War has officially begun with Adar (Sam Hazeldine) and his Orcs against Sauron (Charlie Vickers), in the latest episode, “Where Is He?,” of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2, with Adar beginning his siege of Eregion. With everyone on a collision course with Sauron, including Ar-Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle) with his palantír visions, as well as Elrond’s (Robert Aramayo) forces, the tension is ramping up, making each player’s movements more unpredictable as the stakes rise.

However, what may have surprised viewers most in this episode is potentially the tentative alliance formed between Adar and Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), whom Adar holds prisoner yet treats mercifully. Adar sees the possibility of ending Sauron once and for all with Galadriel’s help, with his desperation to save his “children,” the Orcs, leading him to try and find common ground with Galadriel. However, Adar’s flawed reading of Galadriel and fear of Sauron is really pushing him right into Sauron’s trap, setting up a tense and thrilling climax to Season 2 of The Rings of Power in the last two episodes.

Adar Plans to Use Galadriel’s Elven Ring to Destroy Sauron in ‘The Rings of Power’

Whilst neither completely trusts the other, Adar instigates the truce due to his belief in Galadriel being the key to Sauron’s demise. Adar’s plan is to use Galadriel’s elven ring, Nenya, with Morgoth’s crown to defeat Sauron, finally vanquishing him from Middle-earth. Previously, Adar had stabbed Sauron with Morgoth’s crown in the Season 2 premiere, but Sauron’s spirit had survived, turning into the black goo that became Halbrand. It’s a very cool piece of lore to examine why simply stabbing a Maiar like Sauron would not kill him, effectively portraying the mysticism of the world through practical objects.

In Adar’s mind, combining Elvish and Uruk forces should be enough to destroy not only Sauron’s spirit but the city of Eregion itself, especially with Galadriel telling Adar Elrond’s army movements and location on Nenya. Neither really trusts the other, but it speaks to Adar’s willingness to do whatever to destroy Sauron. Adar clearly views Galadriel as important for later, as he tells his soldiers, speaking to how he potentially doesn’t just want Nenya delivered by any elf, but specifically believes Nenya and Galadriel combined will become crucial when facing Sauron.

Adar Believes Galadriel Sees Sauron as He Does

Adar’s main reason for instigating this relationship with Galadriel, rather than any other elf, goes beyond the simple practicality of what power Galadriel wields. He also sees Galadriel’s inner character to be similar to his, making her the perfect elvish ally. Adar believes Galadriel is as hateful of Sauron as he is because of the mental manipulation they have both suffered at his hands. Adar’s story of how Sauron fed him wine on top of the mountain, potentially at the moment of the Orcs’ creation, and Galadriel’s entire failure to perceive Sauron’s lies make both characters willing to do whatever is possible in Adar’s mind.

However, as we see by the end of this episode, Galadriel has grown from her blindness in Season 1 of The Rings of Power. Galadriel’s possession of Nenya might be giving her more clairvoyance/a clearer perspective, meaning her hatred is not blinding her as it had Adar. Similar to the Elven Rings’ effect on Lindon’s tree, the light illuminates the corrupting dark. There are also different motives of the characters, since Galadriel’s hatred of Sauron comes from the need for justice, to avenge her brother and other Elves killed in the wars against Sauron and Morgoth, whereas Adar’s is fueled by fear.

Adar Fails To Hide His Fear of Sauron in ‘The Rings of Power’

Whilst Adar’s hatred of Sauron cannot be underestimated, really, Adar fears Sauron. We see how his main Orc soldier, Glüg (Robert Strange), hesitates to give him the horn to call the Orcs to war, and Adar’s pained expression as they begin their siege speaks to his desperation. Certainly, this is a new side to the Orcs than we have seen before, especially when their previous leaders were Gothmog (Lawrence Makoare) and the Witch King of Angmar (Makoare). Adar is doing this for his “children,” to find them a safe home, but fathers still get scared.

That’s part of what makes Adar such a watchable character throughout both Sam Hazeldine and Joseph Mawle‘s portrayals. Adar isn’t just a laughing evil villain bent on world domination, we already have a great one of those in Sauron, and even he has deeper motivations than one might expect at first. Instead, his somewhat sympathetic motivations make him an antagonist to Galadriel, but the protagonist of his own story, engaging the audience and making it far more complex when it comes to watching the battle between Eregion’s Sauron-defending soldiers, and Adar’s Orcs.

The scene between Adar and Galadriel, discussing how Sauron’s manipulation feels, is a terrifying description that actually heightens our fear of Sauron, when normally simply telling us about a character would do nothing for the audience. Instead, because of the chaos occurring in Eregion with Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards), we believe this description and are horrified by it. When we think back to Adar’s speech about Sauron giving him the wine, we now see how Sauron twisted Adar’s mind, making Adar almost an addict to Sauron’s presence. We see exactly how Sauron’s manipulation breaks people, and now have an eloquent and evocative description of the feeling of it.

Overall, Galadriel and Adar’s alliance may come as a surprise at first, but the practical aspects of what can be achieved by combining their powers does make sense for why Adar would want to have Galadriel’s power on his side. However, Adar has made a terrible miscalculation by misreading Sauron’s plan and not trusting Galadriel’s instincts. In the end, his desperation to destroy Sauron exposes his true fear of The Deceiver. With the siege beginning, it appears like it may be only a matter of time before Adar, Sauron, and Galadriel all come face to face again, and it will be fascinating to see how this tentative alliance will perform when confronted with Sauron’s power and potential to manipulate both halves.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is available to stream on Prime Video, with new Season 2 episodes premiering Thursdays.