On The Rings of Power season one, the orcs, following their mysterious leader Adar, searched for a powerful weapon. We were curious about the weapon, itself, but also wondered, just who is The Rings of Power‘s Adar? In the sixth episode of the show, Adar and his orcs get their wish and found their weapon. But, while Theo’s sword hilt may have given Adar’s children a dark new home on Middle-earth, the episode also revealed more than the creation of Mount Doom. It revealed Adar no longer serves Sauron, as we initially thought the mutilated elf might. Throughout The Rings of Power, we’ve slowly uncovered Adar’s true identity. The show has offered us insight into the one-time elf, his origins, and why the otherwise hateful orcs adore Adar as they do. As we delve into season two of The Rings of Power, here’s what we know about Adar, the Lord-Father of Orcs/Uruk.

Jump to: Who Are the Orcs? // The Orcs’ Tolkien History // Adar as the First Orc Created by Morgoth // The Meaning of the Word Adar // Why Did Adar Turn on Sauron? // Adar and Sauron’s History // Adar Recast on Rings of Power Season 2 // Adar’s Future

Who Are Lord of the Rings’ Orcs?

On The Rings of Power, the orcs follow Adar. And so, first understanding these creatures helps us to understand their leader. Orcs, called goblins in The Hobbit, have loomed large in J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy world since the beginning. The Lord of the Rings‘ orcs served Morgoth during the Years of the Trees before the First Age. And they continued as soldiers of evil until the end of Middle-earth’s Third Age.

Ugly, violent creatures, orcs hate almost everyone and everything. That includes themselves. This is why it’s so interesting that The Rings of Power‘s orcs do not hate Adar. They also abhor natural beauty and handcrafted works. But that doesn’t prevent them from making things themselves. From weapons and tools, to torture devices and machines of war, Lord of the Rings‘ orcs are crafty.

Orcs live in darkness, most notably deep inside mountains. They are excellent tunnel builders who shun the sun whenever possible because the light burns them. That’s why on The Rings of Power, Adar and the orcs had elves and humans digging for that missing sword hilt. And why the orcs wear robes if forced to go out during the day. They cannot go into the light.

While it’s unclear exactly how long orcs live, one infamous orc was at least 150 years old. And though they lack anything resembling culture, orcs are also much smarter than they look and have great stamina and strength. We know we’ll be seeing nearly 1,500 Orcs in season two of The Rings of Power.

The History and Origins of Middle-earth’s Orcs and The Rings of Power‘s Adar

J.R.R. Tolkien himself changed the origin story of orcs during his lifetime. At one point, he said Morgoth created orcs through sorcery from “the heats and slimes of the earth.” But the author later wrote that only the supreme being Eru Ilúvatar could create life. (Well, minus when the Valar Aulë created dwarves.)

Morgoth’s inability to make life was one of the things that made him jealous of Ilúvatar in the first place. That’s why he needed one of the supreme being’s own “children” to bring orcs to the world. So if Morgoth didn’t create orcs, where did they come from? From Ilúvatar, just not the way he made them. And it is that very The Lord of the Rings tale from which The Rings of Power draws Adar’s origins.

The accepted origin of The Lord of the Rings orcs is the one found in The Silmarillion. It says Morgoth kidnapped some elves when they first awoke in Middle-earth, before the Valar could find the first “children” of Ilúvatar. He then used dark magic to transform them into horrible creatures who served him, just as they would eventually serve the next Dark Lord, Sauron.

The Rings of Power confirms that this history is actually Adar’s own. The truth comes out in a scene between Galadriel and Adar in The Rings of Power season one.

Adar as the Elf Who Became the First Orc, Created by Morgoth

Galadriel more or less reveals exactly who Adar is in The Rings of Power‘s sixth episode. She tells us that she heard stories about elves like Adar. He is one of the elves Morgoth “tortured” and “twisted” into “a new and ruined form of life.” She called those elves, the first orcs, “the Moriondor, the Sons of the Dark.” In The Rings of Power season two, we get a bit more information about this. Adar shares, “Thirteen of us were chosen to be blessed of Morgoth’s hand with the promise of power, a new birth.” That leaves us curious to know the fate of the other 12 Moriondor. Did they go on to create orcs as well?

Regardless of what happened to the other elves, in season one, Adar says his children prefer another name: Uruk. And he defends his children’s right to live and have a home by saying orcs are creations of “The One, Master of the secret fire.” According to Adar, orcs have names and hearts, just the same as Galadriel, and by extension, Adar, who links them all together. In one scene, The Rings of Power confirms both Adar’s identity, an elf turned to evil by Morgoth, and the origins of orcs, once and for all.

Why The Rings of Power‘s Orcs Call Their Leader Adar, The Elvish Word for Father?

Now we know that Adar is literally the orcs’ father on The Rings of Power. So, it thus makes sense that the elves call him “Adar.” In Sindarin Elvish, “Adar” is the word for “father.” (The Sindar spoke their own version of Elvish because they never made it to the land of the Valar like other elves. After awakening in Middle-earth, they never left, same as the kidnapped Moriondor.) Pretty obvious if you think about it.

But as strange as it sounds for orcs, the love Adar shows for them is reciprocated. The orcs are all Adar’s offspring, and he cares for them, just as he is the only figure orcs truly care for in all of Tolkien’s Middle-earth. The use of the word “Father” when it comes to Adar thus feels more emotional than just a factual title. Through Adar, we get a whole new look at orcs on The Rings of Power.

Are There Female Orcs on Middle-Earth?

If orcs are made from elves, do they replicate like elves, too? Some believe that Morgoth’s creatures (which include orcs, werewolves, trolls, dragons, and more) self-reproduce. However, we actually get to meet some female orcs on The Rings of Power. Adar confirmed this idea when he spoke of “brothers and sisters” among his orcs in season one. And in season two of The Rings of Power, we actually get to see an orc family, complete with father, mother, and baby. D’awww!

For now, though, the specifics of orc reproduction is unknown. (Which is almost certainly for the best.) But it’s not unreasonable to think it is a slow one since Sauron sometimes hid for thousands of years while gathering and reinforcing his army. The forces of evil always needed more orcs because, unlike elves, they don’t live forever. And the further removed from their father, Adar, the less like him they become.

Why Are Orcs So Different From Adar on The Rings of Power?

Adar has lived for thousands of years and remembers Beleriand (a land that went under at the end of the First Age) because he’s an ageless elf. That’s also why, unlike his children, the sun does not burn him. Adar can still feel the warmth from the sun of the Valar, which he says he will miss when it’s gone. But despite Adar and his past, The Rings of Power‘s orcs are not elves.

The orcs get uglier and more twisted the further removed they are from their elf ancestors and Ilúvatar. That’s also why the orcs of the show’s Second Age don’t even look as hideous as their ancestors of the Third Age. Those differences and vulnerabilities are a big reason why Adar turned on Sauron, who saw his children as disposable.

Why Did Adar Turn Against Sauron?

Adar had his orcs digging for the sword hilt Theo possesses, but he wasn’t doing it for Sauron. In fact, Adar believes he killed Sauron. The one-time elf was doing it for his orc children whom he loves, many of whom Sauron had sacrificed in his quest to rule Middle-earth. Adar wanted to give The Rings of Power‘s orcs a new home, one where they would not only be safe from light but safe from Dark Lords who treat them as disposable. Neither Morgoth nor Sauron ever loved orcs. They were slaves in service of evil.

Adar thinks he not only stopped serving Sauron, but that he also stopped the Dark Lord forever. Adar tells Galadriel that he killed Sauron himself. In a flashback revealed during The Rings of Power season one, episode one, we actually see Adar and the orcs attack Sauron until he appears to disintegrate. But alas, it’s not that easy to kill a Dark Lord.

The history of orcs says his desire to take care of his children guaranteed them another age of servitude. Adar brought Mount Doom from the depths of the earth. It will be orcs’ new home, free from the sunlight that plagues them, as he desires, but Sauron will be the one to rule over it. Sauron needs the fires of Mount Doom to forge the Rings of Power, a fact that Adar could not have known. But in seeking solace, Adar has given Sauron everything he needs to bring his evil down on Middle-earth.

The Rings of Power Season 2 Reveals More About Adar’s Backstory and His History with Sauron

In season two of The Rings of Power, we find out that Adar’s betrayal of Sauron is a bit more intimate than we once thought. In fact, the pair have a deep history that stretches back into the ages of Middle-earth. And this history goes beyond just a bad leader and his angry general.

In the first episodes of The Rings of Power season two, Adar takes Sauron, who is posing as Halbrand, captive. Sauron is, of course, deceiving him, telling him that it’s the elves who are working with Sauron and that Halbrand can help him. Adar eventually agrees to make a deal with Halbrand in order to “stop Sauron,” but not before imprisoning and torturing him.

When Adar eventually comes to release Sauron from this fate in The Rings of Power season two, episode one, he tells Halbrand a little bit more about his backstory and history with Sauron. He offers, “I was in your place once, in the eldest of the elder days. Thirteen of us were chosen to be blessed of Morgoth’s hand with the promise of power, a new birth. I was led up to a dark and nameless peak, chained and left. And after what seemed endless thirst and hunger, I saw it. His servant’s face, Sauron’s face. And it was beautiful. He offered me wine, red as a blood moon. He offered me wine and on that dark and nameless peak. I drank it, I drank it all.”

Without a doubt, this “rescue” deeply resonated with Adar, enough that he still thinks of it now. We’ll have to see if The Rings of Power season two shines a light on how that seeming gratitude turns into resentment and hate enough to attempt to kill Sauron.

Adar and Galadriel Could Team Up Against Sauron

Of course, Sauron isn’t dead. Adar can’t be certain if that’s true, but he is marching on Eregion now to make try and find out. On the way, he encounters Galadriel in the woods and seems to successfully trap her. The pair have had a stormy relationship so far on The Rings of Power, but it’s possible the threat of Sauron will trump all. Teasers from the series seem to hint that the pair might team up against their mutual foe as The Rings of Power season two progresses. We’re certainly hoping for that.

In the latest episode of The Rings of Power, Adar suggests to Galadriel that they could be allies, but though Galadriel seems to come to an agreement with him on this point. Adar turns away from her in the end, noting that she’s given him everything he needs. He intends to march against Sauron and Eregion, hoping to destroy Sauron with his very own iron crown, which has pieces of Morgoth’s helm in it. To us, it seems like the wiser play would have been to join with the elves. But we’ll have to wait and see what befalls Adar and his children as The Rings of Power draws to an end.

Adar Recast on The Rings of Power Season 2—Sam Hazeldine Replaces Joseph Mawle

In bittersweet news, in 2023, we learned that Sam Hazeldine would replace Joseph Mawle as Adar in season two of The Rings of Power. Recasts can be tricky, but we hope that the character will continue his journey and evolution into this next season of the show. It certainly sounds like there will be a lot in store for Adar. In June 2024, we got our first look at the newly recast Adar, and we felt pretty good about what we saw.

Sam Hazeldine previously acted in Peaky Blinders and appears on The Sandman. While we have no doubt he will do a great job in the role, we will miss Mawle’s version of Adar. We’re glad that Hazeldine appears to capture the same balance of tragic and antagonistic that Mawle did so far into season two of The Rings of Power.

The Rings of Power season two will likely continue to delve into this duality in Adar. Showrunner JD Payne recently noted to Vanity Fair, “You’ve got Sauron, who is not cloaked behind the guise of [the human refugee] Halbrand anymore. The audience knows he’s Sauron, so now we’re watching him maneuver as he’s manipulating [the burn-scar covered dark elf] Adar, who’s another big villain of the season.”

You can see Sam Hazeldine in action as Adar in some of The Rings of Power season two’s sneak peek clips.

Adar’s Future on Season Two of The Rings of Power

It would seem that on The Rings of Power Adar even christened the new land with the name Sauron will use, Mordor. But there’s unlikely to be a place in Mordor for an Adar that orcs will love more than they fear Sauron. In the final episode of The Rings of Power season one, Halbrand, who we now know to be Sauron, seems to refer to Adar as his enemy. And with Sauron already manipulating Adar to his ends, it feels like trouble ahead.

Charlie Vickers who plays Sauron, has given us some insight into what will transpire between Adar and Sauron in season two of The Rings of Power. In an interview Vickers offers more about the interaction between himself and Joseph Mawle, who originally played Adar:

Joseph and I worked really hard in creating that story and it’s something we see more of in the second season. We see Adar and Sauron’s time and how they first connected. Adar’s going to have to do some saying sorry at some point though [for what he did in season one].

It sounds like Vickers is already alluding to Sauron threatening Adar’s existence. A newly released description of Adar’s journey this season on The Rings of Power season two seems to echo this, noting:

Having secured a home in Mordor for the orcs, in Season 2, Adar faces an unexpected threat when he learns that Sauron, the former master he betrayed and murdered, is alive and well – and scheming to take back everything Adar has taken from him.

Well, we know who Adar is now, but he also may have just sealed his fate on The Rings of Power. We’ll have to continue to tune into The Rings of Power season two as it airs this fall.

Originally published on September 12, 2022.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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The Rings of Power has made one thing very clear: Galadriel is right. A long-dormant evil is rising in Middle-earth. Orcs are kidnapping entire villages. Strange beasts are wandering the countryside and destroying ships. And the land itself has spoiled, not to mention erupted. But the forces of good might soon find help in a new ally. Well, new to them, at least. Because the Stranger who arrived on a comet might be an old supernatural being. He might also be the first incarnation of a great hero The Lord of the Rings fans know and love. And you don’t have to be a wizard to see why. Especially not if you can see gray. More and more, we’re thinking the Stranger on The Rings of Power might be the wizard Gandalf himself.

Who Sent the Comet That Carried the Stranger?

No man, elf, dwarf, or orc could have survived a comet crash. Of course, no mortal race in the world can travel via small meteorite. It would take an entity far more powerful than any who walks Middle-earth to send someone careening through the sky. There’s only one logical explanation for who sent that celestial traveler: the Valar.

The Valar are supernatural entities who watch over Middle-earth. They are the most powerful beings in the universe besides the supreme Ilúvatar. For centuries the Valar did not interfere in the great battle of Middle-earth’s First Age. They looked on from afar as the “children” of Ilúvatar suffered at the hands of the original Dark Lord, Morgoth. (Himself one of the Valar.)

The Valar eventually relented and came to Middle-earth to defeat Morgoth for good. That victory ended the First Age. But the Valar then returned to their own western continent of Aman. That’s where Valinor sits, the realm to which Galadriel refused to return at the end of episode one.

While The Rings of Power takes place during the Second Age, we know the Valar got involved in the great war of Middle-earth’s Third Age. However, rather than come again themselves, they sent five Maiar.

The Maiar are powerful spirit servants who helped the Valar shape the world. But the Valar sent them to Middle-earth inside the bodies of old men. Called the Istari, The Lord of the Rings fans know those five-robed, bearded, wise figures as wizards.

Before We Consider Gandalf, Is The Rings of Powers‘ Stranger Even a Wizard?

By the start of the Third Age, the Valar had separated Aman from the physical world. So wizards came to Middle-earth from the sky. (Repeat: from the sky.) The Valar sent them to assure the world the Valar had not forsaken Middle-earth nor its people in their renewed fight against the returning Sauron. One wizard, above all, aided Middle-earth in defeating Sauron for good before returning to reclaim his place in Aman.

In order to be Gandalf, The Rings of Power‘s Stranger would first have to be a wizard. As it transpires, the confused old man Nori miraculously found in a field of fire where the comet crashed—millennia before wizards arrived during an entirely different age—does possess many of the same powers wizards had.

What are the Stranger’s Powers on The Rings of Power?

The paranoid, unusual, easy-to-anger Stranger arrived nearly naked and acting erratically on The Rings of Power. He survived his crash but doesn’t remember how to fully communicate. He’s not even sure who he is or why he’s here. Hearing Nori say he’s “good” seemed to be a revelation for the Stranger, who fears he’s going to accidentally hurt the Harfoots.

That’s because despite his confusion, The Rings of Power‘s Stranger still incredibly powerful. He’s also unquestionably far more skilled than any race of Middle-earth. He can move things with his mind. He can pick up monstrous wolves and throw them, or run them off by hitting the ground and causing a huge shockwave. And his scream, which turned the world dark, doesn’t just shake everything around him. That terrifying, inhuman roar seems capable of destruction.

He’s also impervious to fire. The fire from his comet didn’t harm him. No surprise, then he could also pull flames into himself and snuff them out without injury. He also took Nori and Poppy’s fireflies and controlled them to form stars in the sky. Unfortunately, that also killed all the fireflies, which is one ability that should frighten everyone on Middle-earth. The Stranger can suck the life from livings things, though he did not take joy in killing the fireflies. Either that was unintended or a sacrifice required to use his magic. But because he’s not fully in control of himself or his abilities, he is paranoid and scared.

Nori is now scared of his powers, too. The Stranger instinctively came to her rescue and damaged his arm fighting wolves. He was able to heal himself by placing the injured limb in water, which iced over. But when Nori grabbed him, the ice also consumed her arm. He couldn’t even sense she was there, let alone keep her safe. We see the Stranger come into his powers in the final episodes of The Rings of Power, pushed to attack by the mysterious white-cloaked cult. Interestingly, when the Stranger annihilates the dweller on The Rings of Power, she turns into a moth, in perhaps another subtle connection to Gandalf, who is known to talk to the creature in The Lord of the Rings‘ movies.

But while he can destroy, he can also create. The Stranger touched a dying, burned tree and restored both it and the surrounding area to full life in a single night. He took a wasteland and gave the desperate Harfoots a verdant bounty.

So is the Stranger a wizard? Well, he has more in common with the Istari than any creature ever born on Middle-earth. And Poppy herself realizes he’s no man or elf but “something else.” And, of course, The Rings of Power confirms that the Stranger is an Istar in its finale. The cult of Sauron tracks him down, thinking he is their leader, only to name him a wizard instead.

So the question just remains, is The Rings of Power using the Stranger to introduce Gandalf?

What Is the Stranger Trying to Tell Nori on The Rings of Power?

Like Nori, deep into The Rings of Power‘s episodes, we still don’t what the Stranger is trying to communicate. What did those drawings on the rock, his first attempts at communication, mean? (They looked like runes.) What about the lines in the dirt the Stranger drew? Are they a map?

When the Stranger saw them, he repeatedly said, “Mana úrë.” in Elvish that translates to the question, “What is heat?” What is heat! But even with this knowledge, we can’t say for sure the purpose of these strange words from the Stranger.)

Finally, what’s the significance of the constellation the Stranger highlighted to Nori with fireflies? He seemed to find that exact same collection of stars on an old Harfoot parchment. Clearly, its significance dates back to a past era. Sadoc Burrows tells the Stranger those stars haven’t been sighted in thousands of years. Could the Stranger have seen them before? Where does their image come from?

Ultimately, we learn more about them from the mysterious white-cloaked cult following the Stranger also possesses the image of these stars. They point to the mysterious realm of Rhûn, where mystics and men lie in wait for a new power to arrive. We bet that’s a location we’ll surely go in season two.

But we can do something Nori can’t—we can also find meaning in both his size and appearance. Nori’s “giant” friend wears a tattered gray robe, has a long gray beard, and long graying hair. This powerful being sent through the sky by the Valar—who is impervious to fire, and has powers of a wizard—really loves the color gray.

And there’s only one figure in all of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth that fits the same description as The Rings of Power’s Stranger—Gandalf the Grey.

Is The Rings of Powers‘ The Stranger Actually Gandalf?

Tolkien’s unofficial notes for his fantasy world say that the two (of the five) Blue Wizards sent during the Third Age (Alatar and Pallando) had previously come to Middle-earth during the Second Age. So it’s possible wizards first came to Middle-earth long before anyone realized. Tolkien’s Unfinished Tales also says wizards “had need to learn much anew by slow experience” when they came to Middle-earth. The Maiar’s transformation into a physical body and their trip seem to leave them confused initially. All of this lines up a wizard like Gandalf with The Stranger on The Rings of Power.

We also know Gandalf—whose name among the Maiar is Olórin—occasionally walked among the Elves in disguise. So if he ever came to Middle-earth previously, they might not have even known the shapeshifter’s real identity and purpose.

Gandalf, like the Stranger, also had a special relationship with fire. It could not injure him, and he could create it from nothing to light torches with magic. Ultimately he also bore Narya, the Elvish ring of fire. Gandalf, who wrote on Bilbo’s door in runes, also talked to bugs and fought off wolves singlehandedly. And when the One Ring tempted him, the world turned dark as he screamed at Bilbo and Frodo, just as the Stranger did when Nori frightened him.

The otherworldly voices the Stranger heard also sounded a lot like the voice of Sauron that Frodo heard when he put on the One Ring. And, just like Gandalf, Sauron is one of the Maiar.

The Rings of Power season one’s final episode saw Nori and The Stranger head off to find parts unknown. The Stranger is now wandering Middle-earth, and Gandalf was known as the Wandering Wizard for traveling across the lands without a home to call his own.

But the connections between the two bearded men go even further. Gandalf the Grey died in The Fellowship of the Ring. His Maiar spirit did not depart Middle-earth for long. Ilúvatar sent a naked Olórin back to fight Sauron. Despite now being another entity entirely (but with the same spirit), the wizard let his former companions still call him Gandalf, only this time, he was Gandalf the White. However, at first, he did not even remember the name Gandalf. It took a few days for Olórin to piece everything together in his mind.

And what did Olórin, who was unquestionably “good,” do when he first returned naked to the world? “There I lay staring upward” from a mountaintop, he said, “While the stars wheeled over, and each day was as long as a life-age of the earth.” Like the Stranger does on The Rings of Power, Gandalf looked to the stars for guidance. That might be because both had the same mission on Middle-earth.

The Rings of Power seems to tease that the Stranger is Gandalf in its final season one episode. After the Stranger is named an Istar, or wizard, for certain, he also appears to echo Gandalf’s quote from The Lord of the Rings movies, telling Nori that when in doubt, she should follow her nose. Of course, it could be that the Stranger is a different wizard altogether on The Rings of Power. Only season two will tell us more.

The Rings of Power Season Two Will Reveal More About the Stranger

The Stranger is heading off on some new adventures in season two, that surely will help us determine his identity once and for all. The wizard has even met the enigmatic being, Tom Bombadil. Of course, Tom Bombadil isn’t in any hurry to get into the fray himself, but he does tell The Stranger that his destiny is to face both Sauron and the Dark Wizard of Rhûn. He also tries to encourage The Stranger to give himself a bit more over to fate and destiny. Tom Bombadil notes to The Stranger that both a staff and powers are his to weild… when he proves himself worthy. Something he has not yet done. Perhaps he will both prove himself worthy and find his name in one fell swoop.

Most importantly, though, Tom Bombadil offers The Stranger this quote in The Rings of Power season two, episode six. He notes, “Many that die deserve life, some that live deserve death, who are you to give it to them?” This is very eerily reminiscent of line that Gandalf will later tell Frodo speaking about Gollum, “Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them?” This latest line really does make us feel like The Stranger is slowly transforming into Gandalf.

A newly released description of The Stranger’s journey in The Rings of Power season two reveals a little bit more about what we can expect from him. It shares:

In search of his origins and purpose, in Season 2 the mysterious, magic-wielding Stranger seeks the constellation that has haunted him since his arrival to in Middle-earth – and the wizard’s staff he hopes to find under it.

Well, if we see The Stranger hammering a nail through his staff, we’ll know it’s a sign he really is Gandalf. In the meanwhile, we find it very suspicious that Poppy and Nori speak of his search for a staff as his search for a “Gand.” The Stranger is searching for a gand on The Rings of Power, you don’t say… It’s almost like The Rings of Power is saying, The Stranger is Gandalf. But we suppose it could be a misdirect. Gandr is an Old Norse word for “wand” or “staff,” but it seems pointed here.

The Stars of the Valar and Middle-earth’s Smallest Heroes

Varda, Queen of the Valar, created new, brighter stars before the elves awoke on Middle-earth. They were the first things the elves saw, and they loved them. But Varda created some to be more than beautiful lights. She arranged certain constellations to serve as warnings of future doom.

That’s why the Valar sent wizards to Earth during the Third Age, to help fight a coming doom. Now it appears the Valar did the same thing during the Second Age, too. Possibly with the same Maiar, Olórin. And if that’s the case, through the Stranger, The Rings of Power might have just shown why Gandalf put the world’s fate in the hands of Middle-earth’s small-folk.

Nori found the Stranger and refused to leave him. She kept him safe, in part, because she feels some unknown powerful entity sent this man to her. But also because Harfoots—the hobbits’ ancestors—are good, caring people. And after his discovery, he returned the favor by making sure her family did not get lost during the Great Migration. He protected them because the Stranger and Nori are already great friends who rely on each other.

The Valar sent the Stranger to Middle-earth. Like the stars he looks to above, his arrival is an omen of a coming doom. And if he really is Olórin, it’s easy to see why Gandalf trusted in the bravery, courage, and heart of hobbits—Nori’s showed Olórin their worth on Middle-earth long before.

Originally published on September 1, 2022.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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The Rings of Power season one swept onto our screens in the summer of 2022, and it made quite an impact. In fact, at Nerdist, we felt it was one of the best shows of the year. And although we are still thinking about season one of the show, things are already ramping up on season two of The Rings of Power. The Rings of Power didn’t exactly leave us on a cliffhanger, but we are still on the edge of our seats, ready to dive back into its world.

The latest clip from The Rings of Power season two, episode six, is a short one, but it gets in deep with the characters of Galadriel and Adar. Don’t watch it if you don’t want to be spoiled. But it basically lays out how they both feel about Sauron and how they were both deceived by him in similar ways. It’s honestly an incredible scene between two fascinating characters forced to come together. I’m obsessed with it. As we’ve said before, Galadriel and Adar should team up to fight Sauron in The Rings of Power season two. You can check it out below.

Here’s everything we know so far about the next season of The Rings of Power.

The Rings of Power Season Two’s Plot

The Rings of Power concluded season one on a few very dramatic notes, setting the stage for season two. Of course, Halbrand revealed himself to be none other than Sauron in disguise. When we last saw the dark lord, he was simply walking into Mordor, no doubt on the way to mete out some vengeance on his wayward followers. Meanwhile, Galadriel, Elrond, and Celebrimbor proceeded to form the elven Rings of Power despite knowing the idea came from a source of evil. And we feel it’s likely the Dwarves might know about the rings sooner rather then later.

Among other things, war is coming to Middle-earth. A release for season two of The Rings of Power notes, “This season features the long-awaited Siege of Eregion, a definitive battle in J.R.R. Tolkien’s history of the Second Age of Middle-earth, from which not everyone makes it out alive. The banners are raised, and the devastating war against Sauron is just beginning.” Very ominous.

An official synopsis for season two reveals more about the The Rings of Power‘s upcoming season, it notes:

In Season Two of The Rings of Power, Sauron has returned. Cast out by Galadriel, without army or ally, the rising Dark Lord must now rely on his own cunning to rebuild his strength and oversee the creation of the Rings of Power, which will allow him to bind all the peoples of Middle-earth to his sinister will. Building on Season One’s epic scope and ambition, the new season plunges even its most beloved and vulnerable characters into a rising tide of darkness, challenging each to find their place in a world that is increasingly on the brink of calamity. Elves and dwarves, orcs and men, wizards and Harfoots… as friendships are strained and kingdoms begin to fracture, the forces of good will struggle ever more valiantly to hold on to what matters to them most of all… each other.

In the latest clips from season two, we see Galadriel give name to what truly happened in The Rings of Power season one. Sauron deceived her. Elrond and High King Gil-galad do not seem thrilled by the news, but despite this Galadriel still seems to believe she was right to make Rings of Power for the elves. If that’s true remains to be seen. While Elrond staunchly stands against it, the High King seems like he’s willing to entertain it despite his frown. But that’s about to become much harder because Elrond seems to take the rings and jump off a cliff.

We are seated. You can check out the clips below.

Behind the Scenes

Showrunners and executive producers J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay return to helm season two of The Rings of Power. Also returning is director Charlotte Brändström. Sanaa Hamri and Louise Hooper will also join as directors on season two of The Rings of Power. They will each direct two episodes.

Rufus Wainwright joins forces with Bear McCreary for The Rings of Power season two, specifically for Tom Bombadil’s song. The video above teases the song, as well as the making of it.

The Rings of Power Season Two’s Cast

The entire main cast of The Rings of Power which includes Morfydd Clark, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Charlie Vickers, Robert Aramayo, and more, is expected to return for season two, with the exception of two major characters.

Firstly, Nazanin Boniadi recently revealed she would not return as Bronwyn in season two of The Rings of Power.

Secondly, Joseph Mawle will not return as the tragic but trecherous orc father, Adar, instead, the role has been recast. Sam Hazeldine will take on the role of Adar in the second season of The Rings of Power season two.

Joining Hazeldine are fourteen new actors. No new roles or characters have yet been revealed. The new cast of The Rings of Power season two includes: Gabriel Akuwudike, Yasen ‘Zates’ Atour, Ben Daniels, Amelia Kenworthy, Nia Towle, Nicholas Woodeson, Oliver Alvin-Wilson, Stuart Bowman, Gavi Singh Chera, William Chubb, Kevin Eldon, Will Keen, Selina Lo, and Calam Lynch.

Rory Kinnear has also been cast as Tom Bombadil.

The Rings of Power Season Two’s Release Date

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two will premiere with its first three episodes on August 29. It will then release episodes weekly with its finale landing on October 3.

Originally published on May 8, 2023.

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As The Rings of Power moves through its second season on Prime Video, the show continues to expand on the lore of Middle-earth in its Second Age, with the threat of Sauron coming ever closer to everyone. This season began with Sauron’s deception as Halbrand is revealed to the elves of Lingon after the creation of the first three Rings of Power. Gil-Galad, Círdan, and Galadriel have now become the first ringbearers. 

Galadriel in particular, as the story’s primary focus, has made a compelling case for The Rings of Power as a worthy adaptation which expands her as a character. We saw her become very close to Halbrand (a.k.a. Sauron) in the first season. Now, we are witnessing her deal with the ramifications of that this season. This character arc adds complexity to Galadriel, a figure who has only really been seen as the beautiful and graceful Lady of Lothlorien.

In the series, she transforms into a headstrong, ambitious warrior who will fight to protect her people from harm at any cost. This is especially intriguing considering what she becomes in the Third Age and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Sadly, The Rings of Power continues to receive unnecessarily vitriolic backlash from racist and misogynistic “fans” online. Middle-earth reflects our world and they don’t like it. Along with adding more diversity, the show also adds more to existing characters in the Tolkien canon. Although Tolkien’s work has several mentions of Galadriel’s power and beauty, The Rings of Power lets us see her battle prowess in action. It helps us understand why she poses such a threat to the likes of Sauron.

The corruption resulting from the desire for power is a theme that has always been core to Tolkien’s work. Quite a few figures in Tolkien’s world deal with this temptation towards darkness. However, it is almost always male figures who become corrupt in pursuit of power. Meanwhile, the female figures are either easily manipulated or captured and often reduced to damsels in distress. In The Rings of Power, we see Galadriel’s single-minded desire for power motivated by her concern for the preservation of her people. After Sauron’s deception, she succumbs to her temptation by wearing her ring Nenya. This brings her into focus at the center of major conflicts within Middle-earth in a novel way. The audience gets to experience the previously mentioned challenges through fresh eyes, thanks to Galadriel.

Galadriel receives one of the Rings because she is one of the greatest of the elves. This statement is according to the appendices of The Return of the King, from which The Rings of Power draws much of its inspiration. Aside from mentions of her cunning and wisdom in the books, we don’t get much exploration of her power in live-action depictions. The exception is when Frodo offers her the One Ring as he and his fellowship seek refuge in Lothloríen.

In this pivotal scene for her character, she says, “You will give me the Ring freely! In place of the Dark Lord you will set up a Queen. And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair!” 

Aside from this one instance, Galadriel, like many other women (elven or otherwise) in Tolkien’s stories, is rarely seen as a leader in the major battles against Morgoth or Sauron, whether in the Silmarillion, or in the main The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Let’s be honest. Tolkien did not write women—whether human, elven, or dwarven (of which there were none originally)—to be warriors or leaders.

An illuminating example is that of Lúthien in the Silmarillion, the daughter of the great elven king Thingol who, along with her eventual husband Beren, subdued the great enemy Morgoth with nothing more than her voice. Despite her power and dedication to her husband’s quest to retrieve the precious Silmarils from Morgoth’s lair, Beren was concerned that he could not provide her with “home or honour or the fair things that are the delight of the queens of the Eldalië.”

There are few elven women more powerful than Lúthien in Tolkien’s canon. But even she fought reluctantly, rather than as someone who wanted to take part in battle against the evil Morgoth for the good of their world. However, in The Rings of Power, we not only see Galadriel fight bravely alongside her male counterparts, but we also see several other women become pivotal in the battles fought against Sauron, like Queen Miriel. 

Tolkien wrote these books in the 1930s and ‘40s, depicting a fantasy land in which he likely never imagined there to be characters like those in The Rings of Power. And that’s understandable, considering the world at that time. As much as his writing, beautiful and lyrical, has stood the test of time, so should adaptations be allowed to update his work in a way that reflects the world we live in. The show certainly does take some liberties with the canon. In the case of Galadriel, that includes the questionable lack of her husband Celeborn and her daughter Celebrian. I am willing to wait to see that story in return for a character who is so much more interesting than the fair Lady of Lothloríen. 

Galadriel plays an undeniably important role in the main trilogy of The Lord of the Rings. But, beyond some sage advice, gifts to the fellowship that are used in their battles, and one aforementioned scene in which the terrifying potential of her power is demonstrated, we don’t get much else. In The Silmarillion, most of what is written that drives the main plot is focused on her brother Finrod and the male members of her family. All that is said about Galadriel when the Noldor elves are deciding to leave Valinor, the heaven-like land of the Valar, is that she wants to rule a land of her own. She never actually speaks in those pivotal moments. 

There is a portion of Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth that focuses on Galadriel and Celeborn specifically, but even that does not expand on Galadriel’s involvement in the battles against Morgoth and Sauron. It mostly focuses on their eventual settlement in Lothloríen. The Rings of Power shows a Galadriel who is wise and beautiful. But we also get a fierce warrior who believes that she can make her people safe, no matter how great the sacrifice. Once Sauron reveals himself at the end of season one, we see Galadriel face a true test of her dedication to fighting the darkness.

Sauron conjures a vision of her brother to gain her as an ally. He manipulates her ambition and desire to save her people, offering her a position at her side as his queen, with a line in reference to The Fellowship of the Ring. She rejects him, a moment which shows us just how much of a threat to Sauron. She is the greatest ally and enemy he could have. But she still allows the forging of the rings. This shows that she (and others like her) can still face temptation towards the darkness, despite her best intentions. 

In making an adaptation that reflects our world, The Rings of Power has breathed in new life into Tolkien’s work. A new approach to some characters can actually make for a very compelling story. The Rings of Power gives Galadriel a chance to do and be more than she was in the original The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Silmarillion. She finally gets the respect that one of the most powerful elves in Middle-Earth deserves. Her journey as a fierce warrior who wrestles with the corruption that great power can incur is compelling.

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Lord Celembrimbor is going to do something he swore he wouldn’t. He’s going to help craft nine rings for men. In The Rings of Power‘s “Halls of Stone,” Annatar used the elven smith’s ego, vanity, and guilt to manipulate Eregion’s leader into doing the Dark Lord’s bidding. Before he did, Sauron saw firsthand what it takes to make a ring that will bring its wearer into the Unseen world. With that knowledge, and his time as Annatar coming to an end, the question must now be asked: Will we see Sauron forge the One Ring during the show’s second season?

Celebrimbor’s refusal to make rings for “easily corruptible” men led Annatar to try making them himself with the other smiths of Eregion. That ploy did more than tempt Celebrimbor. It also allowed Sauron to learn from trial-and-error. Mirdania was working with a ring that featured more mithral than previous ones.

When she put it on she vanished from sight and ended up in a place Frodo will one day know all too well. Mirdania went into the Unseen world, “a place, like this, but shrouded in mist and darkness.” There she saw a tall being of flames with eyes “pitiless and eternal” that reeked of “death.”

Lord of the Rings fans also know that realm as the wraith-world, because Sauron’s One Ring will draw the Nazgul into that dimension. That flawed ring might be the most important failure in all of Middle-earth, because it might have taught Sauron what he needed to know when he forges his ultimate ring alone in Mordor.

This episode also saw Sauron learn something important about how to bend the rings to his will. King Durin’s ring has made him different. His son says he is “colder, quicker to anger” and suddenly greedy. Sauron said that’s because they made the dwarf rings under a pall of deception. Celebrimbor lied to his High King about what was happening in Eregion. Sauron might be lying about that cause and effect, but he loves to deceive by bending the truth. And he certainly was honest when he told Celebrimbor “these are matters of spirit, as much as craft.”

The Dark Lord’s time in Eregion is proving tremendously fruitful. Each iteration of rings make its wearers more and more corruptible. This is reversed from official lore, yet will still work in the same way. We know from The Lord of the Rings how each generation of rings will work (or not) on Sauron’s behalf. And on The Rings of Power nine mortal men doomed to die will soon wear rings Celebrimbor swore never to make. Those rings will connect those men to the Unseen world Mirandia visited.

Once the rings of men are made the only thing left for Sauron to do is make the One Ring to rule them all, to find them to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them. With his partnership with Celebrimbor almost done, it’s very possible Sauron will end season two by finishing his life’s work.

Fortunately when he does he will seemingly forget about another lesson he learned in Eregion. He also told Mirdania that the crafting of the rings left Celebrimbor “diminished.” It surely has, just as the One Ring—whenever he forges it—will leave Sauron diminished, too.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. A ring of power would not corrupt him (maybe). You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power tells the tale of Middle-earth’s Second Age, a time described by Tolkien in The Silmarillion and other texts. That means those who have delved into the world of The Lord of the Rings in some capacity have a pretty good idea about the fates that await certain characters. Still, adaptations occasionally make changes to the narrative where relevant, and The Rings of Power has introduced many beloved original characters—more than enough to keep fans at the edges of their seats worrying over their fates. The Rings of Power is bound to have its fair share of character deaths in a season. And so, for the morbidly curious, we’ll keep track of all the The Rings of Power season two’s major characters deaths below.

Here’s who faded away in season two.

The Rings of Power, Season 2, Episode 5 Deaths

Valandil’s Death Leaves The Rings of Power Fans Shocked and Sad

Say it ain’t so! After we sadly lost Ontamo in The Rings of Power season one, Isildur has now lost his other best friend, Valandil, and he doesn’t even know it yet. We’re honestly really sad about Valandil’s death in The Rings of Power season two. Although we didn’t spend too much time with him, Valandil seemed like a great character. He was loyal, hardworking, and a little snarky. And in these dark times, he proved that he was made of some strong stuff. Unfortunately, Valandil’s loyalty was also his undoing. He just couldn’t stomach the wretched Kemen and his arrogant and humiliating ways. When Kemen came to destroy a holy shrine, mocked its priest, and disrespected Elendil, it was too much for Valandil.

Brashly, Valandil attacked Kemen, but in the end, did not kill him. Alas, Kemen has no honor and stabbed Valandil right in the back, literally, killing him in the shrine. It’s a death that makes sense for Valandil in The Rings of Power but nevertheless, one that shocks and saddens us. Sometimes, deaths are not necessary. And here, it feels like Valandil could have served a much greater purpose alive. Valandil’s death does offer a lovely evolution to The Lord of the Rings’ lore, though. Isildur’s fourth and youngest son is named Valandil in Tolkien’s world. And now we know why. Excuse us while we find some tissues.

