Who is Adar in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power?
Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power episode 3! Turn back now if you haven't caught up on Amazon Prime Video!
You might expect an episode titled 'Adar' to feature, well, a bit more of Adar. But all we got from the latest installment of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power was a blurry glimpse at the mysterious character.
The antagonist was introduced at the end of the episode after Arondir’s and the Elves' planned escape from the Orcs went wrong. "Bring him to Adar," says one of the Orc commanders following Arondir’s botched break-out. They then chant the villain's name as a figure slowly emerges from the cave. We can’t see much, aside from his gloved hands (which we've seen in one of the character posters) and an outline of his figure.
Adar is a new character created for The Rings of Power series, so our knowledge of who he is remains quite limited. We do know that he’s a leader of the Orc army – and we have seen him before in one of the teaser trailers for the show, which you can see below. He's pictured leading an army of Orcs along a pathway. The clip is quite far away and we don’t get a particularly good look at him. Luckily, despite the limited information, there are several theories – as well as some hints from the creators – about who he could be.
Perhaps surprisingly, Adar looks slightly Elvish as there seems to be a slight tilt of his ears. If he is an elf, it explains his connection to the Orcs. Originally, in J.R.R. Tolkien’s work, the first Orcs were once Elves who were tortured and mutilated by Morgoth. Alternatively, Adar may be an elf himself who has allied himself to darker powers.
Interestingly, during Total Film’s in-depth cover story on the show, the make-up and
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