Maedhros and Maglor Are Not So Bad!

Maedhros and Maglor swore the Oath of Fëanor, vowing to reclaim the Silmarils at all costs. In the process, they also declared their souls doomed for all eternity if they ever broke it. Obviously, this was not a very intelligent thing to do, and it forced them to commit terrible deeds they wouldn’t have dreamt of committing otherwise. Outside of the Oath (which they rashly swore in the heat of a moment), neither of them were bad people. In fact, they were actually rather good.

Nelyafinwë Maitimo Russandol “Maedhros” —

• Refused to burn the boats at Losgar and was strongly against abandoning Fingolfin’s forces

• Prevented a civil war by abdicating the throne

• Strategically moved his psychotic brothers east to prevent drama 

• Maintained the March of Maedhros in Himring (an extremely dangerous region) for centuries to keep the eastern parts of Beleriand safe and absorb attacks from Angband before they reached the west. 

• Organized the Union of Maedhros, which was probably one of the largest alliances in the legendarium

• Tried to find Elurin and Elured after Celegorm’s servants left them in the woods

Kanafinwë Makalaurë “Maglor” —

• Maintained Maglor’s Gap as part of the Himring defense line 

• Tried to convince Maedhros that they should abandon oath and seek forgiveness (they ultimately believed there was no way they could be forgiven)

• Was the most renowned musician and poet, and wrote “The Fall of the Noldor” in lament of his people’s sins

Both —

• Cared for Elrond and Elros during their childhood (I mean, they turned out alright)

• Deeply regretted their actions, not just because of their own tragic fates, but of because of the harm they caused to others 

• Unlike Celegorm and Curufin (who were absolute menaces to society), they tried their very hardest not to cause trouble

Maedhros and Maglor definetly did a lot of terrible things, but they never wanted to do them in the first place and made a constant effort to atone for their actions. Ultimately the fatal decision that led to their tragic demise was to swear the Oath of Fëanor in the first place — something that though they were encouraged to do, was at their own free will. They deserved so much better, but they ruined their own lives with their foolish choice. The moral of the story is: don’t swear blasphemous oaths!