The Rings of Power Season 2, Episodes 4 Deaths

The Barrow-wights Lead to the Elf Daemor’s Death

Alas, we barely knew him, but one of Elrond’s company is killed by the Undead Barrow-wights in episode four of The Rings of Power. Sadly, the elf Daemor meets his death.

The Rings of Power Season 2, Episodes 1-3 Deaths

Sauron’s Post-Morgoth Form “Dies”

In season one of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Adar tells Galadriel that he killed Sauron. And we do see Sauron meet a death of sorts in the opening scene of The Rings of Power season two. Sauron, played by Jack Lowden in the opener, moves to assume power after Morgoth’s defeat. But Adar and the Orcs, having suffered much mistreatment at Sauron’s hand and having endured for long enough, have other ideas for him. Instead of crowning Sauron, Adar stabs him with his very own helm and is joined in his attack by the masses of Orcs gathered at the would-be coronation. After enough hits rain down on Sauron, he dramatically explodes, turning the fortress into an icy sepulcher.

Of course, as a Maia, Sauron is much harder to kill than that, and his dark spirit lives on. We see it return to life later in the episode, transforming into the Charlie Vickers form we now know as Sauron. But, in a sense, one version of Sauron did go to his death. Gold star to you, Adar.

Waldreg Meets His Death at the Hands of Sauron

Poor Waldreg. He was so ready to serve Sauron but abandoned that desire to loyally serve Adar, his Lord Father, instead. And Waldreg was a loyal servant. Unfortunately, in episode one of The Rings of Power season two, he meets his death thanks to Sauron.

Waldreg had been in charge of torturing the prisoner whom he’d thought to be the King of the Southlands, Halbrand. And Waldreg took his job very seriously, tormenting and taunting the captive. Of course, Halbrand is really Sauron in disguise, and it’s not really wise to anger the Dark Lord. Using his considerable powers, Sauron manipulated the Warg in his cell to follow his commands. And after convincing Adar to set him free, he left a gift behind for Waldreg. On Sauron’s orders, the Warg attacked Waldreg after Sauron had gone, presumably mauling him to death in The Rings of Power episode one. Sauron, of course, found the whole affair to be very funny.

The Rings of Power Confirms Bronwyn Died From Her Season One Wounds

Alas, we saw this death coming after Bronwyn’s actress, Nazanin Boniadi, announced that she was leaving The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. But, still, it hurt when season two, episode three of The Rings of Power confirmed that Bronwyn, indeed, died. Arondir shares that even though Bronwyn appeared to heal, the orcish arrow that had struck her contained a slow-acting poison that brought about her death in the end.

Though Bronwyn and Arondir had seemed like they were heading for a happy ending, it was not meant to be for the two. In the early episodes of The Rings of Power season three, we see Bronwyn’s funeral pyre as her body is set aflame. This heartbreaking scene is gorgeously tragic and creates a new story for those Bronwyn left behind. Instead of a love story, Arondir will now grapple with grief. And the death of Bronwyn on The Rings of Power leaves a tremendous gap between her son Theo and the elven archer. We’ll see if the pair can work together to begin healing from this pain.

Many More Deaths Are Likely on Season 2 of The Rings of Power

With evil on the rise during season two of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, surely more deaths will follow. After all, even among immortal beings, the cost of war is high. We bet there will be plenty of casualties on the side of good and evil before the season is out. We guess we will just have to hope Sauron doesn’t cast his eye on any of our very favorites.

Originally published on August 29, 2024.

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It’s hard when a ship is separated by the narrative. (Although, the most amazing thing ever when the story brings them together.) And for Haladriel/Saurondriel shippers, who are legion in The Rings of Power‘s world, it’s been an especially trying time. For those not in the know, Haladriel shippers is the name for fans who love the relationship between Galadriel and Sauron (formerly known as Halbrand). But although the pair are parted, it seems that The Rings of Power wants shippers to know: it’s going to be okay. Sauron is definitely still thinking about Galadriel. (Although he’s being kind of a creeper about it!) Here are The Rings of Power season two’s most distinct Haladriel crumbs to date.

In season two of The Rings of Power, Sauron heads off to Eregion to manipulate Celebrimbor into making more Rings of Power. But Celebrimbor isn’t the only elf in Eregion that Sauron has been influencing. He also seems to be having quite an impact on Celebrimbor’s student and protege, the elven smith Mirdania (played by actress Amelia Kenworthy). And there is something about Mirdania. Something very… Galadriel-esque. In fact, in the lead-up to The Rings of Power season two, fans even speculated that Mirdania was Galadriel’s daughter Celebrían, whom the show has still not introduced. But it turns out the resemblance has a bit of a different purpose, and we’re not the only ones who have noticed. In The Rings of Power season two, episode five, Sauron and Mirdania share a moment that’s all about Galadriel.

Sauron has been extra honey-tongued and solicitous toward Mirdania since he arrived in Eregion. And we learned a big reason why in The Rings of Power season two, episode five. Sauron is slowly setting the scene to turn the other elves of Eregion against Celebrimbor. He wants the elves to feel Sauron/Annatar is the force of good and calm in the kingdom. Thus, Sauron can alienate Celebrimbor and make him easy prey to his gaslighting ways. But amid this manipulation, Sauron finds time to be just a little extra creepy to Mirdania, talking suddenly about how she reminds him of Galadriel. This The Rings of Power scene both highlights to us that Sauron is not our friend and gives Haladriel shippers cause to rejoice.

Sauron says to Mirdania, “How strange. When the light caught your hair for a moment, you seemed her perfect likeness.” And when Mirdania asks, “Whose likeness?” Sauron responds with, “Why Lady Galadriel’s, of course.” And then strokes her hair. Ahhh (don’t touch her!), or AHHHH (Haladriel!), as you prefer. The moment is so icky and yet so good. Clearly, Galadriel is very much on Sauron’s mind. She’s someone he’s seeing in the shadows and on the faces of others. And there is something incredibly intimate and darkly romantic about it. Especially since it comes complete with a hair touch. It definitely adds to the gothic romance energy that is slowly descending upon Eregion. And clearly, although he’s presently wooing Celebrimbor, Sauron thinks he and Galadriel are the stars of this twisted movie.

It’s not as good Galadriel and Sauron/Halbrand spending a whole season together in The Rings of Power‘s first chapter. But it’s certainly something. Congratulations Haladriel shippers, that was intense.

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Toward the end of The Rings of Power season two, episode four, the series brings us a beautiful and deeply emotional scene that meditates on some truly powerful themes. The elf Arondir, an Ent, and an Entwife find and offer one another forgiveness for wounds dealt, and a moment of peace arrives in an otherwise ominous season as healing rains fall. It’s an incredible sequence and one of the most Tolkien-esque we’ve ever seen on screen to date. Lurking in the backdrop of this momentary lightness, however, in its shadows, some might say, is the specter of darkness. But, here, specifically, that darkness takes the form of The Rings of Power‘s orcs. The orcs are directly responsible for the Ents’ pain and Arondir’s, past and present. And still, the juxtaposition of their presence against the idea of forgiveness and serenity invokes one of the most complicated series of questions that The Rings of Power has proposed for itself. Are the orcs deserving of healing? Can they find forgiveness? And should they get to know peace?

It’s clear we’re meant to share in the heartbreak of the Ents as they mourn the destruction of their forest. And we undoubtedly do. The Ents’ pain manifests as grief in broader strokes, over the destruction of nature, and grief in more emotional strokes, over the loss of family. It’s great pain and all too resonant in both regards. It feels impossible not to ache with the Ents as they recount sundering and felling, burning and snapping. The Entwife Winterbloom wails in pain when Arondir speaks of the orcs to her. And her husband, the Ent Snaggleroot, tells Arondir, “Winterbloom nourished many of those trees from seed and sprout. Do not ask her to speak more of it.” In short, Winterbloom and Snaggleroot appear to us as grieving parents. Winterbloom has lost children.

But intended by the narrative or not, this invocation of children in the scene evokes another grief for another set of children. Indeed, grief for the culprits of destruction themselves, the orcs. After all, The Rings of Power has taken great pains to link the orcs, or Uruk, as they prefer we call them, with the idea of children. The character of Adar’s very name, which means Father in elvish, reminds us constantly that at least one figure sees the orcs as children. And so when there is mention of offspring and a conversation about orcs at once, the concept becomes especially highlighted. In this case, the scene with the Ents sets up a fascinating dichotomy: that of trees as children and orcs as children.

It might be easy in this moment of great grief when a tearful Ent is discussing its burned offspring to imagine trees as children and the great injustice done to the forest by the orcs. It is harder, it seems, to do so when it’s a single tear in Adar’s scarred face. But ultimately, The Rings of Power presents the question, is an elf felling an orc different than an orc felling a tree? 

The Ents say that the orcs were “maiming and murdering as they marched.” And that is wince-inducing. But not so long ago, it feels quite certain that orcs were saying the same thing about Galadriel and the elves. When season one of The Rings of Power began, the elves seemed quite sure they had meaningfully eradicated the orcs. Galadriel even says, “To the ends of the earth we hunted Sauron.” (Orcs implied.) And Elrond asks Galadriel, “Do you truly believe seeking [Sauron] out will satisfy you? That one more orc upon the point of your blade will bring you peace?” The implication here is that there have been quite a few on the point of that blade already. And that some portion Galadriel’s peace has been won by spilling that blood, the blood of Adar’s children, in great quantities.

Though Galadriel is not at peace, she has known it. As have Ents. And that’s what allows them both to mourn the loss of it. The Ents grieve the destruction of their forest, their home. They wish for it to be untouched; they wish for it to be left alone. They wish for it to be able to heal to its fullest form and them with it. But, ultimately, that’s what the orcs seek as well on The Rings of Power, though blindly. Their entire journey has been about finding a home where they can settle, rest, and stop the long journey of enduring, knowing that they are finally safe. They are on a quest for a peace they have never tasted.

The orcs here have hurt nature, and it is easy to empathize with nature being so hurt. But are the orcs not too part of nature, though nature turns its back on them? Adar tells Galadriel, “We are creations of The One, Master of the Secret Fire, the same as you. As worthy of the breath of life, and just as worthy of a home.” Adar essentially tells Galadriel that he and the orcs are a part of nature and that they, too, have “a heart, a name.” The presence of orc babies in season two of The Rings of Power further underscores this. Does an orc baby breathe its first breath desiring to fell a tree? Probably not. But an orc baby does not ever know the peace the Ents and their tree children know. From an orc’s first moment of existence, the very progenitor of nature, the sun itself, shuns them, burns them as aberrations. And so, why should the orcs take nature into their hearts? One might even propose that without ever fully having known peace, it is quite difficult for Uruk to understand the ways in which their ruination of it deeply wounds.

For the orcs, there’s a very real sense of generational trauma in place, a perpetuating cycle of abuse. Sauron lays it out for us in episode one of The Rings of Power season two. He tells Adar and the orcs, “You have nowhere else to turn. The Valar will never forgive you. Elves will never accept you. Men will never look upon you with anything but horror and disgust, a corrupted and ignoble race-worthy only to be hunted and slaughtered.” After which, of course, Sauron turns and slaughters an orc. But he’s right, and every race in Middle-earth comes together together to make the narrative true. The orcs do maim and murder, but it is all they have ever known and all they have been shown. And what better outcome waits for them? To be maimed and murdered instead? No one has ever offered peace to the orcs on The Rings of Power save Adar. And choicelessly, that peace cannot come peacefully, because no one in Middle-earth will permit it.

The Ents have the protection of allies, the shield of their innocence. We mourn for them, for the pain the orcs have wrought on them as the forest burns. But in the subtext, the truth remains that the orcs do not have that; they have never had it. No one except Adar has ever promised an orc that time will make their lives better. And this picture invites us to mourn for the orcs, too. Would they have burned this forest if they had a safe place of their own? The Rings of Power tells us the orcs likely would not have.

But, despite it all, Adar plants a seed in the ground and prays to Yavanna, the Valar who watches over growing things, the very Valar who created the Ents, to protect his children. And are the orcs not growing things? Should the gods not protect them as they do the trees? Should the orcs, who are, too, children, Adar’s children, their parents’ children, who have children of their own, not then also deserve to know peace?

Isildur asks of the Ents, “Think they know what peace is?” But the Ents do know that, and it’s critical that they do. The knowledge of peace gives them precious hope and allows them to feel forgiveness. But the Orcs do not know what peace is. And perhaps, if they did, things would be different. And, indeed, if The Rings of Power has the courage of its convictions, new bark will come to cover old scars for the orcs (and Adar!) as well in the space of the series.

We’ll keep our fingers crossed. Forgiveness, as they say, takes an age, but eventually it arrives.

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The Rings of Power‘s first season began telling a beautiful backstory about the legendary Doors of Durin. That magical gateway, which famously held up Frodo and his companions in The Fellowship of the Ring, was borne from the special bond between Elrond and Durin IV. Now that passageway is ready to serve as Khazad-dûm’s West-gate. It’s also ready to serve as a lasting testament to a once unlikely connection between two proud races. Only, season two has now shown the tragic side of this otherwise touching tale. The Doors of Durin stands as a symbol of friendship between elves and dwarves, but fittingly it also stands as a testament to the dark lord whose watchful and deceiving eye it was made under.

J.R.R. Tolkien wrote that Celebrimbor and the celebrated dwarf craftsman Narvi made the Doors of Durin together. The Rings of Power showed them doing just that in season two’s fifth episode. The sequence also highlighted the significance of this joint endeavor. “Dwarves and elves working together?” said a smiling Celebrimbor. “It was said to be impossible. But our cooperation has achieved this wonder. And today we embark on a new dream, to enshrine our friendship in stone.”

The Doors of Durin are “un-breachable, visible only by moonlight, and guarded by a password known only to friends.” (Or grey wizards who eventually figure it out long after they should have.) That gateway truly is a symbol of the “lasting friendship between elves and dwarves.”

That friendship will see its ups and downs, just as Elrond and Durin IV have. But it will always prove true when it matters most. Elves and dwarves will soon fight side-by-side against Sauron in the The War of the Last Alliance. And they will come together in the Third Age when the world needs them. Gimli and Legolas will join Frodo on his journey to Mordor. That journey that will bring them to much more than the Doors of Durin. It will lead to a lifelong bond.

The Rings of Power has also expanded the passageway’s lore by delving deep into the creation of mithral. In season one, the show shared an original tale about a battle between a pure-hearted elven warrior and a balrog of Morgoth. They fought above a tree said to contain one of the famed Silmarils created by Celebrimbor’s grandfather Fëanor, the greatest elf craftsmen ever. When a bolt of lightning struck the tree the elven warrior poured “all his light” into saving the tree. Meanwhile the balrog “channeled all his hate” into its destruction. Legend says their combined power led to the creation of mithral, which Gil-galad described as being equally “pure in light as good” as “strong and unyielding as evil.”

Mithral brought elves and dwarves together. Elrond asked for that special metal to save the elves of Middle-earth. But it also made both races vulnerable to Sauron’s false friendship. The Dark Lord is deceiving the world with rings of power. “Annatar” was also there when the two races came together to make the Doors of Durin, which fittingly uses mithral.. Celebrimbor made his magical moonlight inlay with ithildin, a thin, extremely refined form of mithril.

The very thing elves and dwarves made together—the one that encased their bond in stone forever, the door that will protect dwarves of Khazad-dûm until they must abandon their home because of greed driven by Sauron’s rings—contains both good and evil in it. Just as all of Middle-earth does.

Fortunately for elves and swarves the one power in Middle-earth that always proves un-breachable is friendship.

The post THE RINGS OF POWER Gave the Doors of Durin a Backstory That’s Both Beautiful and Tragic appeared first on Nerdist.

On The Rings of Power, Ismael Cruz Córdova plays Arondir, the most elven elf of them all. Through Arondir, we meet a whole new kind of elf, one full of rich complexities and new perspectives. And Cruz Córdova, who has long desired to play one of Tolkien’s mythical beings, brings this role to life with absolute perfection. In season two of The Rings of Power, Arondir’s journey takes a turn into grief when he loses his great love, Bronwyn. For Cruz Córdova, this journey hits intensely close to home, creating “a difficult but beautiful experience” that, indeed, many of us sadly share. But as we walk with Arondir in season two, his story becomes one of the most resonant and human tales that The Rings of Power has to offer its fans.

Ahead of The Rings of Power season two, Ismael Cruz Córdova sat down with Nerdist to discuss Arondir’s unique perspectives, how the elf contends with grief and darkness, his relationships with humans and other elves, and how nature and nurture conspired (much to our joy) to help him become The Rings of Power‘s Arondir.

Nerdist: In many ways, Arondir is one of the true MVPs of The Rings of Power. He’s soft but strong. He has a keen sense of what’s right, and yet he has an empathy for everyone around him. Where do you think that compassion comes from for Arondir, and what is it like balancing all the layers of the character?

Cruz Córdova: I think, in life, when you are someone that is perhaps at the bottom of things, at the bottom of the pyramid, you tend to have nowhere else to look back up. And so I think that kind of being gets a more global sense of things and is able to hold more complexity and often is able to hold more empathy as well as resentment for the things that are happening. You can understand things, but also you can resent others. And I think that balancing creates a very rich being.

And I think so far, we’ve seen elves that are regal or have high political positions, positions of power, more “blessed,” more comfortable. We haven’t seen this perspective before, which to me is very; I think that’s why he sees humans as closer than perhaps other elves see them. And this fascination for them and this respect for them and trying to understand his own emotions and how is it to balance that? I think to balance that is just how we balance our every day. The complexity of emotions that you may have in a day, I’m sure that I have in a day. It’s very similar to what this guy is going through.

In season one, encountering darkness actually pushes Arondir to evolve in certain ways and take charge of himself and those around him. But as the darkness continues to grow, do you think it pushes him to thrive and take on these leadership roles? Or does it entangle him in its grasp?

Cruz Córdova: I think there’s a little bit of both. I think he steps up when it’s needed. That’s something that we know about him. He will step up. But, of course, this grief and this darkness… I know it first-hand, and it can entangle, and it really does make you question just about everything.

I’ve experienced great loss in my life, and it’s defined my character, and it’s defined my journey through my twenties and thirties. I lost my sister when I was 20 years old, and it’s definitely a great force to try to survive. It’s something that you really have to push against and survive from, and it completely changes your perspective on things. But you’re called upon to do other things as well. I was called upon to continue my journey, to keep my dreams, to finish college, to do right by that wonderful, wonderful best friend of mine. And I think that in answer to, “What did you draw upon?” I didn’t have to move that much.

I have this little tattoo in honor of my sister, so I only had to look at that. I actually got it right before the season. And I have that hand wrap [that Arondir wears], funny thing is that I was like, let me get it right there [on the forearm] because you won’t be able to see it. But when we went to the season, and I put the hand wrap on, it ended right before!

But it was beautiful, still, too. I could see it and connect with her. My own experience was informing this character. And it was a beautiful, difficult but beautiful, experience to have to bring that to the screen and bring that reality that many of us have had to experience. This reality that is so hard to talk about, but I think people can feel it more when they see it.

Absolutely, and, as you’re mentioning, Arondir does suffer the great loss of Bronwyn this season. How do you think that changes him and shift his motivations?

Cruz Córdova: I mean, it does both. It poses existential questions. It brings about new responsibilities because now Theo is very, very strongly his responsibility, and he promised Bronwyn that he would keep him safe.

So there’s this motivation to be a father, this is motivation to be a leader, but it’s very hard to fight against that loss. So there’s also, I feel that it definitely awakens other darker motivations, motivation for vengeance and motivation for maybe some recklessness as well. Because you’re like, “Why am I here? What is this experience of living? Is this it?” So I think it definitely awakens a set of very important new aspects of him that can definitely take him left or right.

In season one of the most compelling scenes to me was between Arondir and Adar. And I love that of all the characters, only Adrondir seemed to acknowledge Adar’s elven roots and their shared origins and the tragedy of him. Could you discuss their relationship a little bit more and how Arondir views it?

Cruz Córdova: We talked earlier about empathy when you’re coming from a lower aspect of things. In that place, things are not black and white. There’s a lot of gray. And you recognize that there’s darkness as much as light in everyone. That everyone has a story. That often there’s a hair between a hero and a villain. That often villains, perhaps, are almost more noble than heroes in their pursuit of things. In their reality, they carry a sense of nobility. And Arondir sees that in Adar. He sees his relationship with his orcs, his children, as he calls them, and they call him Adar, they call him father. And so it begs the question, who is the villain?

Arondir is extremely curious. So it’s like: How did this man get here? How did this happen? Adar said, “You’ve been told many lies,” and that really awakened something in Arondir that I think carries through to the season. It’s like, “What does he feel about it all really?” And now, with this loss, is it going to spark danger in him? Where is he going to go?

Do you think we’ll see Adar and Arondir interact more this season? And does that nascent empathy he feels for Adar survive the explosion of Mount Doom and Bronwyn’s death?

Cruz Córdova: I can’t tell you much about their interaction. You’ll have to watch and see. I think that certain events complicate that empathy and I think it definitely has an impact on him that we see play out later in the season.

In broad strokes, what do you think the main themes of Arondir’s storyline are this season?

Cruz Córdova: It’s pushing through. It’s battling sadness and pain, grief and duty. It’s putting one foot in front of the other. It’s reminding yourself of who you are, trying to dig deep to stay true to your beliefs while opening yourself up for different knowledge and different people. Though my pairing with Isildur, for example, that forces me to interact through grief, but also with an unlikely guy, this slow human, speed-wise. He’s like, “I don’t do fast,” and it’s like I have to drag this human around. So yeah, I mean, I think he’s trying to make it.

That’s all we can do! Speaking of his relationship with Isildur, how would you describe the duo’s dynamic and how it evolves?

Cruz Córdova: It is so improbable, but it happens, and it’s good, and it’s so unpredictable, and it’s refreshing. But it’s also mutual discovery, mutual respect. I think there’s a part of Arondir that is both equally curious about Isildur and equally annoyed, in some moments. He’s skeptical of Estrid as well. I’m equally, again, equally as admiring of humans as I am skeptical of them. I can see what they can do as well and what their motivations are.

And were there any parts of Tolkien’s lore that you were especially excited to see come to life this season?

Cruz Córdova: Oh, absolutely. Absolutely. And that I can’t really tell you. But I read the script, and I definitely think that there are many, many moments that are sprinkled through the season that the fans are going to be so excited about. They are just cool, great moments. I have a couple of those. One specifically that I’m very much looking forward to seeing on the screen and sharing with the fans.

And then, just to finish off, you’ve spoken before that you had a long-time desire to be an elf. What drew you to the elves? And now that you are an elf, what has your perspective on elves changed at all?

Cruz Córdova: Yes, I had a very long-standing desire to be an elf. And what drew me to be an elf is… I don’t know, nature or nurture, I can’t tell, it’s chicken or the egg kind of thing. I grew up in the mountains in Puerto Rico, very rural. I was very contemplative. I didn’t really have a lot of friends, and I was a little bullied in school, a little… I was quite bullied in school. But also my environment growing up poor, and we didn’t have a TV, and, so I spent a lot of time just outside and by myself. I was sketching, and playing with flowers, and making ink out of flowers, and climbing trees. And one of my best friends was a mango tree that I loved, absolutely loved. I would climb it every afternoon and do my homework there after school.

And once I got my hands on The Lord of the Rings and the movies, it felt so familiar. The elves felt so familiar to me, with the reverence that they have for nature, and the whimsy and the contemplation. I would look at the clouds and just try to figure out “What is that?” I was mesmerized by everything: these giants, and the sun, and the soil, and I still am. I respect and revere it.

So yeah, that’s what drew me to want to be one. And after playing one, has my opinion changed? No, I think they’re great. I still think they’re great. I still think they’re just magical and badass. But I love to see the more questionable aspects of them that The Rings of Power is bringing. You are like, “Hmm, you’re not the elves that I thought you were.” The decisions that you’re making, some rash decisions, some money inequality. You see that they have a hierarchy that includes just like drafted soldiers essentially. I’m from Beleriand and I was a grower and how do I end up in the military? Was I drafted? Was I taken away? Is this forcible? Do just lower, lesser elves get the appointed in these position?

I like that it’s complicating it for us and showing different heroes that are not just the regal royal elves.

The post Ismael Cruz Córdova on Arondir’s Resonant (and Personal) Journey in THE RINGS OF POWER Season 2 appeared first on Nerdist.

The Rings of Power‘s second season is already teasing the Stranger’s true identity. Considering Daniel Weyman’s tall, unkempt magical mystery man wanders around in rags with halflings after arriving on Middle-earth in a literal ring of fire, there’s plenty of reason to think he’s Gandalf. But he’s no longer the the show’s only Istar. Ciarán Hinds has joined the series as a powerful dark wizard. That intimidating cult leader already feels threatened by the Stranger’s presence. And combined with his appearance, loyal acolytes, hunt for Sauron, and his outpost in the East, The Rings of Power might now feature another legendary wizard from The Lord of the Rings. Hinds might really be playing Saruman.

Like much of J.R.R. Tolkien’s lore, the history of Istari during the Second Age is a muddled mess of conflicting tales, timelines, and monikers. In some accounts he wrote the Valar sent Istari to Middle-earth to undermine Sauron’s grip on the east and south. But who the Valar sent exactly and when, if at all, changed over time like so many of Tolkien’s other stories. The result is that the canonical history of wizards during this era is debatable at best.

Like with other questionable/unofficial lore, that ambiguity means The Rings of Power can pick and choose which Tolkienian elements it wants to adapt. And that means it’s possible Saruman was already living on Middle-earth during the Second Age. The Prime Video series has already given us lots of evidence he was.

Hinds—a great actor who can match the intensity and onscreen presence of the late Christoper Lee— is playing a powerful dark wizard weary of another Istar. (One who might very well be his uncorrupted counterpart Gandalf.) The dark wizard’s two-toned beard and staff that looks like the Eye of Sauron are also remarkably reminiscent of Lee’s character in Peter Jackson’s iconic films.

Just like with the future Saruman, Hinds dark wizard also has loyal followers willing to do terrible things on his behalf. He also seems obsessed with control and suppressing the abilities of another Istar he sees as a challenge to his position. The Rings of Power‘s dark wizard does not want the Stranger to remember who he is or how powerful he is.

Hinds’ evil Istar also calls Rhûn in the east home. That’s where evil will soon rise during the Second Age, and Saruman’s legacy is defined by his embrace of darkness which he personally spread into the west. And the Istar’s mystics spent season one looking for the Stranger because they believed he might be Sauron. In season two’s fourth episode Tom Bombadil also said the Dark Wizard seeks power but can only get it with the help of an even stronger ally. In the Third Age Saruman will first serve Sauron as a follower. He will then secretly try to usurp the Dark Lord as ruler of Middle-earth. Saruman’s ultimate second fall is directly connected with the Dark Lord’s growing power.

The parallels between Saruman during the Third Age and Hinds’ incredibly powerful Istar of the Second are obvious and bountiful. That doesn’t mean he’s definitely Saruman, however. Morgoth’s lingering evil, combined with Sauron’s darkness, could have corrupted any wizard present on Middle-earth during the Second Age. Hinds could be playing one of the blue wizards Tolkien said wandered the lands at this time. Or he might be another Istar entirely the show is introducing.

But if the Stranger proves to be the wizard we think he is, it seems very likely Hinds will, too. In the Third Age the Valar sent Saruman to Middle-earth ahead of Gandalf. Ultimately good defeated evil because they did. The Rings of Power might show the Valar did so because they knew it would work for a second time.

This post originally published on August 29, 2024.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist who prefers the color grey over white. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post Is THE RINGS OF POWER’s New Dark Wizard Ciarán Hinds Really Saruman? appeared first on Nerdist.

The Harfoots are no longer The Rings of Power‘s only little folk. In season two’s fourth episode Poppy and Nori came across the Stoors, one of the three tribes that will one day be known in Middle-earth as Hobbits. Who are these halflings? What will become of them? And what did the show reveal about their connection to the Harfoots? Here’s everything you need to know about the Stoors in The Rings of Power.

The Stoors, along with the Harfoots and Fallohides, are one of three tribes of Hobbits during Middle-earth’s Third Age. They’re both taller and stouter to their halfling counterparts, the closest of all Hobbits in appearance to men. Stoors are also the only breed of the three that can grow beards.

Despite the location of their village on The Rings of Power, the Stoors are also known for their affinity for living on flatland or near rivers which they sail on and fish from. Unlike other Hobbits, Stoors do not fear water. (That is not a minor detail in their story…)

The Stoors were also the last of the three tribes of little folk to make their way to the Shire during the Third Age. However, some stayed behind in the Anduin Vale while others lived apart from the Shire. Their late, very different path to their iconic races land resulted in them speaking their own dialect separate from other Hobbits. It also contributed to them being far friendlier with the race of men than their halfling counterparts.

Little is known about where Hobbits, the last of the five free people of Middle-earth, came from. They were discovered after already existing for unknown generations. Whatever connection they had with men was lost to time.

The Rings of Power leaned into that aspect of Hobbit history when Nori and Poppy encountered a Stoor named Merimac in the desert of Rhûn. They called him a Harfoot, but he didn’t know what that was. Instead he called himself a Stoor.

Unlike the Harfoots, a clan of wanderers who constantly move to new temporary homes, the Stoors live in a secret village in the ground. There they grow fruit and vegetables, teach their young, and have a dwell-leader known as The Gund. (Just don’t call her that.) They must steal water, though, which might explain why they will become so fond of it one day. Unfortunately, it will also lead the most infamous Stoor of all-time to find the One Ring while fishing with his friend. The Stoor love of water is why Smeagol will turn into Gollum.

Nori learned the Harfoots were once Stoors themselves. Her and dwell-leader Gundabale Earthhauler realized they had an old, forgotten bond. The Harfoots are led by a trail-finer who guides them in their perilous journeys. Nori and Poppy’s was Sadoc Burrows who appeared in the show’s first season. The name Burrows caught Gundable’s attention and ultimately led her to protect Nori and Poppy rather than banishing them to the desert.

The Gund told a story about a Stoor from “ancient days” who “wasn’t like the rest of us.” He dreamed of a place “with endless streams of cold water and rolling hills so soft a family could dig a hole and live in it in less than a month.” That Stoor, named Rorimas Burrows, left with “a caravan of followers” to find that place he called the Sûzat, which we know as The Shire.

He never found it. Nor did he return to the Stoors he left behind. Instead they kept walking and became Harfoots, as each tribe of little folk forgot about the other. The only connection between them that remained was the name Burrows and Poppy’s wandering song that remembers the dream of Rorimas.

We know someday both clans, along with the Fallohides we have yet to meet on The Rings of Power, will find the Sûzat. Will Nori and Poppy lead them to The Shire? Will The Stranger? Someone else? Before we get answers the halflings of Middle-earth wil have to wander through the nightmare that is coming to the Second Age.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist and huge advocate of Second Breakfast. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post THE RINGS OF POWER’s New Hobbit Tribe the Stoors and Their Harfoot Connection, Explained appeared first on Nerdist.

Celebrimbor is a name that The Lord of the Rings fans may recognize as an important one in Middle-earth. In short, Celebrimbor is the elf responsible for forging the Rings of Power alongside Sauron. However, like many of Tolkien’s characters, Celebrimbor has a complex history and lineage in The Lord of the Rings world, and he’s only becoming more nuanced during his tenure in Prime Video’s The Rings of Power. In the spirit of exploring Celebrimbor’s importance to The Lord of the Rings series, we’ll first review his place and journey in The Rings of Power’s first two seasons. And then we’ll dive into what The Lord of the Rings‘ extensive lore shares about the elven smith.

Let’s take a closer look at what we know about Celebrimbor’s The Rings of Power story and his history in The Lord of the Rings greater world.

Jump to:

• Who Is Celebrimbor in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power?: Celebrimbor in Season One // Celebrimbor Forges the Elven Rings of Power // Celebrimbor and Sauron in Season Two // Who Plays Celebrimbor on The Rings of Power?
• What We Know About Celebrimbor From The Lord of the Rings Lore: Celebrimbor’s Ancestry // Celebrimbor Creates the Rings of Power // Celebrimbor’s Other Achievements
• Will Celebrimbor Have a Banner Season This Year on The Rings of Power?

Celebrimbor on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: His Character and Story

Celebrimbor is a main character in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two. So, let’s review his season one role on the series and what season two has held for him so far.

Celebrimbor in Season One of The Rings of Power

Season one of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power introduces us to the elven smith, Celebrimbor. While Celebrimbor does not play an enormous role in the first season of the show, he still has a major impact on the world of Middle-earth and the future of The Rings of Power.

Celebrimbor originally comes onto the scene as a part of Elrond’s storyline. Celebrimbor confides in Elrond that he wants to create work that really matters, that truly impacts Middle-earth. He reveals plans to build a mighty forge where he can create things of great power. Of course, though this is undoubtedly true for Celebrimbor, it’s really a ruse for a much more pressing concern. In The Rings of Power season one, Celebrimbor and High King Gil-galad are searching for a way to keep the light of the Valar from fading in Middle-earth. If the light of the Valar fades, the elves will be forced to leave Middle-earth or fade away.

In season one of The Rings of Power, we come to understand Celebrimbor as ambitious, brilliant, and more than a little bit vain. Although he is good-hearted, he is blinded by a desire for greatness and legacy. And this main drive pushes him to sometimes use people and be blind to certain dangers around him—ideas that only continue to grow in season two.

Ultimately, Celebrimbor’s manipulations of Elrond prove fruitful as Elrond uncovers the Dwarven discovery of Mithril and is able bring a small amount of it back to the Elves. Mithril, it is implied, contains some light of the Valar inside of it and can thus aid in strengthening it for the elves. However, despite the presence of Mithril, Celebrimbor cannot seem to devise a way to solve the problem at hand—enter, Halbrand.

Celebrimbor Forges the Elven Rings of Power

Galadriel brings Halbrand to Eregion after he suffers injuries in the Southlands. Of course, we, and Galadriel, quickly learn Halbrand is Sauron on The Rings of Power, but not before he helps Celebrimbor devise a method of forging rings that will create the power they all seek, a power not “of the flesh, but over flesh.” Sadly, Celebrimbor is not privy to the discovery about Sauron, and Galadriel merely tells him that he is not to treat Halbrand again.

Celebrimbor, ignorant of the truth that Sauron is really Halbrand in The Rings of Power season one, goes forward with the forging of the Elven Rings of Power at Galadriel’s behest. These Rings are made after Sauron/Halbrand leaves for Eregion, and thus, though his methodology is in play, he is not himself present for the forging of the three Rings of Power. Melting Galadriel’s dagger, which contains pure gold and silver from Valinor, with Mithril, Celebrimbor creates the first Rings of Power for the elves.

In season one, we simply see the Rings forged. But in early season two of The Rings of Power, the elves in Lindon finally don the Rings, and ‘lo, they work as desired, amplifying the light of the Valar in Middle-earth and letting it shine down upon the elves. Celebrimbor has done what he sought and saved the elves from a terrible fate. However, he is still in Eregion and does not know if his creations have been successful. Enter, again, Sauron.

Celebrimbor’s Relationship with Sauron in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season Two

Appealing to the vein of vanity in Celebrimbor, Sauron, posing as Halbrand, appears desperate to work with Celebrimbor once more, causes the smith to forget his caution. And, of course, Sauron wastes no time in making Celebrimbor feel as though the elves are ungrateful for his contributions to saving their race, cleverly alienating him from Gil-galad, Galadriel, and the rest. As the cherry on top, Sauron transforms into his fair form, Annatar, and tells Celebrimbor the Valar themselves have selected the smith to help them do their great work. How is an elf obsessed with legacy supposed to resist?

Sauron as Annatar tells him, “I have walked through the dusts and the deserts of far away lands in search of an artist possessing the craft to save all Middle-earth. A storm is coming, Celebrimbor. I can bring you the knowledge none other possess, I can unlock your grandest abilities. And when our work is complete, never again will the world overlook you as the mere scion of Fëanor. But forevermore know you as The Lord of the Rings.” To be fair, it would be hard for anyone to resist that.

For now, Sauron drives Celebrimbor to create more Rings of Power. Of course, they’ll need Mithril to do that, so Sauron and Celebrimbor invite Prince Durin IV and King Durin III to Eregion to propose a trade of the powerful artifact for the precious metal… A deal the dwarves agree to at the end of The Rings of Power episode three.

A Closer Look Than Ever Before at Sauron and Celebrimbor’s Dynamic

In sum, Sauron needs Celebrimbor’s skills to make Rings of Power, and Celebrimbor needs Sauron’s vision and power to create a legacy. In The Lord of the Rings‘ lore, the relationship between Celebrimbor and Sauron is only described in the broadest of strokes. But The Rings of Power will allow us to delve deep into the heart of its terrible intimacies and intense back and forth.

Charlie Vickers, who plays Sauron shares, “I’d say their relationship is one of mutual respect, in that it’s kind of like the meeting of two minds to create an amazing piece of technology. One of them brings one element and the other, I like to think of Sauron as the idea man. He brings this thing that he’s been stewing on. Not a power of the flesh, but over flesh, an idea he’s had stewing for centuries. But he doesn’t have the practical knowledge about how to implement it. And then all of a sudden he meets this guy who knows his way around a forge really well. Not that Sauron doesn’t, but he thinks, ‘Well, I can work with this person to put my ideas into motion.’ It’s the bringing of them together. They push each other to new heights throughout the season.”

The relationship between the pair will be absolutely central to this season of The Rings of Power.

Elrond and Celebrimbor on The Rings of Power Season 2

In season one of The Rings of Power, Celebrimbor recalls that Elrond’s dad, Eärendil, once told him that his fate would be in Elrond’s hands. This sentiment is echoed in season two as Elrond rides to try to save Eregion and Celebrimbor from Sauron. But what will Elrond do with the life in his hands? Only time will tell.

Who Plays Celebrimbor on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Charles Edwards plays Celebrimbor on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Jump to:

• Who Is Celebrimbor in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power?: Celebrimbor in Season One // Celebrimbor Forges the Elven Rings of Power // Celebrimbor and Sauron in Season Two // Who Plays Celebrimbor on The Rings of Power?
• What We Know About Celebrimbor From The Lord of the Rings Lore: Celebrimbor’s Ancestry // Celebrimbor Creates the Rings of Power // Celebrimbor’s Other Achievements
• Will Celebrimbor Have a Banner Season This Year on The Rings of Power?

Who Is Celebrimbor, the Elven Smith, in The Lord of the Rings Lore?

Now that we’ve taken a look at Celebrimbor’s place on Prime Video’s The Rings of Power, it’s time to delve into how his history from The Lord of the Rings informs his character in the series. We’ll strive to simplify the details of Celebrimbor’s history and offer the most important points you might need to know to understand his position and perspectives in the Prime Video series.

Celebrimbor Is the Descendent of Fëanor, a Highly Skilled Elven Craftsmith (Who Also Flew too Close to the Sun)

In The Lord of the Rings‘ world, Celebrimbor comes from a storied elven line with a history of producing masterful craftspeople (that have a vein of vanity to them). Celebrimbor is, in fact, a descendent of a First Age figure called Fëanor. Fëanor, like Celebrimbor, was a craftsman and gem-smith of unparalleled talent, and he created the mythical Silmarils, gems that captured the very light of the Valar (a.k.a. the pure essence of elven power). In season one of The Rings of Power, Celebrimbor tells Elrond that the jewels of Fëanor were so beautiful that they almost turned the heart of Morgoth, Sauron’s wicked predecessor, from evil. However, creating such power and beauty did not lead Fëanor down happy paths; instead, the creation of the Silmarils inflamed Fëanor’s worst traits, jealousy, greed, and anger, and brought him and those around him much misery.

