[+] The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power - SPOILERS ALLOWED

[Hriston]

Is the person leading the orcs a figure from lore?

No, but from his conversation with Arondir, it seems he had been present in Beleriand in the First Age, as was Arondir apparently. I was a bit surprised at the mention of Beleriand since it seemed like it had been implied that the Battles of Beleriand had taken place farther east, to make Mordor/the Southlands relevant as a place from which men loyal to Morgoth could have come, for example.

 

[Davies]

I wonder if Adar could perhaps be Maeglin, the son of Eöl the Dark Elf, and the hilt be that of Anguirel, his sword. Of course, Maeglin is supposed to have died during the Fall of Gondolin, but I suppose the writers could have him survive that (it is a stretch, I am aware) but at least he is one "known" elf who had been wholly corrupted by Morgoth.

He could be Maeglin's heretofore unrecorded offspring; while obsessed with Idril, he would not be the first obsessed individual to have satisfied certain "needs" with others whom he viewed with contempt for not being the object of his desires. (I do not insist on this theory.)

Meanwhile, Celebrimbor has been triggering my paranoia alarms a lot since he first showed up, and never more than in this episode. Why would the fact that he'd known Earendil have been hidden from Elrond?

 

[Hriston]

My impression of Adar is that he's using the most expedient (and thoroughly evil) means at his disposal to prevent the reemergence of Sauron by setting himself up as dark lord of Mordor so there's no power vacuum for Sauron to fill. Seizing the sword seems to be part of that. Perhaps he'll turn out to be an ally to Galadriel when Sauron shows up, although she'd probably reject him and any help he would offer. He might serve as a mirror to Galadriel -- what could happen if she's consumed by her desire for revenge.

 

[Rabulias]

Waldreg has shown himself to be a follower of Morgoth and Sauron, and he believes the starfall to be a sign heralding Sauron's return. Another ambiguous hint that the Stranger is Sauron, or perhaps someone sent to oppose Sauron in his imminent rise.

 

[Ryujin]

Waldreg has shown himself to be a follower of Morgoth and Sauron, and he believes the starfall to be a sign heralding Sauron's return. Another ambiguous hint that the Stranger is Sauron, or perhaps someone sent to oppose Sauron in his imminent rise.

They were purposefully very vague with the wording of that particular statement. It appears that they actively want everyone to be guessing about who Sauron is, just like the humanoid Cylons in Battlestar Galactica. Spoiler: EVERYONE was.

 

[MarkB]

They were purposefully very vague with the wording of that particular statement. It appears that they actively want everyone to be guessing about who Sauron is, just like the humanoid Cylons in Battlestar Galactica. Spoiler: EVERYONE was.

Well, hopefully in this case they're actually leading the audience to guess the truth about questions they've actually worked out the answers to in advance and aren't just going to make up later, unlike the writers of Battlestar Galactica, Lost or The X-Files.

 

[John R Davis]

I like the idea he is a rival to Sauron

 

[Hriston]

I think Nori will somehow discover the Stranger's constellation can only be seen by travelling south, leading them, of course, to Mordor. I also think it will turn out to be providential in some way that she was "meant" to find and help the Stranger, just like Bilbo was "meant", in Gandalf's words, to find the ring.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I keep thinking about Adar saying that the accepted truths about Middle-Earth are largely lies.

Given his relationship to the orcs and his odd appearance, I was thinking that the accepted story is that elves being turned into orcs has been largely understood as something done to unwilling elves. But what if there were one or more elves complicit in it, even willing volunteers? Then Adar could be either a true believer or even the one who implemented this, making him truly the orcs' collective father.

 

[Rabulias]

Given his relationship to the orcs and his odd appearance, I was thinking that while the accepted story is that elves being turned into orcs has been largely understood as something done to unwilling elves, what if there were one or more elves complicit in it, even willing? Then Adar could be either a true believer or even the one who implemented this, making him truly the orcs' collective father?

Perhaps his transformation was disrupted in some way, leaving him is some half-orc/half-elf state? Maybe he is the result of the first attempts at creating orcs from elves long ago, and it just did not go 100%? This position and longevity could lead to him being named "father" by other orcs.