The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

monition ! Spoilers for Rings of Power time of year 2 , episodes 2 and 3 ahead !

The Lord of the Rings : The Rings of Powerhas brought a Dark Wizard and new league of villain to Rhûn — so who are they , and what does this entail for the ongoing story of the Second Age ? This young champion is something of a mystery since there ’s so far no clear-cut indication of how he lines up with Tolkien canyon . Rhûn , in general , is a somewhat under - explore region of Middle - earth , so the Stranger ’s journeying there with Nori is sword fresh district for aLord of the Ringsscreen adaptation .

Rings of Powerseason 2 , installment 2 , " Where the Stars are unknown , " seesthe Stranger , Nori , and Poppy eventually arrive in Rhûn , and affair speedily begin to fall apart there . The same chemical group of cultist responsible for sending the acolyte in time of year 1 appeared , run by an minacious magician with seemingly black intentions . The magical grapheme , played by Ciarán Hinds ( Game of Thrones ) , is go to great length to entrance the Stranger before he master this Istari powers . Aside from this , we can only make school guesses about the Rhûn baddie and his followers .

Lord of the Rings The Rings of Power Season 2 Poster Showing Charlie Vickers as Sauron

The Lord of the Rings : The Rings of Power time of year 2 has add to its already pregnant casting to create a deep array of Second Age characters .

Is That A Wizard Ruling Over Rhûn In The Rings Of Power Season 2?

Rings Of Power Season 2 Introduces The “Dark Wizard”

Prime Video has officially dubbedHinds ' character " Dark Wizard,“confirming that this newfangled baddie really is an malign version ofLord of the Rings ' conjurors of tricks . His status as a wiz is further put up by his stave and long beard , which are distinctive features of these Middle - earth organism . Of course , this is a lilliputian confusing since there were only fivewizards ( or Istari)in Tolkien canyon . The Stranger has been all but confirm to be Gandalf , the most well - lie with adept ofLord of the Rings , but who is this Dark Wizard ?

The best clue we have regarding the Dark Wizard ’s true personal identity is the region over which he seems to reign . Three wizards notably locomote through Rhûn in mediate - earth ’s chronicle — the two Blue Wizards and Saruman . Since Pallando and Alatar ( the Blue Wizards ) came to Middle - worldly concern in the Second Age , it seems most probable that Hinds ' Dark Wizard is one of these two . However , since Saruman get in during the Third Age at the same meter as Gandalf , andRings of Powerseems to have already thrown this timeline out the window , there ’s always a chance the Dark Wizard is an former version of the White Wizard .

The Dark Wizard could also be a make newfangled increase toThe Lord of the Rings ' legendarium , courtesy ofRings of Power .

The Dark Wizard in Rings of Power

How Magic In Rhûn Changes Tolkien’s Lord Of The Rings Mythology

Rings Of Power Continues To Shift The Timeline

Tolkien never say anything about Rhûn being particularly magical , which makes the Department of State that the Stranger , Nori , and Poppy find the place somewhat surprising . According to Tolkien canon , this is where Sauron ’s spirit fly pursue the Last Alliance of Elves and Men at theend of the Second Age , but this has n’t bump yet during the event ofRings of Power . So , magic could n’t have been inspired by the Dark Lord himself . However , there issome shadowy indication in Tolkien ’s study that conjuring trick might have begun to fan out in Rhûn during the Second Age .

Either Prime Video moved the Blue Wizards ' cults up importantly in the timeline , or the nature of Rhûn has been change wholly for Rings of Power .

Tolkien gave contradictory accounts of what find to the Blue Wizards , butone interlingual rendition include the brace establish furor in Rhûn that further their own worshipand taught the beings there to use deception . This is n’t opine to bechance until somewhere around the end of the Second Age and the rootage of the Third , butRings of Powermakes it seem that the Dark Wizard ’s witching influence has been go on for many years . So , either Prime Video moved the Blue Wizards ' cultus up significantly in the timeline , or the nature of Rhûn has been changed whole forRings of Power .

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Numenor Cast

Image via Prime Video

Tolkien instead revealed that the Blue Wizards were successful in turning some tribes of work force away from Sauron , an action that had a significant impact on the Dark Lord ’s downfall .

The Men From Rhûn Are Easterlings

The Easterlings' Stories Extends Across All Middle-Earth’s Ages

The Men in Rhûn are a piffling well-fixed to define thanRings of Power ’s Dark Wizard since their history is outlined in Tolkien ’s works . Typically call the Easterlings , the Men of this region had been there for 100 upon centuries , assumedly descended from the first Men who inflame up in Hildórien . Since the East is where Morgoth dwelled for much of the early years of halfway - earth ’s existence , those who remained here ( rather than migrating west ) typically served and worshiped the Dark Lord . This keep on past Morgoth ’s ruin when the Easterlings turned their trueness to Sauron .

The Easterlings stay to serve the force of wickedness through every geezerhood of Middle - world , andthey are seen inThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy fighting for Mordor(these were the Men with mask and Oliphaunts ) . So , it ’s no surprisal that they are run across offer their services to the Dark Wizard inRings of Powerseason 2 . It ’s hard implied that this magical leader is on Sauron ’s side , so the Easterlings would be his instinctive friend .

The Rings of Power sent The Stranger and Nori off to the lands of Rhûn for the show ’s second time of year . Here ’s what it means for their report .

The Dark Wizard holding his staff in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2

How The Rings Of Power’s Acolytes Are Connected To Rhûn’s New Villain

The Season 1 Acolytes Were Reporting To The Dark Wizard All Along

The Rings of Powerintroduced the acolytes early in season 1 , withthe three religious mystic , the Dweller , the Nomad , and the Ascetic , journeying across Middle - earth in search of Sauron . At first , they reckon the Stranger is the Dark Lord , and they present themselves quick to serve him and get him back to power . However , when they realise that he was instead an Istar , everything change . The Stranger bend them into moth but considered their lyric clues regarding where he want to go next . Of of course , this has led him into the Dark Wizards kingdom inRings of Powerseason 2 .

In time of year 2 , episode 2,the Dark Wizard used the stemma of one of his following to restructure the moth into the Dweller , who promptly reports on the actual Sauron ’s action before being call into question about the peregrine Istar . It ’s absolved that this acolyte had been act on the Dark Wizard ’s order from the very outset , and the Dweller bowing to this newRings of Powervillain further supports the musical theme that he is n’t just the leader of a religious cult plump for Sauron but the object of their worship himself . Of course , there is still a great deal to learn regarding the goings - on of Rhûn — certainly further episodes will come with more answers .

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fix in the Second Age of Middle - ground , The Lord of the Rings : The Rings of Power explores the forging of the iconic ring , the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron , and the larger-than-life events leading up to the stories in J.R.R. Tolkien ’s Hellenic novel . The series chronicles the creation of fabled characters and the historical alliance and rivalries that mould the fate of in-between - earth .

The Stranger played by Daniel Weyman in front of a map of Rhun.

Proto-Easterlings or a different group of Rhûn-based warriors in The Lord of the Rings:The Rings of Power Season 2

Image via Prime Video

The Stranger Nori Rhun Rings of Power

Headshot Of Morfydd Clark In The V&A Summer Party 2024

Headshot Of Charlie Vickers

The Rings of Power