This gentleman is not Saruman. But is it about… oh, we won’t give any spoilers yet! Image source: Amazon
The Rings of Power is taking a well-deserved break. After Season 2 has reliably entertained or enraged us over the past few weeks, depending on which side of the fence you’re on, the long wait for Season 3 now begins.
Still, we won’t stop speculating. Our trainee Tillmann came across an exciting theory on the Internet that revolves around the mysterious and still nameless magician in season 2.
Our editorial ringsmith Sören then sat down on the floor at home with a cup of hot cocoa and looked through his Tolkien library. The result is an actually exciting question, the resolution of which will be huge in season 3 Aha!
– moment could worry.
Sören plundered this hoard of ancient knowledge last night while his daughter was drawing on the Middle-earth map with colored pencil, grmpf…
A frightening message
It all begins with forging the great… no, sorry: it all begins with a private message from Tillmann to me:
Greetings, Grand Master Sören,
I discovered something during my work in the archives and I am sure that my find is worthy of your all-seeing eyes.
Tillmann’s find is a Link to Reddit. I click on it and come across a fan theory about Rings of Power that sends a chill down my spine:
Is the wizard from season 2 the future Witch-King of Angmar?
To digest the shock, I take a long drag on my pipe. What now? Should I inform the council? I decide against it and decide to search for the truth on my own instead.
8:56
Tales of the Shire shows a completely new side to Lord of the Rings
My search for clues begins in Rivendell
Night has now fallen. I’m up to my nose in the ancient writings of JRR Tolkien, trying to figure out whether Season 3 will actually give us the revelation that’s already been hotly debated on Reddit.
In fact, I’ll find it. Of all times, during the Council of Elrond, when the assembly was discussing how to proceed with the One Ring, an important sentence was uttered – on page 257 in the original English edition of The Lord of the Ringsto be exact:
A great king and wizard He once was, and now he wields a deadly fear.
What’s more: In an early draft of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien had put the words into the mouth of the wise Gandalf that the Witch-King once a member of my order
was before he fell into evil
. (cf. The War of the Ring
Chapter 6: The Siege of Gondor
page 331).
It wouldn’t be the first time that the showrunners of Rings of Power have taken generous liberties with the established lore.
I’m scared and worried: Could these discarded plans by Tolkien, combined with Elrond’s statement, be enough for the new writers for season 3 to present us fans with the unknown wizard in Rhûn as the later Witch-King of Angmar and Supreme of the Nazgûl?
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There are many reasons that speak against it
Whether by the gift of the Valar or by happy coincidence: my thoughts clear up at this very moment and suddenly new courage washes over my rapidly beating heart: No! No, I do not accept that as a servant of Tolkien’s legacy!
I hastily open my books again. Outside I hear an owl calling me to go to bed. But I can’t stop looking.
Successfully: There are several good reasons to doubt the circulating Witch King theory!
- The legendary ring poem says:
the mortal, eternally doomed to deathneun.
The mysterious magician himself already describes himself as in season 2Wish
which makes him de facto immortal when it comes to normal aging. - There are only five Istari: Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast and the two blue wizards Alatar and Pallando. Their fates are uncertain, where the authors of Rings of Power could start, but here the first reason comes into play again.
- It is therefore much more likely that the later Witch King once a Schwarzer Númenórer warpossibly even a prince, which later legitimized him as ruler and thus as the recipient of one of Sauron’s nine rings.
Relieved, I fall into my chair and close my eyes. My expert verdict: I don’t think it’s the Witch King.
If, despite all these facts, the showrunners of Rings of Power still insist on a reveal as the Witch King, they would be sure to get the next outcry from fans. And the last thing Amazon needs right now surrounding The Rings of Power is another lore controversy.
As you can see, we still have a lot of time until Season 3 of Rings of Power is released to put our heads together and speculate about the upcoming events of the series.
And maybe we’ll see each other in the cinema on December 12, 2024! Then the new film War of the Rohirrim starts and I will definitely buy a ticket at my cinema. If you see a man in a Lothlorien cloak and with a long Aragorn pipe, please say something Hallo
!
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