Adar is the secondary antagonist of the Amazon television series, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
He was portrayed by Joseph Mawle in season one, will be portrayed by Sam Hazeldine in season two and Jedediah Shine in Ripper Street.
Biography[]
It was assumed by Galadriel that he may have been one of the Moriondor, the first orcs to be created by Morgoth. Despite this, however, he greatly despised the Dark Lord and later his successor, Sauron for their cruel treatment of the Orcs. He claimed to have killed Sauron and took many orcs to be his army leading him to be dubbed "Lord-father" and revered as a God. During this time, he sought the hilt of a sword. In addition, he also grew to hate the Elves he descended from as well any of the Free Peoples, likely due to possibly feeling abandoned by them as their rejection as of the Orcs, leaving Adar feeling bitter, vengeful and resentful of his former kin, viewing them as no better than Morgoth and Sauron. He also seems to hate men, likely due to them also partaking in killing Orcs as well some of them willingly joining Sauron and Morgoth, whereas he and the Orcs were forced to serve them against their will.
He led his orcs and captured the elf Arondir who caused a riot in his slave camp. He released Arondir on the condition that he tell the nearby villagers to give their allegiance to him and they will live. Half of the villagers agreed and they went to war with the rest that didn't side with them. Adar and his army try to destroy Ostirith, however, he discovers that it is a trap set up by Arondir. His Orcs lose the fight and plan to destroy Tirharad.
He sends a large number of forces to Tirharad, who lose the natives who initially rejoice over their victory and find out that the first wave was comprised of the other half of their kin. Adar and his Orcs surround the villagers in a house and obtain the sword hilt. Which he gave to Waldreg.
However, Galadriel and her forces attack, and Adar is left to retreat. He is defeated when Galadriel chases him on a horse while Halbrand ambushes him in front of him. Galadriel interrogates him over his past and assumes from his scoff that he was among the first Orcs made by Morgoth. Adar claims to have killed Sauron due to his cruelty to Orcs to Galadriel but she doesn’t believe him. Meanwhile, Waldreg uses the sword hilt to release a dam which causes a volcano to erupt, leading to the deaths of many and his escape. Adar then regroups with his army and renames the Southlands to Mordor.
Personality[]
As one of the original Elves to be tortured and corrupted by Morgoth, he retained resemblance to his Elvish heritage, both physically and psychologically, that subsequent Orcs lacked. He was capable of some compassion and mercy, as demonstrated by his sympathy for his "children". In spite of calling himself an "Uruk", a part of him still longed and hearkened to his past: before the battle at Tirharad, he planted seeds ("new life in defiance of death") as customary of the Elves. Adar also believed that both he and the other Orcs were more "unnamed slaves" of Morgoth and Sauron.
However, the evil that had been nurtured into him by Morgoth, and later Sauron, had taken root and left its mark on him. Despite being disgusted by the vile deeds these two oppressors committed against his "children", Adar himself displayed similar cruelty and ruthlessness towards those he wished to subdue. His cruelty ranged from merely having defiant Men killed to iron-branding those that submitted with the his mark. When questioned by Galadriel, Adar spoke of Sauron in his own terms, as if the words had been long ingrained into his mind. Further evidence of the Dark Lord's leftover hold over him was in his goals: though Adar saw himself as a free agent, with "no master", his campaign to turn the Southlands into a home for the Orcs had ultimately been the by-product of Sauron's much older plan
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Up until revelation of Halbrand's true nature as disguised Sauron, Adar was initially among characters suspected to be Sauron, though his resentment from being addressed as such dispelled such assumption.
External Links[]
- Adar on the Lord of the Rings Wiki
- Adar on the Tolkien Gateway
