Were they lying to us all this time?
When one first sees a Harfoot from The Rings of Power, one immediately thinks of hobbits: hairly legs, short height, fun songs, and the general vibe leaves little to the imagination… or does it?
It would seem that not everyone is convinced that the Harfoots are in fact proto-hobbits, as there are just too many things pointing at the contrary.
According to a Reddit theory, there are several differences between the Harfoots and the hobbits as we know them. First of all, the Harfoots are “very fearful”, hiding from the outside world and preventing fellow members from wandering around. Then, the theory notes that “they have built their caravan to be hidden under camouflage, and it is stated in the Silmarillion that they will eventually move to living in holes.”
Another thing that distinguishes the Harfoots from hobbits is how they lack compassion, the theory claims. It is largely about how the Harfoots stick to brutal migration rules that stipulate that anyone who is not able to keep up with the caravan will be left behind.
Citing the supposed lack of culture and empathy among the Harfoots, the theory goes on to suggest that they might be the ancestors of Goblins, which is quite a bold assumption.
However, it’s still not clear whether the Harfoots are directly related to hobbits, and why they seem to be so different if that is true. There are three more episodes of The Rings of Power to maybe shed light on the history of the Harfoots and the adventures they are about to encounter.
The Rings of Power is streaming on Prime Video, with new episodes arriving every Friday.