Amazon Studios The Rings of Power is here. We want all Spoilerites to have the best viewing experience possible and have the widest knowledge base about the Second Age of Middle-Earth. This is a weekly Let’s Get Nerdy article series highlighting a different piece of Tolkien I think you need to know about!
In past articles I have answered the question:
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- What Are the Rings of Power?
- What is Númenor?
- What is the Second Age?
- Who are the Harfoots?
- Who is Prince Durin IV?
- What is Khazad-dûm?
- Who is Celebrimbor?
- What is the Last Alliance of Men and Elves?
- Who is Elendil?
- New Pics! Who are Bronwyn and Theo?
- What is Rivendell?
- The Rings of Power First Reactions Are In!
- What is Lindon?
- What are the Nine Human Rings?
- Empire Magazine’s The Rings of Power Covers
- New Character Pictures
- Will Wizards Appear in The Rings of Power?
- New Promo for The Rings of Power
- What is Eregion?
- Leaked! Rings of Power Trailer Breakdown
- The Rings of Power Teaser Breakdown
- New EW Rings of Power Pictures
- SDCC Rings of Power Trailer Breakdown
- Who is Isildur?
- The Rings of Power is Here! Read the Reactions
- Who is the Stranger?
- Who is Queen Míriel?
- Who is Ar-Pharazôn?
- What is the broken black blade?
- What is Mordor?
- What is Mithril?
- What are the Silmarils?
- What is Narsil?
- Who founded Númenor?
- Who is Galadriel’s Brother Finrod?
- Rings of Power Adds 15 New Cast Members for Season 2
- Who is Círdan?
- Will Celeborn Appear in The Rings of Power?
- Are Galadriel and Sauron Enemies in Book Canon?
- Who is Narvi?
- Jamie Bisping Cast as Viran
- Will the Harfoots Settle The Shire?
- What to Watch Before The Rings of Power Season 2
- Will We See More Rings in The Rings of Power Season 2?
- Will Lord Belzagar Appear in The Rings of Power Season 2?
- Who is Diarmid?
Alright, alright, alright, I’m stepping away from the casting rumours for a second and getting back into character assumptions this week on Let’s Get Nerdy! That’s the trouble with rumours. They’re less than a half truth. Assuming The Rings of Power season 2 moves the narrative of the forging of The One Ring forward, rather than hopping the timeline of Middle-Earth in a truly Doctor Who-esque move in the genre television space, we’re going to be in rings of power heaven in the coming season.
Something most people know about the larger Lord of the Rings mythology is the history of the Ringwraiths.
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die
We saw the Nine Ringwraiths throughout The Lord of the Rings original film trilogy repeatedly.
I’ve written about them for the past couple years here in this series, so let’s explore what it would mean to have some of these characters introduced into The Rings of Power next year:
Who are we most likely to see, Ashley?
I’m so pleased you asked this, Spoilerite.
In my humble opinion we are most likely to focus a narrative around Khamûl the Easterling. He is considered to be the lieutenant to the Witch-King of Angar. Yes, he’s not as powerful or legendary as the Witch-King. I’m admitting this to you here. Why would I position him as the character most likely to be added to The Rings of Power season 2 if he’s not the most frightening? Well, as with all things Tolkien, it all comes down to the language and the names.
Fun fact: Khamûl the Easterling is the Ringwraith, per the Tolkien canon, who chases Frodo Baggins and the hobbits to Buckleberry Ferry and later to Bree. Now, we’ll move onto some Less Fun Facts.
Khamûl the Easterling was also known as “the Shadow of the East”.
Yes, I’m clinging to the persistent reference to “The East”.
He’s also-also known as “The Black Easterling”.
Yes, there are racist undertones with the notion of the mysterious East in the fictional world of Middle-Earth as there would be if this narrative were set on our Earth. Easterlings even enjoyed racist portrayals in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. It’s not great. In the macro, this positions this group of people – and Khamûl the Easterling as a figurehead – for updating and reinvention in the on-screen canon.
AND
Khamûl the Easterling is also-also-also held down Sauron’s stronghold in Dol Guldur.
The Hobbit Trilogy _ Dol guldur all scenes Part 1/4
This is the 1st part of all the scenes that take place in Dol Guldur, in the trilogy of the hobbit. Enjoy ; )
Yes, my Hobbit trilogy of film fans! The very same Dol Guldur we saw with Gandalf, Galadriel, et al as the gathering place for the coming events of The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Thus, Dol Guldur is part of the visual language the wider audience is familiar with. This is important because if we’ve seen it or heard it before we’re more likely to accept a revisit – as with Khazad-dûm (a.k.a. Moria).
He’s a power player in the Ringwraith canon, additionally, for having the strongest bond to the One Ring outside of the Witch-King. What does this mean? It means he has the second strongest pull toward locating the One Ring at any given time.
Lastly, but not leastly, the main reason I believe Khamûl the Easterling would be an ideal candidate to join the cast of The Rings of Power season 2? There is very little written in the Tolkien canon about who Khamûl the Easterling was before he became a Ringwraith. There is extensive story involving him post-Ringwraith transition (even throughout the events of The Lord of the Rings, as reference above), however almost nothing about who the man was before he fell.
This leaves open a lot of fertile ground for The Rings of Power writers room to explore.
