The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerhas introduced a handful of original characters, and a standout among them is Adar, the father of the Orcs. Played by Joseph Mawle inRings of Powerseason 1 and Sam Hazeldine in season 2, Adar allowed for a unique perspective of the Orcs in theLord of the Ringsspinoff series. Though evil himself, he presented a more sympathetic look at Middle-earth’s monsters. Unfortunately, Adar has already come to a tragic end inRings of Powerseason 2, though it’s worth exploring who this character was and how he fit with Tolkien canon.
Adar was considered thefather of the Orcs inRings of Power, and his primary goal was to provide them a home in Middle-earth. They had been little more than disposable soldiers during Morgoth’s reign, but this Dark Lord’s downfall created an opportunity for Adar to forge a new path. To achieve his goal, Adar made war with the people of the Southlands to gain access to Mount Doom, causing the volcanic mountain to erupt and cover the land in ash and smoke to block out the sun. From there,Adar aimed to take out the Orcs' greatest threat, Sauron. Unfortunately, this didn’t work out for him inRings of Power.
Adar Was Originally An Elf, But Morgoth Corrupted Him
Adar Was A Moriondor
The events ofRings of Powerseason 1 revealed that Adar had once been an Elf—one of the earliest to live in Middle-earth before there was even a sun in the sky to count the years by. This was around the time that Morgoth began exercising his power in Middle-earth, andhe captured some of these early Elves and corrupted them until they became something entirely new. InRings of Powerseason 2, Adar stated Morgoth had made promises to those who came with him, and in this particular Elf’s case, he was promised children.
Though the exact methods that Morgoth used to torment Elves like Adar were never explicitly stated, thisRings of Powercharacternoted that he had been tortured, tied up, and left abandoned. Just as Adar reached the peak of all he could handle, Sauron appeared with wine.Something about this drink twisted the Elf from the inside outand turned him into one of the first Orcs. Galadriel referred to Adar’s kind as “Moriondor,” which means “Sons of the Dark One” in the Elvish language Quenya.
Why Adar Is The Father Of The Rings Of Power’s Orcs
Adar Would Be An Ancestor To Many Of Rings Of Power’s Orcs
After Morgoth’s cruel experiments, Adar became one of the first Orcs. However,not all Orcs inThe Lord of the Ringswere once Elves. After the Dark Lord had his first batch of monsters,they bred in the same way as Elves and Men to reproduce. In this way, Morgoth delivered on his promise to Adar—he had children, who over the next several thousand years continued to reproduce and multiply. So, while Adar didn’t technically sire all the Orcs inRings of Power, he and the other unseen Moriondor were their direct ancestors.
Beyond this, Adar was the father of the Orcs in Rings of Power because he took on this role, and they accepted it.
Beyond this, Adar was the father of the Orcs inRings of Powerbecause he took on this role, and they accepted it. Adar cared about the well-being of his many descendants and went to great lengths to give them security and safety. So, while he would have had a different name as an Elf,Adar was a name he earned since it meant “father” in the Sindarin language.
Adar’s Reason For Turning Against Sauron Explained
Rings of Powernever shows what Adar and the Orcs' lives were like under Morgoth’s rule. However, the beginning of season 2 showed the state of their people following the Dark Lord’s downfall when Sauron attempted to elevate himself as the Orcs' new dark leader. Sauron had been Morgoth’s first lieutenant, but his plan for Middle-earth differed significantly from his masters.He didn’t desire destruction for the sake of destruction but insteadsought to purge Middle-earth and rebuild it to his own “perfect” design.In the end, this design really didn’t include the Orcs.
During hisspeech inRings of Powerseason 2, Sauron made it clear that he saw the Orcs as a disposable force and would use them to achieve his goals and leave them with nothing. Since Adar wanted security for his people, he immediately recognized that Sauron wasn’t the leader they needed. So,he led a coup against Sauron, stabbing theRings of Powervillain with the reforged crown of Morgoth.
Morgoth’s crown was used to imprison this Dark Lord in Tolkien canon, butRings of Powerinstead had Sauron take it for himself.
What Adar Wanted In The Rings Of Power
Adar’s Goals In Rings Of Power Explained
Adar’s overarching goal was to protect the Orcs and provide them with a place to live under their own governance. However, inRings of Power, he realized that Sauron would continue to hinder this. The Orcs had their home in Mordor, but the moment Adar suspected that Sauron was still alive and learned of his location,he became fixated on taking the Dark Lord down. For this reason, he commanded the Orcs to leave Mordor and march for Eregion, where they laid siege to the city to extract and kill Sauron—this time permanently with the help of Galadriel’s Ring, Nenya.
Did Adar Turn Good After Wearing Nenya In The Rings Of Power Season 2?
Adar Changed After Putting On Galadriel’s Ring Of Power
Adar had attempted to murder Sauron after Morgoth’s downfall, but the power of the Iron Crown wasn’t enough to snuff out the villain’s essence. However, after hearing about the Elvish Rings of Power forged by Celebrimbor,Adar believed he could truly kill Sauron with Galadriel’s Ring. He succeeded in stealing Nenya after tricking Galadriel and putting the thing on to then harness its power. However, Nenya has the power to banish darkness, and with the Ring on his finger,Adar was temporarily purged of Morgoth’s evil.
Nenya brought Adar clarity, and he seemed to understand that his decision to attack Eregion was misguided. He promised Galadriel he would leave with the Orcs and never make war on Middle-earth again. Still, Adar wasn’t necessarily good. He didn’t wish to desert the Orcs and return to being an Elf, andwillingly took off Nenya and allowed himself to be taken back over by Morgoth’s evil. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much time to fully understand what this meant for Adar’s morality since he was betrayed and murdered by the Orcs immediately after.
How Adar Fits With Tolkien’s Lord Of The Rings Canon
Adar Is An Original Character Inspired By Tolkien Lore
Some of Tolkien’s notes described the origin of the Orcs, and one version outlined how Morgoth captured and corrupted early Elves, turning them into the first Orcs who then bred and multiplied.
Adar was never a character mentioned inTolkien’sThe Lord of the Ringsor other works set in Middle-earth. However, the idea of this character was technically conceived by the fantasy author. Some of Tolkien’s notes described the origin of the Orcs, and one version outlined how Morgoth captured and corrupted early Elves, turning them into the first Orcs who then bred and multiplied. However,the author was never quite happy with this interpretationsince it would mean that Orcs were inherently evil—an idea he didn’t believe in for his works.
Why Adar Was Betrayed By His Own Orcs In The Rings Of Power Season 2
Adar’s Tragic Fate Explained
Just as Adar decided that he would pull out of Eregion and bring his children back to the peace and safety of Mordor, he was attacked and killed by the very Orcs he sought to protect. This happened, naturally, because of Sauron’s manipulation, but the seeds of this betrayal were planted by Adar himself long before his Orcs ever confronted theDark Lord at Celebrimbor’s forge. The Orcs' father had become so fixated on eliminating Sauron thathe had begun to treat them as disposable soldiers himself. The Orcs saw this as a betrayal themselves inRings of Powerand turned to serve a new master instead.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Cast
Set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power explores the forging of the iconic rings, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, and the epic events leading up to the stories in J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic novels. The series chronicles the creation of legendary characters and the historic alliances and rivalries that shape the fate of Middle-earth.
