The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has addressed three mysteries from J.R.R. Tolkien’s original stories. By the time of The Rings of Power season 1’s ending, several other mysteries about Middle-earth were raised. For example, the primary story of Sauron’s plan in The Rings of Power and how this extended into Halbrand is somewhat of a mystery, given that Halbrand did not exist in Tolkien’s writing.

Similarly, the fate of Númenor in The Lord of the Rings and how exactly the great wave came to destroy the island was only touched upon via the storyline of Ar-Pharazôn in Tolkien’s works. The Rings of Power‘s extended cast alleviates some of the mysteries of Númenor’s politics, proving that the show is not afraid to delve into elements of Tolkien’s world that were less fleshed out. However, three mysteries that many thought would never come to light in Tolkien’s books have been addressed in The Rings of Power season 2, hinting at answers to some of Middle-earth’s biggest unanswered questions.

The Rings Of Power Season 2 Introduces Tom Bombadil

The Mysterious Hermit Gets An Extended Role In Rings Of Power Season 2

One of the biggest enigmas of Middle-earth from Tolkien’s works was Tom Bombadil. Bombadil first appeared in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring as a denizen of the Old Forest near the Shire. Bombadil’s introduction comes as Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin are being attacked by Old Man Willow, a malevolent old tree, with the hermit saving them with relative ease. To make Bombadil more mysterious, he retrieves Lord of the Rings’ One Ring from Frodo, proving to be the only being in Middle-earth over which it held no power.

Bombadil’s immense magical power and the fact that the Ring did not affect him led to many theories about his identity and who, or more aptly, what, he really is. During his life, Tolkien never addressed these theories and left Tom Bombadil a complete mystery, with The Rings of Power marking the character’s first major inclusion in a live-action Lord of the Rings movie or TV show. The character appears as an ally of The Stranger, specifically the object of the latter’s journey to Rhûn.

The Rings of Power season 2, episode 4 confirms that Bombadil is what, or whom, The Stranger has been searching for since season 1. The Stranger believes Bombadil can help him learn to control his burgeoning Istari powers, which Bombadil wonders about himself. With the character’s appearance in The Rings of Power season 2, the mystery of Tom Bombadil is being directly addressed, if not outright answered, decades after Tolkien first established it.

The Stoors Explain The Shire’s Origin In The Rings Of Power Canon

Little Of The Shire Is Known Before Middle-earth’s Third Age

Another mystery of Middle-earth that The Rings of Power season 2, episode 4 addresses is the origin of The Shire. The Shire is known as the homeland of the Hobbits, a vast country of rolling hills and fields and rivers and lakes where the halflings of Middle-earth live their unassuming, peaceful lives. In Tolkien’s works, little is mentioned of The Shire before the Third Age, in which Hobbits from Bree settled in the land as the kingdom of Arnor came to an end. Decades later, nearly all the Hobbits in Middle-earth dwelled in The Shire.

While The Shire and its general countryside need no origin story, The Rings of Power season 2 establishes how the Hobbits eventually came to settle in the east of the world. This was teased in season 1 with the wanderings of the Harfoots, yet The Rings of Power season 2 makes it even more important thanks to the story of the Burrows family, the ancestors of Saddoc from season 1. It is mentioned by the Stoors of The Rings of Power, another breed of halfling, that Saddoc Burrows’ ancestor, Rorymas, left to find a prophesied land of greenery and splendor.

As such, The Shire becomes somewhat of a fabled land in which halflings were destined to settle down. The Shire is made into the object of the wanderings of Hobbits, which was an element Tolkien touched on during the latter parts of the Lord of the Rings’ Second Age and the beginnings of the Third Age. How deeply The Rings of Power explores the prophecy of The Shire remains to be seen, but it makes the homeland of the Hobbits from The Lord of the Rings that much more special.

The Rings Of Power Season 2 Is Dealing With Tolkien’s Entwives Mystery

Female Ents Were Long Missing By The Time Of The Lord Of The Rings

Custom image by Ryan Northrup

The final mystery of Tolkien’s that The Rings of Power season 2, episode 4 is touching on is the Entwives. In Tolkien’s mythology, the Entwives were simply female Ents who worked alongside their male peers to protect the environment of Middle-earth. While the Entwives’ existence was not a mystery in and of itself, it was mentioned by the powerful Ent known as Treebeard during The Lord of the Rings that the Entwives went missing at the end of the Second Age, and that they were never found again by the searching male Ents.

As a result, Entwives were not featured in The Lord of the Rings, In The Rings of Power season 2, episode 4, however, Entwives make an appearance. Arondir and Isildur discover that it was Ents who were attacking the wildmen of the Southlands/Mordor due to their destruction of the environment, with Arondir making peace with a female Ent. The Entwife implores Arondir to aid in the protection of Middle-earth, giving the latter a reason to track the Orc army heading toward the free lands of the elves and teasing his involvement in future episodes of THe Rings of Power season 2.

Should The Rings Of Power Really Solve Tolkien’s Biggest Unanswered Questions?

Tolkien’s Storylines Can Be Touched On, But Definitive Answers Should Not Be Provided

The fact that The Rings of Power addresses these topics that Tolkien kept secretive raises the question of whether this should be the case. In answer, The Rings of Power is more than welcome to touch on elements that Tolkien did not have the time or willingness to flesh out, so long as the show keeps true to the spirit of the writer and what he would have wanted. Thus far, The Rings of Power season 2 seems to doing just this, but it remains to be seen if that continues into future episodes and The Rings of Power season 3.

Rings of Power Season 2 Episodes
Episode Number
Release Date

“Elven Kings Under the Sky”
Season 2, Episode 1
August 29, 2024

“Where the Stars are Strange”
Season 2, Episode 2
August 29, 2024

“The Eagle and the Sceptre”
Season 2, Episode 3
August 29, 2024

“Eldest”
Season 2, Episode 4
September 5, 2024

TBA
Season 2, Episode 5
September 12, 2024

TBA
Season 2, Episode 6
September 19, 2024

TBA
Season 2, Episode 7
September 26, 2024

TBA
Season 2, Episode 8
October 3, 2024

Using Tom Bombadil as an example, The Rings of Power season 2, episode 4 does not do anything to contradict Tolkien’s works, especially not by attempting to explain who or what Bombadil is. He is depicted as a wandering hermit, one who wields incredible power, but who has no desire to use that power to fight evil. The Stranger even asks what Bombadil is, receiving nothing more than a cryptic jest from Old Tom. If The Rings of Power continues this, Tolkien’s mystery will be kept intact, while giving the adaptation a compelling storyline using an iconic character.

Mysteries and unanswered questions do not always need to be answered, and keep the allure of Middle-earth alive and well.

The same can be said for The Rings of Power‘s Entwives. As alluded to, the fact that the Entwives existed during the Second Age was made common knowledge by Tolkien. However, their mysterious disappearance at the onset of the Third Age was never explained, meaning The Rings of Power should not try to do so. By all means, a story involving the Entwives fits with The Rings of Power‘s timeline, but keeping true to Tolkien’s intentions with Middle-earth’s unanswered questions should remain a priority alongside crafting a compelling fantasy story.