Fëanor’s story foreshadows Celebrimbor’s in many ways, an irony planted by Tolkien. But on The Rings of Power, Celebrimbor doesn’t seem to consider the tragic outcomes creating the Silmarils wrought on his ancestors. Instead, he is more preoccupied with the idea that his own work has not achieved anything close to those who have come before him. This facet of Celebrimbor’s story, the idea that living up to the legacy of Fëanor drives him, actually comes right from Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings writings. In the Unfinished Tales, Tolkien writes, “Sauron had better fortune with the Noldor of Eregion and especially with Celebrimbor, who desired in his heart to rival the skill and fame of Fëanor.” It’s no accident Sauron brings up this pain point to Celebrimbor in The Rings of Power season two.

Celebrimbor Helps Sauron Create the Rings of Power in The Lord of the Rings‘ Lore

Speaking of the Dark Lord, of course, the main thing we learn about The Lord of the Rings‘ Celebrimbor from its source texts is that Celebrimbor was responsible for helping Sauron to craft the 19 Rings of Powers. As we know from The Rings of Power, in the Second Age of Middle-earth, Celebrimbor is Lord of Eregion, an elven realm that plays host to a guild of the most skilled craftspeople in the elven world. (In the texts, they are known as  Gwaith-i-Mírdain, or “People of the Jewel-smiths.”) Led by Celebrimbor, the smiths of Eregion welcomed Sauron into their ranks when he came to them in his fair form, Annatar, with a promise of gifts and teachings.

The Silmarillion notes, “It was in Eregion that the counsels of Sauron were most gladly received, for in that land the Noldor desired ever to increase the skill and subtlety of their works…They hearkened to Sauron, and they learned of him many things, for his knowledge was great. In those days the smiths of Ost-in-Edhil surpassed all that they had contrived before; and they took thought, and they made Rings of Power.” Among the Rings of Power created in Eregion by Celebrimbor, with Sauron’s guidance, were the nine rings for man and the seven rings for Dwarves. Celebrimbor also made three Elven Rings of Power without Sauron’s guidance.

While crafting these rings, Celebrimbor believed Sauron to be a friend. It was not until Sauron made his One Ring of Power in Mount Doom that Celebrimbor and all the other elves knew they had been deceived. Celebrimbor attempted to hide the location of the Rings of Power from Sauron. But, of course, Sauron did not like that very much. In retaliation for Celebrimbor seeking to deny him, Sauron marches on Eregion. We will leave what ultimately happens to Celebrimbor in The Lord of the Rings obscured for now. The Rings of Power will no doubt address it in season two.

Celebrimbor’s Other Achievements

In addition to creating the Rings of Power, during Middle-earth’s Second Age, Celebrimbor saw “friendship arise between Dwarves and Elves, such as has never elsewhere been, to the enrichment of both those peoples.” In the Unfinished Tales, Tolkien says Celebrimbor “had an almost ‘dwarvish’ obsession with crafts.” And “his greatest friend was Narvi.” Together, the pair of them oversaw the building of the Doors of Durin, gates that allow greater communication and cooperation between elves and Dwarves. Narvi is a Dwarven smith of great talent who will also appear on The Rings of Power season two. We can’t wait to see that relationship play out.

Will Celebrimbor Have a Banner Season on The Rings of Power?

All of this brings us to the crucial question at hand. Will Celebrimbor have a banner season on The Rings of Power this year? Well, Charles Edwards, who plays Celebrimbor, teases, “That may be premature.” A fascinating thing to hear. Well, if you know, you know!

Jump to:

• Who Is Celebrimbor in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power?: Celebrimbor in Season One // Celebrimbor Forges the Elven Rings of Power // Celebrimbor and Sauron in Season Two // Who Plays Celebrimbor on The Rings of Power?
• What We Know About Celebrimbor From The Lord of the Rings Lore: Celebrimbor’s Ancestry // Celebrimbor Creates the Rings of Power // Celebrimbor’s Other Achievements
• Will Celebrimbor Have a Banner Season This Year on The Rings of Power?

Originally published August 29, 2024.

The post Who Is Celebrimbor on THE RINGS OF POWER? THE LORD OF THE RINGS’ Elven Smith and Sauron’s New Best Friend, Explained appeared first on Nerdist.

Season two of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power introduces us to a mysterious new character by the name of Estrid. Estrid appears to be a human character from the Southlands who crosses paths with Arondir and Isildur. But is she more than she seems? Although Estrid is not a The Lord of the Rings name we recognize from the lore, it’s possible this The Rings of Power character just might be an important figure that paves the way for the salvation of Middle-earth.

Jump to: Who Is Estrid on The Rings of Power? // Is Estrid Evil? // Is Estrid Isildur’s Love Interest? // Could Estrid Actually Be a Character From The Lord of The Rings‘ Lore? // Estrid as Isildur’s Wife on The Rings of Power

Who Is Estrid on The Rings of Power?

But just who is Estrid on The Rings of Power? Well, we honestly don’t know too much about her except for the fact she’s already keeping secrets. It seems like Estrid is a normal human who was living in the Southlands when Mount Doom erupted and turned the land into Mordor. After the eruption, she was taken prisoner by Adar and the orcs but was set free again when Sauron, as Halbrand, manipulated Adar into letting the people of the Southlands go from his prisons. After that, she was trying to find the rest of the Southlanders in the area around Mordor when she met Isildur in the woods.

In The Rings of Power‘s first episodes, we see that Adar had been offering the captives a choice, pledging allegiance to him and the Orcs or death. Those who chose life were branded with the mark of Mordor. Estrid appears to have such a brand of Mordor on her. Naturally, Estrid hides this mark from Isildur and Arondir after they meet her on the road to Pelargir. At the end of The Rings of Power episode three, Estrid obscures the brand by burning herself with a knife on top of it. In episode four, we learn that she indeed is part of the “Wild Men” who took the mark of Adar.

Is Estrid Evil on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power?

So, is Estrid evil on The Rings of Power? That seems to be a bit hasty. After all, when given a choice between death and pledging yourself to the forces of darkness, choosing life doesn’t necessarily mean you agree with what your captors stand for with your whole heart. Estrid could still be evil, but just because the mark of Mordor ended up on her neck doesn’t mean that she is.

Of course, in interviews, it was teased that The Rings of Power‘s Arondir is suspicious of Estrid, feels she’s hiding something, and doesn’t trust her. Arondir does seem to be a pretty good judge of character, so his distrust might be a much bigger signifier that The Rings of Power‘s Estrid isn’t quite as pure as Isildur might want to believe her to be.

Isildur and Arondir discover Estrid’s mark in The Rings of Power season two, episode four. Isildur is quick to turn on her, feeling betrayed by her omission. But eventually she saves his and Arondir’s life from an angry swamp monster when she could have ran and left them for dead. After a few more tense exchanges, it seems the trio has come to an understanding.

Is Estrid Isildur’s Love Interest on The Rings of Power?

In the first episodes of The Rings of Power, Isildur and Estrid get pretty close, pretty fast. From her initial stabbing of him on the road to sharing deep pains about their dead mothers by the fire, the two are forging a bond. But is Estrid Isildur’s love interest on the series? Well, all signs point to yes. Unless it turns out she’s really the human manifestation of Shelob or something, it feels like romance is in the air for Estrid and Isildur. Estrid and Isildur even almost kiss in The Rings of Power episode four. Supposedly, though, Estrid is searching for her betrothed all this time. He’s back on the scene now, after the Ents who captured him let him go, so we’ll have to wait and see how Estrid and Isildur navigate things from there.

All of this leads us to suspect that though Estrid may be a morally gray character at the moment on The Rings of Power, the series is actually setting her up to be an important, albeit unexplored, character from The Lord of the Rings‘ lore.

Jump to: Who Is Estrid on The Rings of Power? // Is Estrid Evil? // Is Estrid Isildur’s Love Interest? // Could Estrid Actually Be a Character From The Lord of The Rings‘ Lore? // Estrid as Isildur’s Wife on The Rings of Power

Could Estrid Actually Be a Character From The Lord of The Rings‘ Lore?

Although Estrid is now a character on The Rings of Power, most of us probably don’t associate the name Estrid with The Lord of the Rings. But we sure do associate the name Aragorn with it. And Aragorn, of course, is famously a descendant of Isildur. (Hence his wielding of “the blade that was broken” Narsil [reforged as Andúril] in The Lord of the Rings, the sword which Isildur originally used to cut off Sauron’s hand and Ring.) Aragorn is a descendant of Isildur through his fourth son, Valandil (another name that now carries more meaning for us after The Rings of Power). But in addition to detailing his sons, Tolkien writes that Isildur had a wife—paving the way for Estrid to play an important role.

Isildur’s Wife in The Lord of The Rings Companion Book The Peoples of Middle-earth

Isildur’s wife is never given a name in any of Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings works. We actually know almost nothing about her. Isildur’s wife is primarily mentioned in the book The Peoples of Middle-Earth, wherein J.R.R. Tolkien’s son complied additional The Lord of the Rings writings authored by his father. The Peoples of Middle-Earth notes that in the Second Age, year 3429, “Sauron attacks Gondor from the neighbouring land of Mordor. He destroys Minas Ithil and burns the White Tree. Isildur escapes by ship down Anduin, and sails north from Anduin’s Mouths to Elendil in Arnor, with his wife and sons; he bears with him a seedling of the White Tree, grown from its first fruit in Middle-earth.”

The specific time of Isildur’s marriage to his wife, when they met, or her identity is not noted in this The Lord of the Rings text at all, nor in any other. However, before the above singular overt mention of Isildur’s wife in The Peoples of Middle-Earth, it is written that the first son of Isildur, Kiryandil, was born in Númenor in 3299. While we couldn’t swear to it, the implication of this timeline is that Isildur met and married his wife at least 20-ish years before the fall of Númenor in 3319.

Estrid as Isildur’s Wife on The Rings of Power

Given that The Rings of Power will be five seasons long, and this season covers the siege of Eregion, it seems likely that next season will turn its eye on Númenor, its civil war, and its ultimate fate. With the idea that Isildur might meet his wife sometime before this comes to pass, season two of The Rings of Power seems like the perfect time to begin embarking on the story of Isildur’s romance. And who has appeared in Isildur’s sights but Estrid? While all of this could be a misdirect, it does feel like The Rings of Power is setting up Estrid to be Isildur’s mystery The Lord of the Rings wife.

If Isildur and Estrid fall in love, then it will be a great opportunity to shed light on an important Tolkien character who has never before been detailed. After all, Isildur’s wife will be by his side through so many of his trials and tribulations in the Second Age of Middle-earth. Unnamed in The Lord of the Rings as she is, Isildur’s wife must have played an important role in helping Isildur to escape the fall of Númenor, to found Gondor, and to bring the armies of men and elves together in their last stand against Sauron. And, unknowingly, if Estrid does indeed become Isildur’s wife on The Rings of Power, then she will forge a lineage that will one day bring the golden age of Man to all of Middle-earth. That’s quite a lot for a character whose name we just learned.

Jump to: Who Is Estrid on The Rings of Power? // Is Estrid Evil? // Is Estrid Isildur’s Love Interest? // Could Estrid Actually Be a Character From The Lord of The Rings‘ Lore? // Estrid as Isildur’s Wife on The Rings of Power

Originally published on August 29, 2024.

The post Who Is Estrid on THE RINGS OF POWER? Could She Be a Character From LORD OF THE RINGS’ Lore? appeared first on Nerdist.

The Rings of Power is a beautiful ode to Tolkien’s Middle-earth, sharing deep cuts but also expanding the lore. The mythical mithril is an example of both. In the Second Age, the dwarves of Khazad-Dûm, also known as Moria, discover mithril as we see on The Rings of Power. The rare ore will bring fame and fortune to their kingdom… and also trouble. But for now, the dwarves’ discovery of mithril is momentous. But what is the precious ore, and where else have we seen it? Here’s everything you need to know about The Lord of the Rings‘ mithril.

What Is The Rings of Power‘s Mithril and Why Is It So Precious? 

For people so in touch with the mountains, it’s exciting to discover an entirely new ore. Durin’s Folk have only just discovered the “grey glitter,” the dwarven name for Mithril on The Rings of Power. So they don’t know everything about its properties. The timing of Elrond’s visit to seek help from the dwarves leads Durin to question his motives. And though Elrond didn’t know the true purpose at first, the elves are in fact seeking mithril. They believe it was created when a battle of good versus evil caused lightning to strike a tree containing the light of a Silmaril.

Mithril will one day be turned into armor and weaponry. And rings, of course. It will be worth 10 times more than gold. Mithril eventually become priceless once it is no longer mined. But for now, all the dwarves know is that it is lighter than silk yet harder than iron.

Mithril is dangerous to mine, with quakes collapsing the shaft. King Durin III is cautious and shuts down the whole Mithril operation in The Rings of Power. But we know Prince Durin IV’s objections will eventually prevail, and the wealth of Khazad-Dûm will flourish with this discovery. After all, by the Third Age, a shirt made of mithril is worth more than the Shire and everything in it.  

What Is the Dwarven Practice of Resonating Stone? 

A new addition to the lore of Middle-earth created by The Rings of Power, resonating is the practice of singing to the stone. Disa first detects mithril and describes how to differentiate earth, ore, air, and water within the mountain. “Sing to it properly, each of those parts will reflect your song back to you,” she says. Elrond watches in amazement as rock shifts while she sings to release the trapped miners. Resonating is how the dwarves know where to mine, where to tunnel, and where to leave the mountain untouched. This sounds wise, but, as we know, they will eventually delve too deep on their hunt for the precious ore. We hope the quest for Mithril does not prove to perilous on The Rings of Power.

Ithildin in The Rings of Power

A new use of Mithril arrives on The Rings of Power in season two. Celebrimbor tells his elven smith, Mirdania, that he had just enough Mithril left over from the elven Rings of Power to make one more creation. In its Ithildin form, Mithril is only visible in the moonlight and otherwise, it becomes invisible. We know that this precious version of Mithril will be used someday soon to build the Doors of Durin and cement a bond between elves and dwarves.

Mithril in The Lord of the Rings Movies and Books 

Mithril plays an important role in Tolkien’s books and in both of Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogies. Bilbo describes it as “light as a feather and as hard as dragon scales.” In The Hobbit, Thorin gifts him a shirt of mithril rings that no blade can pierce. They find the treasure in Smaug’s hoard under the mountain.

He eventually passes the mithril shirt along to his nephew Frodo for his journey to destroy the One Ring. It saves Frodo’s life as the fellowship passes through the very mines of Moria from whence the mithril came many generations before. Like everyone wearing hidden armor, Frodo pulls open his shirt to reveal the mithril only after everyone thinks he’s dead, amazing them all. The mail comes in handy once again when Frodo is captured by orcs in Return of the King.

Elsewhere on Middle-earth, other mithril remnants remain. Nenya, Galadriel’s ring, is made of it. As mentioned, the elves learned to make the metal ithildin using mithril. It reflects only starlight and moonlight and marks the door at the West-gate to Khazad-Dûm. The helmets of Gondor’s guards of the citadel are also mithril. Gimli and his dwarven kin later rebuilt the gates of Minas Tirith using the precious metal. 

Mithril also shows up in many other fantasy stories and role-playing games. The name, or close alternate spellings, has become ubiquitous with a beautiful and rare metal often used in armor. Tolkien’s creation lives on.

Originally published on September 15, 2022.

Original reporting by Melissa T. Miller.

The post What Is Mithril, the Rare Dwarven Metal on RINGS OF POWER? appeared first on Nerdist.

The Rings of Power‘s seventh episode, “The Eye,” marked the return of the show’s mysterious mystics. The three white-cloaked figures are seeking the Stranger. But who exactly are those evil figures, and what do the three witches in their white cloaks want with the meteorite man on The Rings of Power? The answer to those questions should tell us if Nori’s big friend is truly good or about to put all of Middle-earth in peril.

Who Are The Rings of Power‘s White Cloak Characters?

The three figures who first appeared at the site of the Stranger’s meteorite crash are known as The Ascetic (Kali Kopae), The Nomad (Edith Poor), and The Dweller (Bridie Sisson), the group’s apparent leader. Prime Video refers to them as “mystics,” and their attire certainly contributes to a religious ethos. The figures also seem like they could easily be seen as witches on The Rings of Power. In fact, in an interview, Patrick McKay, one of the showrunners on The Rings of Power, likens the White Cloaks to MacBeth’s trio of witches. He notes, “We’re…thinking about Macbeth, and we’re thinking about the old crones and the three witches and just trying to come up with something strange and weird.”

Thanks to one of the show’s executive producers, we also know where they hail from. Lindsey Weber told Time that The Dweller comes “from far to the east,” specifically the lands of Rhûn, a place seeped in J.R.R. Tolkien’s darkest lore.

What Do We Know About The Rings of Power‘s Three White-Cloaked Witches?

The White Cloaks—silent, ethereal figures—only appeared after the Stranger arrived. Some, like Waldreg, took the meteorite as a sign Sauron himself has returned. The mystics’ items connect them to both figures. They carry a shield bearing the exact same constellation the Stranger is seeking. (In Middle-earth constellations can serve as omens of coming evil.) They also possess a staff that looks remarkably like the Eye of Sauron from Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings film trilogy.

The Rings of Power‘s three white-cloaked witches also managed to track the Stranger’s movements across Middle-earth. After they found his crash site, the Dweller touched the dirt where the Stranger had been. Ultimately that brought them to the tree the Stranger healed at the Harfoots new home. Once the Dweller touched it, the cult knew exactly which direction the bearded man had headed, and Nori’s attempts to lead them astray proved disastrous.

It also seems clear very early into their appearances that the cult of white cloaks is evil. The Stranger used magic to heal the Harfoots’ new land. The Dweller used dark magic to burn the Harfoots carts, leaving the group with little food or refuge.

In The Rings of Power season two, we see more white cloak witches, although we haven’t yet received many answers about their origins or aims. All we know is that they appear to serve the dark wizard in Rhûn. In season two, we get to see more of their magic at work. They seem to deal in magic the involves blood and moths. They are even powerful enough, along with the dark wizard to resurrect one of their fallen coven members, The Dweller.

Are the Cult Members Human Skin-Changers?

Large wolves have been stalking the Harfoots since The Rings of Power‘s first episode. And in episode seven Poppy saw another giant wolf paw print in the mud, not far from where the White Cloaks stood. Then, when Nori confronted the group in a later episode of The Rings of Power, the witches vanished into thin air only to suddenly appear behind her. All of which raises the possibility they are skin-changers, like Beorn from The Hobbit.

Considering Sauron himself is a shape-shifter, it’s possible his most zealous followers would also possess a similar type of ability. Especially ones that are also sorcerers like the White Cloaks seem to be. Not only was The Dweller immune to fire, she blew on the embers in her hand, causing the Harfoots carriages to go up in flames. She is a dangerous fire of immense power. In the finale of The Rings of Power, the white-cloaked cult of Sauron was also able to change their shapes into those of Nori and the Stranger, further highlighting their immense and evil powers.

Sauron also has deep and lasting connections with wolves. The first werewolf was bred from a wolf Morgoth filled it with an evil spirit. Sauron was then the beast’s master, as he was for all other werewolves who followed. One of his werewolves killed Galadriel’s brother Finrod. And, on at least one occasion, Sauron himself transformed into a werewolf. And they will still serve him into the Third Age, long after The Rings of Power.

There doesn’t seem to be too much evidence for this theory after The Rings of Power season one, but we can’t entirely rule it out either.

Are the Cult Members Maiar?

But while the race of men can be both skin-changers and sorcerers of dark magic, it is possible the White Cloaks are also members of the Maiar like Sauron and Middle-earth’s wizards. Those spirit servants of the Valar are incredibly powerful, and one was Sauron’s loyal vampire servant during the First Age. And The Dweller’s ability to control fire is similar to the Stranger’s own ability.

This theory remains on the table as we head into The Rings of Power season two.

Are The Rings of Power‘s White Cloaks Priests?

The Rings of Power is an adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Second Age. The show is condensing the timeline by thousands of years and adding its own lore to Middle-earth, so we don’t know what future changes the series will make. But we know in Tolkien’s official history Sauron helps bring about the demise of Númenor by convincing many on the island to worship Morgoth rather than the Valar. And Sauron himself served as the head priest of the cult of Morgoth.

The author also had plans for a story set during Middle-earth’s Fourth Age that would have included The New Shadow Cult, a group of men who worshipped the first Dark Lord.

It’s possible The Rings of Power is pulling from both of these groups to introduce a religious sect that faithfully awaited the return of Sauron, successor to Morgoth.

But whether human or Maiar, priest or soldier, where the White Cloaks come from tells us what role they will play going forward.

Rhûn and the Easterling Men Loyal to Morgoth and Sauron

The Southlands were not the only place where men swore fealty to Morgoth. The Dark Lord’s most loyal men, the Easterlings, came from Rhûn in the east. The Easterlings will still serve Sauron during the Third Age. They will stand against Aragorn when he comes to the Gates of Mordor.

The white-cloaked witches also come from Rhûn, which they seemed to leave only after seeing the Stranger’s meteor crash on Middle-earth. All of which raises the most important question of all: is the white-cloaked cult looking for the Stranger because he is Sauron or because the Stranger is a threat to their master?

Why Are the White Cloaks Looking for the Stranger?

Sauron is coming. He will soon forge all the rings of power and unleash war during Middle-earth’s Second Age. But who is Sauron, and where is he now? It’s maybe the single biggest question on The Rings of Power. In its finals, The Rings of Power revealed to us that Sauron is, in fact, Halbrand. But he wasn’t the only candidate throughout the show. Not when a powerful man arrived in a meteor. And it seemed the cult of witches believed the Stranger to be Sauron, revealing why the White Cloaks searched for him for so long.

But the Stranger—who Nori believes is “good”—proves to be something else, the hooded, white coat cult calls him an Istar or wizard in The Rings of Power‘s finale. And whether he is the Maia Gandalf himself or a different wizard, he’s the single biggest threat to Sauron in all of Middle-earth. The mystics refer to him as “the other,” tying him to Sauron. The Stranger, after all, sought the same constellation as the mystics held. And he had many of the same powers they expected to find, had he been Sauron. In Tolkien’s lore, of course, the Istari come to Middle-earth to aid in the fight against Sauron. But it’s possible the two may yet have a deeper connection.

Is The White-Cloaked Cult of Witches Dead on The Rings of Power?

Once the cult of witches recognizes The Stranger on The Rings of Power, they seem to confirm that the arrival of the Istar is tied to the coming of their own master. Their miscalculation costs them, however. As the Stranger remembers himself and his powers, he annihilates them. But not before they confirm that the true meaning of the Stranger’s constellation. The arrangement of stars, known as the Hermit’s Hat, can only be seen from Rhûn, where the stars are strange. Although it seemed like the white-cloaked cult was dead on The Rings of Power, The Rings of Power reveals perhaps not as dead as we thought.

Showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay hinted at this in an interview after season one. When asked about the fate of The Rings of Power‘s witches, Payne offers:

There are glimpses into the unseen world where the true form of something is revealed. You’re seeing what is underneath the form that they’ve been presenting. Were they defeated, or were they just temporarily vanquished? I think that’s a story point that people can be thinking about.

Meanwhile, McKay says:

The visual storytelling hopefully suggests that these witches are lesser conjurers than one of the wizards would be, and are bested here, but they escape in another form. Their true appearance in the world of the unseen is hideous and horrible and some kind of magic is making them beautiful… Maybe there’s a slightly different kind of magic and we can peel back the layers in future seasons. 

For now, The Dweller has been resurrected by her fellow witches, although The Ascetic and The Nomad are still missing. In addition, we meet a whole slew of other witch-cloaked witches in Rhûn.

The Impact of the White Cloak Witches

Sauron’s White Cloaks set the Stranger and Nori off on a new path, though. The pair make for Rhûn as they seek to understand his wizard powers and origins. And now the wizard even has a staff, although he’s still look for his true one. Ultimately, The Rings of Power doesn’t offer too many specific answers about the cult of the Dark Wizard and/or Sauron. But it seems very possible that these mystics, their hoods, and their witchy white cloaks could play a huge role in the fate of Middle-earth. After all, where magic and evil is concerned, anything is possible.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post Who Is the White-Cloaked Cult of Witches in THE RINGS OF POWER? appeared first on Nerdist.

Amazon’s new Lord of the Rings series, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, takes us back to the fantastical realm of Middle-earth. As we dive into the show, we’ll head deeper into this world and explore some corners of it that have never been brought on-screen before. And that means meeting a whole lot of new and exciting creatures from Middle-earth. Alongside the many races that populate the universe live a slew of Tolkien’s coolest creations, some enchanting and some terrifying. Here is every one of Middle-earth’s creatures we’ve met so far in Rings of Power.

The Creatures We’ve Seen in Rings of Power Season Two

The Rings of Power season two has already revealed a ton of new creatures to us on the side of both good and evil. Here’s who we’ve met.

Jump to: Hill-Trolls // Shelob // Great Eagles // The Undead Barrow-Wights // Old Man Ironwood // Mordor Mud Serpent

Hill-Trolls

Nothing says evil quite like a troll. In Tolkien’s world, trolls are often monstrous creatures of low intelligence that inhabit Middle-earth. Of course, trolls are often fighting for evil. In The Lord of the Rings‘ world, we have mountain-trolls, cave-trolls, snow-trolls, and, of course, the hill-trolls, creatures that we’ll be seeing in The Rings of Power season two. Last season, Galadriel encountered a snow-troll (which you can read about below) at Forodwaith, so we’ll be interested to see how the two kinds of trolls differ.

In episode two of The Rings of Power we specifically met Damrod the Hill-troll, who seems hungry for Sauron’s blood. Showrunner Patrick McKay calls this creature, the “eater of dragon bones.” Incredibly though, he’ll be voiced by Benjamin Walker, who also plays High King Gil-galad. Two very different roles.

This hill-troll will join Adar in the growing ranks of darkness that come together as Sauron risees to power. But Damrod’s inspiration may not be what you expect. McKay notes, “[He] was inspired in part by Mike Ehrmantraut in Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul. If you look at the way he moves and his casual sense of strength.” What an incredible crossover moment.

Shelob

Episode three of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two introduces us to a familiar spider creature, yes, it’s young Shelob. Shelob had Isildur briefly trapped in her web, but he managed to escape and save the life of his horse Berek as well. Phew. Isildur stabs Shelob in the eye as well, which star Maxim Baldry says is a call out to the injury Shelob bears in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King movie. In this way, the separate universe can be tied together. Thanks for that neat Easter (spider) egg, Shelob.

Great Eagles

Middle-earth’s great eagles are back in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two. In this case, the huge winged creature arrives during Númenor’s coronation, ostensibly to bless Queen Míriel’s reign. But, of course, humans never get it right. The appearance of this Middle-earth creature on The Rings of Power was instead taken to mean Ar-Pharazon should be crowned king. Hrm…

In Tolkien’s lore, great eagles are seen as messengers of Manwë, the greatest god of Middle-earth. They serve to deliver messages for the god and also act as his spies. At times, the great eagles also interfere in The Lord of the Rings‘ affairs to assist the worthy in need, such as Gandalf when he was trapped on Saruman’s tower, or the hobbits Frodo and Sam when they needed to escape Mordor after the destruction of the One Ring.

The Undead Barrow-wights

Tolkien’s Barrow-wights arrived on the scene in episode four of The Rings of Power. These Lord of the Rings creatures were not actually in The Lord of the Rings movies by Peter Jackson but will come to live-action thanks to The Rings of Power. The ghoulish Barrow-wights are ancient heroes who have been reanimated and are now forced to act for evil. The Rings Of Power VFX supervisor Jason Smith share, “It was super-exciting to take on something I hadn’t seen before. We’ve seen undead before, but not like this. We’re doing a little horror movie in Middle-earth.” The Barrow-wights were once people of nobility, “Kings, queens, high-ranking officials,” according to Smith, and shreds of this past appears in their now undead form. Creepy!

Old Man Ironwood

The Rings of Power season two introduced as to a curious creature that reminded us of another character from The Lord of the Rings. In Tom Bombadil’s garden, The Stranger was almost consumed by a hungry tree called Old Man Ironwood. Of course, in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings, Merry and Pippin almost meet the same fate, but they’re entrapped by Old Man Willow instead. Perhaps these grumpy trees are distant cousins.

Mordor Mud Serpent (AKA Lunch)

In the swamps of the Southlands/Mordor, Isildur and Arondir are almost consumed by a quicksand. But it turns out there’s much more than mud in the swamps. Lurking in the depths of the muck is an angry, serpent-like monster. Arondir says nameless things lurk in the land, but does name this The Rings of Power creature, lunch.

Sea Monster

The Rings of Power season two trailer also introduces us to a brand new sea monster. Is it a creature from Tolkien lore or just another Lovecraftian horror? More context is necessary.

Jump to: Hill-Trolls // Shelob // Great Eagles // The Undead Barrow-Wights // Old Man Ironwood // Mordor Mud Serpent

The Creatures We’ve Seen in Rings of Power Season One

Of course, season one of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power had its fair share of cool creatures too.

Jump to: Snow Troll // Valinor’s Spirit Birds // The Worm // Wolves (Possibly Werewolves) // Wargs // The Balrog

Snow Troll

In episode one of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Galadriel pushes her company of elves to the far reaches of northern Middle-earth. The viewers are along for the ride as the elves enter the chilly arms of Forodwaith, the Northernmost Waste, in search of a stronghold of orcs and Sauron. While the orcs have long vanished, as has their dark lord, the evil in the stronghold remains. The only thing that flourishes there is a Snow Troll.

We don’t get to learn too much about this foul The Rings of Power creature. But we know the troll contains tough stuff because no light reaches this area of Middle-earth… And certainly very little living. The snow troll viciously attacks the elves, although, to be fair, it probably wasn’t expecting visitors. But Galadriel dispatches it before it can do much harm.

Snow-trolls are mentioned once in Tolkien’s work, a reference in The Lord of the Rings‘ Appendix A. But the denizen of Middle-earth has been brought to life in video games a couple of times, and now in The Rings of Power. With ill-omens growing and Sauron’s sigils appearing around every corner, we may not have seen the last of the snow troll.

Valinor’s Spirit Birds

Of course, Middle-earth and the rest of Tolkien’s world is also a place of magic and great beauty. Thus, some of its creatures have to fill us with joy. And we get a taste of this wonder as The Rings of Power reveals to us Valinor, the elven homeland. Earlier in the episode, Elrond describes the journey into Valinor. He notes, “When you cross over, you hear a song, one whose memory we all carry, and you are immersed in a light more intoxicating than any sensation in all of Middle-earth.” And this is exactly what we see before us. But what Elrond doesn’t mention are some of the most beautiful creatures we see in The Rings of Power.

As Galadriel and the rest of the elves prepare to cross over, a flock of glorious sea birds fills the air. These birds appear to come from Manwë, who represents a kind of chief god in Middle-earth’s mythology. In The Silmarillion, we learn that “all birds are dear” to Manwë. So it makes sense he welcomes the elves back home with a flock.

The Worm (Sea Serpent)

Another new location that The Rings of Power introduces us to is the Sundering Seas. These waters lay west of Middle-earth, and elves must cross them in order to reach Valinor (they depart from the Grey Havens). Of course, like any other ocean, Middle-earth’s seas contain creatures lurking in the deep that you’d probably rather not meet.

Although Galadriel is at peace with her decision not to journey to Valinor, she finds herself stranded in monster-filled waters. A sea serpent, known in The Rings of Power as “The Worm,” slithers through the Sundering Seas, wreaking havoc. Galadriel meets a group of people whose ship this Rings of Power creature destroyed, and she nearly ends up in the belly of the beast herself.

Although the Worm seems to attack indiscriminately, we suspect the Middle-earth monster may be under the sway of Sauron.

Wolves (Possibly Werewolves)

Wolves are on the prowl in this Lord of the Rings series. But Middle-earth’s wolves may not be ordinary creatures in The Rings of Power. Nori Brandyfoot and a group of other Harfoots almost meet one of these wild beings in a berry field, but luckily they spy a warning track. The track is massive, though, and when we see the wolf… It feels like something greater is at work.

We get the same feeling when the wolves attack the Harfoots as they migrate through an eerie forest. There are a few different wolf-like creatures in The Lord of the Rings‘ world, including werewolves and wargs. In Middle-earth’s lore, werewolves are wolves Sauron bred for evil. In each wolf, Sauron imprisoned an evil spirit creating a new kind of creature. Now that we’ve met a warg, though, we know this wolf is something else. So we’re back to betting on this The Rings of Power being a werewolf.

Wargs

In episode three of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, we meet the loathsome creatures known as the wargs. These wargs are also wolflike in nature and are being used as attack dogs by the Orcs. The wargs have a powerful snarl and even deadlier teeth. As compared to the sleek menace of the (potential) werewolves, they appear to be a much more savage Lord of the Rings creature. The warg we meet in Rings of Power attacks on a pure evil instinct and a hunger for blood. In season two of The Rings of Power, we see Sauron charm the warg and order it to kill poor old Waldreg.

In Tolkien’s lore, wargs are a specific breed of wolf that lives in the Misty Mountains. In The Lord of the Rings books, wargs were associated with orcs and sometimes goblins. And in The Rings of Power, they definitely follow that tradition… And that is bad news for our favorite Harfoots, elves, or any other creature.

Balrogs

In episode seven of The Rings of Power, a dark creature emerges from the depths. It looks like all that dwarven mining for mithril has awakened a grave danger in the depths of their mines, the Balrog. In The Lord of the Rings‘ lore, the Balrog is a a powerful spirit that becomes demonic at the hands of Morgoth. Famously, a Balrog nearly destroys the wizard Gandalf in an epic battle during The Fellowship of the Ring. The Balrog of Khazad-dûm has awakened a little earlier than we expected it to, but we have not doubt it will soon bring a lot of trouble to the dwarves and many others.

Middle-earth’s Creatures

As The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power continues to air, we’re sure we’ll see many more of Middle-earth’s creatures. Hopefully, a few less that would eat us and a few more we can admire. Either way, we’re excited to continue this new journey through Tolkien’s world.

Jump to: Snow Troll // Valinor’s Spirit Birds // The Worm // Wolves (Possibly Werewolves) // Wargs // The Balrog

Originally published on September 1, 2022.

The post Which Creatures of Middle-earth Does RINGS OF POWER Introduce? appeared first on Nerdist.

Even if you’re familiar with J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth, much changes between the Second and Third Ages. The creatives behind The Rings of Power shared the map below to help us understand where men, elves, dwarves, and Harfoots live. Maps have always been an important part of Tolkien’s world, both in and out of universe. Handily, on The Rings of Power, we get to see the map a lot to keep us grounded. But with all the overlapping storylines in the show, things can still get confusing. So we made a The Rings of Power map locations guide to help you keep everywhere the characters visit straight. We’ll keep updating this location guide as we forge on into season two of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Every The Rings of Power Middle-earth Map Location; Jump to: Númenor // Khazad-Dûm // Eregion // The Southlands // Orodruin or Mount Doom // Pelargir // Mordor // Lindon // Rhovanion // Rhûn // Forodwaith // Valinor // The Sundering Seas

Númenor, an Island Kingdom of Men

You may recognize the white tree and architecture of Gondor in Númenor, and there’s a long history connecting the two cities of men. The people of Númenor are called the Dúnedain. They received the island as a gift from the Valar after fighting against Morgoth. We see the capital city, home to Queen Regent Míriel. It is a beautiful and grand place, with huge statues overlooking the port. Though we also get to see the less glamorous side—a blacksmith shop, pub, and even a prison cell. Galadriel and Elendil also travel to a second city, one where the Hall of Laws holds much history, there they uncovered a key to finding Sauron. In season two of The Rings of Power, we return to Númenor once again. But this time, there is much more unrest as the rightful queen, Míriel, is usurped by the ambitious Ar-Pharazon.

On The Rings of Power‘s map, Númenor lies west of Middle-earth and far to the south of the world.

Khazad-Dûm, Realm of the Dwarves

Ruled by King Durin III, this great land under the mountain is also known as Moria. During The Rings of Power season one, we see Khazad-Dûm in full splendor, with waterfalls and even plants growing below the surface. Shafts of light from above the mountain penetrate into the great halls. Elrond is a friend to Prince Durin IV, though the dwarfs first rebuff him from the West Gate on the edge of Eregion (see below). Princess Disa talks of mining for silver and other treasures, resonating the rock with her voice. She alludes to parts of the mountain that should be left alone. We know the dwarves will delve too greedily here in the future, awakening the Balrog. On The Rings of Power, the dwarves have also come across the first of the mithril that the mines will become known for.

Although relations between elves and dwarves are not always friendly, as Elrond and Durin’s are, they do sometimes live in proximity. As The Rings of Power Middle-earth map reveals, Eregion, an Elven realm, and Khazad-Dûm are practically entangled with one another. This closeness could yield greatness or great disaster, as we see in The Rings of Power season two.

Unfortunately, in season of The Lord of the Rings series, Khazad-Dûm has been hit hard by the eruption of Mount Doom. Its light shafts have caved in and the city is struggling. Not even Disa’s resonating is helping the dwarves understand their mountain. Who should bring aid but Lord Celebrimbor of Eregion and his new friend, Annatar?

Eregion, Realm of the Elven-Smiths

Celebrimbor brings Elrond to Eregion, the Elvish city along a river and the realm of Elven Smiths. Celebrimbor, a master smith himself, endeavors to build a great forge to make objects of both beauty and power (like rings, perhaps?). For some reason, this also requires a tower to be built, and Celebrimbor simply doesn’t have the workforce to finish the project on his desired timeline. In season one, he and Elrond travel to nearby Khazad-Dûm to enlist the help of the dwarves in this great engineering feat.

In season two, Eregion returns to feature much more prominently. Although we spend the most time in Celebrimbor’s forge, we also get to see a bit of the city, its people, and courtyard. Celebirmbor longs to have peace in Eregion, but Sauron has now come to this The Rings of Power location, spelling trouble.

Every Rings of Power Location We’ve Seen; Jump to: Númenor // Khazad-Dûm // Eregion // The Southlands // Orodruin or Mount Doom // Pelargir // Mordor // Lindon // Rhovanion // Rhûn // Forodwaith // Valinor // The Sundering Seas

The Southlands, the Lands of Men (Destroyed)

On The Rings of Power, the people who live in this vast land, termed the Southlands for its southern location on Middle-earth’s map, are ancestors of those who sided with Morgoth centuries earlier. The elves keep watch over them from a high tower but also patrol to nearby towns. Arondir and the others are called home after High King Gil-galad declares the enemy fully vanquished. Tirharad, where Bronwyn and her son Theo live, is a simple Southland village of farmers and tradesmen. The nearby town of Hordern is destroyed by orcs, its people enslaved for their nefarious trench-building purposes.

Tower of Ostirith

As orcs encroach, Bronwyn rallies the people of Tirharad to take refuge in the tower. The Tower of Ostirith sits high on a cliff with only a narrow road leading to it. After half of those people defect and swear allegiance to Sauron once again, the orcs march to the tower. Arondir and the free men and women turn the fortress into a trap and the tower itself into a weapon, taking out hoards of orcs as they bring it down upon their heads. The tower no longer stands, but the altar amongst its ruin still serves a purpose. The sword is the key to unleashing water into the tunnels and trenches the orcs made, awakening the mountain.

