5 Best Rings Of Power Theories About Who Will Receive Sauron's Rings For Men

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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is primed to show the origins of Lord of the Rings' Ringwraiths in season 3 and may have introduced some already. Theories have been circulating as to the true identity of Rings of Power's original characters ever since its first season, culminating in the reveal of Halbrand as Sauron (Charlie Vickers); the Stranger was also revealed to be Gandalf (Daniel Weyman) in the season 2 finale. Season 3 could expose yet more Tolkien characters.

Now that Sauron is "out in the open," in Vickers' words, he will be openly villainous in season 3, sharing the Rings of Men with strategic individuals (via Amazon Prime Video). These individuals became Lords of Men in lore, influential in their time, but fell prey to the consuming power of their rings. In thrall to Lord of the Rings' One Ring, kept by Sauron, they lost their humanity and eventually their bodies, becoming wraiths with otherworldly power. Rings of Power will inevitably introduce some of these unfortunates if it hasn't already.

5 New Original Characters Could Emerge In Rings Of Power

Unknown Cast

Rings of Power has introduced original characters in each season and will likely feature more as Ringwraiths in season 3. Rings of Power season 3 will see Sauron head back to Mordor to forge the One Ring. There could be some stragglers in the Mordor area, left behind by the destruction of the Southlands, that Sauron can prey upon to divest himself of one of his powerful rings.

Celebrimbor and Sauron from Rings of Power.

After Celebrimbor, The Rings Of Power Must Do 1 Thing Different With Sauron's Next Victim

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power should take care not to repeat some of the mistakes it made with Sauron and Celebrimbor's arc.

The opening flashback scene of Rings of Power season 2 shows a community of humans traveling away from an Orc raid, estbalishing the existence of random tribes in the show's universe. Canonically, Middle-earth was populated by various Northmen in the Second Age, plus Dunlendings and various other races. Sauron could riff off the buzz created by The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim movie, with the creation of a Dunlending character to assume a Ringwraith mantle.

4 Kilta Could Become The Easterling Ringwraith

Played By Arkie Reece

Arkie Reece is already unrecognizable as Kilta in Rings of Power season 2, and there is a chance he could end up becoming a Nazgûl. Kilta is one of the Gaudrim, a tribe invented by the show for the Dark Wizard arc. The leader of the Gaudrim, Brânk (Yasen Zates Atour), was shaping up to be a prime Ringwraith suspect, but the Dark Wizard killed him in the season 2 finale. There is a small chance he could still be alive, but the greater likelihood is that the Gaudrim will be represented by Kilta onward.

Tolkien denoted anyone from Rhûn as an Easterling.

As one of the only named Gaudrim in the show, Kilta may fill Brânk's place as the Gaudrim leader. This is significant in terms of the Rings of Men because one of them goes to an Easterling. This Easterling was known as Khamûl in lore, but the show may use a substitute an Easterling like Kilta if it can't get the rights to Khamûl's name. Or, Kilta could somehow assume the Khamûl name and become the Easterling Nazgûl.

3 Eärien Could Be Rings Of Power's Númenórean Nazgûl

Played By Ema Horvath

Eärien is an original Second Age character invented as Isildur (Maxim Baldry) and Anárion's sister who could also receive one of Lord of the Rings' Rings of Power. As Elendil's (Lloyd Owen) daughter, Eärien represents the King's Men in Elendil's life, while Isildur and Anárion represent the Faithful. Elendil's children symbolize his inner conflict, torn as he is between his loyalty to the court and his deep, internal faith in the Valar.

Tolkienian Age

Event Marking The Start

Years

Total Length In Solar Years

Before time	Indeterminate	Indeterminate	Indeterminate
Days before Days	Ainur entered Eä	1 - 3,500 Valian Years	33,537
Pre-First Age Years of the Trees (Y.T.)	Yavanna created the Two Trees	Y.T. 1 - 1050	10,061
First Age (F.A.)	Elves awoke in Cuiviénen	Y.T. 1050 - Y.T. 1500, F.A. 1 - 590	4,902
Second Age (S.A.)	War of Wrath ended	S.A. 1 - 3441	3,441
Third Age (T.A.)	Last Alliance defeated Sauron	T.A. 1 - 3021	3,021
Fourth Age (Fo.A)	Elven-rings left Middle-earth	Fo.A 1 - unknown	Unknown

As readers know, Lord of the Rings' 15 Valar are distinctly the good guys in the story, whereas the King's Men are led by the villanous Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle). Eärien values rational distancing of religion from the state, which Pharazôn champions to mask his Machiavellian grab for power. Driven by avoiding disasters of the kind that separated her from Isildur, Eärien isfooled by Pharazôn's superficial merits into a dangerous path. Sauron gave three Númenóreans rings, and he would likely give one to a follower of Pharazôn since he is due to be his advisor.

2 Theo Is Drawn To The Darkness In Rings Of Power

Played By Tyroe Muhafidin

Conflicted Theo is the perfect Ringwraith. From the start, the show depicts his attraction to dark magic via the Orc sigil hilt. Theo embodies the Southlander darkness perceived by some Elves, left over from Morgoth's reign via generational politics and the Morgoth element embedded into the matter when Morgoth marred Arda in Lord of the Rings. Theo loses his mother Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi) after season 1 and rejects Arondir (Ismael Cruz Cordova) as his father figure, leaving him dangerously vulnerable.

Second Age Event

S.A. Year

Sauron began construction on Barad-dûr	1000
Sauron befriended the Elves of Eregion as Annatar	1200
Rings of Power were forged	1500
The three great Elven-rings were forged	1590
The One Ring was forged, Barad-dûr was completed, Sauron openly proclaimed himself	1600
Sauron began to prepare to invade Eriador	1605
The War of the Elves and Sauron began	1693
Sauron invaded Eriador	1695
Sauron sacked Eregion and killed Celebrimbor, Rivendell was founded, the Dwarves assailed Sauron, Khazad-dûm closed	1697
Sauron overran Eriador	1699
Númenóreans defeated Sauron	1700
Sauron was driven from Eriador and fled to Mordor, first White Council held	1701
Ar-Pharazôn seized the scepter	3255
Sauron became Pharazôn's prisoner in Númenor	3262
Númenor fell	3319

Theo will be seeking a home, a family, help, and empowerment for his disenfranchised people, of whom he has been made de facto leader. For Sauron to take Theo's home from him by ensuring Mount Doom blew up and then sell power back to him in the form of a ring would be tragically ironic. Morgoth was a master of underhand tactics like this, and Sauron would be making a Tolkienian move by adopting similarly sly and unscrupulous methods.

1 Kemen Is A Villainous Disaster Waiting To Happen

Played By Leon Wadham

Kemen is looking more like a Nazgûl with every passing season. Leon Wadham's entirely odious Rings of Power character just gets worse and worse, which could be setting him up for the ultimate moral decay. If Kemen is one of the three Númenóreans to whom Sauron gives one of his Rings of Men, it would complete his descent into depravity nicely. He is already a powerful Númenórean, especially as Pharazôn has seized the scepter.

Tolkien detailed the Fall of Númenor in the eponymous book and The Silmarillion.

Readers know that Lord of the Rings' Fall of Númenor must be upcoming in Rings of Power, or it would contradict every Tolkien tale told about the Second Age. The show has foreshadowed it heavily and the cast and crew have mentioned it in interviews. Sauron precipitates the fall of the realm by joining it as Pharazôn's prisoner-advisor. Although he had already given out the rings by this point in canon, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power may well have him bring three to Númenor and give them out to those close to Pharazôn.

Source: Amazon Prime Video