talked about a “process” to have any Black Speech approved, perhaps that was an earlier version or something that got changed.)  (- Personal pet headcanon: Izmûmbogh can be used metaphorically too, like “I can smell his bullshit from miles away”) 

Adar & Uruks “Nonverbal Commands”   Can we talk about how in tune Adar and the uruks are?