The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power brings fans to a different Middle-Earth they hardly recognize, yet all the things they love about it are still there. Set in the Second Age, years before the forging of the 20 Rings of Power, including the One Ring, the Amazon Prime Video series delves deeper into J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendarium than ever before. It’s the same Middle-Earth, the same land that carried Frodo and Sam to Mount Doom. However, it is a more ancient land that has yet to see the founding of some beloved kingdoms. Some familiar faces dwell in this ancient Middle-Earth, but they are nothing like their Third Age selves. Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Elrond (Robert Aramayo) are already thousands of years old but still lack experience. They’ve experienced some of Middle-Earth’s darkest days, too, but have not endured everything that shapes them into what they will become. Even evil and darkness are recognizable, although they come with a new face.
Rings of Power might have flaws and non-canonical inconsistencies, but its essence is the same as any Lord of the Rings adaptation, and it features some incredible characters. There’s always hope. High-King Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker) perfectly states: “Hope is never mere, even when it is meager. When all other senses sleep, the eye of hope is first to awaken, last to shut.” Galadriel, Elrond, and all the rest carry hope in their hearts, no matter what, even when it seems like it might be snuffed out. Battles will turn victorious, and families will be reunited. There’s even hope for those who believe themselves too damned to repent and be forgiven. Even when the characters of Rings of Power touch the darkness, there is still light.
15 Isildur
Played by Maxim Baldry
Isildur (Maxim Baldry) is training to join the Sea Guard of Númenór. However, despite his father Elendil’s (Lloyd Owen) encouragement, his heart isn’t in it; he wants to go West like his brother. Elendil is furious once he discovers his son’s plan to defer his training. At the next trial, Isildur gets sidetracked again and purposely gets himself dismissed while unintentionally getting his friends dismissed, too. Having alienated himself from his loved ones, Isildur enlists in his father’s expedition to Middle-earth, hoping to find his purpose finally. He proves his bravery as a fighter during the battle for the Southlands. After Orodruin’s explosion, Isildur is caught in a burning building, and his father believes him to have died.
Isildur flounders for much of Rings of Power Season 1. He lacks direction and has done so for many years, at least according to his father’s account of his past career endeavors. A voice calls him to the West, but everyone thinks it’s folly to follow it. His inner conflict with himself and his outer one with his friends and family are relatable. However, it’s less relatable and certainly less admirable that he’s been given everything in life, including tons of help from his father in his hunt for a career, when his friends have had to work exceptionally harder to get where they are. Some might not pity Isildur. He doesn’t even remain a stable hand for very long before he’s guarding the Queen in the Southlands, albeit bravely. Ultimately, going to Middle-earth shows Isildur that he loves battle and adventure.
14 Celebrimbor
Played by Charles Edwards
Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards), one of the most renowned Elvish smiths, is working on an extraordinary project at the behest of High-King Gil-galad and needs Elrond’s help. However, like the High-King, he isn’t exactly truthful about all the details initially. Celebrimbor needs to build a mighty forge quickly, and Elrond gets Durin (Owain Arthur) and the Dwarves to collaborate. However, Celebrimbor claims Durin is hiding something. The Dwarves have found Mithril, but that’s not the only secret Elrond uncovers. Gil-galad reveals the ore will help erase the Elves’ fading, and Celebrimbor knew about it all along. However, once he possesses the ore, he has no idea how to bend it to his will and create something that could save the Elves until Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) gifts him a small piece of knowledge about alloys. His proudest moment arrives when the three Elven Rings of Power are finished.
Celebrimbor strives to make something close in grandeur to the Silmarils, even if it means being sucked into Gil-galad’s unnecessary deceptions. His passionate determination clouds his judgment again when he takes Halbrand’s advice without question. The master smith isn’t as concerned with helping the Elves as he is with creating something that cements his legacy. He gets what he’s looking for but at a terrible cost. Celebrimbor’s story only gets more complicated and deadly from here.
