Adar was betrayed by his beloved Orc children in the finale of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, as they officially joined Sauron instead. Of course, it’s always been clear that Mordor’s Orcs would eventually team up with the Dark Lord since they are his primary force during The Lord of the Rings. However, it had so far but uncertain precisely how this would come to be. The Orcs regarded Adar as their father, and the Moriondor was determined to keep them out of Sauron’s service. Unfortunately, in the final episode of Rings of Power season 2, his plan fell through.

The finale of Rings of Power season 2 picks up after Adar takes Galadriel’s Ring of Power, Nenya, from Elrond. He planned to use this weapon against Sauron and take Eregion to the group while he was there. The attack on this city was orchestrated to ensure Sauron’s downfall since Adar was certain that his Orc children would never be safe until the Dark Lord was gone. However, just as Adar got some clarity (from wearing Nenya), he was betrayed and murdered by the Orcs—so what exactly happened?

The Orcs Were Already Growing Dissatisfied With Adar In The Rings Of Power Season 2

Adar Was Entirely Focused On Taking Sauron Down

Custom Image by Lewis Glazebrook

The Orcs’ betrayal was long in the making in Rings of Power season 2. Back in season 1, Adar caused Mount Doom to erupt, which allowed Mordor to become a safe haven for the Orcs, who could not survive in direct sunlight. The region became shrouded in darkness, and the Orcs were ready to settle in. However, Adar suspected that Sauron (whom he and the Orcs had murdered centuries before) was not actually gone for good. So, he devised a plan to hunt this Dark Lord down. Though this was all meant for the Orcs’ own good, they weren’t entirely in support of Adar’s schemes.

The Siege of Eregion required all Adar’s children to place their lives on the line. The Orcs and their father knew this, but Adar believed this was necessary to ensure that a Dark Lord never again enslaved their kind. Still, the Orcs had turned on Sauron after Morgoth’s downfall because he saw them as entirely disposable. During the battle at Eregion, it seemed to the Orcs that Adar was doing the same thing. He had become so fixated on his goal that he was no longer treating them with the care he had shown up to that point.

Sauron Uses His Manipulative Talents To Turn The Orcs Against Adar

Sauron Got Adar To Eregion & Took Over From There

Much of this was precisely Sauron’s plan. While pretending to be Halbrand, he told Adar that Sauron was in Eregion, knowing that the Moriondor wouldn’t rest until he eliminated the threat to his children. The timing worked out perfectly—Adar and the Orcs attacked, and Sauron could sense the discontent among these villainous beings (this is his specialty, after all). So, from the moment an Orc breached Celebrimbor’s forge, he began attempting to influence him. All he had to do was treat the Orc with kindness. From there, it would have been easy enough for the Deceiver to get the Orcs to betray Adar.

It’s never revealed what Sauron said to the Orc, but convincing others that he believed they were special was a particular skill of the Dark Lord’s.

The Orcs Are Already Regretting Their Betrayal When The Rings Of Power Season 2 Ends

Sauron Was Exactly What Adar Warned He Would Be

Sauron used his power of illusion to return with the Orcs to Adar and watched as they turned on their father and stabbed him repeatedly. This method of murder was surely orchestrated by Sauron since this is precisely how he himself had been killed in the First Age (as seen in the opening scenes of Rings of Power season 2). Once Adar was officially dead, the Orcs announced their loyalty to a very satisfied Sauron. Unfortunately for these Mordor monsters, Sauron’s mood changed pretty quickly. Galadriel’s escape left him enraged, and the Dark Lord immediately took this out on the Orcs.

They are products of Morgoth’s evil and are, therefore, dependent on a Dark Lord to lead them forward.

Adar had warned the Orcs that Sauron would do this. Of course, it’s too late for the Orcs. They may regret murdering the single being in Middle-earth who cared about them, but it doesn’t really matter. Orcs are peons naturally. They are products of Morgoth’s evil and are, therefore, dependent on a Dark Lord to lead them forward. They will continue to serve Sauron, who will send them into endless battles to be slaughtered. Perhaps they would have had it better with Adar, but they will never know for certain, thanks to the events of Rings of Power‘s finale.