Warning! SPOILERS for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 1.With the Stranger and Nori headed to Rhûn, the Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 will enter territory that Tolkien barely explored himself. In the climactic finale, the Stranger (supposedly Gandalf) battles and banishes three mystic servants of Sauron. Before disintegrating, the mystics tell him to head to the land of Rhûn, an area that Tolkien almost never covered in his expansive Middle-earth lore. Rhün lies far to the east of the known areas of Middle-earth, and it has been historically populated by evil men who served both Morgoth and Sauron.

Rhûn is an area that Tolkien rarely visited in his writings on Middle-earth. The Easterlings—who came to the aid of Sauron during the War of the Ring—hail from Rhûn. Beyond that, little is known about what the lands and kingdoms of Rhûn look like. That said, the reason why the Stranger needs to go to Rhûn is clear: he must learn how to control his powers and what his purpose in Middle-earth is. But there may be a few other reasons why the series is exploring these uncharted lands. The door is open for the Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 to get extremely creative with how it portrays Rhûn and what kind of adventures go on there.

Related: If Valinor Is West Of Middle-earth, What's To The East?

Why J.R.R. Tolkien Never Explored The Lands Of Rhûn

An Easterling in armor and faceplate

Though it's difficult to say for certain, it's likely that Tolkein's decision to avoid spending too much time in Rhûn was made because it would have detracted from the main, Western focus of his stories. While there were undoubtedly interesting characters to be found, expanding his scope to include the East would have certainly distracted from some of his existing characters and narrative threads. In this light, the decision to allow regions such as Rhûn to remain mysterious not only grants The Rings of Power some welcome creative freedom in the future, but ensured that Tolkein's own stories were as focused and cohesive as possible upon publication.

Why The Rings Of Power Needs To Go To The Lands Of Rhûn

Nazgul Ringwraiths in The Lord of the Rings The Fellowship of the Ring

Though The Hobbit changed some ringwraith lore, there was a ringwraith present during the White Council’s raid on Dol Guldur who could show up in the Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, necessitating the series' exploration of Rhûn. The Witch King of Angmar is the chief leader of the Ringwraiths in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but the second chief of the Nazgûl was known as Khamûl. Before being corrupted by Sauron with one of the nine rings gifted to men, Khamûl was a known to be an Easterling king of Rhûn. Therefore, it’s very possible that Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power season 2 will explore this character in further detail.

It’s important to note that Gandalf has said before that he never traveled to the East. Instead, he focused his efforts on the West side of Middle-earth. This could be a clue that the Stranger is not Gandalf, and is actually one of the other five Istari—possibly one of the two Blue Wizards. Regardless, the Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power season 2 will explore new lands that were left outside of Tolkien’s scope for Middle-earth’s stories, setting up many exciting possibilities.

All episodes of The Rings of Power season 1 are now available on Amazon Prime

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