The embargo on social media first impressions has lifted. So, without further ado, here’s what various media folk are saying about the first two episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

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In 1967, Tolkien began writing a letter to his son, Michael, where he shared his perspectives on cultivating faith. Tolkien likened the character of faithfulness (‘loyalty’) to that of a full-grown tree — a living organism that must be tended to by its keepers (Letter 306).

While the reasons for this letter may be forever lost to time, the excerpt reveals a fundamental notion in Tolkien’s mind: The symbolism of great faithfulness with the thriving health of trees. 

There is no resemblance between the ‘mustard-seed’ and the full-grown tree. For those living in the days of its branching growth the Tree is the thing, for the history of a living thing is pan of its life, and the history of a divine thing is sacred. The wise may know that it began with a seed, but it is vain to try and dig it up, for it no longer exists, and the virtue and powers that it had now reside in the Tree.

Very good: but in husbandry the authorities, the keepers of the Tree, must look after it, according to such wisdom as they possess, prune it, remove cankers, rid it of parasites, and so forth. […] But they will certainly do harm, if they are obsessed with the desire of going back to the seed or even to the first youth of the plant when it was (as they imagine) pretty and unafflicted by evils.

The other motive […] aggiornamento: bringing up to date: that has its own grave dangers, as has been apparent throughout history. 

Letter #306, The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien

In my previous article, we discussed clues from the trailer and images of Amazon’s The Rings of Power that directly led us to identifying Sauron’s haunting presence on Middle-earth. Here, I will discuss how The Rings of Power might be using trees to illustrate the shrinking faith of the Númenoreans (Men) and the Noldor (Elves).

We begin in the island nation of Númenor. The Númenoreans are Men descended from the line of Elros, brother of Elrond. The line of the Kings of Numenor going back to Lúthien, daughter of the Sindarin King Thingol and Melian the Maiar. Of Lúthien’s descendants, Tolkien writes that ‘her line shall never fail’ (A Knife in the Dark, The Fellowship of the Ring). 

In the King’s Court at Armenelos, Númenor’s capital, a white tree blooms: Nimloth the fair (Nimloth is Sindarin for ‘White Blossom’). Descended from a tree made in the likeness of Telperion for the Noldor of Tirion  (Galathilion, the’White Tree’ of Yavanna, The Silmarillion), Nimloth was gifted as a seedling by the Eldar of Tol Eressëa in Aman. Her white petals gleam with the setting Sun and her scent fills the air of King’s court. Nimloth is the symbol of friendship between Men and Elves. (Cite.) A sign of the Númenor’s faithfulness to Eru and her Elven heritage.

The Númenoreans retained the dedications and order, but altered the fourth day to Aldëa (Orgaladh) with reference to the White Tree only, of which Nimloth that grew in the King’s Court in Númenóreans [my emphasis] was believed to be a descendant.

Appendix D, The Lord of the Rings

The significance of the blooming white tree is not lost to readers of Tolkien. Soon after arriving in Gondor, Aragorn discovers the sapling borne from the fruit of Nimloth. The discovery astonishes Aragorn, but Gandalf recalls the significance of the sapling:

Verily this is a sapling of the line of Nimloth the fair; and that was a seedling of Galathilion, and that a fruit of Telperion of many names, Eldest of Trees. Who shall say how it comes here in the appointed hour? But this is an ancient hallow, and ere the kings failed or the Tree withered in the court, a fruit must have been set here. For it is said that, though the fruit of the Tree comes seldom to ripeness, yet the life within may then lie sleeping through many long years, and none can foretell the time in which it will awake.

The Steward and the King, The Return of the King

In Gandalf’s words, we see the link between preservation and renewal. The line of Telperion preserved from the days of the Two Trees, and the promise of renewal to its former glory. 

But, alas, our first sight of Nimloth in The Rings of Power is a solemn one. Unlike the  sapling of Gondor emerging from the snow, we instead witness the opposite, the beginning stages of a fully-grown white tree beginning to wither.

Nimloth is weeping.

Her blossoms scatter onto the royal courts as Queen Regent Míriel and her advisor Pharazôn pause to make note of the moment. Míriel’s face flushes with unmistakable desperation.

