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Revision as of 12:18, 27 June 2012
- "The Pool is up to the wall at the Westgate. The Watcher in the Water took Oin. We cannot get out. The end comes and then drums, drums in the deep. They are coming."
- —Gandalf
- "Do not disturb the Water."
- —Aragorn
The Watcher in the Water was a horrifying and mysterious beast with many tentacles 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.
Watcher in the Water from the film
The Watcher in the Water was one of the many dangerous obstacles standing in the way of the Fellowship.
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. It is now known why the Watcher guards the West Gate: It can be speculated that it is put there by the Balrog ruling Moria.
During the time when Moria was being invaded by Sauron's Goblins 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 might also have wanted to trap the Fellowship inside Moria and force a confrontation with the Balrog.
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 going after the Fellowship at the Doors of Durin with its tentacles in The Fellowship of the Ring (film).
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 injure the many serpentine tentacles of the Watcher, saves him, however. The Watcher drops Frodo when it is injured; 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.
Video Games
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.
The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth II (Xbox360/PC) Game
"The Watcher in the Water" in The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II.
In Battle for Middle-earth II, the Watcher in the Water is a power to use as Isengard/The Goblins or in the Evil Campaign or even a Skirmish. When it attacks, it uses its tentacles to smack any surrounding enemies. When picking up a enemy with one of its tentacles, it eats it and its health heals. It is a commander on the Good Campaign in Missions 2,6 & 8.When ithumb|300px|right|Do not disturb the watert dies or its time is done it goes back into the water pool where it goes to its home until it is summoned again. In Evil campaign it cost 10 power points while in a Skirmish it costs 15 power points.
Lord of the Rings Online-
Those who wrote this article failed to mention LoTRO's watcher. Upon begininng Volume 2, the Mines of Moria in earnest, the player enters Moria with his/her legendary, which can be named and tailored to a specific playstyle, making the new weapons very innovative and much more powerful than regular weapons. Before entering Moria, the prologue has the player at the walls of moria. After completing a series of quests you may enter Moria. However, the first expedition goes wrong, and the watcher takes Broin (please correct this if this is incorrect). While Broin is not dead, several other dwarves are killed and the group flees. Upon returning, you have been granted a legendary weapon, which is capable of hurting the watcher. After a prolonged fight of tentacle cutting and more hacking annd slashing, the watcher retreats and you may enter Moria. In one of the playable dungeons (known as instances) you may kill the watcher, which gives one of the rarest and infamous trophies. However, it takes a large group to do this raid, or a group of high level players. It is recommended that before starting Moria you are level 50 and have completed volume 1 (in which you aid Gandalf and the fellowship by fighting the False king of Angmar's forces). It is also noted that the killing of the watcher was never confirmed in the books.
