‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ Episode 3 Ending, Explained: Who Is Adar?
Welcome to the Ending Explained for Episode 3 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the new show by Amazon, based on the popular world created by J.R.R. Tolkien. This week’s episode is titled “Adar” a name that brings with it a lot of despair and suffering for our protagonist, and one that will soon become a sign that something even worse is lurking on the horizon. The episode doesn’t ultimately reveal the identity of the creature with this name, but there are hints in the episode.
The show keeps on being a visual marvel. All the sets are just amazing, especially the ones in this episode, as we end up visiting the mythical island of Numenor for the first time on film. The production design and the masters of CGI have created a wonderful city that truly feels like a paradise for the world of men in The Lord of the Rings Universe. Most of the action in this episode occurs on the island, so there is a lot to unpack here.
The following paragraphs contain spoilers for Episode 3 of The Rings of Power. Read at your own risk.
Who Is Adar?
As we said before, Episode 3 of this season is called “Adar” and the storyline that gives name to the episode is that one of Arondir, our human-lover elf. In the previous episode, he was dragged away by some dark hands, and episode 3 starts right away by revealing the fate of Arondir. Arondir has been captured by orcs, lots of them, and he isn’t the only one that has fallen into this fate. It seems that most of the elves that were posted near the Southlands have found themselves captured by these strange orcs.
The orcs force the elves to dig a hole, a sort of trench, through a desolated landscape that has been scorched with fire. The visuals are very similar to what Saruman ended up doing with Isengard during the film trilogy. Arondir and his friends dig the trench, but they soon start developing a plan to escape their imprisonment. However, when the time comes, many of Arondir’s friends are killed by the orcs and by a warg that Arondir ends up killing. In the end, only Arondir survives, and he is taken before Adar.
The episode ends with Adar walking towards Arondir. The face of the man is blurred, but we can see that he wears a distinctive elf haircut of long black hair. On his left hand, he uses a gauntlet that looks very similar to the style used by Sauron. Adar is an elf, a corrupted one that now serves Sauron.
Back with the Harfoots, Nori and his family are afraid that they will be left behind by the caravan. Nori’s father has hurt one of his feet and cannot help with pushing their cart. Nori also goes inside Sadoc’s cart to look for star charts, so she can help The Stranger find the stars he is looking for. The Stranger is discovered, but Sadoc forgives Nori and his family for breaking the rules. In the end, The Stranger sees Nori and his family struggling and helps them push the cart as the caravan moves to another place.
Who Rescued Galadriel And Halbrand?
The main storyline of this episode deals with Galadriel and Halbran’s fate after being rescued from the ocean by a mysterious ship. The ship and the sailors on it are revealed to be human, but not just any human. These humans come from the mythical island of Numenor. The island was given to them after being loyal to the elves in the war against Morgoth. The people of Numenor are way more advanced than other human tribes, and they also live longer than any other human.
Galadriel and Halbrand are taken in front of Queen Miriel. Galadriel shows herself wanting to go back to Middle-Earth, but the Queen won’t allow her to do it for some reason. She doesn’t want elves on the island, but she doesn’t want to send Galadriel away either. Halbrand mediates between the women, and they are allowed to stay on the island for a couple of days. The Captain that rescued them is revealed to be Elendil, the future king of Gondor. We are also introduced to his son, Isildur.
In the future, Numenor will fall in the same way that Atlantis did. But currently, the island serves as a small cradle of knowledge and civilization among humans. Elendil helps Galadriel to find the meaning behind the mark she discovered in previous episodes. A mark she knows is related to Sauron. Galadriel discovers that the mark is not a sigil or a letter, it is a map, a map to a place where evil still lingers, a place where evil can flourish. The mark is a map of Mordor.
Galadriel and Elendil are scared, but Galadriel is already planning how to get off the island. Meanwhile, Halbrand tries to start a new life in Numenor, but he is rejected from finding work. He gets in a fight and is arrested. The episode ends with Galadriel revealing that the amulet Halbrand carries around his neck identifies him as the King of the Southlands. She says she will travel to Middle-Earth and that he will come with her.