The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power finally revealed its version of Tom Bombadil, but the show made a few changes to the character laid out by pioneering fantasy author J.R.R. Tolkien. Showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne teased Tom Bombadil’s inclusion in their show all the way back in May 2024, but it wasn’t certain until the airing of episode 4 how they would portray the character (via Vanity Fair). It is now clear that The Rings of Power season 2 is celebrating Tolkien’s Tom Bombadil in numerous ways, but is taking the character in its own direction.

Lord of the Rings character Tom Bombadil is one of the most beloved characters of the book, which is Tolkien’s magnum opus and one of the few Lord of the Rings books he published while alive. The majority of Tolkien’s legendarium was published by his son, Christopher, after his death. As such, Tom Bombadil is one of the pillars of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings world, making Rings of Power’s unprecedented on-screen portrayal of him a landmark moment for TV and literature. This makes it intriguing to pick apart the differences between the show’s Tom Bombadil and the Tom of the book.

10Tom Bombadil Deals With Old Man Ironwood In The Show

Tom Bombadil Deals With Old Man Willow In The Book

The Rings of Power’s Tom Bombadil rescued the Stranger from a sentient tree that Tom Bombadil called Old Man Ironwood, which didn’t happen in the book. However, this did recall a scene in The Lord of the Rings where Tom rescued the Hobbits Merry and Pippin from a sentient tree called Old Man Willow. Old Man Willow was a willow in the Old Forest, so Rings of Power couldn’t adapt him, as it set Tom Bombadil in Rhûn. However, it could retain the spirit of Bombadil’s arc in the book, which it did with Old Man Ironwood.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power seasons 1 and 2 are currently streaming on Amazon Prime, with a new season 2 episode out every Thursday.

Those seeking a completely faithful adaptation of Tolkien’s tales will likely be dissatisfied with this change from the book. The root of this change lies in Tom being in Rhûn, rather than the Old Forest – that is the core change here. For those happy to see Bombadil finally committed to screen, albeit with a non-canonical storyline, this could be seen as the show’s determination to adapt Lord of the Rings despite the twists and turns it was obliged to take to tell the story of Middle-earth’s Second Age. This is a difficult narrative to master in a TV show, and it won’t be fully understood by viewers until the show’s end.

9Tom Bombadil Controls Fire In The Show

Tom Bombadil Is Master Of Wood, Water, And Hill In The Book

Tom Bombadil lit a candle in his cottage, and many more immediately lit, suggesting a kind of magic not described in The Lord of the Rings. In The Lord of the Rings, Tom was “master of wood, water, and hill.” This vague but evocative description of Bombadil’s extreme and overarching power didn’t preclude power over fire but didn’t suggest it either. Bombadil never lit multiple candles with one flame in the book.

In the book, Tom’s powers over wood, water, and hill went hand in hand with his home in the Old Forest. Tom Bombadil had power in his realm and over it but not necessarily outside it. Tom was removed from his canonical home in episode 4. Tom’s apparent pyrokinesis displayed him as the powerful being he was in the book, retaining his awe-inspiring quality and combatting the risk of him seeming powerless and weak outside the Old Forest. A powerless and weak Tom Bombadil really wouldn’t be Tom Bombadil at all.

8Tom Bombadil Adds A Desert Verse To His Book Song In Rings Of Power

Tom Bombadil Builds Out His Famous Song

In The Rings of Power season 2’s episode 4, Tom sang of “Sandflies in the grass, bees around the willow.” This line wasn’t in Lord of the Rings but was sandwiched between lyrics that were. It was a victorious moment, seeing Tom Bombadil singing in The Rings of Power, solidifying Tom’s position as a source of levity in a dark story. This was Tom’s role in Lord of the Rings, and it appears to be his role in Rings of Power.

Rings of Power giving Bombadil the exact lines that he sang in Lord of the Rings was a nice touch, especially as this faithfulness extended to the vast majority of Tom’s singing in episode 4. Tom’s line about sandflies appeared to be the only musical deviation from lore, and it nodded eloquently to Rings of Power’s own interpretation of Tom. The show’s Tom is a desert-dweller singing of sand, whereas the book’s Tom only sang of woods.

Tom Bombadil’s Boots In The Book May Differ To His Boots In The Show

Tom Bombadil’s Colorful Clothes Are An Identifying Feature

Tom Bombadil was a colorful figure in Lord of the Rings, but it’s debatable if the show adapted his yellow boots. “Bright blue his jacket [was], and his boots [were] yellow” in Lord of the Rings, but Tom’s boots in the show were closer to ochre than yellow. However, ochre is a kind of yellow and is in keeping with the pallet and costume design of Bombadil, Rhûn, and the show in general.

Bombadil could be seen wearing a blue coat in The Rings of Power, and also the weathered hat described in Lord of the Rings. Bombadil did have ruddy cheeks in the show, a Tolkienian detail that anchored him to the source material. Bombadil’s boots were far from the biggest change made by the show to Tom, but they may be seen as not quite yellow enough by some.

6Tom Is Known As Iarwain In The Book But Calls His Lamb Iarwain In The Show

Iarwain Is One Of Tom Bombadil’s Names

Tom Bombadil seemed to call his lamb Iarwain in Rings of Power, but Tom didn’t have a lamb called Iarwain in Lord of the Rings and was actually known by this name himself. Gandalf said “Iarwain Ben-adar we called him, oldest and fatherless,” referring to Tom Bombadil in Lord of the Rings. There’s nothing to say that Tom doesn’t go by the name of Iarwain Ben-adar in Rings of Power, so Tom’s lamb is more of an Easter egg than a lore shift.

