Rings of Power Episode 5: Were these mysterious figures in white the Easterlings of Rhûn?

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power finally introduced the mysterious character, who dressed all in white and first appeared in trailers for the series before her debut. Played by Bridie Sisson and confirmed by Executive Producer Lindsey Weber that she is not the Dark Lord Sauron, viewers wonder exactly who this strange person could be, along with the others similarly dressed alongside them. Here we delve into their possible identities and what their appearance on the Amazon Prime Video show could mean.

Were the Easterlings of Rhûn introduced in Rings of Power Episode 5?

After revealing that Sisson’s character wasn’t Sauron, Weber went on to say in her conversation with Time that the character “travels from far East – from the lands of Rhûn…”. In the Second and Third Ages, Rhûn was home to Easterlings, who had been enemies of the Free Peoples since the First Age. In the timeline where Rings of Power takes place, they were used as vassals of Sauron. Although this character is not Sauron himself, they may just be working under his influence, helping him gain power across Middle-earth.

The only other inhabitants of Rhûn are dwarves and the Avari, the latter of whom are a branch of the elven race. Given the size and ear shape of these strange creatures, it would be fair to assume that they are indeed Easterlings. Exactly what their end goal is remains to be seen, but judging by their history of serving the Dark Lord, they seem to have villainy and corruption on their minds.

What do you want with the stranger?

Image: Amazon Studios / Prime Video

After witnessing the Stranger’s meteoric arrival in Middle-earth, the Easterlings may be trying to find the person who fell from the sky. Now that they’ve got the imprint of his crash-landing in the ground, they could join the Harfoots in tracking down the man, leading to potentially grave danger for all involved. However, after seeing the powers and abilities the Stranger is capable of, any fight they have would be breathtaking to watch.

It may be that showrunners for Rings of Power decided to flip the character Khamûl, who was originally a king of the Easterlings. In Tolkien’s original works, he would be given one of the nine rings of power, become a powerful wizard before being corrupted, and fall into life as a ghost serving Sauron. If this is the one introduced here, then the Stranger and the Harfoots had better pick up their pace.