13 Elendil
Played by Lloyd Owen
Elendil, a Númenórean sea captain, rescues Halbrand and Galadriel after his ship crosses their raft in the Sundering Seas. He brings them to Númenór and before Queen Regent Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) and Ar-Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle). Míriel is skeptical about Elendil, especially since his name means “Elf-friend,” and suspects he rescued Galadriel because he’s loyal to the Elves, like some Númenóreans, and not the crown. However, he claims the sea put Galadriel on his ship’s path, and the sea is always right. Still, Míriel promotes Elendil and tasks him to watch over the elf. However, Elendil’s friendship with Galadriel sours once he thinks his son Isildur is dead in the aftermath of Mount Doom’s awakening. He questions all his choices since rescuing her.
Elendil is one of the most loyal characters in Rings of Power, and that’s because of his exceptional talent for uncovering who is truly good and bad. He might sympathize with the Elves and Elf culture but would do anything for Míriel, Númenór, and his family. For once, he is a pure light through the darkness. Elendil has no ulterior motives like those around him, good or bad. His beliefs are so firm that it’s unsettling to watch him question his choices once he thinks he’s lost Isildur. However, Lord of the Rings fans know his confidence and bravery only strengthens from here as he becomes one of Middle-Earth’s greatest Kings.
12 Nori
Played by Markella Kavenagh
Like Frodo, Nori (Markella Kavenagh) is a small ripple in a larger pond but no less powerful. She craves adventure, and it literally lands in her lap when The Stranger (Daniel Weyman) shoots out of the sky. Still staying on the trail and not walking alone, she helps him, feeling that he came to her for a reason. Even when he endangers the encampment with his untamed power, Nori shows him kindness and never turns her back on him. After another burst of uncontrolled power, The Stranger leaves, but still, Nori tries to throw the Mystics off his trail. Things turn deadly but result in the return of The Stranger’s memories. Nori departs with him to embark on the adventure she always dreamed of.
There’s no mistaking that Nori has the same adventure streak as Bilbo and Frodo. Nori isn’t content exploring the old farm and picking berries. She yearns to leave the bubble the Harfoots have established over centuries for bigger adventures across Middle-Earth. However, despite her willfulness, helping The Stranger is definitely out of her depth and leaves her storyline stale.
11 Princess Disa
Played by Sophia Nomvete
Prince Durin IV might be king of Khazad-dûm one day, but his wife, Princess Disa (Sophia Nomvete), is no less powerful and ready to rule her people. He chose a perfect future Queen. Disa juggles being a mother and a leader while Durin is engaged with matters, secret or otherwise. She pushes her husband in the right direction when his stubbornness arises and has no problem lying to protect their powerful secret. Disa takes the reins when the Mithril mine caves in, praying to the rocks and even Aulë himself to help. In Durin’s darkest hour, after he disrespected his father and lost Elrond, Disa ensures they’ll find a way to fix things, and it’s hard not to believe her; she’s so determined.
Tolkien’s Middle-earth is very male-driven, so creating Disa for Rings of Power definitely adds some welcome woman power to the mix. Some say behind every great man, there’s a greater woman, and Durin and Disa embody that. Disa never loses faith for a moment when things get ugly. While Durin lets his stubbornness and temper get the best of him, she calmly reels him in and shows him reason. Disa doesn’t exactly get a chance to show off her true potential like the other characters, but she surely will as the show progresses.
10 Queen Míriel
Played by Cynthia Addai-Robinson
The bubble that Queen Regent Míriel has successfully created on Númenór bursts once Elendil rescues and brings home Galadriel and Halband. Númenór’s ancestors helped the Elves against Morgoth and, in return, the Valar granted them the island. However, over time, Númenór began turning away the Elves. Míriel’s father, Tar-Palantir, was usurped from his throne for his loyalty to them, and Míriel was put in his place. When Galadriel arrives, Míriel is the dutiful ruler, upholding her kingdom’s ideals and standing firm against the Elf’s demands. However, Míriel has kept her faithfulness a secret for as long as she’s kept her father’s ailing health hidden. She believes the Valar are watchful, and if Númenór takes one wrong step, the events she’s seen in the palantíri will come to pass. When the White Tree bleeds petals, she knows she has to stand with Galadriel and send aid to the Southlands, but as her father warns, nothing but darkness awaits her.
