For the Adar lovers among us, there have been many highs and many lows throughout the first two seasons of The Rings of Power. For instance, Adar survived to the end of season one of the series, but then the character underwent an unexpected recast. Recasts can be tough, especially when the first iteration of a character is so beloved. But fortunately, it turned out that Adar fans had absolutely nothing to worry about. Adar landed in excellent hands with his new actor Sam Hazeldine, who truly sees, knows, and understands the elf. Not to mention, Hazeldine, of course, plays him to perfection. And so, as one of Adar’s greatest fans, it was my total pleasure to sit down with Hazeldine in the wake of the season two finale of The Rings of Power to discuss all things Lord-Father.
From Adar’s origins to just what it means that he was the father of Uruk, from his messy relationships (romances) with Sauron and Galadriel to his complicated feelings about being an elf, from his deep, deep trauma to his love of elven poetry, Hazeldine offered his insightful perspectives on so many of the blanks that remain for The Rings of Power viewers about Adar. If you’re an Adar fan, we suggest you sit down to our Uruk feast table and tuck in, this is one delicious meal.
Nerdist: On The Rings of Power, Adar says that he’s from the “eldest of elder days.” Are we meant to imagine that he was one of the first elves that awoke at Cuiviénen?
Sam Hazeldine: I couldn’t say that. I think, maybe, but I don’t want to commit to saying something as serious as that. I’ll land myself in trouble, and someone will be there saying, “That’s not possible.” But certainly, I think the first Uruk, or he says there were 13 of us chosen, we volunteered foolishly for more power, or for children, in my case, or Adar’s case, I should say. And so definitely Adar is one of the first, if not the first Uruk. And then it’s all my fault.
Do you know what happened to the other Moriondor?
Hazeldine: I think they died, yeah.
The Rings of Power says that Adar is the father of Uruk, but it doesn’t really go into detail about what that means. Did you ever discuss what that actually entails?
Hazeldine: Not beyond just the experiments and torture over the centuries of these Elf volunteers, which resulted in the kind of corruption of them. And then, from there, let’s say DNA, for want of a better word, was used to create them as we know them. And Adar is like a halfway experiment, something you’d find in the laboratory in a glass jar that wasn’t quite it but was on the way there. Horrible.
We know Morgoth tortured Sason and Sauron tortured Adar and also kind of groomed him. What do you imagine the relationship was like between the three of them before Morgoth’s fall?
Hazeldine: Well, I think that Sauron presented himself as a savior to Adar from Morgoth. And that’s why he had so much trust in him. That’s why Adar had so much trust in Sauron, but in fact, the great deceiver was actually as bad, if not ultimately, a worse being himself.
What do you think Adar means when he says that Sauron promised him children on The Rings of Power? And why do you think he couldn’t have had them without Sauron?
Hazeldine: Well, yeah, that’s another thing. It was like, what was wrong? It made me think at the time, what was wrong with his life, to do this deal, to say yes, to volunteer, he must have been very unhappy as an elf in the first place. And I feel like, I mean, you just look at everything that happens to him through the series and then take as much out of that as you can. As you do as an actor with any script. You see what you say. You see what other people say about you, put as much together to paint a picture without holes.
I think he was a very unhappy elf. As well as him not being able to have actual children for whatever reason, I think he didn’t have, I mean, I think it’s pretty obvious that he didn’t have the respect that he felt he should have from his fellow elves or from the High Elves. I dunno what his position was.
But I think all the way through the series, through these two seasons, that really what Adar wants is, whether he would admit it or not, he wants the respect to the elves. He wants to be treated as an equal. But as Sauron says, Jack Lowden’s Sauron, at the beginning of season two, says, the elves would never accept you. The men will always look at you with disgust. And I think, the elves too, maybe he said pity and disgust.
There was no pity involved. I think it was like hate, murder, and disgust.
Hazeldine: No, no pity. No pity. Even worse. Even worse.
And I think that by the conclusion of Adar’s story, he does have the respect of Galadriel, who is one of the High Elves. And I think that whether Gil-galad would still have wanted to have wiped out the Uruk, Galadriel, at least, has come around from a pretty strong standpoint in season one.
