How their quests serve a bigger purpose

This article contains spoilers for Season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Episode 4 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, “Eldest,” sees many of our main characters searching for what has been lost — and making very unexpected discoveries along the way.

The episode is also packed to the brim with new creatures and characters, brought to life from the pages of J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings. From terrifying Barrow-wights to a heartbroken Entwife, “Eldest” introduces fans to many characters and creatures that have never been depicted onscreen.

While “Eldest” doesn’t tie in the major plotlines from last week’s three-episode premiere — such as the ominous alliance between Sauron/Annatar and Celebrimbor, the political turmoil in Númenor or the dire plight of the Dwarves in the crumbling Khazad-dûm — it does take viewers on some fun side quests.

But these quests also serve a bigger purpose, as traversing the map of Middle-earth paints a vivid picture of all that has been lost in the world. As we see in the characters’ journeys, no corner of the map has been untouched by the growing darkness in the realm.

Here’s a look at each of the new characters introduced in “Eldest,” and why their appearances are significant to The Rings of Power.

Tom Bombadil

Deep in the deserts of Rhûn, in search of his Harfoot hobbit friends Nori and Poppy, the Stranger stumbles upon an unusual goat herder singing a strange little ditty. (Tolkien fans will immediately recognize these as lyrics from Tom Bombadil’s songs.)

Despite appearing in some of Tolkien’s earliest work, Tom Bombadil, the mysterious being who has lived for much of the history of Middle-earth, has been omitted from every adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, as he has been considered nonessential to the story.

Thus, his appearance in The Rings of Power (anachronistic as it is, since the character is from the Third Age as opposed to the series’ Second Age) is one fans have been eagerly awaiting.

William Smith, host of the Green Lanterns podcast and moderator of the subreddit r/LOTR_on_Prime, told Yahoo Entertainment that Bombadil’s appearance had everything fans were hoping for — music, magic, answering in riddles and even the voice of Goldberry (the mythical River-daughter wife of Bombadil).

“With how fantastical Tom is, it could be really difficult to have him in your show or movie. He could be so over-the-top that it ruins the immersion of a casual viewer,” said Smith. “I think they did a good job of making him feel like he is unique but also still fits in the world.”

But Bombadil’s appearance in The Rings of Power wasn’t just a fun bit of fan service. By inviting the Stranger into his home, Bombadil exposes the Stranger to his powerful magic, thus shaping his fate in the fight against Sauron.

According to Smith, Bombadil also presents some interesting questions for viewers — namely surrounding the wizards of Middle-earth. “Is [the] Dark Wizard Saruman? Did Tom actually train him, or did he go bad because Tom chose not to?” Smith wondered.

Only that merry fellow Old Tom Bombadil knows!

The Stoors

Meanwhile, Nori and Poppy are also desperately searching for the Stranger — and on their quest to find him, they cross paths with Nobody, aka Merimac.

The two are surprised to find a fellow Harfoot in the deserts of Rhûn — only to later discover that Merimac is not a Harfoot at all, but a Stoor, another hobbit race later revealed to possibly be distant relatives of Harfoots.

Nori and Poppy follow Merimac back to his village, where they’re shocked to encounter a thriving society of Little Folk hidden away within tunnels and caves.

The leader of the Stoors, Gundabel (aka the Gund), later reveals to Nori and Poppy that the Harfoots and Stoors might share a common ancestor, one who left Rhûn eons ago in search of a fabled land called the Sûzat — also known as the Shire.

“Now that we have the Stoors in the show, along with their mention of Sûzat, I think it’s very clear the long-term goal for the Harfoots is to go around meeting the other halflings and eventually settle into something like a proto-Shire by the end of the show,” Smith told Yahoo Entertainment.

The Stoors have been depicted in only one other adaptation of Tolkien’s work — the 2010 massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) The Lord of the Rings Online. However, while it was never mentioned in the Peter Jackson films, Sméagol was a Stoor hobbit before being corrupted by the One Ring and becoming Gollum.

Barrow-wights

After a lack of correspondence from Celebrimbor, fearing he might be in Sauron’s clutches, Elves Galadriel and Elrond put together a small group of archers and swordsmen and venture from Lindon to Eregion.

Despite Galadriel’s warnings, Elrond leads the team through the Barrow-downs, an ancient gravesite filled with the remains of kings and high officials of men of the First Age.

Awoken by Sauron’s power, the bodies of these evil men rise again, taking the form of Barrow-wights, terrifying ghouls with icy, beaming eyes and tentacle-like chains.

Much like Tom Bombadil, the Barrow-wights’ appearance is anachronistic, as they also don’t appear in Tolkien’s work until the Third Age.

All the same, the spooky ghouls of undead kings have never been depicted before on the big screen, and fans seem excited to finally see them brought to life.

“I absolutely loved the look and feel of the Barrow-wights. They were the right amount of cool and the right amount of creepy,” said Smith.

However, the Barrow-wights were quickly defeated by the Elves (thanks to Elrond, who recalled a piece of lore that only their own weapons could kill the already-dead Barrow-wights) — leaving fans wanting more.

“I do wish [the Barrow-wights] would have been around for a bit longer. They are so cool, and [the scene had] totally different vibes compared to anything else they have done. … It felt like a horror movie for a minute. I wish we could have gotten more time with them,” said Smith.

Winterbloom the Entwife

On their search for Theo in the Southlands, the Elf Arondir alongside humans Isildur and Estrid travel across a landscape that has been destroyed by the march of Orcs.

It’s here that the group is attacked by an Ent named Snaggleroot and an Entwife named Winterbloom, both desperate to defend the remaining trees and vegetation of the land.

As revealed by tree giant Treebeard to Merry and Pippin in The Lord of the Rings, Ents are an ancient Middle-earth race of sentient tree people. Long ago, according to Treebeard, the Ents lost their Ent women — but it was never revealed what happened to these mysterious Entwives.

Thus, Episode 4’s introduction of the Entwife Winterbloom — grief-stricken over the loss of her beloved trees, many of which she had raised from saplings — is one that took fans aback.

“Ents are something the internet seems very excited about, and I feel like Winterbloom didn’t disappoint,” said Smith. “It is jarring, in a good way, for them to appear onscreen and hear their voices.”

But the scene was more than just an exciting moment of Tolkien lore brought to life. Thanks to powerful performances from the characters’ respective voice actors, Jim Broadbent and Olivia Williams, the scene was an emotional one that underscored nature’s pain in a darkening Middle-earth.

“[Winterbloom’s] moment with Arondir was very emotional. She had that beautiful moment where she plucked one of the flowers and placed it on the hand of Arondir,” said Smith. “To cap it off, when the Ents decide to trust Arondir … it was adorable to see them turn and hold hands/branches together as they walked.”

Smith added that the acting talents of Ismael Cruz Córdova, who plays Arondir, helped carry the emotions of the scene.

“I am sure it’s not easy acting against something that isn’t actually there, but there’s no loss of immersion during that scene because he is super talented.”

Episode 4’s “cornucopia of Tolkienian pleasures” has left fans wanting more — and feeling optimistic about the future of the series.

“The Rings of Power season two episode four felt tonally perfect for a tale inspired by Tolkien, and it gave me a ton of hope for the rest of the season,” Alyssa Mercante wrote for Kotaku.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is now streaming on Prime Video.