The corruption of the elves and Adar’s (Potential?) origins: Francesco Lionetti

The corruption of the elves and Adar’s (Potential?) origins: Francesco Lionetti

May 12, 2022

There are less than four months to go until the release of “The Rings of Power”, and the controversy inherent in some of the choices presented by Amazon now remain to rage incessantly. One of the elements that most frightens the fandom is Adar’s character, feared right from the start for being something “new” and “non-canonical” to Tolkien’s writings, an element that has contributed to fueling the doubts fidelity of the show. We therefore try to make an analysis of the situation based on what we know, and to hypothesize what we are going to see.

Who is Adar?

From the information currently in ours, Adar is a corrupted elf who will serve as the first season antagonist of the series. He will lead an unspecified number of orcs and will attack a village of men in search of a talisman of great value. The word “Adar”, in Sindarin language, means “Father”, and hence it will be used as a real battle cry by the orcs themselves. We are faced with something unusual compared to the texts, since Tolkien never talks about dark elves or converted to evil while keeping their normal features. Amazon has therefore decided, in all likelihood, to give flexibility to the concept of “corruption”, trying to create a character that can not only be good on screen, but also be, in a sense, consistent with the mythology in question. From the works of the “professor” we learn that it was Melkor who corrupted the elves in body and mind, but this practice led to the origin of the orcs, and it is therefore strange to imagine that an elf may not be able to change following the process.

Hypothesis on his creation

The most plausible explanation is that Adar has been corrupted but not completely, and that the process may have somehow been interrupted before the transformation into an orc. Some theories suggest that the character may be one of Galadriel’s brothers, resurrected in evil form by Sauron himself. This hypothesis would significantly alter the history of Tolkien’s important characters, and this would also represent a lack of respect for the texts. Consequently it is likely that Amazon does not want to take this risk, and everyone’s hope is that it will continue not to touch and alter the characters created by the “professor”. It is not to be excluded that Adar may be one of the first Avari captured and corrupted in the First Age, and it would explain why the orcs calls him “Father”, as we would be faced with one of the oldest examples of corruption in Middle-earth. Another solution could be that he is an enemy of Sauron himself, or a character who acts for his own ends without daring to account for anyone. According to the leaks we have published in recent months, an obscure figure (probably Sauron), will find himself face to face with Adar following the siege of a village, but it is not clear how the two will interact with each other. What is certain is that this mysterious character will be played by Joseph Mawle, a high-level actor, particularly good at bringing dark and fascinating characters to the screen.

We are eager to understand how Amazon will manage the origins and history of this fallen elf, hoping that it may not go against Tolkien’s writings, or that at least its development is intelligent and consistent with the Tolkien spirit.