Watcher in the Water

"Watcher in the Water" by John Howe
Unknown
Watcher in the Water
Biographical Information
Location	Pool outside the Doors of Durin
Notable for	Taking Óin; attacking the Fellowship of the Ring at the Westgate of Moria
Physical Description
Weaponry	Long sinuous tentacles
Gallery	Images of the Watcher in the Water

”

Out from the water a long sinuous tentacle had crawled; it was pale-green and luminous and wet. Its fingered end had hold of Frodo’s foot, and was dragging him into the water. Sam on his knees was now slashing at it with a knife.
The arm let go of Frodo, and Sam pulled him away, crying out for help. Twenty other arms came rippling out. The dark water boiled, and there was a hideous stench.

The Fellowship of the Ring, A Journey in the Dark

The Watcher in the Water was a mysterious creature that lurked in a dark stagnant pool or lake caused by the damming of the Sirannon river, beneath the western Walls of Moria. The full shape of the creature was unknown, but its visible parts were its many tentacles, which were long, sinuous, pale-green, and luminous, with a fingered end.

History

In T.A. 2989 an expedition led by Balin attempted to reclaim Moria. Their activity attracted the attention of Orcs, who began to attack the Dwarves. In 2994 the Dwarves tried to escape from the mines but were stopped because the water was up to the wall of the West-gate, allowing the Watcher in the Water to take Óin.

On 13 January T.A. 3019 when the Fellowship of the Ring arrived by the pool of water, which had receded enough to create a narrow walkway, many immediately began to feel uneasy by the water. As they pondered the riddle of the Doors of Durin, the Watcher in the Water was disturbed when Boromir threw a stone into the dark waters, alerting it. Moving towards the shore from the southern end, it attacked the Fellowship just as Gandalf managed to open the West-gate to enter Moria. It grasped Frodo Baggins by his ankle and attempted to drag him by his foot into the water. Samwise Gamgee used a knife to slash at the tentacle holding Frodo, causing it to release the Hobbit, but enraging the Watcher enough for it to attack with twenty other tentacles moments later. The party retreated through the doorway at Gandalf's command, followed by several tentacles fingering the cliff-wall.

The creature possessed great strength; after the escape of the Fellowship into Moria, the coiling arms grasped the enormous stone doors and wrenched them shut. The force of this action somehow uprooted the ancient holly trees which grew on either side. They fell across the Doors and barred them from the outside, trapping the Fellowship within Moria. When Frodo asked Gandalf what the creature was and if there were more, Gandalf revealed that he did not know, but speculated that it must have been drawn out from the deep places beneath the Misty Mountains. Silently, Gandalf noted that it had seized Frodo first, possibly suggesting the influence of the One Ring.

When the Fellowship of the Ring found the Book of Mazarbul in the Chamber of Mazarbul, Gandalf read Ori's account that "the pool is up to the wall at Westgate. The Watcher in the Water took Óin. We cannot get out". Gimli commented that at least for them, it was good that the creature was sleeping at the southern end due to the pool not being high enough.

The fate of the Watcher in the Water is unknown, but the Dwarves succeeded in retaking Moria in the Fourth Age.

Other versions of the legendarium

In a two-page manuscript entitled "Sketch of the Mines of Moria chapter", the Watcher in the Water is alluded to as "the ‘dweller in the water’" that prevents Balin's folk from leaving through the west gates of Moria. In the first draft of the chapter "A Journey in the Dark", numbered "XIV", the tentacles of the Dweller in the Pool, or dweller in the pool, were described as "pale green-grey" instead of "pale-green" unlike the published text. In the same draft, the creature itself is described as a "water-monster".

In a draft entitled "The Mines of Moria (1): The Lord of Moria", the tentacles of the Watcher in the Water originally glistened in the moon when they "came wriggling over the threshold" rather than "in the starlight" unlike the published text. When Frodo asked Gandalf about the creature, Gandalf originally said he had "never before seen or heard tell of such a creature", but this bit was struck out. On the side of the manuscript, Tolkien made a pencilled note:

? Insert words of Gimli saying that there were traditions among the Dwarves about strangling fingers in the dark.