Arriving by Ship

Galadriel, Halbrand, and the ships of Númenor sail northeast from the island to arrive in Middle-earth. From the Bay of Belfalas, they continue sailing upriver. It is a day’s journey to where they must mount their horses. It’s another day’s ride to pass through the mountains and arrive at the village with no time to spare.

Orodruin or Mount Doom

What will eventually be known as Mount Doom was a quiet, dormant volcano looming over the village of Tirharad known in The Lord of the Rings book as Orodruin. But now it has been awoken by water rushing down into its core, a chain reaction using the mysteriously powerful sword. The eruption forms not only the volcano as we know it in the Third Age, but likely the barren wastelands of Mordor as its evil spreads as quickly as ash can fill the sky. The Rings of Power hasn’t referred to this volcano as Mount Doom yet, but we know we’ve just witnessed its creation. It seems The Rings of Power will continually need to update its map of Middle-earth.

Mordor

By episode seven, the Southlands have a new name on The Rings of Power‘s map—Mordor. Adar’s orcs now have a home free from daylight as ash from the erupting volcano blocks out the sun. The villages and farmlands of men burn, and most of the people flee west. This Lord of the Rings location begins to look like we know it in the Third Age, a billowing volcano in a land fortified by mountains.

For now, Adar and his children have settled in Mordor, ordering the surviving Southlanders to obey them or die. Though the Uruk wish to remain in their home, unfortunately, they have to leave it again pretty quickly, as Adar senses the threat of Sauron rising. As The Rings of Power continues, we expect Sauron will come to claim the land.

Pelargir, an Old Numenorean Colony

Not all of the Southlands were completely annihilated by Mount Doom’s eruption. In season two of The Rings of Power, we follow Arondir and Isildur to Pelargir, an old Numenorean colony that we know holds major importance in The Lord of the Rings‘ lore. For now, this The Rings of Power location is offering sanctuary for the survivors of Mount Doom’s eruption and giving Theo and Arondir a place to try to heal from their griefs.

Every The Rings of Power Middle-earth Map Location; Jump to: Númenor // Khazad-Dûm // Eregion // The Southlands // Orodruin or Mount Doom // Pelargir // Mordor // Lindon // Rhovanion // Rhûn // Forodwaith // Valinor // The Sundering Seas

Lindon, Capital of the High Elves

High King Gil-galad rules over this westernmost point of Middle-earth. Lindon is the capital Galadriel returns to after her sojourns to seek out Sauron. Like all Elven places, it is beautiful, with groves of trees perfect for Elrond to sit while writing speeches. There are waterfalls and stunning towers. It is also home to the Grey Havens, the harbor where ships depart for the Undying Lands. Since Valinor sits to the west of Middle-earth according to The Rings of Power‘s maps, it makes sense for Lindon to house this important harbor. We see more of the Grey Havens on The Rings of Power season two, when we meet Círdan, the shipwright, who, among bringing wisdom and council to the elves, oversees the crafting of the boats that will sail from the harbor to Valinor.

Rhovanion, the Wilderlands of Middle-earth

The residents of this area are the migrating Harfoots. East of the Anduin River, they make a temporary camp. Hunters also trek through this area. To them, the Harfoots are a myth, even though they are right underfoot. Clearly, blending into their surroundings has kept the Harfoots alive. They are masters of disguising themselves, their wagons, and even their entire camps. The Wilderlands is also where the meteor lands, bringing the Stranger into their lives.

The Harfoot Migration

After harvesting all each area has to offer, the Harfoots pack up and move along. The caravan heads south from the Rhovanion Hills, adding places like Weedbrook and Undercliffs to The Rings of Power‘s map before reaching the Grey Marshes (which will one day be known as the Dead Marshes).

From there, their path heads east along the northern border of the Southlands, now known as Mordor. These areas are mostly not detailed on any Tolkien map that has appeared before The Rings of Power. Through Trout Bend, Thistledell, and The Braids, the Harfoots are heading to their autumn home. A place Nori simply calls The Grove. The trek is montaged together with scenes of the ups and downs of the perilous journey while Poppy sings her mother’s beautiful walking song. But when they arrive at The Grove, they see that lava bombs from the erupting volcano were flung far enough to devastate some of these lands as well.

Greenwood

The Stranger strikes out on his own journey from The Grove and comes to a forest known as Greenwood. In Eryn Galen, Sauron’s white-robed supporters catch up with him at last. But thankfully Nori and her friends find him soon after and they all break free of the danger. This forest may be what is one day known as Mirkwood. After the Stranger returns to The Grove with the Harfoots, he and Nori strike out once again into the wilderness.

Rhûn, The East and Eastlands

On the far east of the map of Middle-earth lies Rhûn. The white-cloaked figures come from this mysterious land, seeking Sauron. They plan to bring him to Rhûn, where the men and mystics living there are ready to support his return to power. They carry signs of the Hermit’s Hat, the constellation that the Stranger is seeking. The stars are only visible in the far east. So even though he is not Sauron, he clearly has a purpose in Rhûn. In season two of The Rings of Power we finally head to this The Lord of the Rings location. Rhûn is mostly a barren desert, ruled under the thumb of the dark wizard. But it also houses the enigmatic Tom Bombadil and Stoor hobbits.

We learn in season two of The Rings of Power that the Harfoots’ walking song, which we heard in season one, actually doubles as a map to enter Rhûn.

Every Rings of Power Location We’ve Seen; Jump to: Númenor // Khazad-Dûm // Eregion // The Southlands // Orodruin or Mount Doom // Pelargir // Mordor // Lindon // Rhovanion // Rhûn // Forodwaith // Valinor // The Sundering Seas

Forodwaith, the Northernmost Part of The Rings of Power’s Map

Dominated by snow and ice, this beautiful but harsh land also suffers from the cold of evil. A great castle sits atop a cliff that Galadriel and her lieutenants conquer in their search for Sauron. It is the keep where orcs fled after Morgoth’s defeat. But Forodwaith, the Northernmost Waste is home now only to snow trolls. But its existence, and the sigil found there, convince Galadriel of evil still lurking in Middle-earth. And indeed, Adar confirms that Sauron used the fortress to study dark arts in the pursuit of power in The Rings of Power‘s later episodes.

In season two of The Rings of Power, we see a flashback to Forodwaith and how it became an icy fortress. After Adar and the orcs band together to kill Sauron, the release of his evil spirit into the world transforms frosts the previously temperate fortress with snow and ice.

Valinor, the Undying Lands

Valinor is the original home of the elves. It sits across the great Sundering Seas from Middle-earth. From what we see of Galadriel’s childhood there, it is a beautiful and idyllic place. Until Morgoth attacks. The elves left for Middle-earth to fight against the evil. And now returning to it is essentially a reward for those who are worthy. King Gil-galad awards Galadriel and her lieutenants passage from the Grey Havens after their long search for Sauron. To reach it, they travel across the sea and are welcomed by birds, light, and music. The Sundering Seas sit between Middle-earth and Valinor on The Rings of Power‘s map, making the realm highly inaccessible.

The Sundering Seas, A Deadly The Rings of Power Map Location

Who doesn’t love a map with some monsters on it? But the sea serpents and other mysteries that appear on The Rings of Power‘s map also turn out to be real. Though the seas are calm for Galadriel’s journey to the Undying Lands, they are less forgiving once she rejects that fate. She must swim in the Sundering Seas. Even when the survivors of a shipwreck bring her aboard a makeshift sailboat, bad luck prevails. Referred to as the Worm, a huge beast attacks. Halbrand and Galadriel survive that long enough to weather a raging storm. They are eventually rescued and taken to Númenor, though their troubles continue.  

Although we do not see it fully on The Rings of Power‘s map, as mentioned, the Sundering Seas cut off Middle-earth from Valinor, the Elves’ treasured lands.

The Rings of Power Brings Middle-earth’s Map to Life

The Rings of Power shows off a Middle-earth we’ve never seen before as it continues to change in the Second Age. The natural beauty of New Zealand is once again on display, as it was in Peter Jackson’s trilogies. Assisted by stunning visual effects, the show creates the realms we’ll come to know and love during the series. And we love that The Rings of Power weaves the map of Middle-earth in and out of the amazing locations we see to ensure we always know where the path leads.

Every Rings of Power Map Middle-earth Location; Jump to: Númenor // Khazad-Dûm // Eregion // The Southlands // Orodruin or Mount Doom // Pelargir // Mordor // Lindon // Rhovanion // Rhûn // Forodwaith // Valinor // The Sundering Seas

Originally published on September 8, 2022. Original reporting by Melissa Miller.

The post A Guide to the Locations THE RINGS OF POWER Map Has Shown Us So Far appeared first on Nerdist.

One of the most enduring, saddest mysteries of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy is the fate of the Entwives. During their travels together Treebeard told Merry and Pip that Ents, an ancient Middle-earth race of sentient tree people, “lost” the Ent women long ago. Tolkien never revealed what happened to the Entwives in The Lord of the Rings, but The Rings of Power, set during Middle-earth’s Second Age, long before Treebeard met those Hobbits, has shown us exactly what the world lost when they vanished. Season two’s fourth episode introduced one of the Entwives to The Lord of the Rings audiences everywhere, a beautiful and loving creature named Winterbloom.

Season two’s third episode saw Theo and others getting easily manhandled by unseen figures. The Rings of Power‘s next episode confirmed it was the large, powerful Ents who’d grabbed them. But unlike the era of Middle-earth fans know from The Lord of the Rings, the Entwives were still living with their male counterparts during the time of The Rings of Power. The show introduced the Ent couple of Winterbloom (voiced by Olivia Williams) and Snaggleroot (Jim Broadbent).

Though already many thousands of years old by this time, Ents of the Second Age are also thousands of years younger than the ones Merry and Pip will one day meet. No surprise then that on The Rings of Power, Ents move faster and with more agility. They’re maybe even more powerful. Ents are so strong that Morgoth created trolls in response to them. But trolls were never as strong as the tree folk. The Ents of the Second Age were also still just as protective of their barked brethren as ever. None more so than Winterbloom, who fully captures the nature of the Entwives imbued in them by their creator, Yavanna.

In The Lord of the Rings‘ lore, the Valar Yavanna, responsible for all growing things in the world, asked for the Ents to be created in response to her husband creating dwarves. She wanted her tree folk to serve as “shepherds” who would protect the trees from dwarves’ axes. The Ent men tended to the larger trees. The Entwives, more beautiful than their male counterparts, looked after smaller living things.

On The Rings of Power, Winterbloom showed exactly why Yavanna created the Ents. The Entwife fiercely protected her fellow living creatures, many of which came birthed. She was not simply acting as a guard; this Entwife mourned for every living thing the orcs had destroyed. Winterbloom loved those trees, plants, and flowers deeply. The passion, vigilance, and care she felt for them made it easy to see why Treebeard will one day speak so sadly of losing the Entwives. Yet it was the tree folks’ past that ultimately mattered on the Prime Video Series.

While always sentient, Ents only learned to speak thanks to the elves. The Ents never forgot that bond, and it might have saved Arondir and his cohorts on The Rings of Power. While Winterbloom said it would take an age to earn forgiveness for any trees elves had felled, she began that process immediately when Arondir promised elves would protect those woods forever. Unlike orcs or even men, Winterbloom had reason to trust Arondir.

It was a beautiful scene, one that both leaned into Tolkien’s lore and captured the spirit of Middle-earth. But it was an inherently sad one, too. Entwives have always been defined by their absence in Middle-earth. They will leave the Ents towards the end of the Second Age to start a new garden, we may even see it happen on The Rings of Power. No one will ever see them again after that. (Possibly because Sauron will kill them all.) That will ultimately doom the race of Ents entirely. No Entwives mean no new Entings. But even before the day comes when the final Ent takes his final giant step, The Rings of Power shows Middle-earth lost something special when it lost the Entwives. In a world so often overrun with darkness and death, they were loving shepherds of life.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist and definitely an Entwife guy. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

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The Rings of Power has done something Peter Jackson didn’t with his The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies. The Prime Video show has brought a live-action Tom Bombadil to Middle-earth. Who is this strange jolly fellow full of magic and mystery? Why are some fans excited to see him while others might not be? And what role does he seem set to play on The Rings of Power? Here’s everything we know about The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power‘s Tom Bombadil—along with everything we don’t—and what his arrival means for The Stranger during the Second Age.

What The Lord of the Rings Book Does Tom Bombadil Appear In?

The magical, mysterious Tom Bombadil appears in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Frodo and his Hobbit friends accidentally come across the rotund, gregarious figure near Tom Bombadil’s home deep in the Old Forest near the Withywindle tributary valley. Tom Bombadil actually ends up saving Merry and Pippin from a particularly hungry tree, Old Man Willow, who pulls them into its depths. We see an echo of this in The Rings of Power‘s introduction of Tom Bombadil as well.

The area around his small dwelling is under Tom’s domain, and the tired Hobbits spend a couple of days feasting under his roof before leaving. But it’s not long before Frodo must call on Tom, using a special song Bombadil taught him, to rescue the halflings from Barrow-wights. (Those terrifying creatures made their The Rings of Power debut in the same episode Tom did.)

Tom Bombadil, who has a fondness for singing silly songs, sports long hair, and a long beard. He wears a blue jacket, blue feathered hat, and yellow boots. He’s taller than a Hobbit but shorter than a man. Tom Bombadil is also the very, very old, the “eldest” living creature in the world. Tom says he “remembers the first raindrop and the first acorn,” as he predates them.

While he is usually merry, he’s also capable of being serious when the moment calls for it. However, Tom Bombadil showed no interest in the matters of the rest of the world, so while he did not support Sauron during the Third Age, he also did not join in the second war against the Dark Lord.

What Kind of Creature is Tom Bombadil? How Powerful is Tom Bombadil?

No one knows exactly what The Lord of the Rings‘ Tom Bombadil really is. He’s arguably the greatest mystery of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic tale. His age suggests he might be one of the Ainur, but that’s only one theory. What we do know is that he’s magical and powerful. He also has dominion over nature, which he can commune with. Those abilities are why some think Tom Bombadil is the physical manifestation of the natural world itself. Tom also uses his songs, some of which he sung quietly to himself on The Rings of Power, to control the Barrow-wights and other creatures.

The true depth of his abilities was best exemplified when Frodo willingly handed over the One Ring to him.

Did Tom Bombadil Hold the One Ring?

Frodo was reluctant to give anyone the One Ring, yet freely gave it over to Tom Bombadil without thought when asked in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Unlike everyone else on Middle-earth the One Ring had no power over Tom. He didn’t disappear when he wore it. He was also able to see the otherwise invisible Frodo when he did.

Soon after Elrond, who’d met Bombadil long ago, suggested Tom as an option to carry the One Ring to Mordor. But Gandalf said the jolly fellow’s disinterest would make it likely Tom Bombadil would simply throw the ring away and forget about it.

Why Didn’t Tom Bombadil Appear in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit movies?

Tom Bombadil plays a very minor role in the plot of The Fellowship of the Ring, something Tolkien himself admitted. The author said he included Bombadil because the character represented something “important” he did not specify. With so much story to tell onscreen Peter Jackson decided to leave Tom Bombadil out of The Lord of the Rings trilogy entirely. (Though he did give the Ents some of Tom’s book dialogue in his The Two Towers adaptation.) Tom Bombadil has appeared in some other live-action adaptations as well as other media, like Magic: The Gathering.

Until recently, Tom Bombadil’s depiction in a new out-of-print TCG called The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game was the most canonical rendition of the being we had. The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game was released in 2001 and was based on The Lord of the Rings trilogy by Peter Jackson. Even though that movie series did not include Tom Bombadil as we just mentioned, The Lord of the Rings Trading Card Game still featured the character in a card.

Bombadil’s exclusion from Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings films disappointed many ardent fans of the character, but not everyone disagreed with his omission. Some readers find Tom Bombadil, with his penchant for communicating via absurd songs while doing silly dances, a divisive figure. The Rings of Power co-showrunner J.D. Payne told Nerdist “one of the challenges” in bringing the character to live-action “is that Tom Bombadil sort of defies drama by his very nature.”

That didn’t stop the Prime Video series from introducing him to their story, where he doesn’t feel out of place at all.

What is Tom Bombadil Doing on The Rings of Power?

The Stranger didn’t realize his star map was bringing him to another magical, powerful being who seemingly exists outside of time, but he was always meant to find Tom. The slightly more muted version of Tom Bombadil will need to see if The Stranger is worthy of his capabilities, which he will need to stop the mysterious Dark Wizard and Sauron from teaming up and engulfing Middle-earth in flames.

Tom Bombadil is not living in his normal home in the Old Forest in The Rings of Power, though. He is currently residing to the west in Rhûn, where he came to personally see its change from a lush green land into a harsh desert.

Tom Bombadil and Goldberry in The Rings of Power

He did not arrive in Rhûn alone though. The woman’s voice The Stranger heard was Tom’s wife Goldberry. She’s a river-spirit, which is why The Stranger did not see her. Goldberry chose not to reveal her human-form to him at this time and we don’t know if we’ll see it at all on The Rings of Power. Outside of Tom’s cottage The Stranger also had an unfortunate encounter with a grumpy tree. Tom called that tree Old Man Ironwood, but it seemed remarkably similar to Old Man Willow from Tolkien’s novel. That equally cantankerous tree was the one who made the Hobbits fall asleep in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, which led to them meeting Tom Bombadil in the first place.

Tom Bombadil did not go on to fight Sauron in the Third Age. But that war takes place thousands of years after The Rings of Power. The show is introducing Tom during the Second Age before the Dark Lord even forged his One Ring to rule them all. The pleasant Tom Bombadil might be more subdued because he knows he has an important job to do on The Rings of Power. Istar are relatively new to Middle-earth, and The Stranger needs someone powerful and magical like him to guide him in his quest to understand who he is and what he can. By the Third Age, Gandalf (who The Stranger might actually be) will be well-versed in fighting Dark Lords and not need Tom Bombadil’s help.

Who Is Playing Tom Bombadil on The Rings of Power?

Rory Kinnear (Men, The Imitation Game, Penny Dreadful) plays Tom Bombadil on The Rings of Power. Star Daniel Weyman told us what it was like filming with such a legendary character of Middle-earth.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist who is pro Tom Bombadil. You can follow him on Twitter and Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post THE RINGS OF POWER Season 2 Brings Tom Bombadil to Live-Action LORD OF THE RINGS appeared first on Nerdist.

In Tolkien’s lore, one of Sauron’s fearsome powers was his ability to shape-shift. Being a shape-shifter helped Sauron deceive and fight his many foes and, in fact, allowed him to create The Rings of Power in the first place, coming to elves in a fair form and deceiving them with promises of knowledge and gifts. It was this shape-shifting ability that also drove so many questions about the exact identity of Sauron during The Rings of Power season one. Ultimately, it proved that Sauron had taken the form of the human king, Halbrand, during the season, crafting himself an image that he thought would most appeal to Galadriel.

In early The Rings of Power season two, we learn that Halbrand was actually a form Sauron shapeshifted into after Adar and the orcs “split him open.” Although no actor will replace Charlie Vickers as Sauron, the showrunners assure us, it turns out at least two actors play a form of the Dark Lord on The Rings of Power. And in addition to that, the first three episodes of The Rings of Power reveal that Charlie Vickers will play more than one form of Sauron himself in the series. But just how many forms has Sauron taken in The Rings of Power thanks to his shapeshifting abilities? Let’s take a look.

Sauron’s Earliest Form, Played By Jack Lowden

In the first scene of The Rings of Power season two, Jack Lowden plays a form of Sauron. This is the form of Sauron that existed about 1,000 years before the events of The Rings of Power, immediately after Morgoth’s defeat in the War of Wrath. Jack Lowden’s Sauron seems intent on taking power and picking up where Morgoth left off in his pursuit of ruling Middle-earth. But, of course, we know that this form of Sauron won’t last the next 1,000 years on The Rings of Power. In episode one of The Rings of Power, Adar and the orcs dispatch this form of Sauron, turning him into…

Black Goo Sauron

Black Goo Sauron is the interstitial form Sauron takes between bodies. It seems like The Rings of Power is implying that this black good is really Sauron’s essence, but he can’t craft a new form for himself until he has had enough nourishment or maybe until he has performed enough evil. In any case, we see Black Goo Sauron flopping along in The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power season two. Sauron feasts on rats and innocents until he’s consumed enough life to emerge again. But Black Goo Sauron has done more than just eat a poor wanderer; he’s also captured the hearts and minds of fans. We have to admit, he is a mood and a vibe.

Sauron’s Halbrand Form, Played By Charlie Vickers on The Rings of Power

Next up, is, of course, Sauron’s Halbrand form played by Charlie Vickers. We’ll miss you, Halbrand. This Sauron form shifted into catering to the version of Sauron that Galadriel most wanted to see. In this form, Sauron pretended to be part of a royal lineage that ruled the Southlands. Sauron, in his Halbrand form, dabbled at becoming a true hero on The Rings of Power, the kind of leader his people needed, who could fight by Galadriel’s side and stave off the coming of darkness. Sauron convinced Galadriel and the Southlanders that he, as Halbrand, was meant to be their King with a necklace bearing a Southlander royal crest. But, of course, Sauron himself tells Galadriel, “I took it off a dead man.” In the end of The Rings of Power season two, Sauron’s ruse with Galadriel comes to a close, but his Halbrand form lives on a little longer.

In clips from season two of The Rings of Power, we see Sauron bring Halbrand out to manipulate Adar. He pretends to be the King of the Southlands and murmurs in Adar’s ear that Galadriel has sided with Sauron. We’ll see how long Sauron’s Halbrand form lasts into season two.

Sauron’s Annatar Form, Played By Charlie Vickers on The Rings of Power Season 2

In a featurette for The Rings of Power season two, Charlie Vickers shares that one of Sauron’s primary powers is the ability to change forms. And Vickers does some form-changing himself in season two, episode two of The Rings of Power. Leaving Halbrand behind at some point in season two of The Rings of Power, Sauron takes the form of Annatar, a Quenya elvish word that means “Lord of Gifts.”

Vickers explains that “the Annatar form that we see this season is all for Celebrimbor because he needs Celebrimbor and his understanding and his methodology and his craftsmanship to make these rings. He’ll stop at nothing to rule Middle-earth.” Annatar is Sauron’s “fair form” in The Lord of the Rings universe, the one he initially wears to deceive the elves in Tolkien’s writings. On The Rings of Power, the story is a bit different, but no doubt Sauron’s Annatar form will be enough to convince Celebrimbor to forge more than a few rings. Shape-shifting will get you everywhere.

Other Sauron Forms We Might See on The Rings of Power

During the height of his powers, in the First Age of Middle-earth, Sauron would shapeshift into a serpent, a vampire, and even a wolf. We’d honestly love to see Sauron take on some of those forms in The Rings of Power. Even though we’ve left the first age behind us, we feel Sauron still has enough juice to quickly transform into a wolf for half an episode or so. It really would fool his enemies.

Whatever shapeshifting Sauron wants to get up, though, he’d better do it quickly. Soon, Sauron will lose this ability to change forms once and for all on The Rings of Power. And then he’ll end up stuck as an evil spirit just trying to make a body to survive.

Will We Ever See Sauron in Eye Form on The Rings of Power?

Fans of The Lord of the Rings movies are probably asking if we will see The Eye of Sauron in The Rings of Power. And the answer to that is we very well might. In The Silmarillion, Sauron’s eye is first mentioned just after the sinking of Númenor.

Tolkien writes, “Sauron was not of mortal flesh, and though he was robbed now of that shape in which he had wrought so great an evil, so that he could never again appear fair to the eyes of Men, yet his spirit arose out of the deep and passed as a shadow and a black wind over the sea, and came back to Middle-earth and to Mordor that was his home. There he took up again his great Ring in Barad-dûr, and dwelt there, dark and silent, until he wrought himself a new guise, an image of malice and hatred made visible; and the Eye of Sauron the Terrible few could endure.”

Of course, in Tolkien’s lore, Sauron does not necessarily become only an Eye in his dark spirit era. But given the popularity of the eye as a symbol, it could very well make its way onto The Rings of Power as yet another possible version of the Dark Lord Sauron.

Originally published on August 22, 2024.

The post The Many Forms of Sauron on THE RINGS OF POWER appeared first on Nerdist.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two is finally on its way back to us. And although the first season of The Rings of Power left us with many questions that still need to be explored, we finally have an answer to one all-important question. One question to rule them all, if you will. What is the release date for The Lord of The Rings: The Rings Power season two? Let’s take a look at when we’ll be able to enjoy more of The Rings of Power.

Jump to: When Do New Episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Release? What Was The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season Two’s Release Date? // How Many Episodes Will Released During The Rings of Power Season Two’s Premiere? // How Many Episodes Long Is The Rings of Power Season Two? // Will The Rings of Power Have a Weekly Release & What Day and Time Will Episodes Air? // When Is the Finale of The Rings of Power Season 2? // The Rings of Power Season Two Full Release Schedule

When Do New Episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Release?

Before we get deep into it, let’s answer the question on everyone’s minds. When do new episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power release? New episodes of The Rings of Power release on Thursday nights/mornings at 12 AM PT, that’s 3am ET and 8am BST (in the UK). They stream on Prime Video

What Was the Release Date for The Lord of The Rings: The Rings Power Season Two?

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two released on Thursday, August 29. On that date, The Rings of Power‘s second season will premiere globally “in more than 240 countries and territories in multiple languages.” To get even more excited about what this season has in store, make sure to check out its recently released trailer.

How Many Episodes Will Released During The Rings of Power‘s Season Two Premiere on August 29?

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premiered with three episodes on its August 29 release date.

How Many Episodes Long Is The Rings of Power Season Two?

The Rings of Power season two will be eight episodes long.

Will The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season Two Have a Weekly Release? What Day and Time Will The Episodes Release?

Yes, after its initial three-episode premiere, The Rings of Power season two will be released weekly on Thursdays (technically, Friday morning for the East Coast). We feel glad to hear it. We much prefer this method of release to the all-at-once episode drop we saw with Prime Video’s Fallout.

As for timing, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will become available on Prime Video on Thursdays at 12 AM PT, that’s 3am ET and 8am BST (in the UK)

When Will The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power‘s Season Two Finale Air?

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will release its epic season two finale on October 3, 2024.

The Rings of Power Season Two Full Release Schedule

• The Rings of Power Season 2, Episode 1: August 29
• The Rings of Power Season 2, Episode 2: August 29
• The Rings of Power Season 2, Episode 3: August 29
• The Rings of Power Season 2, Episode 4: September 5
• The Rings of Power Season 2, Episode 5: September 12
• The Rings of Power Season 2, Episode 6: September 19
• The Rings of Power Season 2, Episode 7: September 26
• The Rings of Power Season 2, Episode 8 (Finale): October 3

Catch Up with The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Before Season Two

While we wait for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two to release, it’s a great time to catch up on season one. All eight episodes of The Rings of Power‘s first season are now streaming on Prime Video. If you haven’t watched them yet, we couldn’t recommend them more. This is one epic adventure worth taking.

Originally published on May 14, 2024.

The post THE RINGS OF POWER Season 2’s Release Schedule (Plus Release Time, Finale Date, and More) appeared first on Nerdist.

Hey dol! Merry dol! The time has come, fellow The Lord of the Rings fans. A highly anticipated moment is here at long last. Yes, we mean the first appearance of the mysterious being Tom Bombadil in a major live-action Tolkien adaptation. In our exclusive clip from The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two, episode four, our favorite wandering wizard, The Stranger, ends up in a bit of a bizarre position, though not one unfamiliar to fans of Tolkien… Especially not when a certain being is about to appear on the scene. Luckily for the Stranger, Old Tom Bombadil is in a helping (and singing) mood in this The Rings of Power scene.

You can take a look at the pair’s meeting and, finally, properly meet The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power‘s Tom Bombadil in our exclusive clip below.

In The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two, Tom Bombadil is played by Rory Kinnear. We’ve seen glimpses of Kinnear’s Tom Bombadil in the trailers for the series, but this is our best look at the character yet. And we have to say, it’s full marks from us. A melodic voice, check. Long hair, check. Long beard, check. The inner glow of an unbothered ancient, check.

But all kidding aside, even in this short scene from The Rings of Power, we get all of Tom Bombadil’s best qualities on full display. Kinnear’s Tom is cheerful but enigmatic, soothing but mysterious. There’s a great deal of wonderful warmth in this Tom Bombadil, but just enough of a gentle scold to let us know he’s seeing inside our very souls. “Who are you?” The Stranger asks, and though we’ll unlikely get a straight answer to that question (and nor should we!), it’s a great deal of fun to finally get to watch Tom Bombadil name himself in a The Lord of the Rings project.

Of course, we always love a good Tolkien Easter egg, and true-heart fans will delight in how Tom Bombadil’s introduction in The Rings of Power season two echoes his introduction in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. There, Frodo meets Tom Bombadil after those scamps, Merry and Pippin, get gobbled up by Old Man Willow, and Bombadil helps to save them. In our exclusive The Rings of Power season two clip, it’s The Stranger who has been consumed by a tree instead, only to have Tom Bombadil come to his rescue. We don’t think it’s Old Man Willow this time, but perhaps a cousin. If The Stranger really is Gandalf, someone ought to remind him later that he has more in common with Merry and Pippin than he thinks!

To put the Goldeberry on top, we even believe we hear a touch of “Concerning Hobbits” in the theme that plays for Tom Bombadil when he greets The Stranger. And that really cements for us the deep connection between these two The Lord of the Rings meetings.

The Stranger, of course, seems to be on the hunt for his staff when he meets Tom Bombadil. But tugging on random tree branches does not feel like the right way to go about things. Hopefully, Tom Bombadil can guide him toward a better one. We’ll find out as The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two continues streaming on Prime Video. The first three episodes of the series are now available to watch, with new episodes arriving on Thursday until October 3.

The post Meet Tom Bombadil in This Exclusive Clip From THE RINGS OF POWER Season 2 appeared first on Nerdist.

One little orc/uruk baby is in the middle of much discussion among the lovers of Middle-earth in our world. During The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two’s first episode, we got to meet the orc Glûg, who seemed very concerned about the orcs marching back off to war after they just found a home in Mordor. But it turns out, Glûg the orc’s motivation for peace runs deeper than just wanting a little quiet. The Rings of Power season two reveals to us that Glûg has an orc family waiting in the wings, which includes an orc wife and an orc baby. It turns out that neither orc ladies nor orc babies have ever been depicted in a The Lord of the Rings adaptation before. And for some, this was a shocking turn of events.

Aren’t the orcs just purely evil beings who could have no love in their hearts? Well, we suppose that’s a fair question to ask. But The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has long been veering away from that interpretation of orcs, or as they like to be called, Uruk. So, we feel it makes a lot of sense to have orc families in the narrative. But beyond that, J.R.R. Tolkien and his writings leave much room for orc babies and orc familial ties to exist. (And yes, orcs do reproduce like humans and elves. Once again, get over it!)

Here’s What J.R.R. Tolkien Has to Say About Orc Babies and Orc Families

Of course, it’s fair enough to ask what J.R.R. Tolkien, the creator of The Lord of the Rings world, would have to say about orcs having families and babies. Handily, Tolkien does address these ideas WHILE also leaving the door open in a way that 100% allows for The Rings of Power‘s interpretations of orc community.

Orcs Reproduce Like Men and Elves, and That Means an Orc Baby Is Totally Valid

Most notably, Tolkien said of the orcs in The Silmarillion, “And thus did Melkor breed the hideous race of the Orcs in envy and mockery of the Elves, of whom they were afterwards the bitterest foes. For the Orcs had life and multiplied after the manner of the Children of Ilúvatar; and naught that had life of its own, nor the semblance of life, could ever Melkor make since his rebellion in the Ainulindalë before the Beginning: so say the wise. And deep in their dark hearts, the Orcs loathed the Master whom they served in fear, the maker only of their misery.”

Two important aspects of that quote jump out. First, Tolkien makes it plain that orc babies do exist. He literally says, “Orcs multiply in the manner of the Children of Ilúvatar.” Yes, that’s elves and men. So, yes orcs have sex. I am sorry to break this to you, but it feels relevant in this case. They reproduce like elves and men, which means that orcs have babies. A totally incontestable fact.

Of course, one might argue that having a baby doesn’t necessarily mean having a family. Although most creatures on earth, especially our direct comparison point here, elves and men, do often have communities that revolve around children. That leads us to, second, the fact that Tolkien stresses specifically that orcs have life and, in the same breath, notes orcs actually loathe Morgoth. That information makes you feel like the Orcs are not just mindless evil but actually have nuanced feelings of their own. If they feel enough to feel misery, they probably feel enough to feel love.

Orc Family Ties And Friendships

In both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien writes of the orc Bolg and his father, Azog. Tolkien notes in The Hobbit, “Bolg of the North is coming, O Dain! whose father you slew in Moria.” Additionally, a footnote in the The Lord of the Rings books notes, “Azog was the father of Bolg.” While he doesn’t come right out and say it, Tolkien implies that Bolg seeks revenge against Dain. That is certainly the tact The Hobbit movies took when portraying the relationship. Seeking vengeance for a father would certainly indicate family ties and orc kin affinities, even though this, of course, is the darkest manifestation of them.

Additionally, in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers book, we meet two orcs, Gorbag and Shagrat, who appear to be friends. Gorbat notes that he’d love to slip off with Shagrat, somewhere away Sauron’s control, to have their own equitable and easy lives. “Just like old times,” Shagrat says. Old orc times, sounds like the ones we see in The Rings of Power season two.

We Just Don’t Know That Much About The Lord of the Rings Orcs, Their Feelings, Hobbies, or Anything Else

Ultimately, though, Tolkien leaves the door fully open for The Rings of Power or any other adaptation to portray orcs, their families, babies, and their interior lives. Tolkien writes in his Letter to Mrs. Munby, “There must have been orc-women. But in stories that seldom, if ever, see the Orcs except as soldiers of armies in the service of the evil lords, we naturally would not learn much about their lives. Not much was known.”

Basically, Tolkien himself says that orcs have lives we just don’t know about. It sounds like he’s saying with complete certainty that orcs do engage in activities other than soldiering and menacing, but we just haven’t yet had occasion to hear about them. (And orc-women are totally an approved part of The Lord of the Rings‘ world.)

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Has Been Setting Up Sympathetic Orcs All Along

Happily, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is a story that does want to take the time to get to know the orcs as more than just agents of pure evil. While the presence of an orc family might crystallize this on our screens, The Rings of Power has been working toward this moment ever since Adar told Galadriel in season one that each of his children were “creations of the secret fire” and had “a name and a heart.” If you were busily thinking Adar was the villain in that exchange, perhaps its time to watch once again. We even see Adar and the orcs engaging in a burial rite in season one of the series. Taking the time to honor one’s dead, again, implies a deep sense of community.

In The Rings of Power, the whole Uruk story has been about a search for a home in The Rings of Power and escaping the torment, some might say, misery, long placed on their shoulders. And so, it stands to reason that creatures looking for a home would be doing so for their families, orc or not.

The Time Has Come to Accept the Orc Family, the Orc Baby, and the Orc Community Into Our Hearts!

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power‘s showrunners told Nerdist that whether the orcs were orcs or Uruk would play a big role in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two. But whether the orcs eventually fall into total darkness or not, they’ll have at one point had enough love in their hearts to care for one another and their children. And we feel like that’s a much more fascinating story to explore than if they were just purely evil. If the orc baby and orc family on The Rings of Power is really such a bothersome concept to anyone, perhaps they should take a minute and evaluate why! Meanwhile, we’ll be buying Glûg a baby shower gift.

The post Yes, There Was a Baby Orc and an Orc Family on THE RINGS OF POWER Season 2 (Get Over It!) appeared first on Nerdist.

Darkness has its Lord in Sauron, but the elves have a High King of their own. He will lead them in the fight for Middle-earth’s soul. How will Gil-galad do that in season two on The Rings of Power after barely averting disaster in season one? Nerdist spoke to star Benjamin Walker ahead of the show’s second season at Prime Video about just that. We also asked about his wide-ranging career, how it prepared him to play one of J.R.R. Tolkien’s most famous leaders, the High King’s reaction to peace giving way to war, and more. 

Nerdist: Before we get to The Rings of Power season two, I want to go back because I have been fascinated by your career for a long time. It’s not even that you’ve worked with some really famous and talented actors and directors. It’s that you’ve played an incredibly wide range of parts across very different genres. Do you actively seek out such different parts? Or is that just sort of how things have fallen for you?

Benjamin Walker: There’s an element to every actor’s career that’s just dumb luck. But I am pretty picky. I kind of live by…I like to collect directors, just in my mind. I want to know how they do what they do and have the opportunity to. Because every time you work with a different director, it’s like a different vocabulary. It’s a different workflow. I really like jumping in between different ways of working. I kind of live by, “What am I going to learn? Is this going to make me better?”

For example, I just did a show in the West End with the director Ivo van Hove. He’s this Dutch avant-garde theater director where you make a film of play you’re doing. While you do the play that video is live projected behind you. And the narrative is often disjointed and confusing on purpose, but it illuminates something unique about the story you’re trying to tell because the audience kind of has to play catch up the entire time. That to me, doing something different every time, is important. It keeps the job fresh. It keeps your tools sharp. And it’s one of the biggest joys I find doing the job, being a collaborator with people you haven’t collaborated with.

The things I’m about to bring up, I bring up specifically because I like them and I especially like you in them. Just want you to know-

Walker: :laughs: Disclaimer, alert.

Well I just want to make sure, because I imagine a lot of people first remember you from Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

Walker: Sure.

But then you followed that up with an HBO movie about the Supreme Court (Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight) and a Ron Howard film about a famous shipwreck (In the Heart of the Sea). Now you’re a famous Elf King on a Lord of the Ring series. How does playing Gil-galad compare to the many other types of roles you’ve had?

Walker: Oooh. I mean, certainly in terms of the scale, you talk about collaboration, the army of artists and craftspeople that are there to work with you and also support you, that’s been profound on this. That the size and scale of the show, by necessity, if you’re going to do Tolkien, that’s kind of the bare minimum of what it takes.

But, in some ways, now that I’m saying it, it feels a bit…for example, in the Ron Howard film, there were a few days where you’re exhausted, emaciated, and you’re just kind of stuck in a dinghy out in the ocean while (cinematographer) Anthony Dod Mantle has this handheld camera. And it’s like you’re doing almost a Guerrilla independent college film. Or it’s just some guys that have gotten together and they’re going to try and make this little story on this. That was an epic film, but in those moments, it feels very Guerrilla in that way.

We still have those moments on The Rings of Power. You walk into this massive sound stage where they’ve built the forest of Lindon, and you’ve got your ears glued on and you’re wearing a crown, and every leaf has been painted gold. But then you find yourself standing under a tree going, “Alright, but how do we milk every bit of magic out of this scene?” So in some ways the scale is different, the level of production is different, but if it’s good at its core, that’s what you try and do.

In addition to being wise and noble, the elves of Middle-earth are also smug. (Walker agrees) I believe that description definitely applies to Gil-galad. What’s the key to finding the balance between likable yet arrogant with the High King?

Walker: Oh that’s a great question. I think it comes from experience. His perceived smugness, especially in the second season, you’re going to start to see unravel a little bit because it’s one thing to have the experience to know the right move to make because you’ve done it before. But then inversely, when you have had that much experience, what’s the thing that makes you go, “I’ve never seen this before?”

So it’s important to lay in the foundation of the King that he has his hands on the wheel of peace time. But what does he become when peace time starts to slip away? In some ways, the first season is just laying the foundation for where we’re going throughout the course of the remaining seasons.

