The 5 Biggest Mysteries Of ‘The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power’

Games The 5 Biggest Mysteries Of ‘The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power’ Erik Kain Senior Contributor Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. I write about video games, entertainment and culture. Following New! Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories.

Got it! Sep 6, 2022, 07:00am EDT | New! Click on the conversation bubble to join the conversation Got it! Share to Facebook Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The Rings Of Power Credit: Amazon The Rings Of Power debuted on Amazon Prime Video this Thursday and was met with universal praise and acclaim by critics and fans alike, without any controversy whatsoever marring the show’s launch. Ha! Just kidding! As I expected, the fantasy adaptation of Tolkien’s appendices to The Lord Of The Rings has been one of the most divisive TV shows in recent memory. The last time I can remember seeing this much uproar and animosity around a once-universally-beloved IP was The Last Jedi, when the Star Wars fandom had a collective aneurysm it still hasn’t recovered from.

But we’re going to leave all that aside for now. I’m really enjoying The Rings Of Power and one reason for that is all the delicious mystery that was introduced in the two-part series premiere. One of the most wonderful silver linings of an adaptation like this, is that since the showrunners have strayed so far from the source material, it means we don’t know exactly what’s going to happen.

To me, that makes the experience a lot more fun. After all, J. D.

Payne and Patrick McKay are working with a lot of notes here and have to fill in a lot of the blanks along the way. They don’t have access to The Silmarillion or the many other histories of Middle-earth so they have to make a lot of creative choices on their own. That, in turn, can lead to both frustrations at lore-bending but also exciting riddles to solve.

MORE FOR YOU ‘Demon Slayer’ Season 2 Finally Has An Actual 2021 Release Date Netflix’s ‘Squid Game’ Season 2 Not A Sure Thing, Says Director ‘Genshin Impact’ Still Refuses To Increase Anniversary Rewards, Despite Fan Outcry Here are the five mysteries I’ve identified in the first two episodes, though we will undoubtedly encounter more. 1. Who is The Stranger? The Stranger Credit: Amazon Perhaps the biggest mystery at this point is the identity of the strange man who fell from the sky in a burning comet.

The Stranger (Daniel Weyman) as he’s known for now, could be anyone—but betting money is that he’s a magical being of some sort, either good or evil. I’ve already dedicated an entire post to this character where I go over all the theories, but I’ve been chatting with friend of mine who is also a huge Tolkien nerd, and he’s all but convinced me that this is, indeed, Gandalf (though he won’t be called that name in Rings Of Power ). There is compelling evidence that the Maiar visited Middle-earth in the Second Age, including Gandalf.

Here’s a theory a friend of mine had: Gandalf—though he wouldn’t be called that yet—was visiting Middle-earth when he was intercepted by Sauron. A fight ensued and Sauron got the better of the Istari, sending him hurtling to the earth, beaten and tattered, his ability to speak gone—possibly amnesiac. He lands, perhaps guided by the hands of Eru Ilúvatar— the supreme deity of Arda—next to the Harfoots whom he befriends.

From here, Gandalf (perhaps Olórin) helps guide the little people to safety and develops a special fondness for them that carries over into the Third Age, which would explain his frequent visits to the Shire. In a very Tolkienesque twist of fate, Sauron’s attempt to vanquish Olórin sends him directly to the Hobbits who will eventually be the Dark Lord’s downfall. It’s fitting that Nori (Markella Kavenagh) should be Gandalf’s first encounter, and that in her own small way she’ll help set in motion the adventures of Bilbo and Frodo and the Fellowship of the Ring, and the ultimate vanquishing of Sauron—if, of course, this theory holds water.

2. What’s in Durin’s ‘Pulp Fiction’ box? Why is there a soul of some human crime boss named Marcellus Wallace in here, Durin? Credit: Amazon This one is pretty easy compared to The Stranger’s identity. At the end of the second episode, after Elrond (Robert Aramayo) has departed, Prince Durin (Owain Arthur) and King Durin (Peter Mulan) speak of the elves.

They enter a chamber and look into a mysterious box. Something glowing and precious shimmers back at them. They seem, at this point, oddly worried about the elves finding out about this mysterious treasure.

But I’m 99. 99% sure it’s mithril—the most precious metal in all of Middle-earth, lighter and stronger than any other. What doesn’t quite click here from a lore perspective is that the elven city of Eregion was built so near to the dwarven stronghold of Khazad-dûm because of the discovery of mithril, which the elves coveted.

