Out of All Rings of Power Season 2 Problems, This One's the Biggest Mess

The first season spent much time establishing Adar's character, but now with Sauron revealed and his inevitable doom assured, what is possibly left for the show to do with him?

Adar, throughout the first season, remained largely a mystery.

And although there is still much about this original character left to uncover, his fate in the series' future is almost inevitable. As the named 'Lord-father' of the orcs of the Southlands, Adar intends to establish their new domain in the newly founded Mordor. Yet his biggest obstacle remains the now-identified Sauron, who we know will surely try to claim the orcs and territory for his own.

Moreover, Sauron and Adar do not see eye to eye at all. Although their contact in the series so far has remained limited, it is clear there is no love lost between these two characters.

Ultimately, this will lead to a power struggle between them for the command of the orcs and the land they now inhabit. And then likely result in a major conflict, of which Sauron will obviously win, and Adar will be defeated.

Although the events of the following season are fairly easy to guess, the demise of such a character would be quite a tragic loss for the show. Adar is one of RoP's more interesting non-canon original characters. He represents a morally gray perspective, which is not seen in much of Tolkien's more black-and-white approach to good and evil.

Yet, now that Adar's purpose as a Sauron tease has been accomplished, the character's further use is limited if they want to stay true to the lore. RoP has unwittingly backed themselves into a corner, having to sacrifice an individual they spent time establishing, all because they have nothing left to do with him.

As if things could not get any more complex with the ongoing story of Adar, his return to season 2 will be under a slightly different guise. Actor Joseph Mawle, who portrayed the corrupted elf in the initial season, has officially left his role in the series.

Amazon has since announced that Sam Hazeldine will portray the character going forward. However, Mawle has kept suspiciously quiet about his reasons for leaving the show. Although he announced it was because he simply wanted to "explore new characters and worlds", was there secretly a change in the character's story Mawle no longer agreed with?

The extent of how disruptive Adar will be to RoP's second season remains to be seen. To the writer's credit, they may produce something much more compelling than we expect. Unless they plan to pull some other sudden twist out of the bag. For instance, Adar is actually Gandalf. Which we're honestly hoping they don't do.