Sir Lenny Henry has some enlightening words about his Harfoot character Sadoc in Amazon Prime Video’sThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Some viewers may just see him as an overprotective leader among the nomadic tribe of halflings, but what inspires this instinct of his?
Throughout thefirst few episodes ofThe Rings of Power, one character who viewers have gotten to know is the Trailsman of the Harfoot tribe, Sadoc Burrows. Often showing up as a rather stern voice of tradition and discipline, he tends to be at odds with the mischievous and curious young Harfoot heroine Elanor “Nori” Kellamark Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh). According to Henry himself, he has good reasons for being so cautious and reverent in theLord of the Ringsseries.
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Prime Video recently released a new video on YouTube offering a short glimpse into Sadoc as a character, along with some commentary from Henry. “Sadoc wants the Harfoots to be in peace,” he explains. “They’re the beating heart of the story, and we stick together to survive.” Naturally, such sentiment seems pretty standard for someone charged with leading a band of nomads through endlessly dangerous terrain.
Sadoc keeps close track of everyone in his tribe, which includes those who have died or been lost along their journey. It’s through careful tracking of such things, along with an intimate knowledge of their history anddetails of Middle-earth, that he retains that sort of confidence in his decisions. “Sadoc knows what is supposed to happen when he looks up at the stars,” Henry continues just before his character utters, “The skies are strange. A new evil is rising.” It seems clear that Sadoc isn’t just being overly cautious, but that he has seen enough to know a bad omen when it arrives.
Sadoc is clearly genuinely passionate about his rolein the Harfoot tribe. Throughout the series so far, he can be seen keeping close track of his book full of history, names, and all sorts of other information. He uses this information to guide the tribe in their eternal journey and make sure they’re as cautious as anyone could conceivably be while traveling through the untamed wilds of Middle-earth. But based on how he reacts to the new evil permeating the land, as well as how others don’t seem to notice, he also appears to have an innate sense for such things.
Where exactly that sense comes from has yet to be explained. Sadoc is a completely new character who wasn’t present inany of J.R.R. Tolkien’s original writings, so there’s nothing really to go on for those looking to learn more about him. Looks like that means interested fans will have to just keep watchingThe Rings of Powerfor a proper gander at his whole deal.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerdrops new episodes Fridays on Prime Video.
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