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Nori explains part of the Harfoot migration to the Stranger at the beginning of episode five. Although she describes some of the places the Harfoots visit, their destinations are obscure and elusive, referring to places that existed thousands of years before The Lord of the Rings. In the winter they go to the Old Forest, the high summer finds them in Northfield Glen, but now it’s autumn and they’re going to a place only known as the Grove for the harvest season. One thing we know is that after the end of episode six, the geography of their migration and every place on it would have changed forever.

5 The Gladden Fields

Not likely as a final destination, as it’s not very far south, it is a fertile and relatively safe location between Mirkwood and the Misty Mountains. It’s also just north of the future Lothlorien, which means even before Galadriel showed up it was probably a nice spot. This is where the One Ring was originally lost and found again by Gollum, so the ancestors of Hobbits did settle here, but they were Stoors and not Harfoots.

Even if the Harfoots didn’t stay in the Gladden Fields, it would make a likely stop on their journey to rest and refresh before moving on. They could continue their road east through the forest or follow the River Anduin south.

4 Fangorn Forest

Nori mentions the Old Forest as one of the places they stop, but during the First and Second Ages there was a single, vast forest that covered most of Middle-earth so this isn’t very specific. Maps of the Third Age would make this either the southern part of Mirkwood to the east or Fangorn to the south. Given that the Old Forest is the winter settlement ground, the Harfoots will be heading there after some time at the mysterious Grove, so it provides an important clue.

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Southern Mirkwood was the location of Sauron’s fortress Dol Guldur in the Third Age, but in the Second Age, it was the Greenwood and the realm of Legolas’ grandfather, King Oropher. Even the Elves weren’t aware of the Harfoots during this time, so if they did go east to the Greenwood they stayed well-hidden.

Fangorn would have been the westernmost part of a much larger forest next to the Misty Mountains, and the Harfoots could follow either the Limlight River or the Entwash into its green heart. From the way Nori describes it, the Grove could be the home of the Entwives, and the Ents were less hidden during this time in history.

3 Sea of Rhûn

If the Harfoots spent any time in the forest that would eventually be known as Mirkwood then they might also know about the Lonely Mountain, Dale, and the River Running. The river runs east, away from the forest, and joins with the larger Carner River which leads to the Sea of Rhûn.

The Harfoot migration may go east instead of south. During the Third Age, the people here served Sauron, but in the Second Age, Rhûn was a country ruled by Elves, and some of the first Elven ships were built in the Sea of Rhûn. The environment could be similar to the Mediterranean, a warmer climate where fruits like plums and apricots grow as Nori described.

2 Ithilien

Ithilien is the region on the west side of the Ephel Duath, the mountain chain that makes up the eastern border of Mordor. The central part of Ithilien is part of a lush and fertile plain where the River Anduin widens into a local highway. Cities of Minas Anor, Osgiliath, and Minas Ithil have yet to be built, but humans have recognized the potential of the local property and there are a few settlements here in the First Age.

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It’s likely the Harfoots stay in North Ithilien, where there’s more wilderness and fewer human habitation. It might also be a stop on the way to a location to the east as opposed to one further south.

1 Udûn

The end of episode six includes a profound environmental change that will likely harm most of Middle-earth. This change might be what prompted the Harfoots, along with several other residents of Middle-earth, to move west to Arnor instead, where Tolkien states that the kingdoms of Men and Dwarves first took note of them.

There’s a mountain pass on the northwestern corner of the Mountains of Shadow that would lead right into the Valley of Udûn, a likely route for the migrant caravan coming from that direction. Udûn is the region of Mordor at the feet of Mount Doom, and it’s just been reduced to a charred hellscape. If the Grove was there, it’s gone now.

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