Mount Doom, the active volcano at the heart of Sauron’s wicked domain of Mordor, is one of many notable mountains in Middle-earth. Other notable mountains include the Misty Mountains and Erebor.
An unexpected and spectacular backstory for the series’ most renowned volcano was revealed in the most recent episode of Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
Before I get to the more subtle questions, let me just say that, yes, Mount Doom did explode at the end of the episode.
In case you, like Galadriel, have trouble picturing Middle-earth in your mind’s eye, the Southlands of The Rings of Power, where the beleaguered settlement of Ostirith is located, is also the territory that will eventually become Mordor.
It appears that Morgoth or Sauron had a master plan for the transformation of the land from its original state of lush fields and magnificent mountains and that the sword key was the catalyst that set off the deluge.
The tunnels constructed by the orcs let the water rush through, destroying the land, and setting off the volcanic eruption that would become known as Mount Doom, which at the time of the show’s events had not yet been given that name.
A huge area, measured in kilometers, was scorched by the explosion of molten rock and magma, and it looks like it will stay that way forever, or at least until Frodo, Sam, and Gollum arrive with the One Ring.
Even though Tolkien doesn’t provide a lot of detail about Mount Doom’s past, the show’s narrative seems to fit with what we know about the mountain.
No mention is made of an intentional flood causing the eruption of Mount Doom, but we do know that the land wasn’t always called Mordor and that the name probably arose after the explosion.
We’ll have to see where The Rings of Power’s plot goes from here to find out what happens next and how long it takes for Sauron to move in.