Is this then the first of many signs and warnings of Númenor’s descent to her watery grave? As steward-keeper of Nimloth (Faith), is Míriel’s faith in Eru and Númenor’s alliance with the Elves starting to crumble?

From what we are seeing, Nimloth is shedding her crown; Númenor is dying.

Mortality is, of course, a theme central to Tolkien’s works. Endings are inscribed to the life and stories of every creature on Middle-earth. It is this ill-fate that Tolkien has termed “fading” that the immortal Elves seek to halt. As Tolkien writes of the Second Age in a letter to Milton Waldman: 

All through the twilight of the Second Age the Shadow is growing in the East of Middle-earth, spreading its sway more and more over Men — who multiply as the Elves begin to fade.

Letter #131, The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien

Following the destruction of the Two Trees, their great Elf-king Finwë’s death at the hands of Morgoth, the theft of the Silmarils, and in defiance of Eru and the Valar, the arrival and lingering presence of the Noldor (tribe of Elves descended from Finwë) on Middle-earth resulted in their inevitable decline as a people. Yet, the hubris, ingenuity, and might of the Noldor also meant they were a great force to be reckoned with.

They are the chief artificers of devices (“rings”) that halt fading in the Second and Third Age.

In The Rings of Power, the fading of the Noldor is discreetly translated through the Tolkienian metaphor of suffering trees. Given their presence on Middle-earth is consequential to their continued defiance to the Valar, the Noldor’s faltering faith is represented in their inability to keep their beloved Mallorn trees (plural Mellyrn) from fading.

We are quite familiar with the description of the Mallorn Tree from several Tolkien texts (Letter to Minchin (1956), The Fellowship of The Ring, Unfinished Tales). It is prominently described as having a single smooth bark (“pillar”) of grey silver whose leaves turn to pale gold in the autumn, which carpeted the forest floor through spring and summer.

Its bark was silver and smooth, and its boughs somewhat upswept after the manner of the beech; but it never grew save with a single trunk. Its leaves, like those of the beech but greater, were pale green above and beneath were silver, glistering in the sun; in the autumn they did not fall, but turned to pale gold.

In the spring it bore golden blossom in clusters like a cherry, which bloomed on during the summer; and as soon as the flowers opened the leaves fell, so that through spring and summer a grove of malinorni was carpeted and roofed with gold, but its pillars were of grey silver. Its fruit was a nut with a silver shale.

A Description of the Island of Númenor, Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth

Unlike the description of the Mallorn  given by Tolkien, we instead witness a dark, crudely shaped, and twisted bark of a large, and what we presume is an ancient Mallorn Tree. 

From stills and footage, we can construct a working hypothesis that the Noldor are experimenting with planting a Mellyrn forest in Lindon. As Gil-galad and Elrond commune among the trees at night, our eyes are drawn to the sharp contrast of the younger Mellyrn (right) and the dark,  brooding, and ancient Mallorn (left). It appears that the ancient Mallorn is fading, albeit gradually. What may have begun as a silver pillar for a bark has gradually twisted unto itself; stopping the Mallorn from growing to its magnitudinous heights. Her golden leaves also appear to be much darker compared to the younger ones.

Further evidence for this hypothesis is the telltale presence of a Mallorn sapling in Khazad-dûm. While we cannot confirm why a sapling might be growing in the deep underground caverns of Moria, it is curious that the Elves as keepers of the Mallorn sought the Moria Dwarves as collaborators in testing the  possible thriving conditions for Mellyrn.

A simpler explanation might be that the Mallorn sapling was grown from a seed gifted to the Moria Dwarves in lieu of friendship. A possible callback to Galadriel gifting Samwise Gamgee a single Mallorn nut that was consequently planted in the Shire.

Even so, the fading of the Mallorn will be an ongoing leitmotif that will marshal the Noldor into seeking and creating the Rings of Power as a means to halt the Fading of the Elves and their realms.

Extra

The Mallorn of Lothlórien. 

About the author: DrNosy is a scientist (physical science), scholar, and Tolkien enthusiast. Her primary interests lie in review and analysis of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. She is an active contributor and Reading Room Moderator on TheOneRing.net Discord where she also hosts live open-forum panel discussions on The Rings of Power, The Silmarillion,  and a variety of Tolkien-related topics. You can reach her on Twitter.

