There are certain traits that all true heroes of a good story must possess. Loyalty and compassion, bravery and selflessness, strong hearts that are willing to follow what they believe are right — all of these are essential. These are traits particularly found in the hobbits of Tolkien’s works, who are known for their love of peace and nature over war and gold. But there is one particular trait shared by the main characters of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit, and now the new Rings of Power series: tragedy. For Bilbo and Frodo, tragedy is no stranger. Both of them go through more than their fair share of lost loved ones. The same can be said for Poppy, the harfoot in the Amazon show who shares this grief.
With grief and loss, there comes a particular sort of emotional intelligence that makes characters view the world in a different light. It makes them do everything they can to protect others from experiencing the same pain that they have felt. It makes them cling to their loved ones even more closely, for fear of losing the bonds they have built. It teaches them the fragility of life, and highlights just how important it is to protect it from those who would try to snuff it out. Many fans have noticed this within Poppy’s character across the first three episodes of the show.
Right from the beginning, Poppy has stuck to Nori like glue. Nori is the adventurous harfoot, the curious one. She is frustrated by her small world, and longs to know what else is out there. Poppy does not always agree with Nori’s choices, and does not always necessarily believe that she is right. But despite that, Poppy follows her best friend into every dangerous situation, and is always there to get her out of it. She helps rescue the man in the meteor from his fiery pit and hides him, because she cares more about Nori than she does about any danger it may bring herself. She is also the first to defend Nori when the other harfoots are snarky, or cover for Nori when they are wondering where she has disappeared off to. Despite her every judgment, Poppy always helps her friend. And that is because she is more emotionally sensitive than she seems at first glance.
With the release of the third episode, it became clear that the harfoots have lost some of the members of their tribe along their travels, and it is clear that Poppy has lost more than most. Several of the names of the fallen were read out as Proudfellows clearly marking them as members of Poppy’s family. This was made all the more heartbreaking when the camera fixed on her and her tears as she felt their absence.
Poppy no longer has any parents; they were killed in a mud-slide during the previous migrations. This is something that links her deeply to both Bilbo and Frodo. Bilbo not only lost his parents younger than he should have; he also loses Thorin, Fili and Kili in the Battle of the Five Armies, a trauma that he carries with him through the many long years of his life. Frodo, too, lost his parents in a boating accident when he was young, which is how he came to be in the care of Bilbo, and how he became the inheritor of Bag End. These two hobbits, like Poppy in Rings of Power, are no strangers to pain and death. It is this shared trait that makes all three characters the true heroes of their respective stories.
For Bilbo, it is how much he misses and longs for his home, the love of his mother and her adventurous streak, that convinces him to go on his own journey. It's what makes him fight so hard to help the dwarves get their home under the mountain back. For Frodo, the love that Bilbo showed him by taking him in when he lost his parents taught him about sacrifice and endurance. That's what allows him to always keep going, to stay loyal to his friends like Sam, Merry and Pippin, and to resist the evil of the ring for as long as he does.
Finally, for Poppy, it is what makes her wait for the Brandyfoots when all of the other harfoots are willing to leave them behind. It’s what makes Poppy distract the elder whilst Nori steals the scroll. And it’s what makes her the most heroic heart that has appeared in Rings of Power so far. Poppy loves Nori unfalteringly, and will do amazing things this series to help guide and protect her. Viewers can be sure that future episodes will see Poppy come into her own as a hero, just as Frodo and Bilbo did.