It’s like you anticipated my next question because in season one, he’s problem solving a desperate situation. But in season two, he’s confronted with the possibility that the cure could be worse than the disease. How does he deal with that and what’s the real driving factor behind his response to Sauron’s potential manipulation?

Walker: For the elves, it’s about the relationships among themselves and among the peoples and species of Middle-earth. You talk about smugness unraveling, with Elrond, for example, they have this great relationship, this kind of mentorship they have fostered. But you look at his relationship with Elrond and what does it mean for him to know that the person you’re mentoring is going to make a mistake. Is going to defy you. It’s almost like a parent-child relationship. A loving parent has to, at some point, let their child make a mistake. “Alright, you climbed up that tree. Now how are you going to get down?”

If every time they need to get out of the tree, you go pull ’em out, they don’t know how to climb trees. You’ve deprived them of that. And I think that’s something that Gil-galad does well, actually, but is also frustrating and costly.

I was going to ask you about your relationship with the other Elf leaders. There’s also Galadriel, Celebrimbor, Círdan. All of them look up to the High King, but they also answer to him. You talked about Elrond, but how would you define your relationship with the rest of them?

Walker: Galadriel and I have a fraught relationship to be sure. On paper, other than the hierarchy that the elves really respect, on paper we are equals. And for those that really know the book, technically she’s older than I am. So that is a recipe for disaster. But they also admire each other in that she often pushes the King and he often needs to pull her back. They need each other in order to be a successful people.

And Celebrimbor, he does something that no other creature has ever done, which is to harness the power of his smithing artistry. He, in some ways, is the pivotal character in all of Tolkien. If he were terrible at making rings, you wouldn’t have much of a story. And there’s a level of respect there that they share, but also they’re playing with technology that nobody fully understands. It’s a bit “Oppenheimer” of Tolkien. That moment of, “I think we can do this. Should we?” And they don’t fully understand what they’re doing.

What’s great about all the High Elves is that they’re in, some ways, the most capable characters in Middle-earth, but also the most fallible. That’s a testament to Tolkien, and, I hope, to what we’re doing with the show.

We know the High King’s fate in this story. Does any part of you keep that in mind so you can sort of reverse engineer how he gets to that point? Or do you simply try to stay centered on exactly where he is at this in the story right now,

Walker: It’s helpful for you as the actor to know. A production of Macbeth where Macbeth knows he’s going to die is not a good production. He has to have hope. But that’s also unique about the Elves in general. How do they live this long? Survive such death and destruction and boredom and misery, but still have hope? That’s unique and part of the fun to know the end of the story and then forget it. And in the pursuit of that hope you help the audience forget it.

What have you learned about Gil-galad after two seasons that has surprised you?

Walker: About how him losing his cool manifests itself. The elves don’t really lose their cool, but if there’s ever a time to lose your cool, it’s when evil has resurfaced and you’ve told all of your lieutenants the right thing to do and they didn’t do it. Part of the fun of Gil-galad is, like we said earlier, this kind of smug peace time consigliere. But what does it look like when he casts off his robes and goes, “Okay, all you guys to your rooms, I’m pulling this car over.” That’s part of the fun. What happens when they’re ready to kick some ass.

What are you most excited for fans to see this season?

Walker: If you know the books, you know it’s about to get really messy.

Also…how do I word this without getting in trouble…

In the books, the elves and music have such a deep relationship. About every two seconds they’re staring into a pool of water and singing to the Valar. It is nice that our show is accepting that and using that. And that we have such great musical team like Bear (McCreary).

The post THE RINGS OF POWER’s Benjamin Walker On High King Gil-galad’s Response to Coming War in Season 2 appeared first on Nerdist.

Few men of Middle-earth have ever left a more complicated legacy behind than Isildur. Fans of The Lord of the Rings know why. As does The Rings of Powers‘ Maxim Baldry, who plays a younger version of the character on the show. What’s it like playing such an important figure from J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendary story? How will things change for Isildur in season two of the show? And what’s it like building a meaningful human/elf relationship? We asked Baldry about all of that and more when we spoke to him ahead of the show’s return on Prime Video.

Nerdist: I’ve done so many of these interviews over the last two days I am now in my head with how to properly say the names of every character. It’s so intimidating because obviously all of you know how to say them perfectly.

Maxim Baldry: Well we’ve lived with them for a while now. I was speaking with someone today about this. We got the job five years ago, and it’s insane to think how quickly time moves. We were talking about what kind of characters we would love to be, and I think I said an elf, just to be able to see time pass in a way that stresses me out. Whereas, for (elves), they’d be able to be slightly more detached from it and see it things come and go. It’d be quite a beautiful experience.

The season opens with you believed dead and abandoned in Middle-earth, which is a pretty big change from where you were last year when you’re mostly in Númenor. What was it like playing the character under such drastically different circumstances this time?

Baldry: I loved it. Isildur lends himself to being thrown around in the mud. He’s a physical character. It’s important to have all of that, to influence and maybe make light of why he chooses to not throw the ring into the fire. That’s what all of these early seasons are about. For him, it’s very exploratory, it’s world-building, it’s understanding who he really is rather than what he does.

And fighting Shelob is just an extension of this whole season for him. It’s a story of survival. Not only is he abandoned by Númenor and left to fend for himself, he also has to survive. He’s thrown into the world of adulthood when he’s out there. He kind of entered as a boy into Middle-earth and is now learning pretty fast that he has to grow up, he has to fend for himself, he has to learn to survive.

So that is Shelob you fight in episode three?

Baldry: In episode three, it’s Shelob. It’s baby Shelob.

You touched on my next question a little bit, because every Lord of the Rings fan, whether they are book readers or moviegoers, know Isildur’s ultimate fate. With each season and episode bringing you closer and closer to that moment, does the knowledge of where he is going to end up influence your choices as a performer at all? Do you try to reverse engineer versus focusing solely on where he is in his life right now?

Baldry: My instinctive reaction was to reverse engineer and (showrunners) Patrick and J.D. sat me down and were like, “We know the end point, but let’s just play here and let’s really create who he is as a person.” I think we did a really good job with season one, because you’re thrown into this family dynamic of a broken one. They’re missing the mother. They’re all grieving in their own respective ways. And Isildur’s fractured relationship with his father never really resolves up until the last scene in episode seven where they have this touching moment and understand their mother’s influence on each other.

Thinking to the end is almost the wrong way of looking at it. Which is what I wanted to do. I’ve always been like, okay, “But he ends there, so how…?” But it’s actually about, “Let’s create this character. We know that he comes from a broken family. We know that he wants more. He’s driven and he’s ambitious.”

What’s more interesting is the ambition that he has in him. On one hand, it can make him resilient on one hand, can propel him to these new extremes of being able to survive, being able to fend off evil. But then it could be a double-edged sword later on. That ambition could also be used in ways that….and I’m just throwing things out here and speculating…but it could be when he takes the ring, it could be, “I’ve lost so much that I will do good with this. I am so ambitious and driven that I know I’ll be able to withstand this evil.”

Obviously, it ends up corrupting him. But there are so many ways to play him and all of the experiences that he has in seasons one, two, and three will shed light on who he is as a person and will actually inform the later decision that he makes.

I asked you about your choices as a performer, but personally…and maybe this is a loaded word…are you ever intimidated by who you are playing?

Baldry: Hell yeah. When I was first told, Patrick and J.D. sat me down on a Zoom call before I went to New Zealand. And they were like, “We just want to let you know who you’re playing. You’re playing Isildur. And they took off a ring. My instinctive response was, “Holy sh….”

There’s a weight of expectation because a lot of fans have an idea of who he is to them and what he represents to them. I did a lot of reading and I did a lot of digging as to who he really is, but we don’t really know that much. We know what he does, but you don’t really know who this character is, what motivates him, what his relationship looks like with Elendil.

This was all world-building that Patrick and J.D. crafted. And I’m very grateful to them because they’re very collaborative in their approach to creating these characters. They like our input. And I’ve lived with the character a lot longer than they’ve actually lived with Isildur now. So they do value my opinion. I think that’s so wonderful, to wake up at 3:00 AM when you’re in the makeup trailer and you are pinning your eyes open, and yet you know that your opinion and your voice is heard.

It’s a wonderful place to work at, because I think great things happen because of collaboration. We all put so much time and effort into it. And we truly have a love for Tolkien. So it’s a fantastic place to work and I think we do it justice. I really truly think so, because our intentions are firstly to respect the works of Tolkien that we all grew up loving. And secondly, to create a compelling story that inspires a new generation of Tolkien lovers.

Speaking of your story this season, there’s a brewing partnership between Isildur and Arondir.  What can you tell us about their relationship in season two?

Baldry: They’re unexpected. They meet in unexpected circumstance, and they have a real profound respect for one another. Elves have always been infatuated with Isildur. There’s a kinship to his elven history as a Númenorian. So when he meets Arondir in such close proximity, they just instantly gravitate towards each other. Isildur learns so much about resilience from Arondir, who has withstood so much. (Arondir) has grown and he’s kept himself together, he’s shown up for everyone in the southlands. To Theo with his grief with Bronwyn. And Isildur, with Arondir, he’s taking notes. He’s like, “Oh, I see how to do this.”

That’s a nice relationship for Isildur to have because he doesn’t really have anyone like that back home. He’s sort of been alone. And he’s learning that bond and community is very important. That’s what drives him to really reevaluate his relationship with his home.

Did you look at other human/elf partnerships in Tolkien stories to help understand how you might feel and interact with him?

Baldry: I thought of Aragon and Legolas in a weird way, because obviously Isildur and Aragon are connected. That’s quite a nice relationship, in a way, that they sort of have a respect for each other. They’re both kind of similar in the way that they’re both physical, but in very different ways. But that’s kind of the extent of my thinking of elves and human partnerships.

What did you take from that, if that’s the one that stands out to you? In what ways does it influence what we’ll see with Isildur and Arondir this year?

Baldry: What we also developed was a sort of look that we wanted to give each other, in the way that Legolas has a very strong gaze. Aragorn was a little bit more malleable, but we wanted to have a moment of stillness between all this chaos. So we’d do this thing where, whenever a situation would happen, we’d look at each other and it would just be a gentle nod. It was just a wonderful moment of appreciating one another for what they’ve done, but also reserving each other with our emotions and actually without having to speak a lot. It’s all done in looks. That’s what a lovely relationship is like between an elf and a human. It’s all done in the look rather than with actual words and dialogue.

What did you learn about Isildur this season that you didn’t know or maybe fully appreciate before you filmed it?

Baldry: His resilience. That’s what I also connected with the most. It’s the fact that he shows up, continues. He pushes forward, and it’s the undercurrent of drive and ambition that I was talking about before. That resilience is also linked with that drive and ambition, which I think is a double-edged sword to him, but one that I’m very keen to explore further on down the line because I think personally he’s hardened by season two. He is blunter and more fanatical. It won’t surprise me if he becomes more of a mercenary. More of a warrior.

This season introduces a new character, Estrid. Her motives and allegiances are not clear. Did the events of season one make Isildur more discerning and wary about strangers? Or is he still just as trusting as before?

Baldry: Estrid is an enigmatic one because she has also lost a lot of things. She’s lost her whole family. And when she opens up to Isildur about this. Something in that response allows him to connect with her over a shared loss that they both feel. So it’s almost trauma bonding, in a way. But obviously, it’s deeper and profound.

What I love about that is that it’s not superfluous love at first sight. It’s deep. It’s a Tolkienian connection in the way that Aragon falls in love with Arwen. It’s not just a facade. There’s something deeper. It’s rooted in something in the cosmos. Isildur is one of those people. He feels a kinship towards her and their relationship sort of blossoms from a shared loss. And what she will present to him is another case of him having to decide whether or not his love for her is stronger than his love for Númenor. So, season two poses him with this dilemma. Does he choose his heart or does he choose his home? Or are they inextricably linked? Should she be his wife?

There are a lot of questions. Those are the sort of questions that make Tolkien so fascinating to so many people. Because they connect with those feelings of being human. Even though you’re in a fantasy world, even though you’re escaping into this Middle-earth, they still resonate. They still pull on your heartstrings. That’s what I love about it.

It’s clear you have a reverence for Tolkien. What part of his lore are you most excited for fans to see during season two?

Baldry: It’s obviously the Akallabêth. It’s the Civil War of Númenor, it’s unrest, it’s bloodshed.

I love politics and I love when a city becomes split down the middle and there’s two factions. There’s the King’s Men, and then there’s the New World, the New Republic. And I love when those things happen. I love the repercussions of those two things. Especially because, as my character, I’m so connected to it. I’m excited to see the Civil War, the Civil Unrest in Númenor.

The post THE RINGS OF POWER’s Maxim Baldry on Isildur’s Journey in Season 2 and Beyond appeared first on Nerdist.

Hobbits have been at the very heart of Middle-earth’s greatest stories since Gandalf recruited Bilbo for a grand adventure. But while J.R.R. Tolkien’s Second Age didn’t call any race by that iconic name, the Harfoots are one of the tribes who become Hobbits. That puts star Markella Kavenagh at the heart of Prime Video’s The Rings of Power. What’s it like filling such an important role? How will the lovable, positive Nori respond to the evil shadow spreading across the world? And what’s it like going on a journey with a wizard? We asked her about all of that and more when ahead of The Rings of Power‘s second season.

Nerdist: After two seasons of lengthy productions, how sick are you of wandering around outside in rags without shoes?

Kavenagh: I love it. Love it. Could do it all day. I mean, obviously it still feels like you’re wearing shoes because the silicon is so thick. I think it’s silicon that they use. But the feet that you wear are so thick the underneath still feels like a shoe. But I love it. I love the feet, they’re great.

The relationship between Hobbits and a powerful Istar is the very heart of The Lord of the Rings. Now that we know for sure the Stranger is a wizard, do you feel any added pressure playing his Hobbit friend?

Kavenagh: :laughs: The pressure I feel is to betray Nori’s truth. As truthfully as possible and in the most believable way. I don’t really think it’s helpful to think too much about the kind of Wizard/Harfoot dynamic. Just because it’s so specific to our story and to The Rings of Power. It exists in its own kind of narrative. In that sense, I just would get too in my head and I wouldn’t be able to focus on the story we’re telling, which is what’s important for Nori and what’s important for me and portraying Nori. So that’s what I focus on the most.

How does Nori knowing the Stranger’s real identity and just how powerful he is change their relationship in season two?

Kavenagh: She’s more prepared for it now. She had season one, where obviously there was so much experimentation and so much uncertainty and unpredictability, because it was so out of his control. And then in this season, it’s really his responsibility to try and harness it and really work on why it’s so uncontrollable. So for Nori, instead of it being as fearful as she was in season one, for her it’s more curious. It’s more trying to understand where it comes from and how she can also help him navigate it. And realizing it might take something else, some time, in order for him for it to fully come to fruition in a way that works for him and that is not taken out on everyone else around him or the environment.

Does the growing darkness that is spreading over Middle-earth change Nori this year? Or does her kind of purity of heart help her stay the same Harfoot that we met in season one?

Kavenagh: I would definitely say she’s still playful and has that really joyful energy. And, hopefully, a lot of heart. The things that she’s been through towards the end of season one have definitely impacted her in season two. And she just has a little bit more maturity around it and she’s less naïve. She’s just growing. She’s evolving. So there are going to be things, or the way she approaches things, might not always be the same, but she definitely has that underlying sense of that lightness and that purity and wanting everyone and everything to be okay.

What did you learn about Nori during season two that you didn’t know, or maybe didn’t even fully appreciate, before the season?

Kavenagh: How much she underestimates herself. Sometimes she can come across as this Harfoot that’s super forthcoming and super strong-willed and loves adventure and loves being curious and loves all these new experiences and connections. But I think she also really struggles with her own self-confidence and trusting herself. So you really see, I think in this season in a way that you didn’t in the last, is thats she’s on her own a lot more now. She actually has to be with herself and figure out what she wants and what her purpose is in a larger sense. She does have Poppy, so there’s that familiarity there, but ultimately she’s also navigating a lot on her own. It does require a self-awareness that she didn’t really have to confront in the same way in season one.

Harfoots are one of the three tribes of Hobbits, a group that holds a really sacred place in pop culture at large. How do people treat you now that you’re a very important part of a beloved group?

Kavenagh: I don’t obviously look very similar to Nori in my day-to-day. So I’m fine, walk around and no one really says anything. But for people who do like it, yeah, it’s really lovely when it resonates with people, to be able to see the joy on their faces, watching the show as a whole and the series as a whole. And then I’m so glad that in some ways Nori has resonated with people.

I feel so grateful to be a part of it and a part of Tolkien’s world. In that sense, it’s been really lovely hearing that Nori has resonated with some people or that they can feel they can relate to her or have connected to her in some way. But also, I don’t really read a lot online about how it’s been received, so it is always lovely and surprising when someone voices how it’s affected them in a positive way.

I talked to your very tall screen partner and I was asking him about how much, if at all, he draws on the other famous relationships between wizards and Hobbits, and he said that he thinks that your onscreen relationship is actually rooted in your offscreen bonding. Could you talk a little bit about how you and Daniel have evolved together and built this bond?

Kavenagh: We have spent so much time together. Season one, we were there together pretty much the whole time. We were hanging out all the time. And I feel like in many instances with friendships, or people who have to portray friendships on screen, you try and meet up and create a friendship of some sort off screen. At least in my experience, it’s what I’ve attempted to do. But in this instance with Dan, it was so natural and so easy that we really did become really close friends.

I am so fortunate to be able to work with him and to be able to act opposite him and have that friendship. And we just really spent so much time together. We spent so much time together. And even in the UK as much as possible, we would talk about scenes and hang out. But creating a friendship really did. And the same with Megan Richards. It really helped us. Hopefully it reads on screen, because we really do have a lot of love for each other and a lot of respect for each other as humans. I think it always helps when you are taking from your real life into a dynamic on screen. And in this instance, I think it definitely helped us that we just happened to get along.

I’m really fascinated by the craft and how different performers create their characters. And I know you kind of touched on this a little bit, but I do want to just ask because I asked Daniel, too. Is your performance at all, either with the relationship with him, or even just in general, influenced by Peter Jackson’s movies? And I only ask because they’re so big and so iconic and so well-known, and there are onscreen parallels to what you’re doing on this show, even if Nori is completely new. Is there anything you take from them?

Kavenagh: I really love those films. And I love those actors so much and respect their performances and just think they’re really, really incredible. But in terms of whether I look to them for this, I didn’t because the story is so specific and it’s just so way before that time that the Harfoots are just in a completely different space. Headspace wise, their experiences are different, their circumstances are so different. These are people who have had to survive. They don’t even have a base. They’re moving constantly. So their personalities and their makeup internally, and the way they view the world and their perspectives are just so, so different that we really had to start from scratch in a way.

Even though Harfoots exists, Nori is not in the lore. So to be able to create a fully-fledged Harfoot that exists in her own right and with the other Harfoot, that was more focusing on what the showrunners had provided us. And obviously being so inspired and making sure that there’s respect for the lore and making sure that it’s as truthful to that as well. Then also my own backstory, and fusing all of those together. So more focusing on that and what was relevant to Nori, which was her past experiences and her present rather than everything else. They’re just so different. Their circumstances are so different.

You’re already such an important part of the show. But as we talked about, Sauron is rising, things are getting worse in Middle-earth. And they’re only going to get worse and worse as the show goes on until it ends. What do you expect for Nori in terms of how much more important she becomes in this story?

Kavenagh: That’s an interesting question. I hope for her she fulfills her purpose. I know I’ve said that a lot this interview. But in this season particularly, you find out why and what she has to do, essentially for herself and for the bigger picture. I just hope we see her fulfill that. I mean, I personally want her to meet all these other storylines, which I know…technically, who knows? But yes, I think you’ll see her fulfill that purpose. And I hope you see that happen and how Sauron rising and all of that actually affects her and the Harfoots.

I’m not asking you to spoil anything. Your showrunners told me, yes, definitively this season we will get an answer as to who the Stranger really is. So my question to you is, how do you think fans are going to respond to that revelation?

Kavenagh: Whooo knows? Like, who knows? Honestly, I couldn’t even tell you because I think it’s… people have such strong opinions, of course, about Tolkien and Tolkien’s lore. And obviously there are going to be character reveals. It’s just so difficult to say how it’s going to be received. I just…who knows.

How did you react when you found out?

Kavenagh: (laughs) This is so ambitious? I really respect this ambition, for you to try.

I’m not asking you to spoil it, just how did you respond to it?

Kavenagh: How did I react to it? I mean, I love Daniel Weyman. So I was glad he was able to know who and what he was playing.

The post THE RINGS OF POWER’s Markella Kavenagh on Nori’s Response to Season 2’s Growing Evil appeared first on Nerdist.

Celebrimbor is one of the most notorious elves in the history of Middle-earth, but you wouldn’t know that from The Rings of Power‘s first season. The ruler of Eregion and master smith was only a minor character during the show’s inaugural year. But that’s all about to change during its second. Celebrimbor is about to etch his name in infamy by making some powerful rings. What’s it like going from a bit player to one of the show’s most important? And what elements of J.R.R. Tolkien’s lore explain why this noble elf will fall prey to Sauron’s deceptions? We asked the great Charles Edwards about all of that in more when we spoke to him after seeing the first three episodes of the new season.

Nerdist: Your showrunners told me they convinced you to join the series in season one by saying you’d be really important in season two. What exactly did they tell you about your role initially and how it would grow?

Edwards: Pretty much that. They said, “Okay, here’s the deal. You are in a little bit of season one. Then season two everything kicks off,” or something like that. “Then beyond that, who knows?” So they’re quite right. That’s exactly how they sold it to me.

In season one, you’re really just there to serve the story and make some rings. There’s not a lot going on with your character. Was that frustrating or did you have faith in what was going to happen and you’d really be that important?

Edwards: No, I knew it was coming, so I was perfectly happy with that setup. I enjoyed very much the scenes with Rob Aramayo and I enjoyed establishing this character that no one had seen before. But that was all it was, an establisher. The first scene I felt his season two story kind of creep into season one was when he meets Halbrand in the forge and they’re both alone. That’s essentially what season two is for us. And that’s where the spark of season two, the flavor of season two, started to creep in for me when the two of them met.

What did you do differently to prep for season two considering it’s not only it’s a bigger role, all of a sudden it’s a much more dynamic character?

Edwards: You just go where the story takes you and react accordingly. The joy of this for us was that, amazingly, we got to shoot all our scenes in season two in order. It was Charlie Vickers and I in the forge for weeks, every day, telling the story in order chronologically, which is unheard of. It was really, hugely satisfying work for us both. We both really had a great summer doing it.

You want to set (Celebrimbor) up so that he’s ready to receive what Annatar brings, as in he’s got to be at a particular stage of vulnerability or uncertainty to be a juicy bit of prey for the predator. And he’s happy to see (Halbrand) again because he thinks he’s forged some kind of a relationship with this guy. But I believe that in season one, when they first meet, that’s when Sauron first casts whatever spell it is that he casts on Celebrimbor, in that brief scene when he suggests using the mithral. Celebrimbor is very susceptible to flattery. Then, as you’ll see as the season progresses, it becomes more and more aggressively psychological and violent. The relationship is not a healthy one.

I want to get into that a little bit more, but I want to take a step back because I’m curious how much of Tolkien’s lore did you rely on to develop the character versus how much is coming from the scripts themselves?

Edwards: Celebrimbor is obviously a very vital part of Tolkien’s world, in terms of the rings and the ring making. But very little is written about him. What there is is either contradictory, or fascinatingly elusive and juicy, saying that he was an ambitious, vain person. He was desperate to emulate the success of his grandfather. All of those are just little diamonds.

That’s all we had. Two versions said he was from a different place. And one version says he’s in love with Galadriel, which we’re not following with this show. So there was a real concoction of possibilities.

The answer to your question is that it came from, obviously, (showrunners) J.D. and Patrick, their vision of him and my version of him. They kind of combined to take Celebrimbor down this path. His vulnerability is what’s interesting to me, brought on by the vanity and feeling he’s never quite made it, even though everyone else would say he had. There’s something in him. He’s kind of having an Elvish midlife crisis. Then the storyline for season two was presented to me by J.D. and I went, “Wow, that sounds great. That’s really good.”

Like you said, there are different parts of the lore that say different things, and there’s some that says he’s not a prideful figure. He’s almost dwarf-likein his devotion to just making stuff.

Edwards: Tolkien says that too. That’s what’s so great about it. A bit of everything.

But when you see how Annatar persuades him, how much of Celebrimbor’s own downfall, and the horrors that are going to come for the next two ages of this world, come because he has pride? And how much of his story is the bad kind of pride versus the good kind of pride in his work?

Edwards: It’s all of those things. Tolkien gives us that too, in these contradictory versions. He says that about the dwarf-like obsession with craft. That’s great. I love that. And when I first got the role, I looked online because I didn’t know Celebrimbor and all the fan art images of this guy with a leather apron and a huge hammer with huge pecs. And I went, “Oooh, okay. Alright. That’s kind of Celebrimbor, is it?” But the dwarf-like obsession with craft suggests to me someone much more cerebral, much more bookish in a way. And the work he does is so detailed. It is all about filigree and delicacy. That’s the kind of direction I went with him.

Then you have a comment in one of the books which I searched for, this comment about his relationship with pride. I was jubilant when I found it. It’s just a sentence, but it’s there. I seized on that because that’s a wonderful combination. Someone who never felt like he quite achieved, someone with a chip on his shoulder. There are many, many versions that are possible within what we’ve been given. I hope I’ve done some of it justice.

You might’ve already kind of answered this, but what do you think is the biggest reason he lets Halbrand back in the first place after Galadriel already warned him not trust this guy.

Edwards: She has told him not to let him in, but he doesn’t know why. And at the point we find him at the beginning of season two, he feels ignored. He feels let down that he hasn’t heard any news how the three rings have done. He feels slightly abandoned because all the missives and letters coming from the king have been intercepted. So he’s going, “What the hell’s going on here?”

Then Halbrand turns up, and as I mentioned, there is something about Halbrand that already has his hook in Celebrimbor in season one. And when Halbrand turns up, there’s something maybe quite titillating about disobeying Galadriel because he’s pissed off with everyone. Then later in the season, he says, “No, no, it’s my kingdom. I’m going to do what the hell I want.” There’s a bit of petulance there, going, “No, I’m going to do this.” There’s a bit of that. He feels like he’s being forgotten.

Season one really establishes just how conniving and manipulative Sauron is and how easily he can get someone to trust him. But is there any part of Celebrimbor that doubts Annatar’s story? Or is he really that convincing?

Edwards: When Annatar presents himself to Celebrimbor as the messenger of the Valar at that moment, he goes, “Wow, this is extraterrestrial. This is extraordinary.” As anyone would in that situation. Later, as you’ll see, he will start to question it.

But right now what’s so interesting about it is that he does present himself in that way to Celebrimbor. Then they start to work together and they bicker like workmates do. It becomes this almost domestic relationship. They’re spending all the time in the forge, and the psychological battle that starts to occur between them is a very domestic setup, the games that start to get played between them. It’s so satisfying to play against the backdrop of this big fantasy show. It’s suddenly very insular and interesting and gripping, in a very psychological way. Later he will start to question, he will start to doubt.

We’re only discussing the first three episodes, but you’ve hinted at this a little bit. What can you tell us, without spoiling anything, that you’re really excited for fans to see with you and Sauron this year?

Edwards: The way that Celebrimbor fights back is great. There’s an episode towards the end, the way Celebrimbor starts to see what has been done to him.

You’ve clearly looked at Tolkien’s writing closely and saw how there’s both depth and freedom to craft this character. Considering we know Celebrimbor’s ultimate fate, and we know how important he is to what’s going to be two very destructive periods, is there any part of you that sort of tries to reverse engineer how he will get there? Or do you just try to stay in the present moment of his life?

Edwards: The latter. For those who aren’t aware of what might become of him, I wouldn’t want to hint at anything.

And because all this happens so fast and so intensely in our version, he’s caught at every moment. He’s just kept on the hook by Annatar, so he just has to live in the moment. But in terms of his tragedy, that is sort of self-evident later. I haven’t tried to preempt him as a tragic hero or anything like that. Hopefully he might be that anyway.

My last question is not mine. I spoke to Charlie Vickers yesterday. It’s clear he reveres you.

Edwards: Likewise.

I asked him what question should I ask you? He said I wasn’t allowed to ask him this, but he wants to know if you had a ring and it could give you some kind of power, what power would you want?

Edwards: :laughs: What would my answer to that be…

…Probably to live forever.

Really?

Edwards: Probably.

Oh, so you really are an elf. You don’t want The Gift.

Edwards: No, but with a little sub clause saying you could be reborn every, I dunno, 80 years. Not turn into a child again, but be reborn in your current form. And you don’t age, of course, you stay at about forty five. Forty maybe. But you get reborn not knowing everything that you knew when you last died, if you see what I mean?

That is such an elf answer. Thank you so much. This was really great.

Edwards: You’re very welcome.

The post THE RINGS OF POWER’s Charles Edwards on Celebrimbor’s Pride, Season 2, and Annatar appeared first on Nerdist.

The Rings of Power‘s first season brought an Istar to Middle-earth. We just didn’t know for certain the Stranger was a wizard until the season finale. What’s it been like for star Daniel Weyman since that revelation? That was just one of the many questions we asked him ahead of the show’s second year on Prime Video. We also wanted to know about being part of a wizard/Hobbit partnership. What it’s like for his character now that he knows what he is (sort of). And whether or not we’ll find out his true identity this year.

Nerdist: We spoke just a couple of days after season one’s finale when the world learned for certain the Stranger was a wizard. I’m curious, in almost two years since that revelation, how do people treat you knowing you’re a member of that very important Middle-earth group?

Daniel Weyman: I would love to say they gave me a lot of respect, but pretty much the same as always. Mainly the people I speak to have found the story of the Stranger has resonated for them because of the way that they are present for these big learning moments. As he understands friendship, as he begins to trust, as he sees in the Harfoot community love, and their sort of communal humanity. And then in the way he has his own personal journey with understanding his own power. Danger versus good, there to help or to do selfish deeds, that sort of thing is resonating a lot with people.

When I come back to it, that idea of the seduction around power, the fact that when we, in the real world are at our most powerful, or when we can be powerful, they can also be our most seduced moments. We’re seduced into thinking we should use that power. Or that, in fact, if I throw my weight around, that in fact makes me a better person or a stronger person and that’s what I want to identify with. So  there’s been a bit of that around the journey. And I’ve had a lot of people talk to me about the tender side of the Stranger.

Certainly early Stranger season one, even before he could speak, people were getting quite a lot of tenderness through his listening, which was interesting. That wasn’t something I had thought about. I’d sort of been aware of the light moments and the dark moments. The light was normally the wonder and the lack of knowledge, and the dark was more of this possibility of being seduced by the more evil side, the dark side.

They were the things that have really come through. But it’s been really fun listening to people and listening to people talk about how the first season affected them or the characters that they loved. And people have been pretty complimentary to my face about the Stranger.

You spent season one with the Stranger not knowing who or what he is. What was it like playing him this time when he knows he’s a wizard? What was better and what was more challenging?

Weyman: That’s a really good question. I think when we left him at the end of season one, he was off with Nori beginning this journey. And I really felt he was at this point of being most hopeful, most positive, most free from being weighed down by external things or not knowing stuff. So this idea, this vision, of them stomping off through the greenery felt like a very light moment in his journey. And obviously as we get into season two, that quickly turns into a sort of arid path rather than a lush green path. The heat starts to bake down and before we know it. They don’t have a whole heap of food or drink and they’re possibly being followed and the Stranger’s being troubled by these dreams.

That’s where the crux of your question comes in. Yeah he is pretty certain that he’s a wizard. Other people have heard. Nori’s heard. The mystics call him an Istar. And he’s got some relationship with that. Some knowledge, I think through helping with the mystics and maybe using the stuff that Nori gave him to channel. The energy has, in some way, just reconnected him to a bit more of his origins and his eternal being.

But how he uses that or what that means for his understanding of Middle-earth, I think is murkier. I got the impression just watching that end of (episode) eight and now knowing where I’ve been in season two, that he thought his next part of the journey was going to be plain sailing. And the darkness that he’d experienced in season one was largely internal darkness about his own decisions, about how much he wanted to exert his control, how wonderful it was to be able to choose whether a firefly dies or lives. The power of being able to regenerate an apple tree, those sort of things. They were sort of internal struggles.

Whereas now I feel when he’s on his journey, he’s much more aware of this landscape struggle. He’s much more aware of Middle-earth being in peril itself. I get the feeling he senses darkness rising. The moment when he managed to produce these beetles from the broken tree, when they’re looking for food, I feel even in that moment he senses that they’re almost like the blood in his veins. That he’s worried about this Middle-earth malaise, this rising of darkness, is in some way a question that’s going to confront him. That in some way his purpose is going to be inextricably linked to this darkness rising.

But I don’t think he knows in what way, because I think in these dreams he’s being troubled by, they seem to be suggesting that as he makes choices, bad things happen. And I think he still isn’t far enough away from season one Stranger to have shed that idea that there is some fate or destiny of which it doesn’t matter how hard he might try, he’s still going to end up causing problems or causing darkness. So that’s sort of where we meet him.

Wizard-Hobbit relationship is at the very core of The Lord of the Rings. Does the partnership between Gandalf and Bilbo and Frodo influence your performance and interactions with Nori and Poppy in any way?

Weyman: It’s funny, you’re the second person to ask me that really specific question. And it seems weird to say this, but I hadn’t thought about those relationships in comparison with our relationships. Which I get must be a bit strange. It must sound naive or just dumb.

Not at all, actually. I ask because I’m fascinated by the process of creating characters.

Weyman: For me, it all goes back to the first time I met Markella and we did some rehearsals together. The showrunners were in the room, and J. A. (Bayona), who was directing the first episode. The Stranger obviously wasn’t going to talk, and we did this sort of little rehearsal around the crater scene when she prods the Stranger and the Stranger wakes up. Just that moment, I think J.A. wanted to get a sense of how that might look, or what the energies might be so he could think about how he was going to film it. And Markella and I sort of leapt into that.

We were in this disused school drama center, and they built blocks for the crater out of those wooden sort of things that kids used to use for stages at school. So they built this sort of crater and I was in it in my rehearsal clothes. Markella came up and did her bit. And as the Stranger woke up, I had a fairly violent, as in terrified, response and it was quite big. She obviously was terrified being Nori. I sort of skidded off the crater and ended up on the floor a bit and he was all a bit mayhem.

After that, there was something that happened between Markella and me. There’s this expression, “Strong but wrong.” So strong but wrong is something that I’m very capable of doing. Big idea…utterly, utterly wrong. But in that room, we both felt comfortable enough to go bold and see what they thought. Now as it happened, J.A. did think it was largely a wrong direction. He said to me very quickly, “You did quite a lot of this and I’d really like it if you didn’t do any of that, I’d like to see what happens.” But the point was that, we’d both been, on this show first thing in front of the showrunners together, and we hadn’t met each other before. We sort of bonded by our joint risk.

I feel like the Stranger’s relationship to Nori almost came secondarily from my relationship with Markella. So this blurring of Markella and I’s bond, through being able to express story without dialogue from the Stranger. Or through physical action. We had a movement coordinator, Lara, who is brilliant. We worked as three together to explore some of the ideas around what that might mean for those two beings.

The further we got into the Stranger-Nori relationship, it sort of felt like it took over from the Daniel-Markella relationship in a way that meant I, strangely, never conceived of the Wizard-Hobbit relationship. And also, the other thing to say about that is that the showrunners didn’t write it (that way). We didn’t know I was a wizard when we started. The wizard bit crystallized very late for me and Markella. The storiy that came still had this possibility he was a dark character. Yes, we knew that he’d survived this fireball. So we knew he wasn’t human or any being that was mortal on Middle-earth. But there were other question marks around where his power led and what kind of character he was.

So really the wizardry part came so late on that by then the relationship had formed. And yet, in all honesty, I hadn’t thought about that bond in that context.

I know you can’t tell me if you are, in fact, Mithrandir. But I am curious if you personally, at this point, know whether or not you are secretly Gandalf.

Weyman: You are curious whether I know as an actor, you mean?

As an actor, yes.

Weyman: That’s an interesting question…

How about this? Do you know your real identity, which is something that is teased early in the season?

Weyman: Yeah, that’s really an interesting. Because my argument has always been with this—and I think this is how the showrunners have tried to handle me—is that I would argue that I’ve always known. I’ve always known who he was because I’ve been with him since he was born. He was nothing else. He’s nothing else, because he hasn’t been through anything else yet. And the joy is here that the audience also knows exactly who he is. You’ve all been through exactly what I’ve been through, and that’s all there is at the minute of the Stranger.

So we do know who he is. We know very well who he is by having been with him. Interestingly, we know more about being with him than we do of any other character in the whole piece. They’ve all got a history that we don’t know anything about.

Now I know certain things have started to crystallize for (the Stranger) about this possibility of another world. And I think that’ll be fun for when Tom Bombadil comes in and we know they cross paths. Suddenly, then, you get another eternal character, Tom Bombadil, who has a dimensional quality that the Stranger hasn’t really come across yet, except for a bit with the mystics maybe.

When he comes into the sphere of Tom Bombadil, what does that do for the Stranger’s relationship to the Harfoots, which is dimensionally like our relationship in the real world. But then imagine we are in the presence of a God or a demigod, how much that would shrink down the idea of three dimensional landscape. Because four dimensional landscape gives us so much. Where does that place Nori/Poppy/the Strangers relationship? How does that fit in with what Tom Bombadil exists in? And challenges the Stranger about whether they’re positive things or negative things? I dunno whether that answers your question at all.

It gets to the last topic, because I want to talk about that interaction with Tom Bombadi. I just want to ask you personally, when you’re standing in this immersive set and you’re standing opposite Tom Bombadil in his hat, do you take a moment to just kind of nerd out about the whole thing?

Weyman: Ab-so-lutely. Ab-so-lutely. There was a lot of nerding out. And the set was just sumptuous. For me it couldn’t have been better. The place they made him have his home in this area when he’s in this moment, it was an unbelievably beautiful thing. And Tom, in classic Tom fashion, was able to be full of the whimsy that he is. The light touch, the speed of thought, the challenging, confronting behavior, and also the moments of utter earth shockingly massive revelation and grounded, rooted sensibility that he has.

Of course, the Stranger doesn’t know necessarily everything that we know about Tom Bombadil. He’s kept playing catch up anyway. But there’s a lot of being in the presence of Tom Bombadil for the Stranger, only suddenly becoming aware of this fourth dimension, this eternal creature, there’s a lot of catch up. It was all pretty new when he started working with a three-dimensional character in Nori, in the Harfoots, learning about all those things: friendship, love, honesty, community, place, distance. But now he’s got to catch up to a whole new being. He’s got this other sphere of, “Oh my gosh, it goes down there and it goes down there. It’s everywhere.” So t was really fun to be on stage. Really fun.

The post THE RINGS OF POWER’s Daniel Weyman on The Stranger’s Season 2 Journey and Nerding out Over Tom Bombadil appeared first on Nerdist.

Middle-earth’s Second Age was a time of peace…until it wasn’t. According to The Rings of Power‘s showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne that growing darkness will dominate the show’s second season. But what else can we expect from the show’s sophomore outing? That’s what we wanted to know when we spoke with them ahead of the show’s return at Prime Video. From Tom Bombadil and Tolkien lore to finding out the Stranger’s real name and why this season is even more epic, they gave viewers a lot to be excited about as they dive int The Rings of Power season two.

