Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.TheRings of Power is showing the origins of many of the famous villains from J.R.R. Tolkien’s TheLord of the Rings trilogy. One of the main stories in the series is Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and company’s mission to find out what form Sauron has taken and where he is at this point in the history of Middle-earth. The series has also fleshed out the backstory of the orcs through the character Adar (Joseph Mawle) and a Balrog was shown in via flashback, with another appearance by one of the fiery beasts teased by the series' trailers. That only leaves a few major mystical villains from Tolkien’s trilogy and Peter Jackson’s films they inspired unaccounted for.
One is Saruman (SirChristopher Lee) who is unlikely to appear given that Tolkien’s canon establishes him as not physically arriving on Middle-earth until centuries after the time period of the series. The others are the Nazgûl, also known as the Ringwraiths and the Nine, powerful demonic servants of Sauron. But while the Wraiths have yet to appear in the form viewers and readers are familiar with it is possible a few may have already shown up covertly.
The Nazgûl were once men, before being gifted nine of the titular Rings of Power by Sauron. The Rings corrupted them just as the One Ring does those who possess it, and they transformed into the dark lord’s monstrous soldiers. Little information about their human identities is given in Tolkien’s works other than the facts that at least three of them are from the island kingdom of Númenor and the leader is also known as the Witch-king of Angmar, a kingdom of men in the north of Middle-earth. They first appear as the Nazgul in the Second Age, which is when The Rings of Power takes place. This has led many fans to speculate that some human male characters featured in the series are future Nazgûl, with a few seeming especially likely for this horrific fate.
Theo
The character who has been foreshadowed most blatantly as a possible Nazgûl is Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin), a young man from the Southlands and son of human leader Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi). At the start of the series, Theo finds the broken hilt of a sword, marked with a symbol associated with Sauron. The hilt marks Theo’s skin with the symbol, and he begins to treasure the hilt similar to how characters like Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) and Gollum (Andy Serkis) act under the influence of the One Ring. After Adar’s forces take the sword during their battle with the Southlanders and Númenóreans, Theo tells Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova) that he feels a sense of loss and misses the feeling of power the hilt gave him.
Fans had speculated that the sword is a Morgul blade, the same kind of weapon the Witch-king stabs Frodo with in The Fellowship of the Ring. Morgul blades have their own corrupting influence, with Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) stating that if the wound wasn’t treated with elvish medicine Frodo himself would become a wraith. The idea of Theo’s sword as a Morgul blade was discouraged somewhat when it was revealed that it also acts as a mystical key which led to the eruption of what would become Mount Doom in Episode 6 but that theory, and the one marking Theo as a future Wraith, are still believable. One can easily see his exposure to the sword making Theo more susceptible to Sauron’s influence if he is given a Ring.
Waldreg
When Theo finds the hilt and receives the mark he attracts the attention of Waldreg (Geoff Morrell), an old man from his town. Waldreg has the mark as well and tells Theo of Sauron, who he is obsessed with. When Adar is preparing for his invasion, Waldreg leads a group of Southlanders in surrendering and giving their loyalty to the dark elf, even killing one of his young neighbors to prove his loyalty to Sauron (unbeknownst to him, Adar claims to no longer serve Sauron, even saying that he battled and killed him).
After taking the hilt from Arondir and Theo, Adar secretly gives it Waldreg while keeping a fake in his possession. This allows Waldreg to use it to cause the eruption of Mount Doom. It seems likely that if Theo is a future Nazgûl, Waldreg is as well, although his characterization makes this somewhat surprising. Although not outright stated it is often implied that the Nine were good men, making their transformation a tragic example of Sauron’s power much like Frodo's struggle with the Ring. Having one of them be a fanatical, ruthless follower of Sauron’s before receiving a Ring would be an unexpected shift from this dynamic.
Númenóreans
Of the Númenóreans featured in the show so far, the most important to the overall Tolkien canon are Elendil (Lloyd Owen) and his son Isildur (Maxim Baldry), Aragorn’s ancestors, but both their fates are well-known. Elendil eventually dies fighting Sauron during the War of the Last Alliance before Isildur temporarily defeats the dark lord and claims the One Ring, leading to the downfall of the world of men until Aragorn reunites and redeems it in The Return of the King. That means viewers will have to look to the rest of the male Númenórean cast for potential Nazgûl.
Manipulative politician Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle) also has an established fate in the canon but his son Kemen (Leon Wadham) is an original character created for the series. He could easily be a future Wraith as could Isildur’s friends and fellow soldiers Valendil (Alex Tarrant) and Ontamo (Anthony Crum). Making the latter two Wraiths in addition to Isildur’s fall would add an even greater level of tragedy to the series.
Halbrand
One of the series’ biggest enigmas, along with the Meteor Man, Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) is identified by Galadriel as the exiled king of the Southlands. After he rescues her at sea and the pair are brought to Númenor she convinces him to return home to defend the Southlands from the invasion and take up his position as king. But ever since he was introduced, viewers have questioned who or what Halbrand is and will be. Some believe he could be one of the Nine, possibly even the Witch-king himself. For a time, it was hard to completely reconcile what is known about both characters given that Angmar is in northwest Middle-earth and the Southlands are, well, in the south. But given that there might not be any Southlands after the creation of Mount Doom and Mordor in Episode 6 Halbrand could very well come in to a position of power in the other realm, possibly with some surviving Southlanders continuing to follow him. In support of this is the fact that Angmar is a part of the larger realm of Eriador, much of which is ruled for a time by Elendil. Elendil and Halbrand don’t really have a meaningful relationship yet but one could develop as they continue to fight by one another’s side, leading the former to give the latter his own fiefdom before he is seduced by Sauron.
The strongest argument against Halbrand becoming a Nazgûl is that he may very well be an even more significant evil. The character has emerged as one of the most likely candidates to be revealed as Sauron himself. Many of his scenes, especially his brutal fight with Númenórean guards, highlight that there is already darkness within him, with no need for the corrupting influence of a Ring. And Episode 6 revealed that he has a dark history of some kind with Adar, mere moments before the latter made his dubious claim about killing Sauron. And while even turning him into a supporting villain would draw tragedy from his growing connection with Galadriel, making him the exact enemy she has sworn to destroy is the more dramatic choice. That said, if Episode 6 proved anything it’s that the show is capable of delivering big twists, so he may yet become one of the Nine.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres new episodes weekly every Friday on Prime Video.
ncG1vNJzZmibn6G5qrDEq2Wcp51kwamxjKugp5%2BjYrynec%2Borp6qXay1sHnWoqOlZZKasLC5xGaYZqaRr7S2uI4%3D