The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power summoned up a mysterious monster for season 2, episode 4, and Arondir described it as a “nameless thing.” This worm-looking creature recalled Dune’s sandworm and The Wheel of Time’s jumara, taking its place among a few fantasy monsters of legend. But the beast has its roots in the work of J.R.R. Tolkien himself. It may look like the monster in The Hobbit: The Battle of Five Armies, but Rings of Power went a step further than the movie and offered a lore-friendly explanation for it by name-dropping Tolkien’s “nameless things.”

Bilbo Baggins referenced a Hobbit myth known as “wild Were-worms” but none emerged in the legendarium, despite Peter Jackson taking the liberty of inserting one into his movie. Tolkien also referenced another type of worm, but this was really just an early form of dragon, lacking wings. The Rings of Power season 2 celebrated Jackson’s movie with its monster, honoring the possibility of Bilbo’s folk-tale being true, and identifying this worm as one of the “nameless things” spoken of by Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings.

Where Middle-earth’s “Nameless Things” Came From In Tolkien Lore

Nameless Things Are A Mystery

A fair few Rings of Power monsters, such as the Ents and Barrow-wights, are well-known Tolkien creatures, but nameless things have no clear origin in Tolkien’s work. This animal sucked Isildur into the mud in episode 4 of season 2 and was slain by Arondir before it could do any further damage, but that was a lucky escape, if Gandalf’s words are anything to go by. Gandalf said “Far, far below the deepest delving of the Dwarves, the world is gnawed by nameless things. Even Sauron knows them not. They are older than he.”

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

If Sauron was unaware of nameless things, it seems unlikely that they were the work of Morgoth. The Silmarillion revealed that “Eru, the One… made first the Ainur… and they were with him before aught else was made.” Eru is the God of Tolkien’s world and the 15 Valar, Morgoth, Sauron, and the Istar (including Gandalf) were all Ainur. Therefore, it seems like the nameless things are some kind of primordial Ainur. However, this was never clarified. Tolkien liked leaving the odd mystery lying around in his legendarium, Tom Bombadil and nameless things being great examples.

Which Other Lord Of The Rings Creatures Are Considered “Nameless Things?”

Rings Of Power Has Explored Nameless Things Before

The sea monster in Rings of Power season 1, attacking the ship that Sauron was on, was also a nameless thing. It was called a “worm” by survivors, indicating a trend in the show. However, on-screen trivia mentioned “The Great Sea… divides the Undying Lands from Middle-earth – where there are still nameless things in the deepest places of the world.” During a reveal of season 1’s events from Sauron’s perspective in season 2, this monster was shown not to attack Sauron underwater, implying some kind of dark understanding or manipulation between the two.

When speaking of the nameless things, Gandalf suggested that he wouldn’t mar conversation with further detail of them or their lairs. It seems like Gandalf may have encountered some of these nameless things, which he said had been boring tunnels deep underground. This squares with the mud-dwelling worm in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Gandalf said of the Watcher in the Water “There are older and fouler things than Orcs in the deep places of the world” – suggesting that this monster, too, may be a nameless thing.