It might seem as if Míriel knows how to govern Númenór while keeping her true beliefs separate, but she doesn’t. Her father’s ominous ramblings and the palantíri’s predictions guide her reasoning. For a time, though, her beliefs and the ideals of Númenór coincide. The island has come to despise Elves and wants Galadriel to leave immediately. Míriel wants her gone as soon as possible, too, but only because the palantíri’s vision starts with her arrival. However, Míriel’s biggest fault is that she’s too willing to let visions and signs rule her decisions. Soon, she starts to believe that Galadriel isn’t the start of the downfall of Númenór but its salvation. If she helps the Elf, maybe the island won’t be drowned. Sadly, she should’ve done the opposite.
9 Durin
Played by Owain Arthur
Prince Durin is like Khazad-dûm itself. Underneath his tough exterior is a treasure to behold: loyal friendship. However, if a friendship is snubbed, he doesn’t take a minute to forsake it. Durin isn’t like many dwarves but is stubborn and can carry a grudge, especially towards his one-time friend Elrond, who arrives suspiciously. Offended that Elrond shirked their friendship for 20 years, Durin makes the Elf grovel. However, Durin realizes they both have their own secrets; his involves a newly uncovered ore more precious than gold, Mithril. Once Elrond discovers the secret, a defensive Durin claims the Elf only returned to secure the ore. Without Elrond’s seeming betrayal, Durin has enough to contend with, as mining for Mithril is perilous and nearly kills him and other miners. Things get even more complicated for him when he learns that Mithril can save the Elves and, more importantly, Elrond.
In Season 1 of Rings of Power, Durin is caught between a rock and a hard place. His unusual friendship with Elrond does not do him any favors. He wants to be loyal to Elrond, but he wants to make his father, the King, proud. Durin tries to find a middle ground but ends up stripped of his princely duties once he angers his father one too many times. Mithril and secret agendas aside, Durin and Elrond’s friendship is a great reminder that anyone can form a fellowship with each other, even Elves and Dwarves.
8 Gil-galad
Played by Ben Walker
High-King Gil-galad chooses to overlook Galadriel’s insubordination and grants her and her company the ultimate honor: passage back to Valinor. It’s his first attempt at dispelling the darkness taking over. He foresaw that Galadriel might’ve inadvertently kept alive the darkness she sought to defeat, so he sends her away. When her departure fails to solve the issue, he puts all his hope in Celebrimbor’s project. He uses Elrond’s friendship with Prince Durin to confirm if the Dwarves have found Mithril but never anticipates Elrond’s vow of secrecy to Durin. With little time left, Gil-galad allows Celebrimbor to make the three Elven Rings of Power.
Gil-galad tries to be the Elves’ strategic and clever ruler, but he isn’t perfect. His willingness to do anything to save his people often clouds his judgment. Most of his choices in Season 1 of Rings of Power are deeply flawed, especially his decision to keep Elrond in the dark about his intentions regarding Mithril. Gil-galad hasn’t shown great strength as a ruler yet, but he may soon. He’ll have even greater obstacles to overcome than the fading of the Elves.
7 Arondir
Played by Ismael Cruz Córdova
Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova), another non-canonical character, is an Elf stationed at the watch tower, Ostirith, who does not discriminate against the people of Tirharad. He has watched over them for nearly 80 years and thinks that some of them, especially Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi), should not be seen for who their ancestors were during the Great War. However, his willingness to help Bronwyn leads to his capture by the orcs, who make him dig a trench with the other Elves. After a rebellion turns sour, he is brought to Adar, who frees him in exchange for informing the group at Ostirith to leave or bend the knee. He stands with Bronwyn in the fight against Adar and the orcs and is instrumental in their victory.
