Sam Hazeldine as Adar
The Rings of Power, S2E1 - Elven Kings Under The Sky
Quoting myself pre episode 8 here:
But who knows maybe show runners are gaslighting viewers here and heβll be killed off just like that next episode Mirdania-style (hoping against hope she survived). But Sam Hazeldineβs interviews sound like heβll be in it for a bit longer. Goodπ€
Whatever you hope they do itβs not going to be innovative, but the road most traveled.
Samβs interviews sounded like that because he had integrated into the cast so well and wouldβve liked to stay.
If you ask me it was a capital mistake. Adar outshone all other characters in season 2. But the course was set. Simon Tolkien apparently intervened to keep him longer. I suppose because he saw his incredible potential. And yet they offed their outstanding original character, carelessly, unsympathetically. It sucked big time because it left most fans struggling emotionally. I did not need that.
Iβm ventingβ¦
Yeah, it mirrored the first episode, a thematic frame, cool visuals, full circle blah blah - a clichΓ©d way of doing this to establish symmetry and a means to get rid of him fast and visually pleasurable and still make it look oh so meaningful.
There couldβve been another outcome of course. Adar wasnβt alike Sauron, he was not a monster. Adar was superior in heart and mind, a large part of him untainted from dark poison.
He should have had a better end because this show is all about symbolic messages and this one sends a message that he was not deserving, although he had suffered the most of all characters and was truly repenting - he apparently deserved something far worse.
Ironically it wasnβt even an end to Sauron what Adar did to him in the beginning. Sauron was goo for a thousand years then quickly bounced back eating worms and people and is fine now. Adar though looks terminally dead. Heβs gone. Can you imagine he resurrects in a cheesy painting like Galadriel? Heβs the vaguely queer coded villain, heβll stay buried (you wish he was buried), itβs the law.
And shouldnβt have Sauron ended him, if it was meant to be symmetrical, shouldnβt there have been a fight?
Shouldnβt there have been a fight with Arondir?
Shouldnβt Galadriel have at least voiced her disapproval of the murder? Iβll give it to her that Adarβs death gave her the wrath to withstand Sauron finally. She fought him with anger in her heart, totally over him, but not over her twin flame Adar.
What happened to Adar was worse than what happened to Sauron. Adar was betrayed of his final hope to get better, betrayed by his children whom he loved and thought loved him back, knowing his aim to prevent enslavement for them has been futile. You can shoehorn a symmetry with Sauronβs situation in the beginning but it substantially isnβt. Adarβs actions always came from a place of love, care and solidarity, of accountability.
It shouldβve been Sauron dealing him the final blow, not GlΓ»g. It was never shown why GlΓ»g would suddenly want to murder him brutally and in cold blood. It was just for shock value and done with the intention to show how irredeemable Uruk truly are, even the most humanized ones. As if Adar was delusional about them deserving dignity. Probably the story needs them to be bad again, after all the Third Age hasnβt improved concerning the othering of Orcs. One dilemma less for the show, it seemsβ¦
He may be in Valinor now, perhaps, who knows with these writersβ¦ The thing is, I donβt care because I wonβt see it on screen.
Nothing will come of anything Adar has done and fought for, he is erased from the narrative and I hate it.
It lowers expectations for season 3 and, not gonna lie, I kinda resent the show for doing that.
The Rings of Power | Season 2 | Aug 29 - Oct 3, 2024 Adar + threats
Adar in every episode - s02.01
"He offered me wine, red as a blood moon. He offered me wine, and on that dark and nameless peak, I drank it. I drank it all."
"Do you swear allegiance to Adar, Lord-father of theΒ Uruks?"
Sam HazeldineΒ as Adar S2.E8 β Shadow and Flame
πππ ππ π£π π π π₯ππ βππππ€: πππ π£ππππ€ π π π‘π π¨ππ£
Sam Hazeldine as ππππ« (S02.E01-08 β’ 2024)
ADAR + β£
Father of Uruk the lord Adar.
βGood girl.β