Nerdist: Before we get into season two, I wanted to know, did the reactions to season one, good or bad, influence your approach to season two in any way?

Patrick McKay: Season two was conceived and written before a single frame of season one was seen by anybody, so in this particular instance, while it might be really tempting and easy to try to do a cause effect situation there, no, no. This was always the story. This was the plan from the beginning.

To the extent that season one influenced season two, it’s more our own experience. We like to say making season one was a bit like building a pyramid, before anyone had ever attempted to build a pyramid, including us. In season two, we’re building another pyramid, and that’s drawing on all the experience we have of having done it once before. And hopefully, we’re getting better at our jobs. We want every season and every episode to raise the bar, and if we’re getting better at doing that, then hopefully, some of the fruits of that labor are beginning to show. At the end of the day, we feel like we’re just hitting our stride.

What are the biggest, most obvious differences between season one and two of The Rings of Power?

J.D. Payne: Season one starts in a time of relative peace for Middle-earth. We’re bringing audiences to the Second Age in a time when the shadow had just sort of receded a bit. And we were setting up the chessboard, meeting a bunch of our heroes and one of our villains, in particular. But he was behind a cloak, so to speak, and he was not played open season one.

Season two, Sauron is out in the open. The audience knows who he is, and he’s coming to Celebrimbor in the form of Annatar. So now that the villain is here, really everything is going to be set in motion.

Season one is about the heroes and bringing people to Middle-earth. Season two is all about the villains. Annatar has been ascendant in Mordor. Sauron has left season one with three rings he created, but he was unable to turn Galadriel to his side. He doesn’t have any of the rings. He has no armies. And he has no orcs, no weapons. All he has is his own cunning, and he’s going to use it to set in motion Adar and his armies, Gil-galad and the elves in their armies, and set Middle-earth on a collision course with some pretty disastrous stuff.

Patrick McKay: We very consciously designed season one, as J.D. says, a return to Middle-earth, but one in which you would feel the breadth of the different kinds of peoples, the different characters, the different realms, the different races, all of which are on their own journeys. And then season one, you just started to see some of those journeys converge.

Season two is really all those different journeys, starting more and more, to feel like one epic, and that is the story of Sauron’s rise and all of Middle-earth, despite all their disparate origins and interests, having to come together to face him. But what that also means is along the way, different characters are going to rise and become major protagonists from episode to episode and even season to season. Celebrimbor, played by the amazing Charlie Edwards, has a supporting role in season one.

We lured Charlie Edwards to join our merry band with the promise that in season two, in some ways, Celebrimbor is the emotional heart of the whole season. And in future seasons, I daresay other characters might become more prominent or less prominent. We’re trying to create a rotating cast of heroes and, indeed, villains, and everybody gets their moment to shine. And season two is going to be focused much more on Sauron.

J.D. Payne: And Celebrimbor, because there’s a great psychological thriller between them. There’s this sort of cat-and-mouse game, as Sauron is trying to manipulate Celebrimbor into making the rings. So that’s something that we’re excited for our audiences to experience.

Patrick McKay: But it necessitates a darker tone as well as higher stakes, and not everybody’s going to get out of the season alive.

Oh. I can’t imagine you want to tell me who’s not making it out of alive.

McKay: You got to watch.

I asked you about the most obvious, major differences. What are some of the more subtle differences between these two seasons?

Payne: We’re working with a new production designer this season named Kristian Milsted. He worked on a lot of different shows and films before this, including a bunch of the Watchmen season that was on HBO, which we were great admirers of.

Our goal is always to do as much practically and in-camera as we possibly can. Season two, the on-set builds, the in-camera worlds, are several layers of magnitude richer and larger than anything we attempted in season one. Khazad-dûm, which we’re meeting at a time of great splendor and majesty, season one, in terms of what was actually in-camera, there were a couple of rooms and a bridge. Season two, we built an entire working dwarf mine with various tunnels and passages and unexplored caverns and marketplaces, and a huge throne room, in addition to a bridge and several other rooms. In terms of what we’re actually getting in-camera, it’s much, much, much more this season. And that all, adds to a tonal shift that we were interested in subtly applying.

Patrick McKay: We’re enormously proud of season one, but as J.D. said, that was Middle-earth in a time of peace. Season two, the shadows are creeping in. That means it’s going to be grittier, it’s going to be darker, and our producing director this season is the enormously talented Charlotte Brändström, who recently did an episode of Shogun we’re great admirers of, working with her in the later episodes of season one, we really found a tone that was very heart-on-sleeve emotionally, but also very grounded visually and rich in its performances.

We really wanted to capitalize on that and carry it forward. You feel a shift in the storytelling that’s not always so obvious in terms of just the gravity with which we’re approaching each of these scenes, each of these performances, each of these worlds in their depiction visually, but also hopefully how they play emotionally from scene to scene.

Payne: A not such a subtle difference, I can’t help but mention as I’m looking at your (wedding) ring on the Zoom screen, is now we’ve got rings in play. There’s the three Elven rings. We’re going to see the seven Dwarven rings forged. We’re going to start to see the effects that those have on our characters. The Elven rings have some mysterious qualities of healing, of preserving and protecting, and we’re going to see some of these come out in the drama.

McKay: There’s a new magic in Middle-earth this time.

Oh, and I shall also say new characters and new creatures. We’re going to see Tom Bombadil and we’re going to see Cirdan. We’re also going to see Ents, and we’re going to see Barrow-wights. There’s canon characters and creatures that I think fans are going to be very excited to see, and there’s also a ton for people who have never heard of Middle-earth before to come and enjoy the party.

Okay. You brought him up, so I’m going to jump the gun on asking about him. You are bringing a beloved yet divisive Middle-earth figure to the screen with Tom Bombadil. Why did you decide to include him, and what can you tell us about the role he’ll play this season?

McKay: I’m going to come at this tonally. Season two, as we said, is a darker season by virtue of the fact that Sauron is unleashed. But that doesn’t mean that we don’t still want room for Tolkienian whimsy, wonder, and humor. And in thinking about our storyline, we knew Tom Bombadil was around at this time, and we knew Tom Bombadil had never been brought to the screen in the way that we feel he deserved. Those two ultimately proved irresistible questions that we had to answer, so he’s sort of bringing the light in a season with a lot of shadow.

J.D. Payne: But one of the challenges is that Tom Bombadil sort of defies drama by his very nature. Frodo and the Hobbits go to him, not really to figure out what to do with the ring, not really figure out how to battle Sauron, just kind of to hang out, hear him sing some songs and say some rhymes and tell him about some trees and the old forest and the Barrow-wights. But he’s a powerful character, and he’s a character with deep wells of wisdom. If I can hang out with anyone in Middle-earth, anyone, it would be Tom Bombadil because he just knows everything. He’s been around forever.

The challenge was to find what’s a way you can bring a character like that into the drama in a way that doesn’t stop the story dead, but also doesn’t violate the essential nature of who Tom Bombadil is. We sort of tried to walk that line, and we think audiences here are going to enjoy it.

He’s such an important part of the lore, and I do want to ask you a couple of questions about that, but I don’t think everyone realizes just how many years of story this show has to condense for obvious reasons. What omission of Tolkien’s lore are you most upset you had to leave out this year?

Patrick McKay: I don’t know that we ever feel upset about our ability to play in this world. It is just such a constant source of joy and magic and wonder. What we end up feeling is gratitude for the enormous banquet that Tolkien is serve. And then to be able to every season pick a few things and fill a plate is an opportunity more than anything that would upset us.

J.D. Payne: I’ll take a nibble at the question, in as much as one of the things that is interesting about Tolkien on a literary sense, is just the sense of almost the geological timescale on which things happen in Middle-earth.

The rings are forged and then hundreds of years pass where nothing happens, and you just sort of have a shadow brewing. Or the rings are just sort of working on people. And you also have generations passing in Númenor as things are slowly, slowly, slowly getting worse. And that works in literature. It’s next to impossible to accomplish in a dramatic, especially televised or filmed dramatic dramatization.

So you lose some of those, but what you lose in that you gain in cohesion of narrative-

McKay: And emotional impact.

Payne: And emotional impact, by giving people characters they’re able to invest in. Instead of human characters dying every season and then having to meet new humans while you’re sort hanging out with these immortal elves, you get to really invest in your human characters and be with them for the entire series.

McKay: We love this material so much, and we’re always looking to bring it to the screen in the grandest way imaginable that is true to the spirit of the source, and that’s something that we’re never going to be satisfied that we’ve fully pulled off.

We’ve only got a couple of minutes left, so I’m going to go kind of rapid-fire here. What part of Tolkien and lore are you most excited for viewers to see this year?

Payne: Sauron, Celebrimbor, and Eregion.

McKay: The forging of the rings of power in Eregion.

You already mentioned Annatar. We see a very different version of Sauron at the start of the season. Can you tell us if there are other versions of Sauron that are going to appear?

McKay: It’s an evolution. Sauron appears in many forms, and over the course of season two there’s quite a growth and change in his chameleonic nature. But it’s not whack-a-mole with different Saurons popping up all over the place. It’s all the development of the character as his relationships inevitably erode from his inherent evil.

The first few episodes tease it. So I have to ask, I know you’re not going to tell me who the Stranger is, but will we find out who The Stranger is by the end of this season?

Payne: Definitive yes.

I think we should also say that that’s not why you should go on the Stranger’s journey this season. We like to say that he’s someone who’s come to Middle-earth; he’s learning his purpose. He knows he’s a wizard now, but he doesn’t really know what it means to be a wizard, and what does it mean to have these powers? What are my powers? How do I control my powers? What am I supposed to use them for? Who do I fight? How do I fight them? What impact is that going to have on my friends? What impact is it going to have on me? All those are the questions he’s asking on the journey’s going on as he comes into his own. So that’s the ice cream sundae. The name is just the cherry on top.

So when we finally learn his name is Mithrandir, will you come back and talk to me again after the season?

McKay: No comment. But yes, we will come back and talk to you.

The post THE RINGS OF POWER’s Showrunners on Season 2’s Growing Darkness, Tolkien’s Lore, and More appeared first on Nerdist.

The Rings of Power‘s premiere ended with Galadriel refusing to abandon her mission on Middle-earth for an eternity of peace at her former home of Valinor. She likely wouldn’t have survived the journey back, though, had she not come across Halbrand and the wreckage of his ship. Together the two avoided death inside a monstrous sea worm. Halbrand also saved Galadriel from drowning, and he defended her before the royal court of Númenor. But who is Halbrand on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, and how did this mysterious man end up lost among the waves? What is Halbrand running from and why? As Halbrand said, “looks can be deceiving.” He might be a new ally with a troubled past looking for redemption. Or The Rings of Power‘s Halbrand might be the very evil Galadriel has sworn to destroy.

Whatever the answer, The Rings of Power certainly wants us to think Halbrand might really be The Lord of the Rings‘ Sauron. But is he? Let’s find out.

Jump to: Where Does Halbrand Came From? // What Is the Meaning of Halbrand’s Necklace? // Is Halbrand a Hero or Villain? // What Is Halbrand’s Identity on The Rings of Power? // Finale Verdict on Halbrand and Sauron

Where Does The Rings of Power‘s Halbrand Come From?

Charlie Vickers’ Halbrand hasn’t exactly been hiding the fact he’s holding back important information about himself. That’s not how you maintain secrets. Especially not someone as smart and cunning as Halbrand. No, on The Rings of Power, Halbrand wants Galadriel to know he’s hiding something vital. And since everything he does and says seems to be intentional, everything we “know” about him might be a lie. But at minimum, even if he’s not being honest or only telling half-truths, that still reveals something about who he is.

Halbrand says his people have no king. They no longer even have a home in the Southlands where he comes from. Orcs drove them away and left his home in ashes. (Orcs are doing just that all over the south.) That would explain why Halbrand knew something no elf, not even Galadriel, realized—the “enemy” is in the Southlands, too.

Orcs are hard to find throughout Middle-earth at this point in the The Rings of Power‘s depiction of the Second Age. They’ve been hiding from the sunlight and their foes for hundreds of years and only recently started terrorizing the world again. The closer a man’s home is to the hidden sanctuary of evil, the more likely they are to encounter them. But that also means they’re more likely to have once fought alongside orcs.

Where in The Lord of the Rings‘ World Were Halbrand and His Ship Going?

Elves sail west to reach Valinor. The only Lord of the Rings location men sail towards in that direction is Númenor, where Elendil ended up taking Halbrand and Galadriel.

That’s the island the Valar created specifically for the men who helped defeat Morgoth the Dark Lord during the First Age. It’s the greatest kingdom of men during the Second Age when the show takes place.

On The Rings of Power, Halbrand hasn’t confirmed he was sailing to Númenor. But it’s the most logical place for any men to run to after orcs destroyed their home. It’s also a place he’s in no rush to leave. As Halbrand said, the island is “a paradise rife with opportunities.” It also’s a safe haven, far from the homeland he swore never to return to. Not even a jail cell has diminished Halbrand’s resolve to stay. When he spoke with his new fellow prisoner Galadriel in episode four, he asked her to “cease trying to convince” him to leave the island.

Halbrand, despite everything, wanted to remain in The Lord of the Rings‘ city right up until the moment he finally relented and joined Galadriel and the Númenóreans on their journey back to Middle-earth.

What Is the Meaning of Halbrand’s Necklace?

Halbrand’s necklace contains a pouch holding a vial likely full of liquid. In Middle-earth that unknown concoction could be a form of sustenance. (Elves, orcs, and ents alike have their own.) But while the pouch’s contents remain a mystery, The Rings of Power‘s third episode revealed what the necklace’s metal tag represents for Halbrand.

Galadriel found a drawing with the same symbol in the Hall of Law, which Númenor’s first king, Elros created. Elros also helped defeat Morgoth and his allies, which included some men.

Galadriel believes the symbol on Halbrand’s necklace is that of the Southlands’ king, the person who united tribes of men during the First Age. Galadriel also said the symbol reveals why Halbrand has no king and what he is hiding. Halbrand is the Southlands’ lost king in The Rings of Power. (Same as Aragorn will one day be Gondor’s.) Halbrand hasn’t denied any of that, but he did say he took the necklace from a dead man.

He also said he’s “not the hero” Galadriel seeks because his ancestors “swore a blood oath” to Morgoth. “Lord” Halbrand also told her he’s done terrible things to make it thus far. In the meanwhile, Halbrand has decided to lean into the necklace and its meaning. When Bronwyn recognizes the symbol she acknowledges Halbrand as King of the Southlands, and he accepts. Of course, a wrench, or is that a planned move, is thrown into Halbrand’s plan, as the Southlands become Mount Doom.

Those are not the only signs he might not be a great hero, though.

Is Halbrand a Hero or a Villain in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power?

Thus far, Halbrand has been presented as the Second Age’s version of a famous J.R.R. Tolkien character. The Lord of the Rings had its own dark-haired man who kept important secrets, Aragorn. And like Halbrand claims, Lord of the Rings‘ Aragorn was a man without a home who hated orcs and the forces of evil. But Aragorn, the lost king in hiding, was unquestionably a hero. He would never have done what Halbrand did to survive the seaworm. Halbrand abandoned “his companions to death” because he’s “the sort who knows how to survive.”

Halbrand’s also a thief and fearsome warrior not opposed to using violence. And he deceives not to hide his identity but for personal gain. He’s cunning and resourceful, capable of charming others to his will. The Rings of Power‘s Halbrand has a silver-tongue that he employs to manipulate others with lies and half-truths, just as Morgoth once did. And so far, he hasn’t used any of his skills for noble reasons. Yes, he agreed to fight with Galadriel, but since we know so little about him for sure, we can’t yet trust his reasons for departing Númenor or fighting for the Southlands are honest and good.

But Halbrand not only allowed Galadriel to come aboard his wreckage, he dove into the sea to save her from drowning. He also spoke up on her behalf before the rulers of Númenór. He doesn’t want to leave, but joined the fight anyway. And even from a jail cell, he helped Galadriel realize the error of her ways in dealing with the Queen Regent. Galadriel has only convinced Númenor to go to Middle-earth with her because of Halbrand’s aide. If he were a villain, would he repeatedly rescue and help an elf who won’t stop prying into a past he’s hiding from? Would he help reunite elves and men?

He might if he’s the villain Galadriel is searching for on The Rings of Power—Sauron.

Is The Rings of Power‘s Halbrand Really Sauron in Disguise?

The Lord of the Rings‘ Sauron is a shapeshifter who takes on other forms and identities so he can covertly spread evil throughout the world. He thrives by earning the trust of others with good counsel, that way, he can later plant malice in their minds. Sauron is dangerous because he slowly manipulates the will of others to his own goals, like Halbrand seemingly does. The Dark Lord can even control the deadliest creatures to do his bidding, creatures like a giant sea worm. If anyone could cause an attack at sea and also survive it, Sauron could. Just as no one else could smile before his enemies in Númenor without being discovered or stand beside Galadriel without her realizing who he really is.

Sauron also knows the power of Númenórian kingdom poses a major threat to his own dreams of ruling Middle-earth. And, like Halbrand, The Lord of the Rings’ Sauron knows the “enemy” resides in the Southlands because that’s where he’s building his tower in Mordor.

Telling Lies By Telling the Truth: Sauron and Halbrand

If Halbrand is Sauron—whose own king (Morgoth) fell long ago, who is already building his own fortress near the fires of Mount Doom by this time, and who in The Silmarillion was briefly a prisoner of Númenór before becoming one of its most trusted councilors—in disguise, almost everything he has said carries a totally different meaning. It’s the kind of double-speak that would reveal why Sauron’s deceptions flourished—because he told the truth.

“The tides of fate are flowing. Yours might be heading in..or out.”
“Looks can be deceiving.”
“I suspect finding safety won’t be that easy. Especially not for you.”
“My people have no king.”
“I have been searching for my peace far longer than you know.”
“Be careful elf, the heir to this mark is heir to more than just nobility.”
“I am not the hero you seek.”

Halbrand’s Deceptions on The Rings of Power

Even Halbrand saying he wanted to “set history aside” so as not to antagonize the Númenóreans takes on new meaning if he’s secretly Sauron. The Númenóreans helped defeat Morgoth and are the reason Sauron and his “people” have no king. But The Rings of Power‘s Halbrand would be kind to both them and Galadriel so he can build trust if he were Sauron. That lets him get close to his enemies so he can destroy them from within. And since everything Halbrand is saying would still be technically true if he’s actually The Lord of the Rings’ Sauron, his lies are harder to recognize. And that’s because they aren’t lies at all. They’re just hidden truths.

That includes even saying he’s sorry to Galadriel about her brother, whom Sauron killed.

Saving Galadriel

That’s why Halbrand saving Sauron’s sworn enemy Galadriel makes sense if he’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Dark Lord. What better way to earn the trust of all elves than to rescue their most dedicated general? Rescuing Galadriel would blind even her to his real intentions. Which would make Galdriel’s comment to Halbrand—“Bind yourself to me.”—meaningful in a way she didn’t realize. They’re already bound in hatred, and their fates are intertwined. (All of which would explain why Sauron’s symbol flashed in Galadriel’s eyes when Halbrand mentioned orcs.)

Halbrand in Númenor

Halbrand being Sauron would also make Galadriel’s comment that Halbrand is “more than [he] claim[s]” just as true in a different way. Just as it would make his advice to both her and Pharazôn much more sinister.

In The Rings of Power episode four, Halbrand told Galadriel to “identify what it is that your opponent most fears.” Not to exploit it, but as “a means of mastering it, so that you can master them.” That’s exactly what Sauron will do to Númenor, whose people have grown jealous of the eternal life the Valar grant to the elves.

And his advice Ar-Pharazôn to let Galadriel escape so she can speak to the old king might soon prove one Sauron’s master strokes. That council, given in bad faith for nefarious purposes, might be what divides the people of Númenor, many of whom remain skeptical of elves. All of this will lead to the “great wave” that is coming for the island, which Queen-Regent Míriel sees in her prophetic dreams and through Númenor’s palantír or Seeing Stone.

Sauron and Halbrand Are Both Smiths in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

And as if all of that’s not enough, Halbrand is a great smith, just like Sauron. The Dark Lord, who will soon forge the rings of power, learned from the Valar’s greatest smith. And unlike all other smiths Galadriel has known, Halbrand can also handle a sword like a skilled warrior. Sauron is one of the few smiths who could also fight.

Halbrand and Adar

Halbrand almost kills the orc-father Adar on The Rings of Power. While he claims it’s because Adar and the orcs hurt him deeply, it could also be because he is Sauron, and Adar not only betrayed his commands but tried to kill him. Killing Adar would rid him of a possible foe and continue to convince Galadriel that he is on her side. However, perhaps keeping Adar alive, as he ultimately does, serves an even greater purpose on The Rings of Power, convincing Galadriel that Halbrand is worth of her sympathy, all while having someone to distract from his presence and actions. Interestingly, Adar’s actions on The Rings of Power inadvertently made Halbrand the king of Mordor, a.k.a. Sauron.

Final Verdict: Who Is Sauron on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power?

The Rings of Power scenes will play very differently on rewatch, because The Rings of Power‘s finale revealed to us that Halbrand is, indeed, Sauron. Everything we’ve detailed above is actually as we said. Sauron dealt in truths to manipulate and managed to get all the way into the elven city of Eregion, where he coyly drove Celebrimbor toward the forging of the Rings of Power. After being confronted by Galadriel about his true identity. Halbrand, who we know now is Sauron, flees. We last see Sauron heading to Mount Doom.

In The Rings of Power season two, we get our last glimpses of Halbrand. Sauron as Halbrand goes to Mordor and manipulates Adar into believing that he can help him obtain information about Sauron, whom he pretends has partnered with the elves. Sauron as Halbrand then goes to Celebrimbor, the elven smith, under his disguise. However, in order to convince Celebrimbor that they must create Rings of Power together, Sauron transforms out of Halbrand into his “fair form” Annatar. And so, Halbrand comes to an end. Goodbye Halbrand, we’ll miss you!

But even if Halbrand had been nothing more than a flawed man desperate to survive a world of growing evil and his family’s own heinous acts, the fact we questioned his real identity and motives for so long is what’s really important. As is the fact that the show itself was begging us to think Halbrand is Sauron.

The Coming of Sauron and Identifying Evil

Halbrand’s real identity as Sauron in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power matters. But what matters, even more, is that Sauron’s presence looms over everything and everyone. As The Rings of Power concludes, it’s difficult not to remember Halbrand instead of Sauron. And this reminds us that evil can lurk anywhere. Charlie Vickers notes in an interview with Nerdist:

What’s so unique and amazing about him as a villain is that he has to gain trust and he has to manipulate his way through. It’s different to other villains that have this slightly unhinged quality, whereas maybe there’s elements of that in Sauron, occasionally. But for all we know, in his interactions with people and in gaining their trust, he’s a really nice, sweet, kind guy. And that’s terrifying if you have that and you have him being genuinely open and nice and caring.

It is terrifying. Because if anyone can be the Dark Lord—even an ally who saves you from death—merely identifying the forces of evil will continue to be a great battle on Middle-earth. We will have to wait and see what Halbrand’s Sauron brings us in season two of The Rings of Power.

Jump to: Where Does Halbrand Came From? // What Is the Meaning of Halbrand’s Necklace? // Is Halbrand a Hero or Villain? // What Is Halbrand’s Identity on The Rings of Power? // Finale Verdict on Halbrand and Sauron

Originally published on September 1, 2022.

Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist. You can follow him on Twitter at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.

The post Who Is Halbrand, THE RINGS OF POWER’s Mysterious Character? appeared first on Nerdist.

During the first season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, one question ruled the thoughts of fans: Which character would turn out to be Sauron? If you watched season one of the series, you know that it was The Rings of Power‘s Halbrand who emerged as Sauron himself. But as The Rings of Power season two quickly reveals, Halbrand was less a pure vision of Sauron and more just one form of him, a version specifically created to deceive Galadriel into becoming his ally. This season, Sauron is after someone else’s attention on The Rings of Power, the great elven smith, Celebrimbor, whose knowledge Sauron needs to create his ruling rings. And with a new target in his sights, Sauron transforms again in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, this time becoming his “fair form,” Annatar.

But who is Annatar exactly on The Rings of Power, and what do we know about him from The Lord of the Rings texts? Let’s dive in to explore the “divine” figure.

Jump to: Who Is Annatar on The Rings of Power? // How Did Sauron Become Annatar on The Rings of Power? // What Does Annatar Mean in The Lord of the Rings World? // Charlie Vickers’ Annatar Transformation // Why Didn’t Celebrimbor Know that Halbrand/Annatar Was Sauron? // Annatar on The Rings of Power Season 2 // More About Annatar From The Lord of the Rings‘ Lore

Who Is Annatar on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power?

Quite simply, Annatar is Sauron on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. In the specific context of The Rings of Power, Annatar is the form that Sauron believes is most likely to sway Celebrimbor to his side. When Sauron becomes Annatar, he loses the noble yet humble human trappings that characterized The Rings of Power‘s Halbrand. After all, Halbrand was designed specifically to appeal to Galadriel and her goals in season one. More specifically, Sauron took on the guise of the human King of the Southlands, becoming the perfect ally to help Galadriel wage war against the Orcs in the Southlands as she sought to root out Sauron.

Celebrimbor, however, has a different set of goals in mind on The Rings of Power. Namely, he’s obsessed with creating a legacy that leaves a true impact on Middle-earth for ages to come. When Sauron transforms into Annatar on The Rings of Power episode two, he tells Celebrimbor that he is an emissary of the Valar, or gods, on a mission to save Middle-earth from darkness by means of the Rings of Power.

Halbrand Becomes Annatar

Sauron, as Halbrand, says to Celebrimbor, “There are forces in this world, beyond evil, Celebrimbor. And sometimes they send aid in the form of an envoy, a messenger, sent to bring guidance to the ears of the wise.” And then transforming into Annatar, Sauron dramatically booms out, “I have walked through the dust and the deserts of faraway lands in search of an artist possessing the craft to save all Middle-earth. A storm is coming, Celebrimbor, I can bring you the knowledge none other possess, I can unlock your grandest abilities. And when our work is complete, never again will the world overlook you as the mere scion of Fëanor. But forever more revere you The Lord of the Rings.”

Of course, these dramatics from Sauron, complete with clanging explosions and plumes of fire, lead Celebrimbor to believe he is chosen by the gods themselves, via Annatar, to bring to life their creations on earth. Sauron as Annatar leads Celebrimbor to believe he is destined to save Middle-earth from darkness by creating rings. There’s nothing Celebrimbor could desire more in this world.

On The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Sauron doesn’t appeal to the weaknesses in the characters around him, but to their strengths and hopes. In this way, Annatar is the perfect creation to tempt Celebrimbor into helping Sauron create the Rings of Power he needs to rule Middle-earth.

Charlie Vickers Reveals More About Sauron’s Annatar Form on The Rings of Power Season 2

Charlie Vickers, who plays Sauron in his Annatar form, shares a bit more with us about who Annatar is on The Rings of Power and where he’s coming from.

Vickers notes, “Approaching it from a creative point of view, Annatar is very different [from Halbrand]. I took some ideas from the book, this idea of a fair form. I always thought of him as quite an angelic being. And everything that he does is for Celebrimbor. So the way I play the character comes from the place of I want Celebrimbor to do what I want, basically. There were certain ways that I would move, and ways that I’d speak, and things that I developed with lots of different people that are inherently different to Halbrand. But it all comes from the place of how can I best get the oldest, greatest elven smith in the history of Middle-earth to listen to a complete stranger.”

Jump to: Who Is Annatar on The Rings of Power? // How Did Sauron Become Annatar on The Rings of Power? // What Does Annatar Mean in The Lord of the Rings World? // Charlie Vickers’ Annatar Transformation // Why Didn’t Celebrimbor Know that Halbrand/Annatar Was Sauron? // Annatar on The Rings of Power Season 2 // More About Annatar From The Lord of the Rings‘ Lore

How Did Sauron Become Annatar in The Rings of Power Season Two? Sauron’s Shape-Shifting Powers

But just how did Sauron become Annatar on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power? Well, it turns out Sauron is a pretty powerful fellow. Sauron is one of the Maia, in The Lord of the Rings world, spirits who came to Arda, or Earth, to help the Valar, the gods, create the world. Although Sauron in the Second Age of Middle-earth, when The Rings of Power takes place, is not quite as powerful as he was in the First Age, when he served Morgoth, he still has more than a few tricks up his sleeve. And one of the powers Sauron happens to have is that of shape-shifting.

In The Rings of Power season two’s first three episodes, we see Sauron change forms a couple of times. The first time is after Adar and the Orcs “split him open.” He looks one way before his first “death” and then emerges again in his Halbrand form. Whether this is Sauron shape-shifting or merely reflects the idea that, as a Maia, his spirit is difficult to kill and can emerge again even after “death,” is up for debate. But to become Annatar, we clearly see Sauron pulling out his shape-shifting powers on The Rings of Power. It’s quite a neat trick going from a ragged mortal to a divine, angelic being. And it has us wondering, what guise will Sauron wear next when Annatar no longer serves him. We bet the men of Númenor may have a few thoughts.

What Does Annatar Mean in The Lord of the Rings World?

“I am your partner, no more, no less, a sharer of gifts,” Sauron tells Celebrimbor on The Rings of Power episode two, “Annatar.” Of course, Halbrand would no longer suit Sauron, who is now proudly wearing a form that more recalls divinity and angels and less men and muck. But what does the name Annatar mean on The Rings of Power and in The Lord of the Rings world? Celebrimbor is happy to explain; he translates for the audience that Annatar means “Lord of Gifts.”

And, it’s true. As Celebrimbor confirms, the name “Annatar” indeed means “Lord of Gifts” in the elven language Quenya. Annatar is actually a compound word. It is composed of the elven word “anna,” which means “gift,” and the affix –tar, which indicates “lord,” or more specifically, “high, high; king or queen (in compounds).”

Does Charlie Vickers Wear Any Kind of Prosthetics or Makeup to Become Annatar on The Rings of Power?

Charlie Vicker’s transformation from Sauron’s Halbrand to Sauron’s Annatar on The Rings of Power season two is truly astounding. Even more astounding is that this transformation into Annatar is done solely by means of makeup on The Rings of Power. Vickers tells Nerdist, “It’s all just the work of the makeup team. What they really wanted was angular lines, and that was something that kind of creates this sense of evil and darkness and sharpness. They used a lot of contouring and shadowing to do that.”

He additionally shares, “Annatar, he is very clean. He’s a hygienic guy with almost kind of translucent skin, and wearing more clothes, in a gown the whole time. So it was quite nice not to have to get home at the end of the day and wash my whole body. It was kind of just my face.”

Jump to: Who Is Annatar on The Rings of Power? // How Did Sauron Become Annatar on The Rings of Power? // What Does Annatar Mean in The Lord of the Rings World? // Charlie Vickers’ Annatar Transformation // Why Didn’t Celebrimbor Know that Halbrand/Annatar Was Sauron? // Annatar on The Rings of Power Season 2 // More About Annatar From The Lord of the Rings‘ Lore

Why Didn’t Celebrimbor Know Halbrand/Annatar Was Sauron?

Quite simply, The Rings of Power prevents Celebrimbor from ever receiving word that Halbrand was really Sauron. All Galadriel tells Celebrimbor about Halbrand is that the elves are not to treat with him again. Though Gil-galad sends messengers to Celebrimbor to alert him that Halbrand is Sauron, the Orcs following Halbrand to Eregion kill the messengers, and word never arrives to Celebrimbor. Thus, Celebrimbor does not know that Halbrand, who transforms into Annatar, is Sauron.

What Can We Expect From Annatar, Lord of Gifts, This Season on The Rings of Power?

Now that Annatar, Lord of Gifts, is on the scene, what does he want? Well, as mentioned, he’s after the power to control, or, heal, as he’d probably tell it, Middle-earth. Vickers notes of Sauron as Annatar’s great purpose and his relationship with Celebrimbor. “He brings this thing that he’s been stewing on. Not a power of the flesh, but over flesh, an idea he’s been stewing on for centuries. But he doesn’t have the practical knowledge about how to implement it. And then all of a sudden he meets this guy who knows his way around a forge really well. Not that Sauron doesn’t, but he thinks, ‘Well, I can work with this person to put my ideas into motion.’ It’s the bringing of them together. They push each other to new heights throughout the season.”

Of course, we can see from trailers for the season that Annatar won’t stay so divine as he first appears and will slowly become a darker, more menacing figure as his machinations as Sauron come to light. Will we see Sauron transform out of Annatar and into a darker form this season on The Rings of Power? We’ll have to wait and find out.

What Does Tolkien Tell Us About Annatar in The Silmarillion and His Other The Lord of the Rings Writings?

That’s Annatar on The Rings of Power. But, of course, Sauron’s Annatar form comes straight from The Silmarillion. Tolkien writes of Annatar, “Sauron took to himself the name of Annatar, the Lord of Gifts, and they had at first much profit from his friendship. And he said to [the elves]: ‘Alas, for the weakness of the great! For a mighty king is Gil-galad, and wise in all lore is Master Elrond, and yet they will not aid me in my labours. Can it be that they do not desire to see other lands become as blissful as their own?” Additionally, Tolkien notes in the “Index of Names,”: “Annatar ‘Lord of Gifts’, name given to himself by Sauron in the Second Age, in that time when he appeared in a fair form among the Eldar who remained in Middle-earth.”

It was in his Annatar, “fair form,” that Sauron managed to convince the elves of Eregion to forge the Rings of Power alongside him. Of course, Celebrimbor forged three rings without Sauron’s influence, and Sauron forged the One Ring by himself in the fires of Mount Doom before returning to wage war on the elves. In The Simarillion all this happens in a matter of pages. But what exactly we’ll see take place in season two of The Rings of Power is yet to be determined.

Annatar in Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth

One interesting note about Sauron’s time as Annatar in Eregion from Tolkien’s Unfinished Tales reads:

Sauron used all his arts upon Celebrimbor and his fellow smiths, who had formed a society or brotherhood, very powerful in Eregion, the Gwaith-i-Mírdain; but he worked in secret, unknown to Galadriel and Celeborn. Before long, Sauron had the Gwaith-i-Mírdain under his influence, for at first they had great profit from his instruction in secret matters of their craft. So great became his hold on the Mírdain that, at length, he persuaded them to revolt against Galadriel and Celeborn and to seize power in Eregion; and that was at some time between 1350 and 1400 of the Second Age. Galadriel thereupon left Eregion and passed through Khazad-dûm to Lórinand, taking with her Amroth and Celebrían; but Celeborn would not enter the mansions of the Dwarves, and he remained behind in Eregion, disregarded by Celebrimbor. In Lórinand Galadriel took up rule, and defence against Sauron.

It will be interesting to see how the other smiths in Eregion react to Sauron’s Annatar in The Rings of Power season two… and whether Sauron can convince them to revolt against their elven brethren.

Jump to: Who Is Annatar on The Rings of Power? // How Did Sauron Become Annatar on The Rings of Power? // What Does Annatar Mean in The Lord of the Rings World? // Charlie Vickers’ Annatar Transformation // Why Didn’t Celebrimbor Know that Halbrand/Annatar Was Sauron? // Annatar on The Rings of Power Season 2 // More About Annatar From The Lord of the Rings‘ Lore

The post Who Is Annatar? Sauron’s New Form on THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER Explained appeared first on Nerdist.

What’s in a name? On The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power there’s clearly one important theme, and that’s rings. We know this season on The Rings of Power, we’ll be seeing at least 19 Rings of Power (drink) come to life at the hands of Celebrimbor, Sauron, or both. But how many of these Rings of Power have been forged already on season two of The Lord of the Rings series? Which ones are they? Who wears them as their ring bearers? Most importantly, what the heck do these Rings of Power even do on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power? (And do they do different things?)

Join us as we forge into the power (not of the flesh but over flesh) and break down all the Rings of Power we’ve seen so far on The Rings of Power.

Jump to:

• The Three Elven Rings: Who Wears Them the Three Elven Rings of Power? // What Are the Names of the Elven Rings? // What Powers do the Elven Rings of Power Have on The Rings of Power?
• The First Dwarven Rings of Power: How Do the Rings of Power Impact the Dwarves?
• Will We See the One Ring on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2?

The Three Elven Rings of Power (Forged During The Rings of Power Season One, Episode Eight)

In The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season one finale, we see the three elven Rings of Power forged in Eregion. It is true that these rings were formed according to the plan that Celebrimbor devised with Sauron. However, as noted in Tolkien’s lore, the three Elven Rings of Power are created after Galadriel confronts Sauron and he flees the elven realm. In this way, the three elven Rings of Power were “forged by Celebrimbor alone, and the hand of Sauron had never touched them.” (The Silmarillion) The elven rings of power are made out of mithril and gold and silver from Valinor. Thus, the Rings of Power can amplify the fading light of the Valar and stop the elves from fading away on Middle-earth.

Who Wears the Three Elven Rings of Power on The Rings of Power Season Two?

In season two, the Elven Rings of Power finally choose their ring bearers. Although Elrond wishes for Círdan, one of the oldest and most noble elves in Middle-earth, to destroy them. Ultimately, Círdan is unable to throw them into a deep trench in the ocean. Instead, he brings them back to the High King Gil-galad, entranced by their power and beauty. A ring slips from his grasp and rolls over to Galadriel, ostensibly choosing her.

And so the three Rings of Power go to their first elven owners, Galadriel, Círdan, and High King Gil-galad. In the story of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the three elves become the first ringbearers in Middle-earth. It’s worth noting that in Tolkien’s lore, the elven rings were actually made last, and so they possessed the greatest power. However, adaptation is all about changing the narrative to suit the story, and so, in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the three Elven Rings of Power were made first instead.

What Are the Names of the Elven Rings of Power?

The three Elven Rings of Power have specific names that hail from The Lord of the Rings lore. They are Narya, Nenya, and Vilya. The Ring of Power Círdan bears is called Narya. The Ring of Power Galadriel bears is called Nenya. And finally, the Ring of Power Gil-galad bears is called Vilya.

Tolkien shares in The Silmarillion, “Narya, Nenya, and Vilya, they were named, the Rings of Fire, and of Water, and of Air, set with ruby and adamant and sapphire.” The Rings of Power follows these descriptions in creating its Elven Rings of Power.

What Powers Do the Elven Rings of Power Have on Prime Video’s The Rings of Power?

Restoring the Light of the Valar

The first power revealed by the Elven Rings of Power in The Rings of Power series is the power to restore the fading light of the Valar to Middle-earth. When Galadriel, Gil-Galad, and Círdan don their rings, the effect is immediate. The dying Great Tree of Lindon is immediately restored to its full glory, signifying the light of the Valar, too, has been restored in Middle-earth. Had the light faded, the elves would have faded with it.

This interpretation of the Elven Rings of Power’s powers makes a lot of sense based on what we know about the three rings from The Lord of the Rings‘ lore. In Tolkien’s texts, the Elven Rings of Power are known to have the ability to “ward off the decays of time and postpone the weariness of the world” (The Silmarillion) and are “directed to the preservation of beauty.” (The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, Letter 131) We see both these ideas come directly to life in the context of The Rings of Powers‘ rings replenishing the fading light of the Valar.

Foresight

In addition, the Elven Rings seem to offer the power of Foresight or predictive visions. Galadriel, at least, seems to catch whispers of the future after donning Nenya. She has a rather disturbing vision of the seeds of Sauron she helped sow coming to life and suffocating Celebrimbor. Her Ring of Power appears to be drawing her into the Unseen World.