So, I think that one of his aims has been realized. He has gone with the respect of the elves and feels like an equal, but it’s too late for that to continue any further. And I feel like when he is restored to his elven form, obviously that brings back, it’s like a PTSD thing. It’s a sort of a dream of what could have been or was and was destroyed by him. He has to take responsibility for his decision.
Hrm….
Hazeldine: No?
Hazeldine: Yeah. Okay. Thank you. Thank you for saying so.
Do you think it was love at first sight between Adar and the Uruk on The Rings of Power?
Hazeldine: I don’t think so. No. I think he was horrified at what he was responsible for, but he feels love for them because they wouldn’t exist without him, without the decision that he made. So it is his responsibility, his sole responsibility to protect them and to do whatever he can to make their lives better. And I think that that’s all he cares about. I don’t think he cares about his own life by this point. I think he’s just, he’s found them a home in Mordor. And it was all going pretty well until Sauron returned and ruined everything.
Speaking of Sauron. Between, “He was beautiful” and “I drink it all” and “He filled the world with color,” Do you think Adar was basically in love with Sauron?
Hazeldine: Yeah, I think so. I mean, I think Sauron has that kind of, just as Galadriel found with Halbrand at the beginning without knowing it, she was just drawn into this kind of lie, this deception. He creates what you want, he appears as you want him to be, for Celebrimbor as well, as Annatar, as the Lord of Gifts. And so I think, yeah.
Who do you think Sauron was for Adar?
Hazeldine: I think he was much more simple for Adar. I think he was an ear, a voice, a friend to Adar, who was dying at the hand of, he thought, Morgoth. But it was actually Sauron, all along, who was really in charge of this torture and this genetic kind of genetic experiments.
Does the Adar ever feel like no one on The Rings of Power ever says thank you to him for having delayed Sauron’s return for many years?
Hazeldine: I know. Yeah, that’s true. That’s a really good point. I might bring that up at the next board meeting. It’s ridiculous. Yeah.
At least one thank you.
Hazeldine: Yeah, that would be nice. Some gratititude.
Tolkien writes that elves taken by Morgoth sometimes tried to escape, but the other elves refused them sanctuary because they felt they were too tainted. Do you think Adar ever tried to go back to the elves only to be turned away in the past of The Rings of Power?
Hazeldine: I mean, I would say, I would like to think yes, but it seems from his first meeting Arondir in season one, that no one even knows that Adar exists until then. So I feel like he’s been very much kind of off the radar or the R-Adar, I should say. That’s just really bad. Sorry.
And I suppose the reason for that would be to try to stay as safe as possible, to stay in the shadows and not to draw attention to himself and the Uruk for their own protection. So I would say no, although it would make sense. It would’ve been good if he did. But maybe he didn’t do that for fear of them being not just rejected, but being identified and wiped out.
The dinner scene between Galadriel and Adar on The Rings of Power really evoked Beauty and the Beast to me. Did you ever acknoweldge that while filming that episode?
Hazeldine: Yeah, very much so. Yeah, it was just like that. And we had the food that we had because it was like I was Adar was trying to make an elven feast for Galadriel, but the food was, I mean, it didn’t look remotely edible. It was like a chicken squid thing that was not appetizing, and all of the food looked kind of… sort of sweaty.
But there were raspberries!
Hazeldine: Yes, there were raspberries! Because I said, “Do we have any fruit that I could eat? I’ve got to eat something.” I said, “Is there anything edible here?” And the lady who’d made all of this food, she said, “Oh yeah, it’s all edible.” And I was like, “Ahhhh…” So we have some, I dunno what would be elven food, some small fruits, some raspberries or something. So yeah, the raspberries.
If Galadriel had acknowledged Uruk rights when Adar had asked her “And then what happens?” in episode six of The Rings of Power, do you think he might’ve agreed to the “Us” Alliance?