But here Eregion already stands and mithril is some sort of secret. This could make for an interesting story, of course, especially since mithril was ultimately what led the dwarves astray, too deep into the bowels of the earth where an ancient evil lay sleeping. 3.

Who is the mystery person on the boat? Maxim Baldry as Isildur Credit: Amazon After Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) decides not to return to Valinor and dives back into the sea for a very, very long swim, she’s rescued by some humans. Most of these die soon after when a giant sea-wyrm attacks, but Galadriel and the roguish Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) survive. After a storm very nearly drowns Galadriel, who is saved just in the nick of time by Halbrand, who dives in after her and cuts her free with her own knife.

The storm passes and the next morning as the pair lay in a deep, exhausted sleep, a shadow passes over them. Galadriel wakes and looks up to see the silhouette of a cloaked figure aboard a ship, the sun at his back, blue skies overhead. Who could this be? We can look at some of Amazon’s episodic images to guess.

Above, you’ll see the young Isildur played by Maxim Baldry. His hair is about the right length to be the cloaked figure. Isildur, of course, will play a crucial role in the first defeat of Sauron.

(Of course, Isildur would not have been born until approximately 1600 years after the One Ring was forged, but The Rings Of Power is condensing the Second Age and its major events in order to make it work as a TV show. The figure could also be Elendil (Lloyd Owen) first High King of the Dúnedain, who led the Númenóreans in exile to Middle-earth after the fall of Númenor and later perish alongside his friend Gil-Galad (Benjamin Walker). Elendil is the ancestor of Aragorn, who would return as king thousands of years later in The Return Of The King.

Elendil Credit: Amazon Finally, the mysterious figure could be Ar-Pharazôn the Golden (Trystan Gravelle), the last and most powerful king of Númenor—a crucial character whose role in this story I won’t spoil (though it could be changed from Tolkien’s fiction, of course). Ar-Pharazôn Credit: Amazon All three of these men could potentially be the shadowy figure Galadriel spies on the ship, though only Isildur is pictured here on an actual vessel. It seems unlikely—though not impossible—that a king would be out sailing these waters.

Certainly his long robes seem to match the figure better than Isildur, though characters do have costume changes. Who do you think this silhouetted figure is? Let me know on Twitter or Facebook . 4.

What is Theo’s Morgul blade? Theo and his Morgul blade Credit: Amazon I’m a little worried about Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) the son of Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi). He’s an angry youth with a darkness about him that’s in keeping with the hostile southern folk of Tir-Harad, a village in what will someday be called Mordor. When his mother and the elf Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova) are off trying to figure out the mystery of the sick cattle, he sneaks into a barn with his even nastier friend Rowan (Ian Blackburn).

There, among various oddities and treasures, he pulls an ancient broken blade from a box. It is clearly a sorcerous—or Morgul—blade, and bears the same mark of Sauron that Galadriel found in the frozen north. When his blood touches the blade, it soaks it up and appears to grow, almost as if spilling blood will return it to its former dark glory.

Will this blade lead Theo into darkness? I’ve heard theories that he will be given one of the Nine Rings and become a Nazgul. This seems entirely possible, but it’s still much too early to say. 5.

Where/who is Sauron? Sauron has been in hiding for thousands of years, gathering strength and biding his time, letting the men and dwarves and elves of the world forget he ever existed. He’s a powerful sorcerer and a shape-shifter and in the history of the Rings he takes on the form of Annatar and befriends the elven smiths of Eregion where he aids them in the forging of the rings—though with a dark subterfuge planned. Since he’s a shape-shifter this opens many fun doors for a TV show.

It’s entirely possible he’s one of the characters that’s already been introduced. Perhaps he’ll take a new form later on. One interesting theory is that he’s Halbrand and he’s simply using Galadriel to get close to the elves.

But anything is possible. At some point Sauron will show up and set his plan in motion—to create One Ring to rule them all and in the darkness bind them. When that may be remains a mystery, but I suspect the end of the season will be the big reveal.

I also made a video about the 5 biggest mysteries of The Rings Of Power: I imagine many of these mysteries will continue throughout the season, with bits and pieces falling together as we go forward. If you have any thoughts on these mysteries, or interesting theories, or you just want to tell me how much you love and/or hate this show, follow me on Twitter or Facebook ! Follow me on Twitter . Check out my website .

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