What Is the Flaming Sword in The Rings of Power? Is It Narsil?

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Episode 4 of The Rings of Power had a huge reveal in the form of Theo using the sword hilt and unleashing the blade from within it. The blade manifested itself when Theo used the end of the hilt to pierce his skin as flames sprouted out of the broken sword to materialize a blade that was solid enough to cut through an Orc. Of course, we’ve already seen a legendary blade in The Lord of the Rings in the form of Narsil, which was reforged into Andúril. So, is the flaming sword in The Rings of Power Narsil?

It is unlikely that the flaming sword in The Rings of Power is Narsil. As Waldreg said, this sword was forged by either Morgoth or Sauron to be used by the ancestors of those who lived in the Southlands. Meanwhile, Narsil was forged by the Elves and was given to Elendil, who descended from the Men of Númenor. 

At this point, we aren’t exactly sure what the flaming sword is and what it is for, but we know that its nature is evil, in comparison to Narsil, which was always forged for the Men who fought for the side of good. Now, with that said, let’s take a good look at the nature of this flaming sword in The Rings of Power and what it could be.

What Is The Flaming Sword In The Rings Of Power?

During the earlier part of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, we were able to see that Theo, the young son of Bronwyn living in the Southlands town called Tirharad, stole a sword hilt with Sauron’s mark on it. He found it in the barn of old man Waldreg, who is the cook over at the tavern in the town. And ever since he found the sword hilt, he was strangely attracted and drawn to its temptation to the point that he could never part ways with it.

While the people of Tirharad and the other villagers all over the Southlands retreated to the abandoned Elven watchtower to protect themselves from the impending attack of the Orcs, Theo wanted to go back to town to look for provisions there because the people were running out of food. Against Bronwyn’s wishes, he still went to town, where he was attacked by an Orc.

Theo didn’t have anything to protect himself with except for the sword hilt. That was when he brandished it in front of the Orc, who looked shocked when he saw that the boy had it. Theo used the other end of the hilt to pierce his skin, and that was when flames began coming out of the sword until they turned into a solid blade that the boy was able to cut the Orc with. So, what exactly is this flaming sword in the Rings of Power?

At this point, the only things we know about the flaming sword in the Rings of Power are related to what we saw about it and what Waldreg told Theo. It was obviously clear that the sword hilt reacted to blood, as Theo needed to pierce himself with the other end so that the blade would materialize. Waldreg himself showed the same mark to Theo, as it was clear that he also used the sword in the past. Of course, the blade isn’t permanent because it ends up disappearing. 

Meanwhile, Waldreg told Theo that this sword was passed down in his family for generations and that it was forged by either Morgoth or Sauron. In describing the origins of the sword, Waldreg said that it is “a power fashioned for our ancestors by his master’s own hand, a beautiful servant, he was lost but shall return.”

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He was obviously referring to Sauron when he talked about the beautiful servant. However, we are unsure whether or not he was referring to Morgoth or Sauron when he talked about the one who forged the sword. But what we are sure of is that the sword was created to be used by the ancestors of those who lived in the Southlands.

As a short history lesson, there were two kinds of Men back in the First Age. The first were the Men that fought alongside Morgoth. Meanwhile, the second were the Men that resisted the dark lord and fought against him. 

Those who fought against Morgoth were allowed to live on an island by the Valar. This island is called Númenor, as we’ve already seen the Númenoreans in The Rings of Power. On the other hand, the ancestors of those who fought alongside Morgoth were left to live in the Southlands, as they were closely monitored by the Elves out of fear of what they could do because the blood of those who fought with Mordor still flowed in their veins.

In that regard, the ancestors that Waldreg was referring to were the Men that fought with Morgoth as they were awaiting the return of the dark lord’s servant, who we all know is Sauron. As such, the nature of this flaming sword is evil because it was meant to be wielded by the loyal servants of Sauron.

What Is Narsil?

While the flaming sword in The Rings of Power is the first legendary weapon we saw in the series, we actually saw another legendary sword in the form of Narsil during the events of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.

Narsil was forged during the events of the First Age by Telchar, who was famed for being the greatest smith among the Dwarves. The sword was eventually taken to Númenor after the First Age, as it became the property of the Lords of Andúnië, the same house from which Elendil and Isildur came. The sword was taken by Elendil to Middle-Earth when he didn’t join Ar-Pharazôn in his failed conquest of Valinor.

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In The Rings of Power, it is possible that the sword that Queen Míriel gave Elendil was Narsil. Of course, we saw in the opening scene of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring that Elendil and his son, Isildur, fought in the Last Alliance against Sauron at the end of the Second Age. Elendil was killed by Sauron, as Isildur took the sword, which was broken by the dark lord. With only a short blade on the sword left, Isildur used Narsil to slice the One Ring off of Sauron’s hand as the dark lord was defeated.

The shards of Narsil were still preserved after Isildur’s death. Before the War of the Ring, the shards were reforged by the Elves into Anduril, which became Aragorn’s personal sword during the war and when he has crowned the king of Gondor.

Is The Flaming Sword Narsil?

Both the flaming sword and Narsil are quite different from one another. The flaming sword was forged by either Morgoth or Sauron for the Men that fought alongside the dark lord during the First Age. Meanwhile, Narsil was forged to be used by the Men that fought against Morgoth and Sauron.

This means that the flaming sword could not be Narsil, which we know was forged for righteous purposes and was given to the Númenoreans and the heirs of Elendil to be used in their efforts against the darkness that was still plaguing the world.

In that regard, both of these swords are on opposite sides of the same spectrum. The flaming sword that Theo wields was meant to be used by the wicked Men of the Southlands. On the other hand, Narsil was meant to be used by those who resisted the darkness of both Morgoth and Sauron.

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