The Rings of Power's Adar has expanded Tolkien's Middle-earth for the better

While a certain subsect of fans have pushed back on the character, their views are far outweighed by people like me, who see his creation as a wonderful addition and evolution of Tolkien’s world. Adar provides a humanisation for the Orcs, or Uruk, as they’d prefer to be known, while also standing on his own two feet as a layered and nuanced character in isolation.

For background, if you’re still unsure about who Adar is, here’s the skinny: Adar is one of the Moriondor, meaning he is one of the very first Orcs. Taken by Morgoth, Sauron’s predecessor, Adar was once an Elf, but corrupted by Morgoth’s influence into a new form of life.

Over time, Adar became disillusioned, and after Morgoth’s defeat, he turned on his new master, fearing the loss of Orc lives under Sauron’s charge. If you need a more detailed overview, we created a handy one here.

It's in this period after Adar's assassination of Sauron that the character really comes into his own, both as the leader of the Orcs, but also as a figure who has expanded Tolkien's lore and world for the better.

While no one, least of all me, will ever have a bad word to say about Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy, or the sneakily under-appreciated Hobbit trilogy – it is fair to say that those films offer no development for the Orcs as a people, instead using them as a mostly faceless evil to be beaten, time and again.

The Rings of Power has made a worthy and concerted effort to change that, and it all stems from Adar.

His name derives from the Sindarin language – a fancy way of saying Elvish – and it means ‘father’, and that truly is a role he took on when it came to his people. What could have easily descended into being a by-the-book secondary villain, Adar delivered some of the most thought-provoking and poignant scenes of season 1 thanks to Joseph Mawle, and with three episodes down in season 2, Sam Hazeldine has taken that mantle and run with it.

In season 1, episode 6, titled Udûn, we see Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) interrogate a captive Adar, aiming to learn the whereabouts of Sauron. And it’s here that we get one of those rare perspective shifts that blows the cobwebs from your eyes and transports you to a new vantage for viewing a story.

Galadriel, while wonderful in so many ways, strays into some pretty xenophobic ideas when it comes to the Uruk, but Adar counters her point for point. When she refers to the Orcs as "slaves", Adar’s response is as follows: "But each one has a name, a heart… we are creations of the One, master of the Secret Fire, the same as you. As worthy of the Breath of Life, and just as worthy of a home."

In those short lines of dialogue, Adar forces you to consider the Orcs in a completely different way. As more than just mere creations of evil, but as conscious, sentient beings with their own wants and desires – pushed to do what they have done by Morgoth (and Sauron), not because of their own innate desire to destroy.

These ideas of what Orcs truly want in life progressed further in the three-part premiere of season 2 for The Rings of Power, when Glûg (Robert Strange), the right-hand man, so to speak, of Adar, goes to cradle what we can surmise is his baby alongside his partner. While this has seemingly upset a very vocal minority of people online, it’s actually a tender moment that drives home the lesson all of Adar’s story within The Rings of Power is trying to teach you. Orcs are, for lack of a better word, people.

Not everything works in The Rings of Power, at least not for everyone. There’s still a fair criticism of its pacing, how it balances the many different threads it has going on, along with some nitpicking we don’t have time for. But it undeniably is made by creators with genuine care and affection for the work of Tolkien, and Adar is a perfect example of that. The Rings of Power, Middle-Earth, and TV as a whole, is better for his presence and his story.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 releases new episodes on Prime Video weekly on Thursdays – you can sign up now for a free 30-day Prime Video trial.

If you’re looking for something else to watch in the meantime, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide, or visit our dedicated Fantasy hub. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.