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Here’s a somewhat overlooked piece of news from a little while back! On June 15, voice actor Alex Jordan announced that he had a part in the Warner Bros Animation/New Line Cinema feature The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.

However, it seems that his name was inadvertently omitted from the orginal English voice cast list given to Deadline at the same time. As a result, knowledge of Jordan’s involvement pretty much slipped under the radar.

More interestingly, Jordan has provided the name of the character he will be voicing — an completely original character by the name of Lord Frygt.

Seemingly a strange name, but Scandanavian friends on TORn’s IRC channel tell me that Frygt is a Danish word that means “fear”. One could interpret it as Lord Fear or Lord Fright.

At first I wondered, if the use of Danish could be related to the use of Anglo-Saxon to name the other original character we’ve heard of so far — Helm’s daughter, Héra.

Is it meant to be a Dunlending word? Unfortunately, the only Dunlending word we know of is “forgoil”. It seems to impossible to judge by extrapolating our knowledge of Tolkien. But Dunlending is supposedly related to the language of the Haladin, so it seems more likely it might be Rohirric? I’m no language expert so if anyone knows better, let me know!

A name like Lord Fear seems a little ominous as a name for someone of the Rohirrim. Could it be a Dunlending person instead? That seems a little unlikely since the leaders of the Dunlending faction are the Rohirrim lords (and outlaws), Freca and Wulf.

Instead, perhaps it’s meant to be an appellation give by either the Rohirrim or the Dunlendings to something else. Because I’m reminded of something that Philippa Boyens said when I interviewed her in June just after the casting announcement:

I can give you a little tease and let you know that, although we said this isn’t about The Ring and this isn’t about the Dark Lord … there are the White Mountains and there are creatures [out there]. We know that there were orcs around this area.

Exclusive: Philippa Boyens talks The War of The Rohirrim with TheOneRing.net

She also confirmed that these creatures she’s referring to are definitely not the dead men of Erech.

I think Lord Frygt will emerge as some non-human being feared by either the Dunlendings, or by the Rohirrim. Or both.

The War of the Rohirrim will be released in theatres worldwide on April 12, 2024.

About the author: Staffer Demosthenes has been involved with TheOneRing.net since 2001, serving first as an Associate News Editor, then as Chief News Editor during the making of the Hobbit films. Now he focuses on features and analysis. The opinions in this article are his own and do not necessarily represent those of TheOneRing.net and other staff.

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It’s here! If you’re anything like me, listening to the music of The Lord of the Rings is a great way to relax at the end of a stressful day. Now we can add the music from the new series to our playlists.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season One Soundtrack

Listen now on Amazon Music

Amazon has two additional Amazon exclusive releases, “Find the Light” and “The Promised King”. I’ve already listened to “Find the Light” and personally I love it, I found it to be quite moving and beautiful, very emotive.

Listen now on Spotify

Physical copy pre-orders

Double CD pre-order on Mondo Records

VINYL Double LP pre-order on Mondo Records

Amazon exclusive Double VINYL LP advance purchase

PRESS RELEASE

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Season One: Amazon Original Series Soundtrack) 

Score composed by Bear McCreary, this soundtrack features “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Main Title” by composer Howard Shore available on Amazon Music

CULVER CITY, California – August 19, 2022—Today, Amazon Studios released The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Season One: Amazon Original Series Soundtrack). Available worldwide across all streaming services, the full episodic score for the highly anticipated Amazon Original series was composed by Emmy-winner Bear McCreary and also features “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Main Title,” composed by Academy Award-winner Howard Shore. Amazon Music listeners will also have access to two exclusive songs from the soundtrack: “Find the Light” and “The Promised King.” CLICK HERE to listen to The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (Season One: Amazon Original Series Soundtrack). Physical CDs can be pre-ordered HERE and the LP can be pre-ordered HERE. An Amazon Exclusive vinyl variant is available for advance purchase HERE.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will debut worldwide on Prime Video on September 2, 2022. Following each episode, Amazon Music will release a weekly soundtrack album containing the entirety of the score for each episode, plus additional bonus tracks only available on Amazon Music.

The Season One: Amazon Original Series Soundtrack includes two performances by The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power actors—Sophia Nomvete (Princess Disa) on the track “A Plea to the Rocks” and “This Wandering Day,” sung by Megan Richards (Poppy Proudfellow).