Attraction

Finally, the Elven Rings of Power seem to have a certain attractive sway over all living things that cross their path. When Círdan demonstrates the power of his ring to Elrond, it draws all the living things around it to it its light. Círdan seems to feel like this power can have a positive use… but it feels like a lot of power for any being to possess.

• Jump to The Three Elven Rings: Who Wears Them the Three Elven Rings of Power? // What Are the Names of the Elven Rings? // What Powers do the Elven Rings of Power Have on The Rings of Power?
• Jump to The Dwarven Rings of Power: How Do the Rings of Power Impact the Dwarves?
• Jump to Will We See the One Ring on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2?

The Dwarven Rings of Power (Forged During The Rings of Power Season Two, Episode Three)

In The Rings of Power season two’s first episodes, Prince Durin IV receives a mysterious summons from Celebrimbor in Eregion. Prince Durin and his father, King Durin III, agree to a temporary truce from their familiar spat to pursue it. After all, Khazad-dûm is in a bad way after the explosion of Mount Doom, and perhaps Celebrimbor and his mysterious collaborator, Annatar, can offer a power that will help. What kind of power? Dwarven Rings of Power.

In exchange for Mithril to make more rings, for the Dwarves and the rest of Middle-earth, Celebrimbor and Annatar/Sauron will give this power to the dwarves, making rings for the Dwarves, “one for each of Middle-earth’s most powerful Dwarf Lords.” Although Prince Durin is suspicious of the offer, he and King Durin agree to see where the Rings of Power will take them. Thus, we see the first Dwarven Ring of Power begin to be forged in The Rings of Power episode three. Celebrimbor promises that he can provide Rings that will heal Durin’s mountain, just as they healed Lindon’s Great Tree.

It’s bad news for the Dwarves, though, because Sauron, as Annatar, himself drops the Mithril into the fire to be forged. And that means this Dwarven Ring of Power has officially been corrupted by the Dark Lord before its even fully formed.

What Powers Do the Dwarven Rings of Power Have? And What Impact Do They Have on the Dwarves?

It’s too early to tell exactly what the impact of the Dwarven Rings of Power will be on the Dwarves. But in trailers for The Rings of Power season two, we see the Dwarven Ring of Power may very well corrupt King Durin III, turning him against his family and people.

In The Silmarillion, Tolkien notes the following The Lord the Rings‘ Dwarven Rings of Power: “The Dwarves indeed proved tough and hard to tame; they ill endure the domination of others, and the thoughts of their hearts are hard to fathom, nor can they be turned to shadows. They used their rings only for the getting of wealth; but wrath and an overmastering greed of gold were kindled in their hearts, of which evil enough after came to the profit of Sauron.”

In short, the Dwarves were less likely to fall under the evil manipulations of Sauron’s rings in The Lord of the Rings‘ world. However, the Rings of Power still inflamed some of their instincts toward greed and anger. We’ll just have to wait and see how The Rings of Power portray the powers and effects of the Dwarven Rings of Power.

Will We See the One Ring on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2?

As mentioned, official sources have confirmed we’ll see 19 Rings of Power this season on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. But will we see Sauron’s One Ring forged in The Rings of Power season two? The answer is… it’s possible. The Silmarillion‘s description of the events surrounding the forging of the Rings of Power is incredibly abridged, so it’s hard to say when exactly the forging of the One Ring will occur in the context of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. However, it’s worth nothing Sauron forged the One Ring before the sack of Eregion according to The Lord of the Rings‘ lore. With the sack of Eregion happening this season on The Rings of Power, it could be very possible we’ll see the forging of the One Ring as well.

For now, I’ll place my bets that we’ll see the One Ring forged as the final scene of The Rings of Power season two.

• Jump to The Three Elven Rings: Who Wears Them the Three Elven Rings of Power? // What Are the Names of the Elven Rings? // What Powers do the Elven Rings of Power Have on The Rings of Power?
• Jump to The First Dwarven Rings of Power: How Do the Rings of Power Impact the Dwarves?
• Jump to Will We See the One Ring on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2?

The post Which Rings of Power Have Been Forged on THE RINGS OF POWER? (Plus: Who Wears Them? And What Do They Do?) appeared first on Nerdist.

When real-life circumstances intervene in the filming of a fictional series, there are several paths a show can take. If an actor is no longer available to play a character, that character could be recast, they could be written off the story for a time, or they might be simply killed in the narrative to explain their absence. In June of 2024, Nazanin Boniadi, who played Bronwyn, announced that she would return in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two. And, of course, that left Bronwyn’s fate hanging in the balance. But what exactly happened to Bronwyn in the story of The Rings of Power after Boniadi departed from the series? Here’s what we learned about Bronwyn in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season three, episode two.

What Happens to Bronwyn on The Rings of Power Season 2?

Alas, it seems that when Nazanin Boniadi revealed she would not return as Bronwyn in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two, she meant that her absence would be a permanent one. The third episode of The Rings of Power‘s second season reveals that Bronwyn has indeed met her death in the world of the show.

Bronwyn’s Death On The Rings of Power

But just how did Bronwyn die in The Rings of Power‘s world? After all, last we saw her, she and Arondir seemed ready to begin a new life together in Pelargir, a Númenorean colony in Middle-earth. Arondir explains that although she appeared to be recovering from her wounds, as we saw at the end of The Rings of Power season one, that recovery was a deceptive one. Instead, the series reveals there was orcish poison on the arrow that wounded Bronwyn during The Rings of Power season one’s sixth episode actually contained orcish poison. Though Bronwyn seemed on the mend, this poison actually proved to be fatal, killing her on the series.

Bronwyn’s death takes place off-screen since Nazanin Boniadi did not return for any part of The Rings of Power season two. But despite this, we “see” a body to confirm Bronwyn’s death. The Rings of Power shows us Bronwyn’s funeral pyre in the third episode of season two. It seems that she had only just died when The Rings of Power season two begins. The funeral pyre is gorgeous and tragic, we feel for Arondir and Theo as they lay Bronwyn to rest.

Nazanin Boniadi Chose to Leave The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Although we will miss Bronwyn on The Rings of Power, we respect that actress Nazanin Boniadi made the decisions that were most right for her regarding the role. On Instagram, Boniadi explained a bit more about her departure from The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power ahead of season two. She wrote, “I made the choice not to return for season two of ‘Rings of Power.’ This was unrelated to my subsequent decision to prioritize my advocacy. Throughout my career, the values I have held most dear are honesty, empathy and integrity.  My character Bronwyn was committed to these same ideals in striving for a fairer world, which is why I connected so deeply with her. I look forward to sharing my latest projects with you soon.”

Although Bronwyn’s tale in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has ended with death, her influence will no doubt be felt as the series continues. Both Arondir, the elf she loved, and her son, Theo, will continue the legacy of her story.

The post THE RINGS OF POWER Season 2 Reveals Bronwyn’s Fate After Actress Nazanin Boniadi Leaves Series appeared first on Nerdist.

Círdan the Shipwright is a familiar figure to those invested in The Lord of the Rings lore and the world of  J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendarium. But those who are more casually acquainted with the franchise and its many nuances and materials might not be as aware of him. But now that Círdan has appeared in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two, it’s time to get to know the oldest elf in Middle-earth.

Like many of Tolkien’s characters, Círdan has a long and winding history. And so, here, we’ll touch on the parts of it that are most relevant to his appearance in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Jump to: Who Is Círdan the Shipwright? // Círdan as The Lord of the Grey Havens // How Old Is Círdan the Shipwright? Círdan’s Origins // Círdan’s Power as an Elf: Wisdom and Foresight // Círdan as a Ring Bearer in The Lord of Rings‘ Lore and His Connection to Gandalf // Círdan in The Lord of the Rings Movies // Círdan the Shipwright’s Beard (As Seen in The Rings of Power)

Jump to: Círdan the Shipwright in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Who Is Círdan the Shipwright? Círdan’s The Lord of the Rings History as it Pertains to The Rings of Power

In short, Círdan the Shipwright is the oldest known elf to remain in Middle-earth during the time of the Second Age, the period when The Rings of Power takes place. Given that elves are immortal beings, this is really saying something about Círdan. We’ll discuss just how old he is in upcoming sections and what that means for his power as an elf.

Over the years, Círdan has honed the craft of shipbuilding, motivated by his desire to one day sail to the elven Undying Lands of Valinor. And this, of course, earned him the title of Círdan the Shipwright.  “Círdan” actually means “shipwright” in Sindarin elvish, so the title of Círdan the Shipwright is a bit redundant. But we guess it just underscores the point that no one builds better ships than Círdan. For The Lord of the Rings‘ Círdan, however, building ships is more than just a hobby; it’s one of the main thematic points of his story.

Círdan as The Lord of the Grey Havens

One of the most salient aspects of Círdan’s story lies in his shipbuilding, an art we see him engaging with in The Rings of Power season two. Círdan was meant to sail to Valinor, the revered realm of the elves, when the elves first set sail for it, before the ages of Middle-earth even began. But through a series of different circumstances, he ended up not undertaking the journey the first time or second time, and remained instead in Middle-earth, honing his shipbuilding craft.

At first, Círdan intended to use his skills in order to sail to Valinor himself, the light of it calling to him from the distance. But, as described in The Peoples of Middle-earth, a compilation of Tolkien’s writings, the Valar (or gods) sent him a vision that told him he could not yet embark on such a journey. Despite his great yearning to see realm of the elves, Círdan forewent the fulfillment of his greatest wish for an incredibly long time. The Lord of the Rings‘ texts note that Círdan’s “love of his kin and allegiance” lead him “forfeit the fulfilment of his greatest desire: to see the Blessed Realm.”

Instead, Círdan remained in Middle-earth to facilitate the building of such ships as the one Earendil, Elrond’s father, used to sail to Valinor in order to convince the Valar to help defeat Morgoth, Sauron’s predecessor, during the War of Wrath. Additionally, Círdan would become the Lord of the Grey Havens, helping to design the ships that could carry his fellow elves from the Havens to Valinor. Without Círdan’s knowledge, no elves could reach Valinor. Thus, while Círdan facilitated the connection to the lands, he, himself, could not sail over until the last days of the elves on Middle-earth. And, indeed, he was one of the last elves to leave Middle-earth.

How Old Is Círdan the Shipwright? Círdan’s Origins

We know that Círdan the Shipwright is the oldest elf in Middle-earth during its Second Age. But how old does that make him during the time of The Rings of Power? The truth is that Tolkien does not fully clarify Círdan’s age in his The Lord of the Rings writings. There is much discussion of whether Círdan, originally known as Nowë, awoke in Cuiviénen among the first elves ever created, but ultimately, Tolkien was not clear on this point. It seems some lean toward the idea that he was born in Cuiviénen, though he did not awaken there, while others believe that he did awaken with the first elves.

Regardless, as mentioned above, we do know that Círdan was a part of the “Great Journey” in The Lord of the Rings world. This refers to the journey the elves took from the place they first awakened, Cuiviénen, to the lands of Valinor. That journey took place on 1105th Year of the Trees, so Círdan must have been born before then.

In English, that means that Círdan would be upward of around 10,000 years old during the events of The Lord of the Rings and somewhere around 7,000 years old during the events of The Rings of Power, which take place about 3,000 years before the Fellowship of the Ring forms.

Jump to: Who Is Círdan the Shipwright? // Círdan as The Lord of the Grey Havens // How Old Is Círdan the Shipwright? Círdan’s Origins // Círdan’s Power as an Elf: Wisdom and Foresight // Círdan as a Ring Bearer in The Lord of Rings‘ Lore and His Connection to Gandalf // Círdan in The Lord of the Rings Movies // Círdan the Shipwright’s Beard (As Seen in The Rings of Power)

Jump to: Círdan the Shipwright in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Círdan’s Power as an Elf: Wisdom and Foresight

Of course, as such an old elf, Círdan is known to be one of the wisest and most respected elves around. Galadriel notes this of Círdan in The Rings of Power season two’s first episodes, saying that even High King Gil-galad would be forced to respect his opinions. But in addition to this, Tolkien seems to imply that Círdan was blessed by the Valar with special powers of foresight. Tolkien writes that after the Valar gave Círdan the vision not to sail to Valinor, and to remain in Middle-earth; “From that night onwards Círdan received a foresight touching all matters of importance, beyond the measure of all other Elves upon Middle-earth.”

Additionally, Tolkien writes, “Círdan is said in the Annals of the Third Age (c.1000) to have seen further and deeper into the future than anyone else in Middle-earth.(31) This does not include the Istari (who came from Valinor), but must include even Elrond, Galadriel, and Celeborn.”

Círdan as a Ring Bearer in The Lord of Rings‘ Lore and His Connection to Gandalf

Tolkien also reveals that Círdan was one of the original bearers of the Elven Rings of Power. As we see in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Círdan was the first to wear the elven ring Narya, the Ring of Fire.

In The Lord of the Rings lore, Círdan spoke out against the creation of the Rings before they were made and was suspicious of Sauron. But, of course, in The Rings of Power, he did not know about the creation of the rings until they were already made. In The Lord of the Ring‘s books, he also accompanies Elrond and Isildur into the heart of Mount Doom after Sauron’s initial defeat at the end of the Second Age. There, he and Elrond urge Isildur to throw the One Ring into the fire and destroy it (and Sauron) once and for all. Isildur, of course, does not do that.

Círdan and Gandalf

But Círdan makes one very important decision with his Ring. Although it is a precious possession to him, he gives it to Gandalf during the Third Age of Middle-earth as the threat of Sauron begins to grow again. Tolkien writes in The Lord of the Rings’ Appendix B, that Círdan said to Gandalf. “Take this ring, Master… for your labours will be heavy; but it will support you in the weariness that you have taken upon yourself. For this is the Ring of Fire, and with it, you may rekindle hearts in a world that grows chill. But as for me, my heart is with the Sea, and I will dwell by the grey shores until the last ship sails. I will await you.”

It was his great powers of foresight that allowed Círdan to know how crucial it would be for Gandalf to bear the Ring of Power. But with The Rings of Power hinting that The Stranger might very well be Gandalf, we may see this Ring of Power leave Círdan’s hands earlier than planned.

Jump to: Who Is Círdan the Shipwright? // Círdan as The Lord of the Grey Havens // How Old Is Círdan the Shipwright? Círdan’s Origins // Círdan’s Power as an Elf: Wisdom and Foresight // Círdan as a Ring Bearer in The Lord of Rings‘ Lore and His Connection to Gandalf // Círdan in The Lord of the Rings Movies // Círdan the Shipwright’s Beard (As Seen in The Rings of Power)

Jump to: Círdan the Shipwright in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Círdan in The Lord of the Rings Movies

But is Círdan in Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings movies? Yes, but only very briefly. In the movies, we see Círdan twice. First, we see him in the prologue of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring; he is behind Galadriel admiring his ring. Second, we see him at the end of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, standing behind Galadriel, Elrond, and Celeborn in the Grey Havens as they finally prepare to depart for Valinor. Notably, Círdan does not appear in the scene where Elrond tries to convince Isildur to destroy the One Ring. However, perhaps The Rings of Power will take the chance to give Círdan back this important role.

In The Lord of the Rings movies, Michael Elsworth plays Círdan.

Círdan the Shipwright’s Beard (As Seen in The Rings of Power)

Yes, Círdan is an elf with a beard. Tolkien only mentions Círdan’s beard once, in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, when Círdan is preparing to finally leave Middle-earth and sail West with Elrond and Galadriel. Tolkien writes, “As they came to the gates, Círdan the Shipwright came forth to greet them. Very tall he was, and his beard was long, and he was grey and old, save that his eyes were keen as stars; and he looked at them and bowed, and said: ‘All is now ready.’”

Why does Círdan have a beard when no other elves do? We assume it’s because he is just that old. Although we meet Círdan with his beard in The Rings of Power, he shaves it off in episode three. We feel curious to know how long it might take an elf to grow his beard back.

Círdan the Shipwright in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Círdan is a lot younger in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power than he will be when he finally sails west to Valinor. But as mentioned, The Rings of Power already gives Círdan his beard in the Second Age, if only for an episode or two. But, hey, he’s already pretty old. In The Rings of Power, Círdan is played by Ben Daniels.

We first meet the series’ version of Círdan in The Rings of Power season two’s first episode. Elrond turns to him for counsel on the Rings of Power. Recall that Círdan knew Elrond’s father. At first, Círdan is on board to destroy the Rings, even if it means that all elves must leave Middle-earth to its fate. Círdan trusts Elrond’s instincts and refuses to even examine the Rings of Power for fear of how they might sway him. But when fate intervenes to knock one into his hands, he too falls under their spell. Ultimately, Círdan brings the rings back to High King Gil-galad in Lindon. He, Gil-galad, and Galadriel put on the elven Rings of Power and, in doing so, restore the light of the Valar to Middle-earth.

Círdan seems to think the elves can harness the Rings of Power for good and that “beauty born in evil is no less beautiful.” He tells Elrond in episode three of The Rings of Power, “We do not yet fully understand these rings, but look at the power they exert over every form of life. In Sauron’s hands, they could work an evil beyond reckoning, dominating the minds and wills of all. This is why they must remain in the hands of Elves. You are wise to fear this power… but do not let that fear blind you to the ways it can be used for good.”

We’ll have to wait and see what journey Círdan undertakes in The Rings of Power‘s second season and beyond.

Jump to: Who Is Círdan the Shipwright? // Círdan as The Lord of the Grey Havens // How Old Is Círdan the Shipwright? Círdan’s Origins // Círdan’s Power as an Elf: Wisdom and Foresight // Círdan as a Ring Bearer in The Lord of Rings‘ Lore and His Connection to Gandalf // Círdan in The Lord of the Rings Movies // Círdan the Shipwright’s Beard (As Seen in The Rings of Power)

Jump to: Círdan the Shipwright in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

The post Who Is Círdan the Shipwright? The Oldest Elf in Middle-Earth’s RINGS OF POWER Journey and LORD OF THE RINGS History appeared first on Nerdist.

In season one of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the elf Galadriel inadvertently fell prey to the Dark Lord Sauron and his deceptions. While seeking to destroy Sauron, Galadriel, in her stubborn single-mindedness, helped him return to his full power instead. Despite this, Galadriel followed through with Sauron’s plan and helped to forge the Elven Rings of Power at the end of the season. But all of that has left its mark. In celebration of season two of The Rings of Power, Nerdist sat down with Morfydd Clark, who plays Galadriel on the show, to discuss where Galadriel’s journey will take her in the wake of her season one revelations. In our conversation, Clark dives deep with us to discuss Galadriel’s still-present pull toward Halbrand, the potential for fireworks with Sauron, a complicated relationship with Adar, and where the elf finds herself heading this season.

You can check out our full The Rings of Power season two Galadrien interview with Morfydd Clark below.

Nerdist: The loss of a friendship is never easy, and in season one, Galadriel lets Halbrand into parts of herself that she walled off from almost everyone else. Does Galadriel miss Halbrand, and how does she deal with the loss of him in The Rings of Power season two?

Morfydd Clark: I feel she definitely misses Halbrand, and I think she also misses herself before she was betrayed. I think there’s a loss of innocence once that’s happened to you. And yeah, and I think also something big that has happened is that she’s seeing herself as corruptible and that’s a tough thing to come to terms with.

Do you think that Galadriel believes anything Sauron told her as Halbrand, for instance, being sorry for killing her brother, not really wanting to go back to Middle-earth, things like that?

Clark: Yes. I feel there are parts of her that want to that she doesn’t allow herself to feel. It’s taking fierce control from her to, first of all, not kind of give into him and then also to kind of move on from this entanglement that she was in. But I also think that whether she thinks what he said is true or not, he’s changed her, and that’s so annoying.

What do you imagine a The Rings of Power reunion between Sauron and Galadriel would be like at this point?

Clark: I mean, I’m really excited about them eventually, say, coming face to face again because there’ll be fireworks for sure. And I mean, it just was interesting comprehending that as an actor, thinking in this world, there is the most evil thing, and he’s kind of obsessed with you. And you know now that it’s so real and what it would mean to join him. What I love about Tolkien is that there are loads of shades of gray within his world, but then also there’s kind of Galadriel and Sauron are just stark opposites. And so the idea of them coming together is just always going to be exciting because it’s like they shouldn’t exist in the same universe, but they do.

In season one, Galadriel was so singularly self-assured in her past, but then that assurance did lead her astray. Does her guilt over her mistakes drive her or make her doubt herself? And what roads does that lead Galadriel down in The Rings of Power season two?

Clark: I think that they make her healthily doubt herself, but also she knows that there’s no time for her to be in a slump. And so she’s kind of like a wounded animal who’s having to keep running and try and lick their wounds, but there’s no time for it. And that’s tough.

Have her own black-and-white visions of the world softened or hardened in the wake of Halbrand’s betrayal?

Clark: So this is what I think is beautiful about elves: they continue to see kind of light and beauty no matter what happens. And ultimately, even though she was kind of almost as individualistic and unconnected to her elfness last season as she could be, she is an elf. And so, even though the darkness is so much more frightening and so much more real, she still can see it. She knows that light is there and has to be thoughtful.

Something that struck me as I was rewatching season one and beginning season two are the interesting parallels between Galadriel and Adar on The Rings of Power. They both have this complicated love-hate relationship with Sauron, and they kind of want to kill him but also crave him. Adar pointed this out a little bit in season one. Do you think that’s something Galadriel could ever consider in a kind of “enemy of my enemy as my friend” way? Or could she just never see something like that?

Clark: Yeah, it’s an interesting thought. I mean, Adar is so interesting because he was an elf, and I think that will always be something that she can’t forget. And he also was an elf who was abandoned. And so this is something that’s so interesting about elves as well, is they’re complicit in everything that’s ever happened because they were there. So I think seeing Adar’s existence is extremely confronting and will never be something that she’ll be able to get any easy answers from or know what’s the right thing to do necessarily. I think he’s much more confusing to her than Sauron.

Do we see them have any more interactions this season?

Clark: Maybe.

Although the Elven Rings of Power were not touched by Sauron, they do have this hypnotic pull to them. Does Galadriel’s ring control her, or does she control her ring on The Rings of Power season two?

Clark: Well, the thing is, they don’t know. This is what is the big thing. They’re taking a massive risk because the situation is so dire, and they don’t know what’s going to happen from that. And that’s going to be really interesting seeing whether they’ve made the right decision, whether they’ll ever feel whether they have, and I like to think that the rings influence the people, but also, or the elves, but the wearer influences the ring as well. So it’s going to be forever changing.

Galadriel confirmed the existence of Celeborn in season one of The Rings of Power. Is that a facet of her life that’s explored in season two?

Clark: Well, I find it really emotional that she thinks that Celeborn is dead. And I like to feel that there’s this part of her that isn’t awake; the softest part of her has been closed. And one day, hopefully, Celeborn will be there to make her safe again.

Are there any new characters that Galadriel interacts with this season of The Rings of Power that you particularly enjoyed seeing her meet?

Clark: Yes. Her and Elrond have a little band of elves, which was so much fun. And yeah, that was great. And it’s also exciting whenever a new elf is cast, like what’s their special thing? What are they going to be particularly amazing at? And we had some great, great actors. So yeah, we see her in very different situations to season one, where she was alone amongst men.

Speaking of Elrond, their bond begins in a complicated place in season two. How do you think the pair might begin to mend that relationship?

Clark: Yeah, I think it’s really tough for Elrond to forgive what she did, and I think all she can do is wait and hope.

And finally, are there any parts of Tolkien’s lore that you’re especially excited to see brought to life this season of The Rings of Power?

Clark: My desire to spoil right now is very strong, but I can’t, so I’ll just say there are things I’m very excited about.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is now streaming on Prime Video.

The post Morfydd Clark Dives Into Losing Halbrand, Fireworks with Sauron, and Celeborn’s Potential Return in THE RINGS OF POWER Season 2 appeared first on Nerdist.

Middle-earth’s Dark Lord didn’t reveal his true identity on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power until season one’s finale, when “Halbrand” asked Galadriel to join him. During the show’s second season, Sauron will be able to fully embrace who he really is… Or at least he will when he’s not pretending to be someone else entirely. What will that mean for Sauron actor Charlie Vickers in The Rings of Power season two? How did this year differ from the show’s inaugural outing? And what has it been like walking around as “Hot Sauron” for two years? Nerdist asked Charlie Vickers about all of that and more when we spoke to him ahead of The Rings of Power season two.

Nerdist: We spoke days after season one ended, so the world had only just learned Halbrand was really Sauron on The Rings of Power. What has it been like the last two years walking around with people thinking of you as one the most infamous villains ever created?

Charlie Vickers: It’s been cool. I mean, to be honest, it’s only ever been a pleasure being able to play this character, and it’s become such a massive part of my life. But it is really a part of my life away from the normal part of my life, I guess. And luckily, so far, the two haven’t really crossed over that much so that it’s not something I really have to deal with in day-to-day life.

For me, it’s been huge. It just makes me really excited every day. Particularly when you get to go in and make the show and film the whole second season, and finally, you can be able to be Sauron and not Halbrand anymore.

We’re going to get to that, but I need to know: Do people still call you Hot Sauron?

Vickers: :big laugh: Not to my face. Not to my face.

You spent season one of The Rings of Power deceiving Galadriel and, in turn, viewers. Did the fact that everyone now knows you’re really Sauron change your performance in any way this time around in The Rings of Power season two?

Vickers: Yeah, I mean also by the nature of where the character goes, it changed my performance. I guess it’s about manipulation, and the difference this season is he doesn’t really have to hide anything. There are, of course, smaller things, but in terms of who he is for the audience—he’s still hiding things from other characters. But in terms of who I am for the audience, I no longer have to hide anything. So I was kind of…reveling is the wrong word, but I was really just trying to enjoy myself playing this iconic villain. And it’s such an incredible privilege and place to be in to be able to do this. So I just kind of really let myself sit in it.

The key thing, if I’m really honest, is you know you’re playing a villainous character, but Sauron never believes he’s a villain. And I think that’s a real key theme in this scene series.

I’ve seen the first three episodes of The Rings of Power season two, and it definitely comes across that you’re having a blast playing Sauron, who definitely seems more obviously evil and maliciously slippery than before. With Halbrand, there was at least a small chance he was a good, flawed person. Now that the mask is ripped off, do you think it is intentional that Sauron seems so much more evil this year? Or is that on me as a viewer because they can no longer give the character the benefit of the doubt?

Vickers: There’s definitely an intent from a creative point of view. When we were putting the look together and really creating the character, there were elements of a character that, I guess, thematically scream evil. But never from my performance was I trying to be evil. It’s the way that the show sets it up with the music and the lighting and the private moments that you see him have.

It’s kind of like those stolen moments that we’re now in on as an audience member, where Halbrand might’ve previously turned away and had a moment the camera doesn’t capture. Now, when Sauron turns away and has a moment, we’re with him, and you can see the cogs turning, and it’s that presence of evil is almost on us in a way as the viewers because we know everything that’s come before. But in the design there are definitely evil, evil elements for sure.

You spent all of season one working with Morfydd Clark, but obviously, that wasn’t really possible in season two of The Rings of Power. What was it like filming with so many new cast members this year?

Vickers: It was amazing. In a way, I spent most of this season with Charles Edwards, similar to the amount of time that I spent with Morfydd in the first season. But then I did dip in and out of a few other different worlds this season. The thing that just blew me away every day was acting opposite Charles. He’s such a legend.

He’s done so much here in England and all over the world, and he’s a real pro and just a really gifted actor. And to be able to go to work with him every day was such a privilege. And all of the same can be said for Morfydd. So it was similar in that respect, but it was an absolute joy to film with different people. Then there are times when I won’t say too much because [this interview] is going to be up before the show, but there are times when I meet characters from other worlds, and that opened my mind to some of the complications in filming technically. The technical complications of living in Middle-earth.

Speaking of your old screenmate, Sauron asked Galadriel to be his queen at the end of season one of The Rings of Power. How much, if at all, does he still want that by this point? And does he think it’s a possibility?

Vickers: I think he probably does think it’s still a possibility because he has this hubris and this self-love. He thinks he’s really cool, and he thinks, “Well, she rejected me once, but next time I come back for her, she won’t reject me again because I’ll be so powerful she won’t be able to.”

But I don’t think he necessarily wants that. I think his initial proposal to her was to join him, and they could be king and queen of Middle-earth, but really, he would’ve been king, and she would’ve been his righthand woman. Any kind of dreams he has involve her being number two and him being number one.

What are Sauron’s long-term plans for Adar on The Rings of Power?

Vickers: Healing. I think he wants to kind of…what’s the best way I can put it…

Without spoiling anything, he is pissed off at him. I would say that Adar is going to, I think Sauron wants Adar to sort of get his comeuppance because what he did to him. And we see this in the first episode, so it’s not really spoiling anything. The thing that I love about the start of the show is we see the backstory and the history between these two characters. And I think, ultimately, Sauron wants Adar to get what he deserves for what he did. Throughout the season, we can see his plan to do that.

Nerdist: We can talk about this because season two The Rings of Power trailers show you as Annatar, the deceptive form Sauron took on to trick Celebrimbor. What did you do to differentiate that version of Sauron with the other versions of him we see on the show?

Vickers: Obviously, there’s a big physical difference, but approaching it from a creative point of view, Annatar is very different. I took some ideas from the book, this idea of a fair form. I always thought of him as quite an angelic being. And everything that he does is for Celebrimbor. So the way I play the character comes from the place of I want Celebrimbor to do what I want, basically. There were certain ways that I would move, and ways that I’d speak, and things that I developed with lots of different people that are inherently different to Halbrand. But it all comes from the place of how can I best get the oldest, greatest Elvin smith in the history of Middle-earth to listen to a complete stranger.

Practically, it is an assuredness and a calmness. And I love this idea of his stillness, of Sauron’s stillness in the sense that everything is very centered, grounded, and still. Because if it wasn’t like that, there’s so much power. He’s holding so much power that any kind of shadow movement, whatever it might be, would cause ripples in the atmosphere from hundreds of miles. So it all needs to be contained, and everything is very under the surface. That demands respect from someone of the stature of Celebrimbor.

What was it like getting dressed up and made up as Annatar after usually filming in rags covered in dirt?

Vickers: It was certainly a longer process. I spent a lot of time, much more time, in the makeup chair. I was wearing ears, and I had different hair. It was quite nice, actually, because I was so used to full body makeup being Halbrand, in the sense of always covered in dirt or always covered in some kind of scabs or blood. Being Annatar, he is very clean. He’s a hygienic guy with almost kind of translucent skin, and wearing more clothes, he’s in a gown the whole time. So it was quite nice not to have to get home at the end of the day and wash my whole body. It was kind of just my face.

Did you have any prosthetics on your face to play Annatar?

Vickers: No. It’s all just the work of The Rings of Power‘s makeup team. What they really wanted was angular lines, and that was something that kind of creates this sense of evil and darkness and sharpness. They used a lot of contouring and shadowing to do that.

Nerdist: You’ve already kind of hinted at how important their relationship is this season. How would you describe Sauron and Celebrimbor’s partnership in season two of The Rings of Power? And how does it differentiate from the way it’s described in Tolkien’s writings?

Vickers: To be honest, it’s very similar to the way it’s described in Tolkien’s writings. What we cover a lot of this season is the lore, what’s in The Silmarillion, in the chapter of The Rings of Power and the Akallabêth. So there’s some really exciting things for real fans of Tolkien there.

But I’d say their relationship is one of mutual respect, in that it’s kind of like the meeting of two minds to create an amazing piece of technology. One of them brings one element and the other, I like to think of Sauron as the idea man.

He brings this thing that he’s been stewing on. Not a power of the flesh, but over flesh, an idea he’s had am mean stewing on for centuries. But he doesn’t have the practical knowledge about how to implement it. And then, all of a sudden, he meets this guy who knows his way around a forge really well. Not that Sauron doesn’t, but he thinks, “Well, I can work with this person to put my ideas into motion.” It’s the bringing of them together. They push each other to new heights throughout the season.

Nerdist: You say there’s a lot of lore this year. What are you most excited for fans to see in season two? It can be about Sauron or just in general.

Vickers: The thing that sticks out to me is…it’s tough and there’s no spoiler here because it is in the name of the show…just some guys making rings. Really, that is the exciting thing to myself as a fan. When I read the script, and when I think about all the things that are to come in this show, there are certain big bullet points that this show about this time in Middle-earth need to tick off and will tick off. Whether it’s the Fall of Numenor and beyond, the Battle of the Last Alliance, this one is about the crafting of the rings of power. And this is the exciting thing about this season is where we’re at. We’re up to it, and we get to see these things happen for the first time. That’s what I’m excited for fans to see.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is now streaming on Prime Video.

The post Charlie Vickers Talks Sauron’s Plans for Galadriel, Celebrimbor Relationship, and Being Evil in Plain Sight on THE RINGS OF POWER Season 2 appeared first on Nerdist.

Recently, we at Nerdist had the pleasure of speaking to Charles Edwards, who plays Lord Celebrimbor, and Charlie Vickers, who plays Sauron, about The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two. Since our recent tweet was such a hit, we couldn’t help but ask Charles Edwards if he thought Celebrimbor would have a banner season this year on The Rings of Power. As Edwards considered his answer, Charlie Vickers very helpfully illustrated our question with some evocative hand gestures. This is an, if you know, you know, kind of situation for The Lord of the Rings fans, and we’re not going to get too deep into spoiler-territory, but we’re going to put it under a spoiler warning anyway.

You can watch Charles Edwards and Charlie Vickers react to the mention of Celebrimbor, The Rings of Power, and a banner in the video above. And it is truly hilarious. But we felt the most interesting thing was Edwards’ response to the invocation of a banner. He noted that rumors of Celebrimbor’s banner year in season two of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power “might be premature.” Make of that what you will. More than that, he couldn’t possibly say. But honestly, it’s a lot to consider. Could he mean that Celebrimbor will never have a banner year on The Rings of Power? Or just that it just won’t be in season two? We’ll have to mull that over a while longer.

In the meanwhile, thanks to Vickers, we have an approximation of Sauron’s banner behavior to tide us over. Let no one ever say we never gave you any gifts, good people of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power fandom. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two begins streaming on Prime Video on August 29.

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Perhaps you, like me, have become a huge fan of Adar on The Rings of Power and, by extension, feel fondly toward his beloved children, the Uruk—derogatorily known as orcs. If so, then you’ve probably found yourself returning to one important line from Tolkien’s lore. In The Lord of the Rings precursor text, The Silmarillion, Tolkien shares something very interesting about The Last Alliance of Elves and Men, the final great stand of Middle-earth’s forces of good against Sauron’s evil in the Second Age (when The Rings of Power takes place). He writes, “All living things were divided in that day, and some of every kind, even of beasts and birds, were found in either host, save the Elves only. They alone were undivided and followed Gil-galad.” What was that Tolkien, some of every kind?

To us, that sounds very much like the orcs, or Uruk, as they prefer everyone call them, had a canonical presence on the side of good during this great battle. And that means they fought against Sauron to help save Middle-earth from evil. On The Lord of the Rings‘ prequel series, we’re still some time away from The Last Alliance. But if the Uruk/orcs intend to join the forces of goodness on The Rings of Power, they should probably get started sooner rather than later. Maybe as soon as season two?

We brought up this point and quote to showrunner Patrick McKay, who agreed that the story of the Uruk/orcs sits at the heart of The Rings of Power‘s second season. In fact, the question of the orc and Uruk dichotomy is exactly what’s at on the table in The Rings of Power season two.

McKay shared with the following about the orcs’ story in The Rings of Power upcoming episodes:

Season two of The Rings of Power is very much concerned with who the orcs are, or as they prefer to be known, the Uruk. Well, actually, maybe that’s a good way of saying it. Are they orcs? Or are they Uruk? That is very much one of the questions that season two is interrogating. We have this battle for control of Mordor and the Orc Nation between Adar and Sauron. There are two snakes in a basket here, and you have to see who wins and how to see what the fate of the Uruk will be.

Are they orcs? Or are they Uruk? For now, they’re obviously Uruk. But will they be able to stop themselves from becoming orcs when Rings of Power are in play? In early clips from season two of The Rings of Power, Sauron has already threatened Adar with this outcome. Under the guise of Halbrand, Sauron insinuates he’ll enslave the Uruk when he rises to power. It’s clear he means to bind them to his will with the rings. If that happens on The Rings of Power, Adar’s children will have no choice but to obey and will undoubtedly become orcs, as we know them in the Third Age, at Sauron’s hands.

But in The Rings of Power season two, the Uruk might have more options available to them. Before Adar tried to kill Sauron, both Sauron and the Elves threatened the orcs’ survival in The Rings of Power‘s world. The former tried to enslave them, and the latter to slay them. The Uruk were between a rock and a hard place. No beings truly allowed them to be better than the expectations set out for their kind. Would the elves really have entertained an orc pledging to fight alongside them for good in the early Second Age? It seems unlikely.

But as Sauron’s threat grows in The Rings of Power season two, the status quo for orcs could change. It looks like Galadriel and Adar might come to form a tenuous alliance despite themselves. Perhaps, through that connection, the elves might understand that the orcs are not just simple instruments of evil. But, as Adar said in season one, each of the Uruk has a name and a heart. Each of the Uruk has the ability to choose to be more than just an orc in The Rings of Power‘s Middle-earth. At least for now…

Quite honestly, The Rings of Power‘s Uruk/orcs seem to want nothing more than a home and quiet. Uruk nation, we’re rooting for you. We just hope that when the moment comes, Adar can also make it to the Last Alliance alongside his children.

The post Are They Orcs or Uruk? THE RINGS OF POWER Showrunner Says Uruk Nation’s Identity Is Central to Season 2 appeared first on Nerdist.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power takes place in the Second Age of Middle-earth. And those familiar with the lore will know that sometime during that time period of Middle-earth, the elf Elrond founds a now iconic Middle-earth location, The Lord of the Rings‘ Rivendell. But could we start to see the first hints of Rivendell coming onto the scene in The Rings of Power season two? When Nerdist asked this question of The Rings of Power Showrunner Patrick McKay, he offered, “Oh gosh… No comment.”

Below, we discuss the finer points Tolkien shares about the founding of Rivendell in the Second Age and how they might relate to The Rings of Power season two. We’ve put up a spoiler warning out of an abundance of caution.

The Timeline of Rivendell’s Founding Matches The Rings of Power Season Two’s Time Frame

McKay‘s answer regarding The Rings of Power‘s Rivendell is fair enough. After all, season two of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has not yet even released. But one thing we do know about season two of The Rings of Power is that it will feature the Siege of Eregion. This siege is a famous Second Age battle in The Lord of the Rings world. It takes place because after the elven smith, Celebrimbor, who is Lord of Eregion, learns of Sauron’s evil, he seeks to deny Sauron the Rings of Power they forged together in the realm. Sauron, of course, does not like that and attacks Eregion. And it’s this Seige of Eregion that led us to think of Rivendell’s emergence on The Rings of Power in the first place.

According to The Silmarillion, “From that time (after the forging of the rings) war never ceased between Sauron and the Elves; and Eregion was laid waste… In that time the stronghold and refuge of Imladris, that Men called Rivendell, was founded by Elrond Half-elven.” The siege of Eregion seems to lead right into the founding of Rivendell, according to The Lord of the Rings‘ lore.

Tolkien speaks of this time with a little more detail in the Unfinished Tales. He notes, “Elrond was able to extricate himself (from the siege of Eregion), but he was forced away northwards, and it was at that time [in the year 1697, according to the Tale of Years] that he established a refuge and stronghold at Imladris (Rivendell).” Of course, in Tolkien’s writings, the siege of Eregion began in 1695, and Elrond founded Rivendell in 1697. However, in The Rings of Power, the siege of Eregion is unlikely to take two years to finish, at least, not without a time skip. So, although it’s not certain, and timelines could always change or evolve on the series, it does look like there is some chance that Rivendell will begin to emerge in season two of The Rings of Power; especially if the series doesn’t want to end the season on a wholly dour note.