Christopher Tolkien speculated that this was in relation to Gandalf telling Frodo that the Watcher's tentacles "were all guided by one purpose". Later on in this draft, it is explicitly stated by Gandalf "that the Watcher was guarding the Dwarf-door", which is a statement not in the published text. Tolkien later added Gimli's statement "that the Watcher was sleeping, or so it seems, down at the southern end of the pool".

Inspiration

Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull have suggested that the description of the creature recalls that of a cephalopod, though they noted that this was unlikely since the Watcher "has at least twenty-one tentacles or arms rather than eight or ten".

Portrayal in adaptations

The Watcher in adaptations

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  The Watcher in the Water in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

1978: The Lord of the Rings (1978 film):

The Watcher in the Water is a green, multi-tentacled monster. Only the tentacles can be seen. It takes Bill the Pony and pulls the Doors of Durin shut once the Fellowship is inside the mountains.

2001: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring:

The Watcher in the Water was made to be slightly different than that in the book. In the book only green slightly luminous tentacles appear. In this film not only the tentacles but a massive head is visible. The tentacles of the Watcher in the Water have a sort of thumb and flat hand. In addition, there is a big sack on the back of the head that fills with air, making it look twice as big. In full form it resembles an octopus with a humanoid face. It has massive teeth in a small mouth, and great eyes set across from each other.

2002: The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (video game):

The Watcher in the Water is depicted as a sea serpent-like creature, with several thick tentacles that shoot out of the pool. The player, in the persona of Aragorn, needs to shoot them with a bow to stun the creature while Gandalf attempts to decipher the password for the West-gate.

2002: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (video game):

The Watcher in the Water appears in the mission "Gates of Moria", one of several missions in the game that portray events from the Fellowship of the Ring despite the game's focus on the events of The Two Towers. The Watcher is depicted virtually identically to the way it appears in the 2001 film The Fellowship of the Ring, though its tentacles are visible in the lead up to the Doors of Durin instead of solely harrying the party directly in front of the Doors. The player - who can be any of Aragorn, Legolas, or Gimli - must parry the Watcher's tentacle attacks, then slice off a parried tentacle, which will provoke the Watcher to rear its head above the water, where it can be actually damaged with ranged attacks. After a short period, the Watcher will dive back and under and attack with tentacles once more, and this process will repeat until either the player character or the Watcher perishes.

2004: 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. This time, they kill it for good.

2006: The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II:

The Watcher in the Water is a power to use in Isengard and the Goblins in the Evil Campaign or in a Skirmish. When it attacks, it uses its tentacles to smack any surrounding enemies. When picking up an 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 it 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 the Evil Campaign it cost ten power points, while in a Skirmish it costs 15.

2008: The Lord of the Rings Online:

The Watcher is explicitly classified as one of the Nameless that was able to reach the surface through the flooded passages. Other creatures of the same type are encountered in the game, from the sewers of Carn Dûm in the North, all the way to Umbar in the South.

The Watcher in the Water itself first appears during the Moria introduction, where, after Rókur, Sebbi, and Bori throw rocks into the pool, it drove off the Dwarves of the Iron Garrison in their first attempt to enter the mines, taking Bofur's grandson Bróin. The need to find a weapon capable of harming the Watcher serves to introduce the player to the game's Legendary Item system. After being driven out of the Black Pool before the Doors of Durin, the Watcher is encountered and driven off again in the Drowned Treasury of Moria, where Bróin is found and rescued. The Watcher flees to the Vile Maw in the Water-works of Moria where it serves as the chief antagonist for a twelve-man raid of players who finally put an end to the creature.

2012: Lego The Lord of the Rings: The Video Game:

The Watcher in the Water appears in a role virtually identical to that in the films, though the events of its encounter with the Fellowship is added onto for gameplay purposes.

2014: Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor:

The in-game description of the Núrnen Fishery explains that after the Uruks took it over to produce food for Sauron's armies, the Men of Nurn believe in a legend regarding a creature in the Sea of Núrnen that is implied to be another Watcher in the Water.

…They speak of the Watcher, a demon of the sea, a furious spirit that will brook no intrusion into its waters, and will suffer no defilement of its home.

In time, the Watcher will rise up in anger, churn the waters with massive tentacles, and lash out with a razor-toothed mouth at those who would defile the Sea of Núrnen. The Fishery has been destroyed before.

2024: The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim:

A Watcher appears in Rohan and is used to bring about the death of a rampaging oliphant.

See also

• Nameless things