December 30, 2002

Half-orcs
Brett C.

Apologies for having to disagree with Peter D.'s opening statement from his Uruk article, but the Uruk Hai of Isengard are actually meant to be Half Orcs. Aragorn himself says so when he is in discussion with Merry and Pippin the in the wreck of Isengard: 'We had many of the half-orcs to deal with at Helm's Deep.' Merry comments that the ones he saw leaving Isengard while he is watching on Treebeard's shoulders reminded him of the southerner in the Inn in Bree [Saruman's spy, at the time actually co-opted into the service of the Nazgul] so I would suppose that since he could pass for Human that he favored his human parentage more than the Uruk Hai warriors.