‘Rings of Power’: Is Adar in the books? Explained

We’re nearing the season finale of The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 already, and there are plenty of characters that have emerged as fan favourites over these two seasons. Sam Hazeldine’s Adar is on the top of that list, but who is he really, and is he in the books?

Who is Adar?

In season 1, when Adar was played by Game of Thrones actor Joseph Mawle, Tolkien nerds were meticulously pouring over every clue about who this mysterious dark elf was in the hopes that they’d discover he was some prominent elven character from the First Age. And now that Slow Horses actor Sam Hazeldine has taken over the character, Adar’s appeal and the theories about his origins have only grown.

When Galadriel captures Adar in season 1 during the battle of the Southlands, she reveals what she suspects is Adar’s story. When the first elves awoke, the Dark Lord Morgoth captured some and twisted and tortured them, turning them into his slaves. She called them ‘The Moriondor’, which is Quenya for “Sons of the Dark.” 

Adar may be the father of the orcs but he is so clearly an elf in appearance with his pointy ears and his ability to be in the sun, though he carries the scars of his torture at the hands of Morgoth. His armour, fans pointed out, seems to depict the rivers of Beleriand, which is where he was born, just like the elf Arondir. And like Arondir, he knows about the elvish custom of planting seeds before war, which we see him do in season 1. 

In season 2, we even hear him speak to Galadriel in Quenya an elvish greeting when he captures her on the way to Eregion. He speaks of how he was tied and left atop a dark peak until one day, Sauron offered him red wine and he accepted it. He also tells Galadriel that Sauron promised him his children, the orcs, but as we see in the season 2 premiere, after the fall of Morgoth, Sauron’s plans would turn Adar’s children into mindless collateral in his bid for power. And this is why he wants to defeat Sauron, so he can keep his Uruk from enslavement by a second Dark Lord. 

When you think of his history, his motivations, his love for his orc children, and the way his fight for dignity amongst the elves and his existence in a world that wouldn’t accept him, Adar’s tale is a tragic one. And no wonder fans love this character so much and want to know more about his past.

Is Adar in the J.R.R. Tolkien’s books?

As much as we’d like to know more about Adar and want to dive into the books to supplement our knowledge, we can’t because Adar is an original character created for The Rings of Power and does not exist in the books. It’s quite an achievement then for the series that has often been criticised for not being “Tolkien enough” or desecrating his lore, to have created such a beautifully tragic original character that is so heartbreakingly Tolkien.

But just because Adar is not in the books does not mean fans have stopped theorising who he could be. There were plenty of characters from the First Age that Adar could be based on or a mix of. A fan favourite theory is that Adar is based on Maedhros or even Maglor, the first and second sons of Fëanor, who was burnt by a Silmaril and his fate is both certain and uncertain, depending on Tolkien’s different versions of The Silmarillion. It’s an unlikely theory because Maglor found Elrond and his brother Elros when they were children, and took care of them, so both Elrond and Galadriel ought to be able to recognise him.

There are also theories that Adar could be Eöl the dark elf, even if their temperaments don’t quite match. And finally, there’s one theory that suggests Adar could be Maeglor, Eöl’s son.

Me, I think Adar has been written by taking characteristics and backstories from all these tragic and doomed yet fascinating characters of the First Age. And yet, he remains an incredibly well-written original character.

And even though I would love to know what his elven name was, I’d be just as happy I got to know him as Adar!