The Rings of Power Season 2 Could Use Rivendell to Bring Some Light to the Series

After all, we do see Elrond heading into battle this season on The Rings of Power, which, as The Lord of the Rings‘ texts share, is the step that comes before he founds Rivendell. The Rings of Power‘s Elrond does seem like he still has some growing up to do before he assumes major power. That much feels true. But the coming of evil will certainly speed up the process of his maturing. If nothing else, it would be nice for Elrond to found Rivendell in season two of The Rings of Power as a source of light in the darkness. With so many villains rising and wickedness taking hold across Middle-earth, a stronghold of light and hope would be a welcome sight indeed. And if The Rings of Power season two wanted to end the season on a hopeful note instead of a dour one, concluding with the founding of Rivendell would certainly leave us and Middle-earth with a little light.

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The Rings of Power‘s stars recently sat down with Nerdist for an interview to discuss season two of the series. Among other fascinating insights, Morfydd Clark, who plays Galadriel, Charlie Vickers, who plays Sauron, and Sam Hazeldine, who plays Adar, chimed in on the trailer-teased “Meeting of Sauron’s exes” in the upcoming season. Yes, however unlikely it might have felt in season one, in season two of The Rings of Power, Galadriel and Adar seem to (at least consider) teaming up against the being that hurt them both (in not dissimilar ways), Sauron. But what is that alliance like for the fairly antagonistic Galadriel and Adar? And what does Sauron think about two old flames teaming up against him in such a fashion? Here’s what Clark, Hazeldine, and Vickers had to share about the complex relationships between their characters in The Rings of Power season two.

When asked about what Nerdist has termed “the meeting of the exes,” Clark notes that there’s shared pain that connects Galadriel and Adar when it comes to Sauron, and that’s quite possibly the only thing that their tenuous relationship is based on. “The thing that unites them is that they’ve both been deceived and hurt in the same way, which I don’t think is often the case and can make for quite a complicated alliance.” She goes on to share, “Neither of them are comfortable with it. I would say that there’s a possibility that they could be on the same page about anything. No. I think particularly for Galadriel, the thought that she ever be anywhere near close to agreeing with Adar is just gross to her.” But regardless of those feelings, there’s an urgency at hand that draws them together.

Hazeldine agrees, “But what can we do? We have to do something because we could all be completely enslaved, wiped out by Sauron. So we have to kind of think of something and there’s no time.”

Still, beyond a meeting of circumstance, it feels like the relationship between Adar and Galadriel will evolve in The Rings of Power season two. It is after all their intimate knowledge of Sauron and his threat to all things that brings them together, and the very specific experience they both went through as elves touched by evil. Morfydd Clark notes that we very well may see Galadriel regret the exchange she had with Adar in season one of the series, now that she herself has been transformed by darkness. In it, she very callously dismissed him as “ruined,” among other choice words.

Clark shares, “I think that she was as far away from her elveness and herself as she has ever been during that meeting. And I think also it’s good for her to feel a little ashamed. It’s difficult for the elves because they don’t make a huge amount of mistakes and you do learn from them. And with mistakes come wisdom depending on how you manage it. Yeah. So I think, as Adar alluded to in the first season, he does hold up a mirror to her that is painful to look into.”

As to the question of how they both feel about with Sauron in The Rings of Power season two, Clark notes that “she’s being haunted” by him. She offers a very coy shrug when asked if Sauron is whispering inside of Galadriel’s head this season. But Hazeldine chimes in to say, “Yeah, well he does, doesn’t he?” Before adding that, Sauron is relying on having broken Galadriel. He shares, “For Galadriel, it’s a fresh hurt. Sauron’s relying on her being broken by what he’s done to her and she has to not be broken and step up when she’s most needed.” Clark gives his assessment of Galdriel and Sauron’s current status the seal of approval.

But what does the Dark Lord himself, Sauron, think of all this wound-licking and aligning between the two elves, whom in a sense, he hoped to manipulate and deceive so that they would join him in his cause? Charlie Vickers’ Sauron is pointing his finger at Adar and Galadriel. Vickers shares, “I think he’d be a bit bitter. Two old foes just finally uniting against him. I think he’d probably be quite upset because I think he would hope that they would’ve joined him and be fighting alongside him, but that makes him all the more determined to defeat them.” He concludes by sharing that Sauron thinks, “They chose the wrong person, they chose the wrong side.”

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power releases on August 29th, it streams on Prime Video.

The post THE RINGS OF POWER Stars Tease ‘Meeting of the Exes’ as Galadriel and Adar Face Off Against Sauron appeared first on Nerdist.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two will take us back to Middle-earth on August 29. The show plans to tackle The Fall of Eregion in this season, and will almost definitely tackle one of the most major event of the Second Age, the rise and fall of the island kingdom of Númenor, in seasons to come. If you’ve watched season one of The Rings of Power, and even if you’ve only seen Peter Jackson’s films, you’ll recognize this baddie. The Dark Lord Sauron, of course, plays a major role in the Second Age of Middle-earth. He also survives into the Third Age, when The Lord of the Rings takes place. But where does he actually come from, and how did he rise to such destructive power in Middle-earth? Here’s everything you need to know about Sauron and his influence in The Rings of Power.

The History of Sauron and the first Dark Lord Morgoth

Before we get into Sauron, it’s best to start with his predecessor and the first Dark Lord of Middle-earth: Morgoth. First known as Melkor, he was a Valar—or one of the most powerful beings in Arda. He was created by Eru Ilúvatar, the supreme deity. Melkor was there from the beginning of creation, and came to Arda with the other Valar. Originally a pure being, he eventually rebelled against his creator, obtained the name Morgoth, and was ultimately cast out of Arda and into the Void. But before all that happened, he attracted the attention of another soon-to-be Dark Lord.

Sauron began his days as Mairon (“the admirable”), a powerful Maia—spirits who came to Arda to help the Valar shape the world. (Other Maia include Gandalf and Saruman.) He was a pure and orderly being in the beginning, who studied the craft of forging. But he grew selfish, and eventually aligned himself with Morgoth. Though he served the Dark Lord Morgoth, he didn’t necessarily believe in the exact same things. While Morgoth was obsessed with conquering, Mairon wanted to dominate the minds and wills of Arda’s creatures.

During his time with Morgoth, Mairon was deceptive. He maintained appearances, pretending to be faithful to the other Valar, But when Morgoth established his place in Middle-earth, Mairon dropped the charade and made his allegiance with the Dark Lord known. It is then that he came to be known as Sauron, or “the abominable.”

Sauron in The First Age

Sauron was Morgoth’s servant during his war against the Elves in the First Age of Middle-earth. He ruled the fortress of Angband during Morgoth’s reign, a location he later escaped during the War of the Powers—the first time Morgoth was seized by the Valar. Sauron gained a fearsome reputation during this time, conquering the Elvish island Tol Sirion that he renamed Tol-in-Gaurhoth, or “The Isle of Werewolves.” To make things extra metal, Sauron had a servant named Thuringwethil on Tol-in-Gaurhoth who took the shape of a Vampire. Sauron himself would shape-shift into a Werewolf or Vampire during this time, when he was at the height of his power.

While Morgoth was the enemy of Elves, Sauron was the enemy of Men. He also factors into the epic love story of Beren and Lúthien, that fated romance between a mortal man and Elvish woman. (Aragorn sings about them in The Lord of the Rings, as their love reminds him of his romance with Arwen.) Sauron captured Beren and the Elven king Finrod at one point, and imprisoned them on Tol-in-Gaurhoth. Though Finrod later died, Lúthien helped Beren escape when she arrived at the Werewolf island with the wolfhound Huan. Sauron, in werewolf form, fought with Huan—and lost. He yielded his power to Lúthien, took the form of a vampire, and went into hiding.

He emerged after Morgoth was finally defeated, and pled the Maia Eönwë for mercy. But out of fear of judgment, he fled and went into hiding in Middle-earth once again.

Sauron and the Forging of the Rings of Power

After about 500 years, Sauron emerged once again and established himself in Mordor, where he built the tower of Barad-dûr. He raised armies of Orcs and Trolls, as well as Men, luring them with promises of wealth. Though he originally meant only to rebuild after Morgoth’s war, once he recognized his power and sway over his armies, he began plotting ways to overtake Middle-earth. To do this, he took a new shape, as the handsome Annatar. This disguise was meant to fool the Elves, and it worked on some, though not everyone. (Galadriel and Elrond were among the Elves who didn’t fall for this trick.)

As Annatar, Sauron persuaded the Elven-smiths of Eregion to craft the Rings of Power, using his knowledge of craftsmanship to advise on their creation. Once they were made and distributed to the Men, Dwarves, and Elves, Sauron secretly created another ring: the One Ring. This ring, forged in Mount Doom in Mordor, controlled the other rings using dark magic. On the ring, Sauron inscribed this phrase in Black Speech:

Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk, agh burzum-ishi krimpatul. (Translation: One Ring to Rule Them All, One Ring to Find Them, One Ring to Bring Them All, and in the Darkness Bind Them.)

Sauron’s plan quickly backfired. Once he wore his One Ring, the Elves immediately sensed his treachery. They hid their rings from him, and the Dwarves proved fairly resistant from Sauron’s influence over theirs. However, the nine Men who received rings were all corrupted. They became the Nazgûl (seen prominently in Jackson’s The Fellowship of the Ring, as the hooded figures stalking Frodo), Sauron’s greatest servants.

Sauron declared war on the Elves, and nearly conquered all of Middle-earth. But the Men of the West intervened, led by Tar-Minastir, King of Númenór. Sauron was defeated, and retreated to Mordor. There, he slowly regained power, and began calling himself “The King of Men.” This pissed off the Númenóreans, who arrived in Mordor and took Sauron as a hostage back to Númenor.

Sauron’s Evil Plans for Númenor

This imprisonment proved fruitful for Sauron. Though he feigned unhappiness, he was actually thrilled at the opportunity to corrupt Númenor from within. He cozied up to King Ar-Pharazôn, slowly corrupting him until he was the king’s most trusted adviser. He convinced Ar-Pharazôn and other Númenóreans to worship Morgoth, as he sensed in them a fear of death. Sauron helped them erect a temple on Númenor devoted to Morgoth, where the king performed human sacrifices. Eventually, he even convinced Ar-Pharazôn to rebel against the Valar and take their home of Valinor for themselves.

Like many of Sauron’s plans, this one also backfired. When the Men stormed the West, Eru Ilúvatar himself intervened. He sank Númenor, and bent Arda from flat to round so that Men could no longer reach Valinor. During his time on Númenor, Sauron had disguised himself in a handsome mortal form, but its sinking destroyed his body and permanently robbed him of the ability to shape-shift. His spirit fled back to Mordor, where he built a new body and regained his strength. This time, he wasn’t concerned about minds—he started to rule and attack with blunt force and terror.

The Men of Númenor who remained faithful to the Valar were able to escape the island’s destruction. They came to Middle-earth and established the kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor. Sauron learned that these men were led by Elendil, whom he despised. He led a war against these Men, but they teamed with Elven king Gil-Galad and created the Last Alliance. During this war, Sauron himself fought and killed Elendil and Gil-Galad, killing them both. But Elendil’s son, Isildur, took up his father’s broken sword, and cut the One Ring from Sauron’s hand. Because the ring was Sauron’s ultimate source of power, he lost his body and power when it was taken from him. His armies fled and Sauron’s broken spirit escaped to Mordor, where he went into deep hiding.

Sauron in The Lord of the Rings

This is where the story starts sounding pretty familiar. Isildur took control of the One Ring, but couldn’t bring himself to destroy it. He was killed by Orcs, the ring was lost, and it lay dormant for many years. That is, until it was discovered by the Hobbit relatives Sméagol and Déagol. Sméagol took possession of the ring, hid away in the mountains, and became the creature Gollum. This marks the beginning of the Third Age, and leads us into the story of The Hobbit and then The Lord of the Rings. The title of the later refers to Sauron himself, who sought to once again regain ultimate power. (Spoiler alert: he didn’t.)

Sauron’s time on Númenor will be a part of The Rings of Power‘s story. So it’s important to have all of this context heading in. Sauron is the literal Lord of the Rings, the biggest bad in all of Middle-earth with so much power, and one of the greatest fictional villains of all time. I can’t wait to see him come to screen in a brand new way.

Originally published March 22, 2021.

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It is ALL happening. I confess, I shrieked multiple times throughout this trailer because the number of things I was hoping to see in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two are all coming to life. Firstly, of course, there’s the one thing folks have been worrying about since the end of last season. Will Galadriel and Sauron reunite in The Rings of Power season two? The answer is yes: Sauron and Galadriel will have a reunion in The Rings of Power‘s next season. And not only will they reunite, but they’ll reunite in one-on-one combat. That’s what we call reuniting in fine fashion. So, for all you Haldriel, Saurondriel, whatever you would like to call it, believers out there, you can rest easy that Galadriel and Sauron will share some space together during The Rings of Power season two.

We kind of felt like this was bound to happen. But then again, the way Sauron and Galadriel separated in season one of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power was sour and seemed kind of long-term. It was enough to worry fans that they wouldn’t meet, at any rate. Of course, how much space they’ll share in season two and what it will bring is yet to be determined. But we need to leave a little something to the imagination, don’t we? This Sauron and Galadriel reunion moment is far from the only exciting tease in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power‘s season two trailer, though. You can check it out in full above. And below, you can catch a little more of the Galadriel and Sauron reunion in a new The Rings of Power season two featurette. The two enter the scene at the one-minute mark.

We’ll wait as you watch this The Rings of Power season two trailer one more time, at least. Once just isn’t enough to take it all in.

We gave space to Galadriel and Sauron already, but now we can all turn to what’s really important. This season, Adar and Galadriel could potentially work together in service of stopping Sauron, who has truly wronged them both. Of course, it’s hard to tell from this The Rings of Power season two trailer if this delicious alliance will actually take shape or not. At some points, like when Adar proposes that Sauron is an enemy of them both and he and Galadriel stand together on the top of a hillside, it seems like it might. During other scenes in The Rings of Power season two trailer, like when Galadriel is chained in a cage, it’s a little bit less clear.

I personally have been pulling for a “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” narrative for Galadriel and Adar since the duo had their explosive interaction in The Rings of Power season one. Could an elf and an Uruk truly work together? It’s the start of a bad joke. It’s the start of a fanfic. And well, it’s in this The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two trailer. And I would love nothing more.

Of course, we would be remiss not to discuss the third power couple that emerges from this The Rings of Power trailer. Here we speak, of course, of Celebrimbor and Sauron. Sauron needs Celebrimbor to make rings. Celebrimbor needs Sauron to feel powerful. It’s all gift-giving and domestic forging at first. But things look like they go very wrong, very quickly in Eregion. The scene of Celebrimbor sobbing in this The Rings of Power trailer rocks us to our core. “What have you done to me?” The elven smith demands. Nothing good. (Well, we guess it’s a matter of perspective.) Sauron has a habit of giving those around them exactly what they want… to his own benefit.

If all that weren’t enough, this The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two trailer gives us glimpses of epic battles, inter-familial conflict, orcs galore, evil creatures, Elrond as a war hero, Durin as a true leader, Gil-galad in a marvelous robe, and more. We also get the barest tease of Sauron engaging in battle. He’s sleek, that’s for sure. And the puppetmaster behind it all. So much chaos seeping from one being, but that’s Sauron for you. If that weren’t enough, Sauron’s powers of the unseen world are also coming back into play in The Rings of Power. It seems like he’ll be invading minds, manipulating thoughts, and fighting on more than one plane of existence this season.

After this trailer, we absolutely cannot wait to see more from The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two. The new season premieres on August 29.

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Remember when I said it was all happening for me regarding The Rings of Power season two’s sneak peeks, trailers, and teases? Good news, it’s still all happening for me. And hopefully, you feel the same way. The first released clips from The Rings of Power season two spotlight two of the best characters from the series, Sauron and Adar. Of course, Adar thinks he killed Sauron and has no idea the Dark Lord has, in fact, returned. Then, on the other hand, we have Sauron, who knows Adar betrayed him, who almost killed him in season one, and probably still would like to, but instead, he’s doing what Sauron does best on The Rings of Power, messing around in the heads of others and manipulating them to his aims.

In the first clip from The Rings of Power (which begins at the 4:24 time code for the Fallon clip), we see Sauron, pretending to be Halbrand, King of the Southlands, bartering for “his people” and their freedom. He purports to want to save the Southlanders in exchange for information about “a sorcerer” that he claims Galadriel is working with. Of course, he drops just enough hints to ensure that Adar knows he’s referring to Sauron, quoting his own favorite refrain, “a power over flesh.” Sauron must know how intensely the implication that he is alive will haunt Adar, who thought himself free of his and his children’s tormentor. But, obviously, that’s part of the fun of it for Sauron.

“You can’t kill me.” Sauron then tells Adar. And it’s true, Adar really cannot kill Sauron. The mind games are already running thick and fast, teasing what’s sure to be a season full of mischief on Sauron’s part and much pain on everyone else’s part.

These clips make me intensely excited for what’s to come on The Rings of Power season two. Not only because I am the world’s foremost Adar-lover, although I am, but because these The Rings of Power clips truly blow it out of the water. Charlie Vickers and Sam Hazeldine crush their performances, the tension in the scenes is delicious, and the nuances and story layers of each performance really take your breath away.

Where will this go for Sauron and Adar on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power? Probably nowhere good for the current ruler of Mordor, especially since we already know he’ll be the ex-ruler of Mordor sooner or later. I just hope he ends up with the elves and not dead. But either way, we’ll be excited to tune in every step of the way. The Rings of Power premieres with its first three episodes on August 29.

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Making a high fantasy series means designing and constructing otherworldly sets, carefully shaping a set to become, for example, the throne room of Númenor. It also means outfitting hundreds of orcs with prosthetics and maintaining an ear library. Many of those orcs were resting around the edges of a battle scene when Nerdist and a small group of reporters visited the set of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power in 2023. The series was filming at Buttersteep Rise in Windsor Great Park, and we planted our wellies-covered feet carefully through thick mud and around performers pulling their orc prosthetics out of the way to drink smoothies through straws.

Even orcs like a smoothie.

In our day on set, we spoke with The Rings of Power showrunners, some of the cast, production design, the prosthetics department, props, and more. Here are seven details we learned about The Rings of Power season two.

1. Filming in the UK

Season one of The Rings of Power filmed in New Zealand, but the series moved to the United Kingdom for season two. Executive producer Lindsey Weber noted the decision came from Amazon, because they wanted to centralize their hub in the UK. But, she noted, it’s one of the best places to shoot. She said, “There’s a wonderful crew, actor, and filmmaking base. It does feel like there are new pools of talent here that we hadn’t used in season one. And certainly, we’re in all these locations that Tolkien wrote about.”

Supervising art director Martin Foley joked that when they first showed the showrunners Windsor Great Park and its 900-year-old trees, JD Payne and Patrick McKay literally hugged the trees.

2. Speaking of New Zealand…

The show did have a lot built for season one in New Zealand, and the production team had a lot of things shipped over—as in 70 containers full of items for not only the art department. Production designer Kristian Milsted said, it wasn’t so much full sets as smaller pieces like doors, windows, and detailed panels. Foley said, “Things took a long time to make and were expensive, and they were packed up carefully. We got these lovely notes. You’d open the containers, and they’d be like, ‘Please look after this. It took me months.’ It was quite sweet considering how abruptly that ended. You weren’t sure what you’re going to get, and then in terms of their messages, but they’re all really positive and really nice.”

3. The Voice of Sauron

Leith McPherson is The Ring of Power‘s supervising dialect coach; she worked on dialect for The Hobbit trilogy, too. She had the challenge of working with Charlie Vickers to turn his Halbrand accent into something different for season two.

McPherson said, “When I work for the actors, I work in the accent that the actors are working in. So Halbrand, it’s that northern kind of quality. He [Charlie Vickers] and I spoke like that for 18 months together and then it was, ‘Okay. So now you’re a different character kind of. Are you? I don’t know.’ Then we were speaking to each other in a new accent. Because this is an evolving, changing character where you are always thinking about the communication that that character is trying to have with others—what impression is he trying to make and what is he trying to achieve? So we talk about that vocally. How that manifests is an interesting thing.”

4. The Rings in The Rings of Power

Season two brings more rings to Middle-earth. Celebrimbor forged the three Elven rings at the end of season one, and set decorator Tina Jones and her team remade those Elven rings for season two. To come up with the designs for the new rings, the team went to different museums, including the British Museum to gather research and take photos. They also referenced design concepts from John Howe, a Tolkien artist. The camera would pick up any small imperfection in a manmade stone, so they used real stones for macro shots.

5. Orcs Everywhere

Season two has 1,500 actors in orc makeup. The prosthetics are a four-part application process including a cowl, a forehead, a chin, and a face. These can be mixed and matched to create unique looks. It takes two people two and a half hours to apply each set of prosthetics, and no, I am not doing that math. When we stopped by the prosthetics department to talk with Sarah Gower, she and her team were working on outfitting the second wave of orcs for the day.

6. Action and Stunts

If I could pick a theme for season two just from visiting the set, it’s more. More locations, more orcs, and more action. More everything. Supervising stunt coordinator Ben Cooke told us Galadriel and Elrond both see a lot more action, specifically on horseback. Cooke and his team worked for eight months on season two stunts that include wirework, high falls, and fires. Rehearsals started three to four months before filming. Part of Cooke’s work includes choreographing different action to match the styles of the Elves, orcs, Dwarves, etc.

7. Dwarven Beards

Hair and makeup designer Flora Moody walked us through a number of wigs. As she so aptly put it, “There’s a lot of hair.” Indeed when you think about the number of flowing locks in The Rings of Power, you realize how much effort it must take to maintain so many wigs. There are hero wigs, scale wigs, stunt double wigs, and sometimes picture double wigs. It adds up to, as Moody says, “an organizational feat.”

The wigs are all made from human hair when possible, but Dwarven beards, those are yak hair. The department uses two different types of yak hair. Tail of yak makes for a coarser hair. For a softer beard, it’s yak belly hair.

The makeup and hair department can make subtle changes that speak to character growth. For example, they gave Trystan Gravelle’s Pharazôn a 300-style beard to speak to his character becoming a bit more powerful.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two premieres on Prime Video on August 29.

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Not all is well in Númenor. Season one of The Rings of Power saw Queen Regent Míriel lead Númenóreans to Middle-earth at Galadriel’s request. The expedition ended in war and many Númenórean lives lost. As you can imagine, Míriel’s choice, along with the passing of her father the King, causes any rifts existing in Númenor society to expand. And her cousin and advisor Pharazôn is all too ready to take advantage of those rifts.

While visiting the set of The Rings of Power season two with a small group of journalists, we talked with actor Trystan Gravelle about Númenor needing a zhuzh and Pharazôn’s scheming. Don’t worry, we won’t get into Second Age spoilers.

We know where Pharazôn ends up and we saw him starting to head that direction in season one. Where do things pick up in season two?

Trystan Gravelle: In season two there’s a bit of rebuilding of image. They’ve gone into a war that initially he didn’t want to go into. I think there was a bit of a rude awakening for everybody, that I guess they’ve always been touted as a thalassocracy, Númenor has. The whole place has become slightly sclerotic maybe, with rot kicking in. I think there needs to be a little bit of a zhuzh-up in the kingdom there. This is where Pharazôn comes into it. Not only have they lost the war that they went over with their expeditionary force to win, but they’ve been embarrassed as well in that the Queen Regent has lost her sight.

So, Númenor doesn’t look good with regards to whoever else might be out there. Because we’ve been so insular, maybe it’s time to maybe get on the front foot with things. That’s where he is at the moment, or where his mind is. He’s not the king of Númenor, but that’s where his mind is. He has to put pieces in play.

Season one had some of the politicking side of Númenor. Can we expect more high court drama in season two?

Gravelle: You’ll definitely see some from Pharazôn, because there’s such a difference between Míriel and Elendil. With Pharazôn, he knows that you have to indulge in the dark arts. He’s a great believer in maybe the ends justifies the means. And being a sea captain himself, or an ex-sea captain, I mean, he would probably have been there, done it, got the T-shirt, and is going like, “Well, actually sometimes you do need to get your hands dirty. And it’s not just about honor and stuff.”

I read a brilliant book by David Frye called Walls. It is about people who lived inside walls in the civilizations that they built, and then the so-called barbarians on the outside that didn’t need to build walls. And there’s definitely a difference of perspective in how they see the world. When you build these walls, you can become your reputation, or what you have inside those, counts for nothing in the outside world. So, it’s up to you to build that again. Then there comes a fear, I think, and there’s a lot to lose because you become more cognizant of this civilization that you’ve built where it’s not just about survival and move on. A part of your consciousness now is in these stones, is in this set place that you’ve built for yourselves. And so the height that you fall from is greater.

I went off on a tangent there. Yes, [there will be more politicking] and a lot of image building.

You mentioned Queen Regent Míriel. What can you tell us a little bit about her and Pharazôn’s relationship? Especially in the wake of what happened in Middle-earth.

Gravelle: With all families, I think there’s always a bit of healthy competition, as well as love and everything. Even with whatever schadenfreude you may feel sometimes. If you see somebody trip up, there’s always a greater thing of who you are as a person and why did you feel that. And Pharazôn, I don’t think, is some psychopath or anything. His perspective is different, and that’s what’s apparent here, is that Tar-Palantir or Ar-Inziladun were part of the faithful. I think that’s about appeasing old traditions, and I think it’s holding Númenor back. So, there’s a frustration there and a clash of ideals.

I guess you’re a swan on the surface, but underneath there’s the scheming, there’s the paddling, and all the ugly stuff going on underneath. That’s on both sides as well. There’s always going to be a level of insecurity and mistrust after what’s happened. Because there is, it’s embarrassing that we’ve come back with a tail between the legs, this great empire, so we thought.

Míriel trusted the Elves, trusted Galadriel. Is this a further wedge between the Númenoreans and the Elves?

Gravelle: I think it’s a huge thing, that you led your people into a war where they got embarrassed. I know you’re still Queen, but you need help. You’re dependent on people. And also as well, if that gets out, that there’s this great empire that’s not what everybody thought they were, I mean, what does that mean? Are we going to have ships sailing by our shores? And there’s all these questions, the geopolitics comes up again. So yes, it’s definitely a cause for concern.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two premieres with three episodes on Prime Video on August 29.

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Queen Regent Mìriel chose to follow Galadriel across the sea to Middle-earth in season one of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. She led her people from Númenor to the Southlands, right into a war. Things did not go in their favor, and especially not in Mìriel’s favor. When Nerdist visited The Rings of Power season two set with a small group of reporters, we talked with Cynthia Addai-Robinson about what’s ahead for Mìriel and her kingdom.

When season two begins, how is Mìriel processing everything that happened?

Cynthia Addai-Robinson: Where do I even begin? At the end of season one, we find Mìriel in a very vulnerable position. Not only has she lost her sight, she has been defeated in battle. Many Númenórean lives were lost. Her father, the king, has passed. That’s a lot to end on. So really, season two, specifically to Mìriel and Númenor, is trying to find strength in loss. There are a lot of implications for how people feel around her taking Númenóreans into battle.

In season one, we were already starting to see divisions in [Númenórean] society. There’s a deepening of that as we continue into season two—so lots of very dramatic things. And on top of that, in season one we see Queen Regent Mìriel. It stands to reason that with the king’s passing there would be a progression of things.

What are the challenges of building and playing a character when you and the audience know the journey?

Addai-Robinson: Obviously, the meatiest roles allow you to demonstrate vulnerability and strength simultaneously. You welcome the challenge and obviously you want to give it something that feels relatable. Here we are in this fantastical Middle-earth, but a lot of the things that Mìriel is navigating, or any character in a giant genre story navigates, are things that are understandable. The passing of a loved one, civil strife—things that I think are particularly resonant right now.

It’s also a place to think on these things for myself, just as a human being. It’s a place to put those feelings. Certainly when I first started on this journey as the character of Mìriel in the midst of lockdown and an ever-changing world, it was a place that felt safe for me because I just had a swirling storm of thoughts and feelings on any given day. But what I really appreciate and love about Mìriel is that sense of integrity and strength. She’s a moral compass for her people. At the end of the day, the decisions that she’s navigating are bigger than her. It’s really about guiding her people and trying to make the best decisions and choices for society, not just for herself.

Was there anything you learned from season one that you wanted to carry with you into season two?

Addai-Robinson: Once you’ve got a first season of a series under your belt, you’ve had a lot of intensive time spent with a character, spent in a world, spent with your fellow characters and castmates. You want to approach a season two and beyond trusting in all of those things. We put a lot of work and thought and heart into making sure that we were representing this story in the most honest way that we could. A lot of us have ownership over these characters. We feel a sense of protecting them and shepherding them, not just through the story, but just out there in the world.

Mìriel developed what seemed like a friendship with Elendil in season one. What can you share about their relationship in season two?

Addai-Robinson: You’re going to see a continuation of this dynamic of two people who have both experienced profound loss and are now trying to really have that sense of, “Let us not have this loss be in vain.” It’s really an exploration of, I would say, their worldview within Middle-earth. As they’re returning to Númenor with those divisions in society and those differing worldviews, you’re going to see how the second season navigates that.

For the two of them specifically, it’s a dynamic that my lovely dear Lloyd Owen and I have enjoyed exploring. We really wanted to make sure that with these two characters, that their relationship from where it starts in season one, very unsuspectingly, and how it continues to progress through the second season, that there really is a change. These people are forever changed by their circumstances.

How did Mìriel losing her sight affect the physicality of your performance in season two?

Addai-Robinson: I was told early on that this would be something that happens to Mìriel. And in fact, I started my first day with one of the scenes where I was already blind. So it was an interesting way of working where I had to start with some of those scenes, then I jumped back to the beginning, and then jumped back to working with the blind element. The difference now is she has acclimated to this situation. There’s this sense of not wanting to have this be something that people can perceive as a weakness in her ability to lead, that there is an awareness as a leader that there’s a perception of conveying strength and representing that for your people, for society.

At the end of season one, you see Elendil and Mìriel and he’s still going to be at her side. Ultimately it’s an exploration of working with someone where it isn’t about depending on them, but they both need each other in this moment to help each other see figuratively and literally. That’s a really interesting and beautiful thing that we get to further explore as the season goes on.

But in terms of the physicality of it and returning to that place, I was mindful of, at this point, she has made it her mission to learn to move through the world in a new way. So, it isn’t about struggling through that so much as acclimating to it, if you know what I mean. That was probably true for me as well.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two premieres with three episodes on Prime Video on August 29.

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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is gearing up for its second season on Prime Video. The series captured audiences’ hearts with a fresh story set during Middle-earth’s Second Age. Now, ahead of its next season, The Rings of Power’s first season is coming to Samsung TV Plus for many more to enjoy. It will only be there starting today through August 28 but it is a way to draw in even more fans, indeed. 

According to Deadline, the first season is available for free for Samsung TV and Galaxy owners in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, the UK, and Germany. 

“We are pleased to have expanded our partnership with Prime Video to make Samsung TV Plus the only destination to watch season one of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power for free, ahead of the season two premiere,” said Salek Brodsky, Samsung TV Plus Senior Vice President and General Manager. “Nearly 300 million Samsung TV and Galaxy owners will have the opportunity to discover or catch-up on this hit series, while continuing to enjoy free access to one of the world’s largest offerings of live tv channels and popular titles on-demand.”

If you haven’t had a chance to check out The Rings of Power for free, then you’ll want to see season one on Samsung TV Plus. And when you are done, check out everything you need to know about season two here.

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If there’s one soapbox I’ve stood on since I first watched The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season one, it’s that the series’ best character (yes, I said it, best), Adar, deserves to have an “enemy of my enemy is my friend” storyline and his own version of a heroic arc. And now, as the series’ second season comes tantalizingly close to releasing, for the first time, it seems like I may actually get my wish. A key aspect of The Rings of Power season two’s final trailer seems to center around Adar and Galadriel realizing that they have more in common than they think. (Another long-treasured hope of mine.) And as Sauron looms large over Middle-earth, there might even be a team-up on the table.

But will it actually happen? Can Galadriel and Adar put their (many and painful) differences aside to fight the true evil that threatens them all? The Rings of Power trailer leaves us in a place that could go either way. But I am here to say, that regardless of what actually comes to pass, Galadriel and Adar SHOULD work together against Sauron in The Rings of Power season two. The complicated paralells between them, ones that echo louder than their differences, demand it.

From afar, it might seem like there are no The Rings of Power characters more unlike one another than Galadriel and Adar. After all, Galadriel is a high elf to her core, the Lady of Light. She’s a staunch believer in the distinctions between good and evil, right and wrong. Above all else, she’s on a mission to eradicate darkness from Middle-earth, permenantly. And, in Galadriel’s estimations, at least so far, that darkness firmly includes Adar at its center. Adar, meanwhile, exists as an elf fallen from grace. Over the ages, he’s been corrupted at the hands of Morgoth and Sauron and become the literal father of Orcs or Uruk, as we should probably call them in deference, the race most associated with evil.

Certainly, Galadriel would shudder to think she has anything in common with Adar, if her first meeting with the one-time elf is anything to go by. In it, she calls him “ruined,” among other pleasant things, and basically threatents to exterminate every one of his children. But although contemptous himself, Adar seems to see something in all of Galadriel’s rage at him that she can’t yet see in herself. He tells Galadriel in The Rings of Power season one, episode six, “It would seem I am not the only elf alive that has been transformed by darkness. Perhaps the search for Morgoth’s successor should have ended in your mirror.”

While the latter half of that sentiment certainly could be true, it’s the former that is of specific interest here. Adar refers to the way Galadriel’s fury and vengence have consumed her when he notes that she’s been “transformed by darkness.” But he’s more right than he knows at the time. At that very moment Galadriel is as bestotted with the Dark Lord himself, Sauron, in his Halbrand form, as she ever will be. Of course, she’ll soon further transform when she finds out the hard way that her stubborn, relentless pursuit of Sauron led her right to him, and him to his return. And its knowledge of this last painful transformation that Galadriel and Adar singularly share and make it so critical that they get the chance to work together.

Undoubtedly, Sauron hurt many people throughout the The Lord of the Rings‘ War of Wrath and after it. But none so intimately as Galadriel and Adar. They have both touched darkness, so to speak, and know what the feeling of hate Sauron but at the same time be drawn to him. In many ways, it seems to me that Sauron’s relationship with Adar was almost a prototype for Sauron’s relationship with Galadriel on The Rings of Power. In both cases, it seems that Sauron sought to corrupt an elf with pure intentions and bind them to his side and to his will. Adar was, perhaps, an imperfect model, one who became too corrupted, let’s say, damaged, but, in Galadriel, the Dark Lord saw an equal, someone to “bind him to the light.”

Still, Galdariel and Adar’s stories are remarkably similar. Adar, of course, succumbed to this corruption initially, allowing Sauron’s darkness to enter him in ways that we’ll hopefully learn more about in season two. But eventually, when the torment of his children grew too painful, Adar forcibly severed the ties between them. “I split him open,” Adar tells Galadriel, faintly prideful, faintly wounded. “I killed Sauron.” But we see throughout season one of The Rings of Power that Sauron lingers in Adar’s being. When the Southlander Waldreg accidentally calls him Sauron, he flies into a rage. When he sees what ostensibly is a homage to Sauron at Ostirith, he gazes up at it for a long moment, enchanted and terrified. And despite all the strife, he carries out the orders Sauron left behind for him and creates Mordor by exploding Mount Doom.

Galadriel, meanwhile, refuses to give into Sauron’s seductions once she learns his true identity and goes right to the attempted stabbing. Though for her too, the choice to refuse Sauron is clearly anything but simple, and costs her dearly. Clearly, her desires run in different directions although her brain knows what she must do. But again, despite strife, she too goes forth with the plans Sauron created for her, forging the elven Rings of Power. In short, though the contents of their journeys seem different, Adar and Galadriel travel twinned paths. They are mirrors of one another, both of them forged by Sauron. Both of them rejecting him, yet connected to him, and inadvertantly helping him get what he wants. And so it is only fitting they come together to defeat him.

And, most importantly, as The Rings of Power trailers seem to hint, both Adar and Galadriel will always have Sauron in their minds. At least someone defeats him. Gil-galad says in the latest The Rings of Power trailer, “Once the deceiver gains a being’s trust, he gains the ability to sculpt their very thoughts.” And Adar further notes, “Sooner or later, Sauron’s eye bores a hole, and the rest of him slithers in.” No doubt, both Galadriel and Adar feel this phenomonen acutely. Despite surface differences, the pair of them are perhaps the only two individuals in existence who have been engulfed by Sauron, but have resisted him, only to never truly free of him. And that is a character and story dynamic too naunced and fascinating not to explore.

After The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season one, I wrote that Adar was such a tragic character because he was singular. As neither a true elf, nor a true Uruk, he was all alone. But now it seems, there is more than one elf alive who has been transformed by darkness. And in deference to the deep parallels that connect them, I think it would be only right for Galadriel and Adar to team up on The Rings of Power season two, no longer singular, but united, against Sauron, the one who created them both.

The post Galadriel and Adar SHOULD Join Forces in THE RINGS OF POWER Season 2 and Fight Sauron Together appeared first on Nerdist.

Some people might find the inclusion of a hard-hitting Heavy Metal song into the world of Middle-earth a bit confusing. But Tolkien’s works and fantasy as a genre have long influenced Metal music. And in return Heavy Metal has been the favored genre of many a fantasy fan. And so, it is not at all confusing, but really more of a fitting full-circle moment for composer Bear McCreary to bring Heavy Metal into the soundtrack for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two with the powerful “The Last Ballad of Damrod.” Damrod, of course, is a new enemy in The Rings of Power season two, a troll like we’ve never seen before.

You can listen to the Hill-troll’s anthem below.

From the powerful blowing horns one might associate with orcs right into Heavy Metal screaming, we admit we are pretty obsessed. We’ll definitely be head-banging to this Metal beat all throughout The Rings of Power season two. We can’t make out all the lyrics, but we’ll be sure to report back when we do. But obviously, this jam isn’t really about the words, but about the feeling of intense darkness and chaos it evokes. Just how “The Last Ballad of Damrod” fits into The Rings of Power season two, we’ll have to wait and see. But it sure does seem like a tune that goes very well with a battle scene.

For “The Last Ballad of Damrod,” McCreary assembled an all-star Heavy Metal team including, Heavy Metal vocalist Jens Kidman of MESHUGGAH and drummer Gene Hoglan of Dethklok fame and more. And yep, this certainly sounds like the bad-ass anthem of a Lord of the Rings troll, especially one as mighty as Damrod. As McCreary says, “Kidman screams the way an expert violinist plays.”

For more on the making of this incredible part of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two soundtrack, you can check out the video above. For more on how metal and Middle-earth go together, head to the Twitter thread below.

Now we just really want Adar and Sauron to start a Metal band in Mordor sometime during The Rings of Power season two. Yes?/Yes? The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres on August 29. Meanwhile, The Rings of Power’s season two soundtrack (metal song inclusive) will be released on August 23.

The post Heavy Metal Comes to Middle-earth with ‘The Last Ballad of Damrod’ From THE RINGS OF POWER Season 2 Soundtrack appeared first on Nerdist.