Who is Adar from The Rings of Power? 4 theories to explain the orc leader

**Warning: Spoilers follow The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Episode Four, “The Great Wave”**

At the end of his third episode The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power introduced us to Adar, a shadowy figure in the Southlands who seems to command the Orcs in their quest for a hidden power. It’s pretty clear from this episode that Adar and the Orcs who serve him are basically living the secret origins of Mordor in the Southlands. What’s less clear, however, is who Adar himself is and what his role will be this season and beyond.

Episode four of The Rings of Power, “The Great Wave,” has retained some of that mystery. We’re getting a closer look at Adar and at least an idea of ​​what he wants, but so many more questions remain.

Following on from the teaser at the end of Episode 3, “The Great Wave” follows Arondir’s (Ismael Cruz Córdova) storyline with the moment he finally meets Adar (an Elvish word for “father”), played by Ex game of Thrones Star Joseph Mawle. Though Arondir asks the scarred, elfin-looking figure some fairly easy questions, Adar doesn’t offer easy answers. Instead, he teases that Arondir has been lied to all his life, gives vague hints as to his intentions by reflecting on the fact that he is not a god “yet”, and finally sends the Elf away with a message for the people of the Southlands: surrender or death.

So who is this guy, why do the orcs call him father, and what is his role in the battles we know are yet to come as Sauron’s rise continues? We don’t know for sure, and the area of ​​history the show explores is just murky enough to keep us guessing. That means we have some ideas. Here are four theories that could explain Adar’s presence in Middle-earth before Mordor.

Theory #1: He is Sauron

Let’s start with Occam’s Razor (Morgoth’s Razor?)’s approach to this whole thing, and just go with the simplest and most direct explanation: Adar is Sauron, or at least an aspect of Sauron, before the Rings of Power are forged that will grant him later in the second age such power and terror in Middle-earth. He speaks as if he has been around for a long time (Sauron was born one of the Maiar and existed as such before time), he has a cool Mordor-looking gauntlet on his hand, and the orcs clearly worship him. Also, we know from episode three that the strange symbol haunting Galadriel is actually a map to attract orcs to the Southlands, where Sauron will eventually make his home. By the end of the second age, he has already made the One Ring in the fires of Mount Doom, so it’s easy to imagine this being a slightly less powerful version of Sauron, starting early on with his building projects, particularly by digging for a relic from Morgoth who might help him get up again.

Of course, it’s very easy to dismiss this idea as too simple, especially when the up-and-coming blacksmith Halbrand is handsome all over Númenor (where, according to Tolkien, Sauron eventually shows up in a very handsome disguise to fool the Númenorans). Perhaps Sauron is not in the Southlands yet. Perhaps Adar is more his herald or a first lieutenant, which leads us to…

Theory #2: He is the Witch King

Traditionally, the Witch-king of Angmar is viewed as a human leader who was corrupted by one of the Nine Rings and eventually transformed into the leader of the Ringwraiths, Sauron’s enforcers and the terrible hunters of the One Ring. But we know The Rings of Power takes certain liberties with Tolkien lore, especially when things get murky, and the good news for the show is that we really don’t know all that much about who the Witch-King was before he became the Witch-King. Perhaps in this version of the story he was an Elf first. Perhaps the way he looks now is part of his ongoing corruption, or there is a larger story that we don’t fully understand. When you think of Sauron’s best captains, his name almost always crops up, and it’s easy to imagine a world where he’s set into Mordor’s origins. However, the Rings of Power don’t yet exist in the show’s world, and it could be argued that the Witch-king is nothing until this moment. So maybe…

Theory #3: He’s Maeglin

If you are unfamiliar with Tolkien, how does it work The Silmarillion, you may not know the name Maeglin, but he’s a fascinating figure in the world of Middle-earth because he’s basically the only Elf ever corrupted into darkness by Morgoth (that we know of anyway). Nephew of an Elven king (and distant cousin of Galadriel), Maeglin was both a respected warrior and a highly skilled smith, capable of crafting some of the most powerful weapons known to the Elves of the First Age. Unfortunately, he was also in love with his first cousin, something his fellow Elves didn’t want him to have. Deeply angered at not being able to have what he truly wanted, Maeglin was eventually seduced by Morgoth (Sauron’s mentor and the original Dark Lord, remember) and agreed to open the hidden elven city of Gondolin in exchange for a leadership role and the Hand betrayed by the woman he loved. Gondolin fell, and according to Tolkien’s writings, Maeglin fell with it.

So the evil elf is dead, right? Well loud The SilmarillionMaeglin fell in Flames (remember the burn marks on his face) during the fall of Gondolin, which suggests death but doesn’t necessarily guarantee it, especially if you have the forces of darkness on your side. Also, Adar talks to Arondir about the lost region of Beleriand, where Maeglin was born. It is possible The Rings of Power dug deep into Tolkien’s lore to come up with an ace up his sleeve for Sauron, an elf with evil at heart who also happens to be really good at making weapons. Throw in the idea that orcs might be former elves corrupted by Morgoth himself and everything seems to fall into place.

Maybe we’ll reconsider that, of course. Maybe…

Theory #4: He’s someone else

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is a show that’s excited to show us earlier versions of familiar places and people, from the dwarven mines of Moria to beloved figures like Elrond and Galadriel. But the show takes almost as much joy in giving us new faces to cheer for, from the Elf trying to survive in the Southlands to the Harfoots dealing with new mysteries. It’s entirely possible that Adar is a new player on the Middle-earth map, a guy created because Sauron needs some top henchmen, and there aren’t too many to choose from. So we get a new villain, a mini-boss, before the big villain shows up, who also happens to have some connections to the Morgoth and Sauron storyline to fill in some of the gaps in the lore. Guessing games are fun, but sometimes the answer really is “hey, we invented it”. Whoever Adar is, we have four more episodes of The Rings of Power Season one to unwrap him.