The Amazon Prime Video showThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powercould open the lid on aLord of the Ringsmystery long closed. The query was originated by the master of high fantasy himself, British author J.R.R. Tolkien. Writing aboutthe world ofLord of the Ringssince 1914, Tolkien published his milestone novel in three parts between 1954 and 1955. Tolkien spun a yarn about Middle-earth, creating contradictions and unanswerable questions that kept readers debating for decades. However, Amazon’s show has been investigating one of its biggest.
The Rings of Powerseason 3has started filming and is due to air in what may be 2026 or 2027, while the show launched in 2022. Previous seasons took a bold approach, combining inventive original material with deep cuts of obscure Tolkien lore. As such, it has burst open conversations held by the fandom for many years, just as often through outrage at unfaithfulness as through sudden, renewed interest in powerful old characters or ideas. The nameless things are one such idea, and season 3 may dive in further.
The Rings Of Power Season 2 References Lord Of The Rings' Nameless Creatures
Nameless Things Are One Of Tolkien’s Unsolved Mysteries
TheRings of Powertackled nameless things in season 2, referring to the enigmatic creatures at the heart of Middle-earth. Tolkien’s first publication mentioning the nameless things wasThe Two Towers, part two ofLord of the Rings. In “The White Rider,” Gandalf described where he had been when the Balrog of Moria dragged him into the abyss.Far below the caves of Moria lived the nameless things, gnawing on the bowels of the earth.Rings of Powerseason 2 adapted one of these underground creatures in an original storyline.
Tolkien explored the nameless things in drafts published inThe Book of Lost Tales Part 2.
WithThe Rings of Powerseason 2 endingin October 2024 and a long run-up to the next season, fans have a long time to speculate on what is to come. Perhaps the nameless thing of season 2 will make a comeback in season 3, based on the encroaching darkness to come. Run by Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne,Rings of Powerwas brave enough to bring a nameless thing to proceedings, well outside the canon established by Tolkien. The creature attacked the original character Arondir, but also Isildur, who is well-known inLotRlore.
The Nameless Creatures Are A LOTR Mystery Tolkien’s Canon Doesn’t Explore Much
Tolkien Wasn’t Clear On Lord Of The Rings' Nameless Things' Origins
J.R.R. Tolkien did not go into too much detail on the nameless things in his legendarium, leaving them an intriguing enigma. Gandalf said that the nameless things were older thanLord of the Rings’Sauron, and that Sauron wasn’t aware of them. This certainly is mysterious, given that Sauron was an ancient Ainur, created long before Middle-earth. This gives weight to the idea that thenameless things are the same species as Sauron— an Ainur. But this doesn’t seem to hold water, given that Ainur are highly intelligent and more than just mindless beasts.
Tolkien’s son, Christopher, edited and compiled Tolkien’s various finished and unfinished legendarium drafts into a series of books calledThe History of Middle-earth, of whichThe Book of Lost Tales Part 1and2were the first.
Although Tolkien never said that the nameless things encountered by Gandalf were mindless beasts, the image of them gnashing away at the tendrils of earth native to them underground definitely makes them seem that way.If the nameless things are not Ainur, they must be some kind of primordial beast— an experiment ofLord of the Rings’God, Eru Ilúvatar. Or, perhaps an experiment of Morgoth’s, Morgoth being the evil Vala that seduced Sauron into evil at the beginning of Arda, the world housing Middle-earth. Either way,Rings of Powerclearly enjoyed its foray into nameless things lore.
The Rings Of Power Season 3 Can Finally Dig Deeper Into This Piece Of Tolkien Lore
Amazon’s Lord Of The Rings Show hasn’t Shied Away From Difficult Material
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerhas not shied away from challenging subject matter, including nameless things, and there is every chance that season 3 could return there. This is possible as season 3 is set to be even more ominous than season 2.The Rings of Powerhas unabashedly explored Tolkien lore that the legendarium kept mysterious, from Tom Bombadil toSauron’s shapeshifting ability. This risky business involves cracking open well-protected secrets, kept vague on Tolkien’s part to generate fear of the unknown and the mythopoeic effect of a realistic set of Elvish legends.
But the show has tackled these topics with creativity, if not always with sensitivity. Sauron’s gooey black matter was just as fascinating as it was hilarious, flopping over the snowy steppes of the Northern Waste. Tolkien may have never intended to show Sauron’s exact regeneration process to leave it uncertain and terrifying, but the show exploited its TV format to tell a disarmingly graphic story. Likewise, it created a completely new script around nameless things.Sauron will continue rising to power inThe Rings of Powerseason 3, and this could come with all kinds of chaos.
The season 3 war could well include Sauron’s dark creatures spreading from Mordor outwards.
Sauron will bring war to the Elves in season 3, seeing as he has already accomplished the Siege of Eregion. As perUnfinished Tales, published in 1980,Sauron’s war is due to extendafter this. The season 3 conflict could well include Sauron’s dark creatures spreading from Mordor outwards and emerging from whatever grimy holes they had been hiding in. Season 3 will skip straight to the heart of this conflict, entailing a time jump. This makes it more feasible thatThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerwill keep inventing nameless things for its Second Age tale.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Cast
Set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power explores the forging of the iconic rings, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, and the epic events leading up to the stories in J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic novels. The series chronicles the creation of legendary characters and the historic alliances and rivalries that shape the fate of Middle-earth.
