Who Is Adar? 'Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' Character Explained

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is packed with villains or characters who might turn nasty, and Episode 3 introduced a new one to the mix: Adar.

Following the dramatic two-episode premiere on September 2, Slivan Elf Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova) was captured and his attackers were revealed in the show's third episode, which is also titled "Adar."

Here is everything you need to know about the character, and what his future could involve in the Prime Video show.

Who Is Adar? 'Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' Character Explained

The Rings of Power is based on J. R. R. Tolkien's iconic fantasy books, and set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, when Sauron rose to power and created the titular rings, as well as the One Ring.

Adar is another new character to Middle-earth who was created by showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay for the purposes of the show. That means there's a lot of room for potential when it comes to his villainous ways.

The character is spoken about quite often in the third episode, brought up with reverence by the orcs who captured Arondir, his elf companions, and countless humans from the Southlands.

When Arondir is taken by his captors to an unknown location in the Southlands the orcs who took him comment on how he was brought in "for Adar," who later is described as Morgoth's "successor."

Adar is an Elvish word, Arondir exclaims, and in the Elvish language, Sindarin, the name means "father," according to the Elvish dictionary.

There are several characters in The Rings of Power who could possibly be Sauron in disguise, and Adar is a new addition to the list of contenders, especially given his name means "father," which Sauron was likely to be seen as by the orcs.

Arondir and his companions also wondered if the name could have been an alias used by the villain, so this is another potential clue— but perhaps one that is too obvious to turn out to be true.

The character himself does make a dramatic entrance at the very end of the third episode, with his orc followers bowing to him in respect and chanting his name as he walks towards Arondir in the tunnels where they keep their prisoners.

Rather than show Adar's face, though, the camera first focuses on his hand, which is gloved with an armour gauntlet that brings Sauron's iconic look to mind.

Then, when the camera shows Adar walking towards Arondir it remains out of focus up until the closing credits, only showing just the hint of his pointed ears, which suggest that the character is actually an elf.

Joseph Mawle portrays Adar, and this is only clear because his name is listed in the credits for the episode since beforehand the actor's role was undisclosed.

Whether he will turn out to be Sauron or simply an elf corrupted by him is yet to be seen, but Adar is certainly a villain worth taking note of.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power airs Fridays on Prime Video.