The Simple Reason Harfoots Are so Brutal on The Rings of Power
The laws of the Harfoot society when it comes to migration are pretty tough... but they are also quite reasonable.
In The Rings of Power, Harfoots are essentially hobbits, but a lot less cozy than we know them from the Lord of the Rings movie trilogy. Unlike the Shire hobbits, Harfoots do not have a permanent home, preferring to migrate and lead a nomad life — with all the pros and cons that come with it.
In particular, there is a somewhat cruel rule among Harfoots: those who are unable to walk and carry their things will be left behind during the migration. It is certainly quite brutal, but fans seem to perfectly understand why things work that way.
Before hobbits had their own lands, culture, and society, they certainly had to abide by primitive rules that allowed their tribes to survive. The rule that stipulates that everyone should be able to walk or they will be left behind is among them.
"The Harfoots, as we can clearly see, are under constant threat. They live a very hard life. They're not cruel on purpose, but as a society, they cannot afford to put the group at risk to tend to more sick or wounded (or, uh, simply dumb) individuals – at least not when migrating," Reddit user JarasM suggested.
In fact, brutal rules from the past might be the reasonable explanation for the future hobbits being so tied to their homeland.
"That explains why they're so attached to the Shire and why they're fearful of going past its borders. It could end up as a pretty good story about a people finally finding their place after a lot of struggle." – u/Ethaalis
The Harfoots have their own motto: "Nobody goes off trail and nobody walks alone". While some fans were not okay with how it looks amid the cruel rule, others argued that the motto works as a means of retributive justice. According to Reddit user Kiltmanenator, the motto basically means that breaking the Harfoots' laws will mean that one will have to walk alone — a dangerous and less than enviable fate in the world of The Rings of Power.
New episodes of the Lord of the Rings prequel arrive on Amazon's Prime Video every Friday. There are three more episodes left until the end of season 1.