Bear McCreary, known for his incomparable world-building and use of innovative musical approaches in the worlds of television, film, and video games, will guide audiences through the major events of the Second Age of Middle-earth, as seen in the forthcoming series. Working out of the iconic Abbey Road Studios as well as AIR Studios and Synchron Stage in Vienna, he has recorded and composed hours of music for the score, weaving together his original themes into a sonic tapestry for a full symphonic orchestra, alongside vibrant folk instruments and choral singers. 

“J.R.R. Tolkien’s stunning novels and their film adaptations have had a profound impact on my imagination for nearly my entire life,” McCreary said. “I am honored to compose the music that will help guide audiences through the major events of the Second Age of Middle-earth.”

“This soundtrack is a stunning companion to the series’ exploration of the Second Age of Middle-earth” said Bob Bowen, worldwide head of music for Amazon Studios.  “With two weeks to go till the debut of Season One, we’re excited to give fans a further glimpse into the epic series.”

Legendary composer Howard Shore has composed scores for some of the most memorable and world-renowned film and television series. Globally respected for his passion for J.R.R. Tolkien’s work, he is perhaps best known for his work on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies. 

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power brings to screens for the very first time the fabled Second Age of Middle-earth’s history, set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R Tolkien’s The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings stories. Led by showrunners and executive producers J.D. Payne & Patrick McKay, the series begins in a time of relative peace, following an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared reemergence of evil to Middle-earth.

Additional executive producers are Lindsey Weber, Callum Greene, J.A. Bayona, Belén Atienza, Justin Doble, Jason Cahill, Gennifer Hutchison, Bruce Richmond, and Sharon Tal Yguado, and producers Ron Ames and Christopher Newman. Wayne Che Yip is co-executive producer and directs, along with Bayona and Charlotte Brändström. 

The multi-season drama will premiere exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories around the world in multiple languages on Friday, September 1-2  (time zone dependent), with new episodes available weekly. 

TRACK LISTING: 

01) “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Main Title” (by Howard Shore) 

02) “Galadriel” 

03) “Khazad-dûm” 

04) “Nori Brandyfoot” 

05) “The Stranger” 

06) “Númenor”

07) “Sauron” 

08) “Valinor” 

09) “In the Beginning” 

10) “Elrond Half-Elven” 

11) “Durin IV” 

12) “Harfoot Life” 

13) “Bronwyn and Arondir” 

14) “Halbrand” 

15) “The Boat”

16) “Sundering Seas” 

17) “Nobody Goes Off Trail” 

18) “Elendil and Isildur”

19) “White Leaves”

20) “The Secrets of the Mountain” 

21) “Nolwa Mahtar”  

22) “Nampat”

23) “A Plea to the Rocks” (feat. Sophia Nomvete) 

24) “This Wandering Day” (feat. Megan Richards) 

25) “Scherzo for Violin and Swords” 

26) “Sailing into Dawn” 

27) “Find the Light” (Amazon Music Exclusive)

28) “For the Southlands”

29) “Cavalry” 

30) “The Promised King” (Amazon Music Exclusive) 

31) “Water and Flame”

32) “In the Mines” 

33) “The Veil of Smoke” 

34) “The Mystics” 

35) “Perilous Whisperings” 

36) “The Broken Line” 

37) “Wise One” 

38) “True Creation Requires Sacrifice” 

39) “Where the Shadows Lie” (Instrumental) 

ABOUT PRIME VIDEO: 

Prime Video offers customers a vast collection of movies, series, and sports—all available to watch on hundreds of compatible devices. 

·         Included with Prime Video: Watch movies, series, and sports, including Thursday Night Football. Enjoy series and films including Emmy-winner The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Emmy-nominated satirical superhero drama The Boys, and the smash hits Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan, Hotel Transylvania: Transformania, The Tender Bar, Being the Ricardos, The Tomorrow War, and Coming 2 America. Prime members also get access to licensed content. 

·         Prime Video Channels: Prime members can add channels like discovery+, Paramount+, BET+, EPIX, Noggin, NBA League Pass, MLB.TV, STARZ, and SHOWTIME—no extra apps to download, and no cable required. Only pay for the ones you want, and cancel anytime.  View the full list of channels available at amazon.com/channels. 