Arondir sees the good in people, even when they do not see it in themselves. He protectively watched the people of Tirharad for many decades while his fellow Elves looked upon the town with suspicion and disdain. The Elvish warrior does not believe the village’s people should be condemned just for what their ancestors did. Arondir also doesn’t see a problem with falling in love with Bronwyn, even though relationships between Elves and Men are frowned upon.
6 Bronwyn
Played by Nazanin Boniadi
Bronwyn walked so Lord of the Rings characters like Eowyn could run. From the start, there’s something special about her: she welcomes Arondir’s company and tries to protect Tirharad from whatever decimated Hordern. At Ostirith, she and Arondir rally her fellow villagers to stand and fight; most do, except those whom Waldreg gets to swear allegiance to Adar. Bronwyn is at the front lines of the battle and nearly dies, but her bravery gets her through it. Thankfully, the burden of leading the Southlands is lifted from her when Míriel introduces her to Halbrand, the King they were promised.
Despite being questioned and underestimated time after time, Bronwyn is one of the strongest, bravest women in Rings of Power. The hardships of living in Tirharad haven’t dried up her soul; quite the opposite. Her softer side comes out just as frequently as her fire and bravery. She can share romantic moments with Arondir one minute and switch into a warrior in the thick of a battle the next. Despite all that, she is one of the many characters in the series who embody hope.
5 Elrond
Played by Robert Aramayo
Despite being an outsider in Lindon, Elrond’s light is just as bright as Mithril. He takes his job as the High-King’s herald seriously and craves to be a leading figure among the Elves. Elrond doesn’t question helping Gil-galad and Celebrimbor on the project. He visits Durin to ask for collaboration, but the Prince suspects Elrond and the Elves want more than just aid in building a mighty forge. Elrond doesn’t know it, but Gil-galad used him to get close to the Dwarves so that he could confirm the discovery of Mithril. Thankfully, Elrond does not lose his friend and, later, proves to be even more worthy of Galadriel’s friendship.
Like many characters in Rings of Power, Elrond is loyal to those he loves, and it’s incredibly endearing. Being half-elven and an outsider among the Elves, Elrond forged friendships with the most unlikely people and other outcasts. However, Gil-galad uses Elrond’s pure intentions and friendships against him. Elrond is caught in a battle of loyalties once he makes his oath to Durin. Somehow, he manages to keep it while still helping his people from fading. It proves Elrond is already an honorable leader.
4 The Stranger
Played by Daniel Weyman
The Stranger is just as mysterious as his arrival in Middle-earth. He shoots out of the sky and lands near the Harfoot’s encampment, where Nori finds him. He doesn’t have much of his memory, and his immense power ripples out of him uncontrolled whenever he feels threatened. Nori risks helping him, but he realizes he needs to return the favor and protect her and her family. However, his power is still mostly untamed, putting Nori in danger several times. The Stranger departs, but Nori still doesn’t give up on him. She jeopardizes even more to save him, but eventually, his memories return, and his power is refined. He takes Nori on the adventure she always dreamed of.
The Stranger and his identity are an enigma from the moment he lands in Middle-earth. Knowing little about him doesn’t disrupt his story. He arrives virtually in an almost infancy-like stage, and watching him slowly find his identity despite having no memories is captivating. The Stranger’s story is likely to get even more complicated.
3 Adar
Played by Joseph Mawle
Adar (Joseph Mawle) (Sindarin for “father”) is a mysterious, non-canonical character, but it’s clear from the start that he’s the revered patriarch of the orcs who settle and cause havoc in the Southlands. He instructs his children to dig a tunnel system, first thought to be a way for them to travel by day, but it’ll soon be a waterway leading to Mount Doom. Adar’s plans for the Southlands are clouded, but his priority is finding the sword hilt that Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) finds. He puts the people of Tirharad in an impossible position. A bloody battle commences, but when Adar gets the sword hilt, Galadriel and Halbrand intercept him. Galadriel has heard of Elves like him, whom Morgoth “tortured” and “twisted” into “a new and ruined form of life.” Adar is one of the first orcs, the Moriondor or Sons of the Dark, but he prefers “Uruk.” Soon, his plan to make a land for his children becomes a reality.
