Tolkien’s works have always taught readers that nature is a force to be reckoned with, and that it deserves the proper respect. This is usually seen in relation to the trees of the world, with beings like Ents and Huorns as the guardians of the forests. But the recent Rings of Power episode has shown that water can be just as fearsome and devastating when used by the wrong hands.

In fact, there have been many examples across the Rings of Power so far, and across the earlier movie adaptation by Peter Jackson, that demonstrate how floods been used as weapons and sources of great strength for thousands of years. These floods have actually shaped and changed the fate of Middle Earth entirely.

RELATED: Rings of Power: Who is Elrond's Father?

With the devastating ending of the 6th Rings of Power episode, it is clear to see that water was the key to the orc’s evil plan all along. A vast flood was released from the dam by a ricochet of impact caused by the sword of the enemy inserted by Waldreg into the keyhole. The surge was so powerful that it spurted up all across the lands. It weaved its way through the channels created by the slaves of the orcs, all the way to the opening of Mount Doom itself. As the sheer force of water hit the already unstable magma within the volcano, the collision caused the volcano to explode, unleashing fire and debris on the terrified villagers below.

Tar Miriel in the Flood of Numenor

The Numenorean soldiers did their best to help the people of the South escape the onslaught of lava and rocks thrown down upon them. But as Galadriel stood in stunned silence and watched the destruction of everything she had fought for, audiences were reminded that this is not the first time they have seen vast floods of water used as a weapon to change to the course of the future.

In fact, it was used earlier in the Rings of Power, in a vision seen by both Queen Mirirel and Galadriel in the vision of the Palantir. The vision warned of a great surge of water sweeping through Numenor and killing everyone in its path. This vision was a reference to an event in the Silmarillion, in which Numenor is sunk by the Valar as a punishment for the black Numenoreans, a group of rogue men lead by PharAzon, trying to storm into Valinor and demand their right to the holy Undying Lands. Within the Rings of Power series, this vision was used as a way to create an alliance between Queen Miriel and Galadriel, rather than as the terrible fate that befalls the hubris of man in the original writing. Nonetheless, it gave the hint of how water's destructive properties can often be used to wipe out those who are innocent of the crime which created it.

On the other hand, the flooding tactic has also been used by the heroes of Tolkien’s world. It sometimes appears as a form of protection and a symbol of loyalty to nature, when those who are vulnerable need it the most. For example, in the Lord of the Rings movie, Arwen can be seen racing across the Ford of Bruinen with an injured Frodo in her arms. In desperation, Arwen manages to make it across the stream. She knows that the water will protect her, because of the love and respect shown to it by her people. She utters an elven command, and a huge gush of river comes flowing down from beyond, in the shape of white horses riding the foam. The black riders who pursued them are swept away in the fray, which allows Arwen to get Frodo to the last homely house, and give him the treatment he so desperately needs.

Arwen summons the river

The film version is slightly different from the books. Here, it is Frodo who summons the mighty river to his aid, when all other hope seems lost. But in both examples, the river Bruinen prevents the capture of the ring bearer, which would have changed the outcome of their world.

The march of the Ents against Isengard is another way in which a forceful flood helps to bring down an enemy that could have helped Sauron win the War of the Ring. At the time, Saruman has long been destroying and burning down the forests around Isengard to use as fuel to create his Uruk-hai army. However, the Ents put a stop to that by breaking down the dam on the edge of the land and washing a flood all over the poisoned lands, so that they can begin to heal anew. This leaves Saruman trapped in his tower, and unable to pose a significant threat in the war any further.

In this example, the culmination of the tree-herders and the water act in harmony. They show how important nature can be, and why it needs to be nurtured and cherished. It needs to be kept from falling into the wrong hands as it has in Rings of Power, to the ruin of all.

MORE: Rings of Power: How Poppy's Song Tells The Fate Of Middle Earth