·         Rent or Buy: Enjoy new-release movies to rent or buy, entire seasons of current TV shows available to buy, and special deals just for Prime members. 

·         Instant access: Watch at home or on the go with your choice of hundreds of compatible devices. Stream from the web or using the Prime Video app on your smartphone, tablet, set-top box, game console, or select smart TV. 

·         Enhanced experiences: Make the most of every viewing with 4K Ultra HD- and High Dynamic Range (HDR)-compatible content. Go behind the scenes of your favorite movies and TV shows with exclusive X-Ray access, powered by IMDb. Save it for later with select mobile downloads for offline viewing. 

Prime Video is just one of many shopping, savings, and entertainment benefits included with a Prime membership, along with fast, free shipping on millions of Prime-eligible items at Amazon.com, ultrafast grocery delivery and pickup, unlimited photo storage, exclusive deals and discounts, prescription savings, and access to ad-free music, books, and games. To sign up or start a 30-day free trial of Prime, visit: amazon.com/prime. 

About Bear McCreary: 

Emmy and BAFTA award-winning composer Bear McCreary began his career as a protégé of legendary film composer Elmer Bernstein, before bursting onto the scene scoring the influential and revered series Battlestar Galactica in 2004. Since then, McCreary has been a four-time Emmy nominee and won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme for Da Vinci’s Demons, a musical palindrome that sounds the same forwards and backwards. His recent projects include Foundation for Apple TV+, the Sony and Starz international hit series Outlander, Netflix’s Academy Award nominated documentary Crip Camp, produced by Barack and Michelle Obama, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures’ Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Paramount Pictures and Bad Robot Films’ 10 Cloverfield Lane, AMC’s global phenomenon The Walking Dead, Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and the video game Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge for Disney; and Sony PlayStation’s massive video game God of War, and its highly anticipated sequel. 

About Howard Shore: 

Shore is one of today’s premier composers whose music is performed in concert halls around the world by the most prestigious orchestras and is heard in cinemas across the globe. Shore’s musical interpretation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s imaginative world of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, as portrayed in the films directed by Peter Jackson, have enthralled people of all generations for years. This work stands as his most acclaimed composition to date awarding him with three Academy Awards, four Grammy Awards, two Golden Globes as well as numerous critic’s and festival awards.  He is an Officier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres de la France, the recipient of Canada’s Governor General’s Performing Arts Award and is an officer of the Order of Canada. The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures honored Howard Shore with an award for Career Achievement for Music Composition, the City of Vienna bestowed him with the Max Steiner Award and in 2017 he received the Wojciech Kilar Award established by the mayors of Krakow and Katowice. Shore has received numerous other awards for his career achievements. Shore has been invited to speak at many prestigious institutions, including La Fémis in Paris with Michel Hazanavicius. Other notable talks have been at Oxford Union, Royal Conservatory, Yale, NYU, Julliard, UCLA, University of Toronto, Berklee School of Music, Berlinale, Cinémathèque in Paris, and at Trinity College Dublin where he received the Gold Medal of Honorary Patronage. 

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It appears that some, uh, overly enterprising leakers thought they could make a quick buck by posting the full OST of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power to YouTube.

It was quickly caught and deleted. But, in the meantime, we were able discover a little over half of the track titles — and they provide interesting hints of what’s soon to come. Of the 37 tracks on the OST, the title theme is composed by Howard Shore, while the other 36 are by Bear McCreary.

Below are the titles of the first 19:

• 01. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Main Title
• 02. Galadriel
• 03. Khazad-dûm
• 04. Nori Brandyfoot
• 05. The Stranger
• 06. Númenor
• 07. Sauron
• 08. Valinor
• 09. In the Beginning
• 10. Elrond Half-elven
• 11. Durin IV
• 12. Harfoot Life
• 13. Bronwyn and Arondir
• 14. Halbrand
• 15. The Boat
• 16. Sundering Seas
• 17. Nobody Goes Off Trail
• 18. Elendil and Isildur
• 19. White Leaves

