A new piece of official artwork from The Lord of the Rings has inspired an intense reaction from one diehard fan. However, unlike what one's gut reaction might assume based on that sentence, this is a heartwarming story. It's also another entry in the always massive pile of reasons why representation matters.
The Lord of the Rings is no stranger to self-proclaimed fans bashing any attempt at greater inclusivity. Many actors from the franchise's Prime Video prequel series The Rings of Power have to deal with racist backlash simply for existing in the show. But now, it seems that many involved with J.R.R. Tolkien's legacy have decided to join their performing peers in fighting back against the hate. Based on reactions, it seems to be going well.
TikTok user and The Lord of the Rings superfan The Ebony Warrior recently uploaded a video of himself reacting to a new Lord of the Rings tie-in card from the massively popular Wizards of the Coast tabletop game Magic: The Gathering. The card depicts Aragorn and Arwen, two well-known characters from The Lord of the Rings. But whereas the Peter Jackson-directed film trilogy and most other interpretations have tended to show Aragorn as a white man (played in the films by Viggo Mortensen), this new official artwork has unambiguously drawn as a Black man, and The Ebony Warrior's reaction to this is heartwarming.
"Promised I wouldn't break down today," he starts, with a smile, as the Lord of the Rings art is prominently featured in the background. "We've seen Baranor in the Shadow of War video games, but he was a made-up character for The Lord of the Rings." He then breaks that promise as he gushes about what makes this new official artwork meaningful. "I've never seen myself represented in The Lord of the Rings before. This is awesome because I've never seen myself as one of the main characters before, like actually seen myself represented in some form of official Lord of the Rings media."
As if to further drive home that LOTR belongs to everyone, as even Lord of the Rings movie actors said in the face of racist backlash, The Ebony Warrior continues. "Representation matters. Lord of the Rings has been my favorite for the longest. I don't think they understand how important this is to me. How much this means to me, to be able to see myself as Aragorn." He then injects a little levity into the powerful moment as he finishes with a big sigh and says, "well, I lost that bet."
It goes a long way in proving that representation truly does matter. Even one user who allegedly worked on this particular card set commented, "This video brings me so much joy. (Also it's being tossed around the office.)" Others responded with "You bow to no one," referencing one of Aragorn's most powerful lines from The Return of the King. Responses like this one from The Ebony Warrior and the comments prove that everyone deserves to see themselves in the media they love, including Lord of the Rings. Everybody deserves to be this happy.
Source: The Ebony Warrior/TikTok