Rings of Power leak confirms a long-held Lord of the Rings theory
Finrod? Is that you?
Amazon’s teaser trailer for The Rings of Power gave fans their first look at the highly anticipated Lord of the Rings prequel series. But with seven months still to go until the show’s premiere, the teaser doesn’t offer much in terms of character or plot details. Instead, it mostly shows brief moments from the Second Age of Middle-earth, the era the series is primarily set in.
However, there is one scene in the teaser that may take place before the Second Age, and also give fans their first glimpse at one legendary J.R.R. Tolkien character. Potential spoilers ahead.
Morfydd Clark as Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
Galadriel’s Fallen Brother — Near the end of the Rings of Power teaser, there’s a very brief shot of a legion of armor-clad elven warriors fighting against an army of orcs in the rain. At the center of the shot is one blond-haired elf who can be seen screaming at someone offscreen, though it’s not clear what the character is yelling.
The image made a lot of fans curious, and many were quick to start speculating about who the elf at the center of the scene could be. That question was seemingly answered shortly after the teaser’s release when Fellowship of Fans tweeted that the character is none other than Finrod, the older brother of Galadriel (Morfydd Clark).
Assuming that’s true, that not only means fans can look forward to learning more about Galadriel’s family history in The Rings of Power, but also that there will definitely be scenes in it that are set before the Second Age of Middle-earth.
Finrod(?) fighting against an army of orcs in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
Flashing Back to the First Age — In Tolkien’s books, Finrod is the oldest of Galadriel’s three brothers, and he’s one of the noblest and most beloved elves in the history of Middle-earth. He’s a skilled warrior who remains faithful and committed to the protection of his people, and he’s also the first elf of his clan to discover and grow close to the Men of Middle-earth.
Throughout the First Age, Finrod repeatedly fights against the forces of Morgoth and Sauron. However, Finrod is ultimately captured by Sauron. He and his allies are all tortured and systematically eliminated by Sauron’s werewolves, but Finrod succeeds in defeating one of the creatures. In doing so he saves the life of one of his compatriots, but suffers fatal wounds during the fight.
In other words, Finrod doesn’t live to the end of the First Age, which means that any battles featuring him have to be set during that period. Considering how long Lord of the Rings fans have wanted to see moments from the First Age be brought to life on-screen, that’s an exciting reveal even if there’s no way of knowing which battle is shown in the Rings of Power trailer.
The Inverse Analysis — It’s already been revealed that Galadriel’s primary mission at the start of The Rings of Power is tracking down and slaying anyone that had a hand in her brother’s demise. With that in mind, it makes sense for The Rings of Power to include some moments with Finrod, if only so the audience can get to know the brother Galadriel is so obsessed with avenging.
With the show’s premiere still several months away, it’s impossible to predict how many Finrod scenes fans can look forward to seeing. However, given how large his murder is expected to loom over Galadriel’s story, viewers could see quite a bit of Finrod when The Rings of Power premieres.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres September 2, 2022 on Prime Video.
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