We can also now add the remaining track titles

• 20. The Secrets of the Mountain
• 21. Nolwa Mahtar
• 22. Nampat
• 23. A Plea to the Rocks
• 24. This Wandering Day
• 25. Scherzo for Violin and Swords
• 26. Sailing into the Dawn
• 27. For the Southlands
• 28. Cavalry
• 29. Water and Flame
• 30. In the Mines
• 31. The Veil of Smoke
• 32. The Mystics
• 33. Perilous Whisperings
• 34. The Broken Line
• 35. Wise One
• 36. True Creation Requires Sacrifice
• 37. Where the Shadows Lie

TORn does not condone piracy. Remember that the official release is around the corner, folks. You’ll very soon be able to stream the music to your heart’s delight via your favourite service, or even pick up a copy on physical media.

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Just six weeks ago, it felt like a Rings of Power drought. Now every day there’s a new batch of interviews and reveals. These are via Time Magazine writer Eliana Dockterman. Dockterman was able to shadow and interview the showrunners and key cast at San Diego Comic-Con.

Below are summaries and links to four articles that emerged from that for your reading pleasure.

The Secretive, Extravagant, Bighearted World of The Rings of Power, the Most Expensive Show Ever Made

Tears are streaming down Ismael Cruz Córdova’s chiseled cheekbones. Somehow, hardly anyone notices. I’m at San Diego Comic-Con, halfway through 96 hours spent shadowing the cast and creators of The Rings of Power, Amazon’s highly anticipated Lord of the Rings prequel series. Tomorrow, franchise superfan Stephen Colbert will debut a trailer for the series to 6,500 screaming attendees, many wearing pointy wizard hats. But tonight, at a private dinner, journalists are getting an early preview of the video in a golden faux forest constructed by Amazon for the occasion.

After a day spent among the convention crowd in 80-degree heat, sweaty, sneaker-clad members of the press mingle with actors dressed in cocktail attire: Córdova has chosen a sharp suit with a black leather harness pulled tight across his chest. A 16-person choir and 25-piece orchestra—fronted by a violinist decked out in Middle-earth regalia—perform music from the series.

Read More

11 Rings of Power Secrets We Learned From the Cast and Creators

Spend some time in Middle-earth and you’ll learn a lot of secrets. I shadowed the cast and creators of the much-anticipated Lord of the Rings prequel series, The Rings of Power, for four days at San Diego Comic-Con in July. During my conversations with the showrunners, executive producer, and several members of the cast, I did my best to pick up clues about where the series may be headed—along with details about the immense production behind the epic saga.

and…

If you want to watch the series without knowing anything about what might happen in the show, know that this story contains minor spoilers. Stop reading now. But if you want some background on the series and how Payne and McKay cooked up a story from Tolkien’s notes, forge ahead. I’ve seen two episodes of the show, and the information in this story comes primarily from the appendices.

[Editor’s note: Having read the article, I don’t consider any of this to be much of a spoiler for anyone who’s been casually following press reports and has a passing knowledge of Middle-earth’s Second Age.]

Read More

The Rings of Power Exclusive: Producer Says Fan Theories About Sauron Are Wrong

Fans have spent months speculating when and how he might appear in the show. They’ve combed the various trailers and publicity shots. Some theorize that fans have already seen his image—or at least his Annatar guise. But executive producer Lindsey Weber told TIME the prevailing fan theories may be on the wrong track.

[Editor’s note: This is potentially a spoiler, though I think fandom very quickly discarded the Sauron identity theory that Weber discusses with Time. It would have been much more interesting to address the other (much more compelling) rumour that’s doing the rounds right now. Unfortunately, they don’t even touch on it.]

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This Fan-Favorite Character Is Joining the Second Season of The Rings of Power

McKay and Payne leaned heavily on the appendices to The Lord of the Rings, which trace the rise of Sauron, the creation of the one ring, and the battle between Sauron and the last alliance of elves and men for the soul of Middle-earth. Elves are immortal in Tolkien’s world, so Lord of the Rings fans can expect to see familiar faces like Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Elrond (Robert Aramayo). (Both characters also appeared in Peter Jackson’s film trilogy.) But a fan-favorite character has been missing…

[Editor’s note: I guess this could be a minor spoiler for some so I’ve hidden the character’s name behind the link below just to be safe!]

Read More

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• Markella Kavenagh
• Morfydd Clark
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