Hazeldine: Yeah, I think maybe. I think maybe. But I mean we’d still have to have the seige of Eregion anyway, but I think she was already okay with that deal. It’s just the fact that she couldn’t guarantee that Gil-galad would be on the same page and he wouldn’t. And so really ultimately she just didn’t have the power to make that deal.
So Adar quotes Rumil to Elrond. Do you think he is a secret elven poetry nerd?
Hazeldine: Oh yeah. I think he definitely is. Yeah. And I wish I’d had more elvish to speak in it, both Quenya and Sindarin. Yeah, it’s beautiful. And it’s so much easier to learn than Black Speech, I think, because it is a fully formed language as well. When you learn it, it sort of makes sense. Whereas the Black Speech is so, it’s just kind of guttural sounds, so it’s much more difficult. But yeah, the elven is my favorite thing to learn. The one line when I capture Galadriel. “Elen síla lúmenn’ omentielvo.” That’s beautiful. It’s one of my favorite bits.
We touched on it a little, but when Adar put the elven ring on in The Rings of Power season two’s finale, it transformed him. And that felt to me it would just be an incredible trauma to him. What do you think he felt when that first happened?
Hazeldine: Yeah, I agree completely. I think he was probably not aware of what Nenya’s powers and qualities are. And so he thought that he would put the ring on and he would be marching straight into Eregion with this much power now and to kill Sauron immediately. But I think he was so shocked and kind of wrong-footed. He probably saw himself restored to his elven form, and it was so kind of traumatic that it stopped him in his tracks and he had to take himself away.
And also, if the Uruk saw him as an elf, I think that they would think that this is what this has all really been about. His desire is not to protect them, but his desire is to return to being an elf. Why was he trying to make a deal with Galadriel? All that stuff. They were already very suspicious of his motives, which were true motives. But does he want to be an elf again? Probably, yeah, I think so. But it’s long been too late for that. His sole purpose is to protect his children. And I don’t think they could see him like that. So, I think he’s sort of fled.
He’s been in his mission and he can’t do it himself. I feel like he feels like he can’t face Sauron and he needs to give the ring to Galadriel and trust her with the task of finishing the job because I just think it’s too much. It’s too much for him.
Adar secretly being Celeborn on The Rings of Power, Galadriel’s missing husband was quite a popular fan theory. But I get the sense it was never considered by the series. But I hear you do archery and sing. So do you want to join me in starting the Sam as Celeborn propaganda?
Hazeldine: Yeah, let’s do that. That’s great.
Yes, let’s put it out there. I felt the chemistry between them was undeniable.
Hazeldine: Thank You. Thanks for saying so. Yeah. Did you see there was a TikTok video that Morfydd [Clark] posted. Yeah, it’s very funny. She’s on TikTok all day long. That was lovely.
There’s a, I don’t know, it’s probably quite unhealthy sort of feeling between them, a mutual sort of respect and a very tentative, “What is this relationship?” from both Galadriel and Adar. We are just circling each other very carefully. We don’t know if it’s romance or if you’re going to get stabbed in the throat any second.
Is that not the best kind of romance?
Hazeldine: Hah! I’m going to forget you said that!
So I thought of Adar’s death on The Rings of Power was so painful. The last thing he saw was his abuser’s face after so much pain and enduring. What do you think happens to Adar in death? Do you think he goes to the Halls of Mandos with the other elves and eventually to Valinor?
Hazeldine: I hope so. I really like to think that. I feel like he’s done enough to have proven his morality really. And that they would understand that he did what he had to do and that he was doing it not for himself, but for the lives of others. So yeah, I feel like he should go to Valinor and then come back.
Yes. Resurrection. We’re making it happen.
Hazeldine: Yeah, let’s do it. Maybe we can talk flashbacks, but I don’t think it’s likely.
Listen, elves resurrect. Who more than Adar deserves to return?
Hazeldine: Okay. That’s what I think. Yeah, I agree.
Sam Hazeldine’s work as Adar and the rest of The Rings of Power season two is streaming now on Prime Video.
Rotem Rusak is the Editor-in-Chief at Nerdist and the one of the world’s leading Adar scholars. She’s been waiting for an Adar interview since The Rings of Power first aired in 2022.
