Watcher in the Water



The Watcher in the Water was a horrifying and mysterious beast with many tentacles of living in a pool near the Westgate of Moria in Middle-earth.

Home
The Watcher in the Water lived in a lake that that was described by J.R.R. Tolkien as "... a dark, still lake" which was created of the damming of the Sirannon river, which was located on the west side of the mine of Moria.

The Watcher in the Water was one of the many dangerous obstacles standing in the way of the Fellowship.

Overview
According to the most ancient tales, Melkor, the most powerful (and the most feared) of all the Dark Powers and the Valar, in his fortress of Angband bred many terrible creatures for which there were no names in the Time of Darkness before the Valar kindled the Stars. In the following Ages, these creatures were a bane on land and in the dark waters to those who lived peacefully in the World.

Some of these beings of Melkor survived in the deep places of the earth in an ancient, dreamless, undisturbed sleep even until the Third Age of the Sun. It is told that when the fiery Balrog was loosed upon Moria, another being came out of the dark waters beneath the mountains. This was one of the great Krakens, a massive creature with many tentacles and a slimy sheen. It was luminous green and had an inky stench emanating from its foul bulk. For many years, it lay patiently in the black water beneath the mountains.

History
Eventually it came to the clear water of the River Sirannon, which flowed before the West-gate of Moria. There it built a great wall in the riverbed and made itself a black pool, hideous and still. This being was the guardian of the West Gate that none could pass without challenge.

During the time when Moria was being invaded by Sauron's orcs it built a dam in the river that was near the West Gate of Moria. During the attempted recolonization of Moria by the Dwarves, the Watcher killed Óin when his reconnaissance party visited the West Gate. The Watcher later attacked Frodo, but the Fellowship was able to injure the beast and escape. This enraged the Watcher and caused it to tear down and barricade the Westgate of Moria, thus trapping the Fellowship inside.

It is likely that the Watcher detected, or was drawn by some evil power flowing from, the Ring and grabbed Frodo due to that call. However, in the film Peregrin Took dropped a stone into the water, which may have caused it to attack, for it knew there were intruders. In addition, in the novel, it attacks when Gandalf opens the mithril-adorned door of Moria. Perhaps there was some charm on the entrance that would alert the Watcher when it was stepped on.

Portrayal in Adaptations
The Watcher in the Water can be seen in Peter Jackson's rendition of The Fellowship of the Ring as a very detailed computer-generated creature. In this scene, practically everything that was stated in the chapter A Journey in the Dark (The Fellowship of the Ring, Book II, Chapter 4) is followed meticulously to recreate the famous part of the book. In the movie, the Watcher is disturbed by Meriadoc Brandybuck and Peregrin Took, who throw rocks in the water to pass the time while Gandalf tries to figure out the password to gain entrance to Moria. This differs from the novel, in which it was Boromir who disturbed the water by throwing a stone, into it. In either case, by the time the riddle of the Door is figured out ("Speak 'friend' and enter." - by Frodo in the film and Gandalf in the original novel), the Watcher is already provoked. It catches Frodo and lifts him in the air, despite Sam Gamgee's attempts to defend him. The rest of the Fellowship, who attempt to cut and/or injure the many serpentine tentacles of the Watcher, saves him, however. The Watcher drops Frodo when it is cut; he is caught by Boromir and Legolas shoots the Watcher in the eye as the Fellowship of the Ring retreats into the Mines of Moria. Just as they make it inside, the Watcher tears down the doorway. Now the only way the Fellowship can go is forward into the darkness of Moria. Although Tolkien described it to have twenty-one tentacles, Peter Jackson instead gave it twelve visible tentacles. In the game adaptation of the novel, the Watcher is depicted as a Nessie-like creature with many arms.

The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age (Gamecube/PS2/Xbox) Game
In The Lord of the Rings: The Third Age, the Watcher in the Water is the first real boss that Berethor's party has to face. Its attacks consist mainly of tentacle attacks and "Reeking Spout", a gust of foul breath and slime that deals significant damage to the whole party. After a brief but fierce battle, Berethor's company is able to anger the Watcher enough to clear the way for them to enter Moria. Shortly after, they end up fighting the Watcher again, this time in a huge lake that has flooded part of Moria. When they fight it this time, they kill it for good.

Although this game is non-canonical to the book and even to the movie so the watcher's fate is still unknown.