A Hobbit from the Shire, Merry joined Frodo on his quest to destroy the One Ring as a member of the Fellowship of the Ring. When the Fellowship was broken at Amon Hen, Merry and Pippin were captured by the wizard Saruman's Uruk-hai soldiers. Merry had to keep his wits despite his fear, watching the brutish Uruk-hai and Orcs in their squabbling for any opportunities He and Pippin might exploit to make good their escape.

A scheming, ambitious Orc from the ashen wastes of Mordor, Grishnakh was a part of a group of Orc hunters under Sauron's dominion that joined Ugluk's Uruk-hai troop on the plains of Rohan. Grishnakh's plans for the troops' captives, Merry and Pippin, were in conflict with Ugluk's orders to deliver them to the wizard Saruman. Believing they might have the treasure his lord sought, he tried to steal the Hobbits away from the watchful Uruk-hai.