However, the show has yet to explore Tom’s many nicknames. Tom’s lamb could well be named after Tom, whether it was named by Tom himself, Goldberry, or someone else. Tom’s animals in the show help to build the sense of him as a caring figure who works the land to keep it safe.

5Tom Bombadil Has Traveled To Rhûn In The Rings Of Power

Tom Bombadil Never Goes To Rhûn In The Book

One of Rings of Power’s biggest changes to the character of Tom Bombadil was situating him in Rhûn, when he lived in the Old Forest in the book. In The Lord of the Rings, Tom was protective of his realm and was reluctant to leave it. When confronted with leaving his realm, he said (in his characteristic third-person vernacular) “Tom’s country ends here: he will not pass the borders.” In Rings of Power, Tom left his home to investigate the dark shadow threatening nature in Rhûn. Tom was a protector of nature in Lord of the Rings, so this motivation, at least, aligns with the original character.

Whether Tom’s protectivity of nature or his reluctance to leave his realm would have won out if faced with the threat of Rhûn in the book is purely speculative.

Whether Tom’s protectivity of nature or his reluctance to leave his realm would have won out if faced with the threat of Rhûn in the book is purely speculative. However, Gandalf’s claim that Tom “will not step beyond” his bounds points to a possible answer. Despite this, the show explores an earlier version of Tom than the one in Lord of the Rings, leaning into the possibility that Tom used to travel. Gandalf said, “now he is withdrawn into a little land,” suggesting that Tom acted differently beforehand.

4The Rings Of Power’s Tom Bombadil Has Knowledge Outside Of The Old Forest

Tom Bombadil’s Realm Is The Old Forest In Lord Of The Rings

Tom Bombadil’s knowledge only extended to the borders of his realm, the Old Forest, in Lord of the Rings, whereas it definitely seemed active in Rhûn in the show. Tom said in the book “Out east my knowledge fails. Tom is not master of Riders from the Black Land far beyond his country.” Tom was out east in Rings of Power but seemed just as wise as he did in the book.

Granted, Tom’s statement in the book was a generic reference to his knowledge of the goings-on of the eastern lands, and doesn’t mean he could never attain this knowledge. Tom clearly traveled to Rhûn many years ago in the show, giving him time to acclimatize. Whatever the case may be, Tom’s magical foresight and powers were certainly in full swing in Rings of Power.

Tom Bombadil Is Keeping Goldberry Secret In The Show

Goldberry Is Bashful In The Show

Goldberry was Tom Bombadil’s wife in The Lord of the Rings and was one of the best characters of the book, but was very different in Rings of Power. Tolkien depicted Goldberry as a sacred presence, beautiful and one with the river. She was welcoming and friendly. However, in Rings of Power, she was accused off-screen of being “bashful” by Tom then never made an appearance.

Goldberry’s symbolic importance in The Lord of the Rings makes her an interesting card for the show to play in future.

It is unclear if Goldberry’s bashfulness will be justified by future episodes of The Rings of Power or if this lore change will go unexplained forever. It seems like too glaring a mystery for the show to leave unresolved. Goldberry’s symbolic importance in The Lord of the Rings makes her an interesting card for the show to play in the future.

2Tom Bombadil Trains The Rings Of Power’s Two Wizards

The Wizards’ Identities Are Shrouded In Secrecy

The Rings of Power’s Dark Wizard was a huge bombshell in season 2, matched by the bombshell that Tom Bombadil knew him and gave him counsel. It seems like the mysterious Dark Wizard could be a Blue Wizard of lore. None of the Istari (which included Saruman, the Blue Wizards, and Gandalf) were around in the Second Age in lore and Tolkien gave conflicting accounts of the Blue Wizards’ political alignment, obscuring the Dark Wizard’s identity. However, there is enough source material to suggest that the Blue Wizards started their own magical cult in the east, which the Dark Wizard seems to have done.

Tom never advised Blue Wizards or Gandalf in Lord of the Rings.

Tom Bombadil gave advice to both the Dark Wizard and the Stranger in Rings of Power. There have been enough hints dropped by The Rings of Power to strongly imply that the Stranger is Gandalf, although his identity is enigmatic. If the identities of the Dark Wizard and the Stranger turn out to be, respectively, a Blue Wizard and Gandalf, that makes Tom Bombadil’s admission significant. Tom never advised Blue Wizards or Gandalf in Lord of the Rings.

1Tom Bombadil Gets More Involved Than He Does In The Lord Of The Rings

Tom Bombadil Is Non-Interventionist In The Book

Tom Bombadil was non-interventionist in The Lord of the Rings, resisting taking part in the War of the Ring, but he was advocating the Stranger takes on Sauron in the show. In Lord of the Rings, Elrond suggested that Tom Bombadil’s enormous power made him a good candidate for attendee of the council he held assessing the future of the One Ring. Gandalf said that “He would not have come” if he had been invited.

J.R.R. Tolkien said in a letter that Tom Bombadil represented “a natural pacifist view.” It is also true that pacifism exists on a sliding scale, and that Tom rescued the Hobbits from Barrow-wights and armed them with swords in Lord of the Rings. Therefore, the reality is complex, and the show has a tough job adapting this symbolic character. Love it or hate it, Tom will keep singing his way through The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2, whether on-screen or off-screen.