Initially, viewers are meant to believe Adar is Sauron, but he never confirms it, making the mystery surrounding him gripping. Adar isn’t like most villains; he’s quiet and reflective, which is puzzling and unsettling. All the while, his actions are conflicting. He shows Arondir a sort of mercy just as he shows mercy to the dying orc. Adar stops at nothing to give his children a place of their own but doesn’t shirk his roots either. He plants some Alfirin seeds before the battle, an Elvish tradition. One of the biggest things Rings of Power delves deeply into is the often frayed line between light and dark, and Adar treads that line. He thinks his intentions are honorable no matter what he’s got to do to achieve them.
2 Halbrand
Played by Charlie Vickers
Fate brings Halbrand and Galadriel together in the Sundering Seas. After surviving the Worm attack, Halbrand and Galadriel fight about Middle-Earth. His home, the Southlands, is ash, but he’s unwilling to help Galadriel rectify that. Elendil rescues them and takes them to Númenór, where Halbrand wants to stay and be a blacksmith. Galadriel confronts him about being the king of the Southlands, but he claims he’s not, as his people stood with Morgoth. Despite his reluctance, Galadriel convinces him to fight for the Southlands. In the wake of the battle, Halbrand is gravely injured, but Galadriel takes him to Eregion to heal. Halbrand encounters Celebrimbor at his forge, and suddenly, they begin working with the Mithril, making Galadriel suspicious. He reveals he’s Sauron, and after pulling her into a vision, he asks her to be his queen and bind him to the light. She vows never to stand by his side, and he flees to Mordor.
Halbrand is a complex character outside his true identity. Initially, he seems like a darker, more tortured Aragorn who is just as ready to shirk his lineage for honorable reasons. Halbrand only deceives Galadriel through omission. While revealing his identity, it’s hard not to want to believe the things he says. However, a little bit of a lie lurks in the truth. Would he use Galadriel, and does saving and ruling Middle-Earth mean he would have full dominion and enslave everyone? Regardless of his intentions, this is a side of Sauron we’ve never seen before. He is repentant and loyal, but his evilness slips through when he wants something desperately.
1 Galadriel
Played by Morfydd Clark
Galadriel grew up in Valinor and basked in the light of the Two Trees before Morgoth destroyed them. After the war, Galadriel takes up her brother Finrod’s mantle of finding and destroying Morgoth’s lieutenant, Sauron. For centuries, as the Commander of the Northern Armies, she scours Middle-Earth for any sign of him, leaving her company exhausted and with no other option but mutiny against her. Instead of returning to Valinor, Galadriel jumps ship and crosses paths with Halbrand, who becomes her ally in her short exile on Númenór. Desperate to return to Middle-Earth to help the Southlands, she uses Halbrand’s lineage to get Míriel to send aid. During the battle, she and Halbrand capture Adar and interrogate him, but all her hard work literally blows up in her face when Mount Doom erupts. After the chaos, helping a dying Halbrand becomes her new goal, but she is skeptical of him once he begins helping Celebrimbor. Her worst nightmare emerges once Halbrand reveals his identity and asks her to join him. In the aftermath, she can only ensure the three Elven rings are safely made without Sauon’s corruption.
Galadriel lives by something Finrod told her as a child: “sometimes, to find the light, we must first touch the darkness.” Despite having honorable intentions, she discovers what happens when you touch it for too long. Her long quest to find Sauron diminishes her light, and she loses herself to it. No longer does she fight for the right reasons. Her persistence, unwillingness to stop, and anger at being doubted drive her on. She thinks that if she defeats Sauron, her and Middle-Earth’s light will be restored. However, in her desperation, she hardly takes a moment to think. Despite Galadriel wanting peace in Middle-Earth, her quest for Sauron inadvertently kept him alive.
