The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 1 featured several references to the power of the so-called “Unseen realm.” The term mainly comes up when referencing the Rings of Power, as Celebrimbor says that they harness the power of the Unseen realm. This same realm has been featured before in The Lord of the Rings movies when Frodo puts the One Ring on. When he has the ring on, he sees a realm of magic through which both good and evil things can influence the world of Middle-earth, providing a further glimpse into The Rings of Power‘s mysterious Unseen realm.

The Unseen realm is inhabited by the presence of several beings in Tolkien’s lore, notably the 15 Valar (the demigods of Middle-earth) and the Ringwraiths. In theory, Maiar also possess the ability to enter the Unseen—though they are much less powerful than the Valar. The Stranger, who is an Istari in The Rings of Power, appears to be of the Maiar. Despite having lost his memory, the Stranger can draw power from the Unseen realm, and may even learn how to enter it in Rings of Power season 2. However, ahead of this moment, much about the Unseen realm remains mysterious.

What The “Unseen Realm” Means In The Rings Of Power

The Unseen Realm Exists Alongside The Seen

The Unseen realm is an alternative dimension parallel to the Seen Middle-earth. Angelic beings, demonic beings, and ghosts dwell in this “spirit realm.” When Hobbits who aren’t fully corrupted by the One Ring, such as Frodo and Bilbo, put it on, they enter this Unseen realm and are no longer visible in the Seen realm. They are still present in Middle-earth and can influence and be influenced by things in the Seen realm. For example, Frodo gets his finger bitten off by Gollum at the end of Return of the King despite having the Ring on and being in the Unseen.

When the Mystics became ghosts, they did not die, but merely entered the Unseen realm.

The Unseen has been shown in Rings of Power through the Mystics that chase the Stranger. Through the use of magic from the Unseen, the Mystics summon fire to burn the Harfoots’ camp. They can also change their appearance and disguise themselves as others (though their eyes give them away). Plus, when the Mystics became ghosts, they did not die, but merely entered the Unseen realm as wraiths of their former selves. This explains their return in Rings of Power season 2.

The Unseen Realm Is In Lord Of The Rings Too

Frodo Enters The Unseen Realm

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The Unseen realm is also very present in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit trilogy. The Unseen realm is shown whenever someone wears the One Ring. While Frodo is able to perceive other beings in the Seen, he becomes invisible to them. However, when Sauron wears the One Ring he can perceive and influence anyone who is also wearing one of the Rings of Power. It seems like Galadriel summons a certain amount of power from the Unseen during her speech to Frodo in the Fellowship of the Ring using her own Ring of Power.

Like the Valar and Maiar, the Ringwraiths are beings that straddle the border between the Seen and Unseen worlds. While once human, the corruption caused by their Rings of Power drew the Nazgûl into the Unseen. By the time of The Lord of the Rings, the majority of their souls lie in the Unseen, while their black, shadowy forms in the Seen world are merely an echo of their former human selves. Furthermore, the Morgul blade the Witch-king carried was so potent because a shard from the knife had the power to draw someone into the Unseen realm.

Once the rings of Men have been forged, Sauron will present them to his chosen Ring-bearers, and the show may have already introduced some of them.

Rings of Power season 2 may explore the Unseen realm through the Ringwraiths, who should soon present themselves. Once the rings of Men have been forged, Sauron will present them to his chosen Ring-bearers, and the show may have already introduced some of them. In addition to revealing the Witch-king of Angmar, Rings of Power season 2 could also reveal Khamûl, the king of Rhûn. This Wraith is Sauron’s second-in-command among the Nazgûl. Since the Stranger is heading to Khamûl’s land, season 2 can delve further into this mysterious dimension of Tolkien’s lore.

Galadriel & Gil-Galad’s Connection To The Unseen Realm In The Rings Of Power Season 2 Explained

Galadriel And Gil-Galad Are Ring-Bearers

The newly-forged Elven Rings of Power are likely tapping into the power of the Unseen realm, with Gil-Galad, Galadriel, and Círdan all now Ring-bearers. In season 2, Sauron is working with Celebrimbor again, this time in his Annatar form, to produce more rings with links to the Unseen realm, including those for Men and Dwarves. Sauron’s instruction in forging the rings was essential – he profoundly influenced them and their access to the Unseen. In lore, the Elven rings stop the decays of time and likely allow a glimpse into the Unseen. Tolkien elaborated on the rings’ powers in a letter:

The chief power (of all the rings alike) was the prevention or slowing of decay… But also they enhanced the natural powers of a possessor – thus approaching ‘magic’… And finally they had other powers, more directly derived from Sauron… such as rendering invisible the material body, and making things of the invisible world visible. The Elves of Eregion made Three supremely beautiful and powerful rings, almost solely of their own imagination, and directed to the preservation of beauty: they did not confer invisibility.

Sauron has been secretly, subtly pushing for the creation of these rings, to his own ends, for a long time. The rings’ connection to the Unseen realm is a part of Sauron’s master plan. Sauron will make the One Ring to control the wearers of the other rings. This is best exemplified by what happened to the Ringwraiths in The Lord of the Rings. The Men’s rings drew them into the Unseen world the more they wore them, gradually cutting them off from control of the Seen realm, allowing Sauron to control them further.

While Sauron plots with Celebrimbor, Gil-galad and Galadriel may already be starting to feel the Unseen realm through the rings, seeing strange visions. In The Silmarillion, the Elves wearing the Three could access Sauron’s mind through the rings. This only became apparent when Sauron put on the One Ring in the book, but Galadriel already foresaw Sauron’s future briefly in the show. Elves have innate power to access others’ minds, even without rings, it just takes some training. It seems Nenya is starting to amplify Galadriel’s natural power, and the same will be happening with Gil-galad, and maybe Círdan.

All Ring-bearers in the show play a dangerous game wearing their rings, and it remains to be seen if they could be drawn into the Unseen realm or Sauron’s influence.

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Galadriel’s previous closeness with Sauron may also be aiding her in accessing his mind. According to the Tolkien essay Ósanwe-kenta, ‘Enquiry into the Communication of Thought’,“affinity” makes psychic connection stronger. It works both ways – Galadriel’s scary vision foreshadowing Celebrimbor’s fate may be Sauron entering her mind, whether he knows it or not. Sauron actor Charlie Vickers said “I think they’re connected, if not by proximity then by their psyche” (via GamesRadar). All Ring-bearers in the show play a dangerous game wearing their rings, and it’s uncertain if they could be drawn into the Unseen realm or Sauron’s influence.