For those who may have found that Joseph Mawle’s Benjen Stark was sorely underused in “Game of Thrones” — granted, his fate didn’t end up nearly as bad as some of the main characters who stuck around the whole time — we’ve been granted a second chance with his casting in “The Rings of Power.” Speculation is already flying fast surrounding the exact identity and motivations of his newly created character, Adar, despite the fact that he’s only just arrived on the scene. (Technically we caught a fuzzy, out-of-focus glimpse of him in the waning moments of the previous episode, but that hardly counts!) Whether you believe the apparently corrupted elf is Sauron himself, an ambitious lieutenant and possible rival of Sauron, or someone with his own agenda altogether, we’re expecting to see plenty more of Mawle’s creepy, casually sinister Adar in the weeks ahead.
Though not quite as prolific as actor Jed Brophy’s history with “The Lord of the Rings” franchise, Mawle joins an exclusive club of performers who’ve dabbled in both the “Game of Thrones” and “The Lord of the Rings” franchises. “The Rings of Power” already boasts Robert Aramayo as Elrond, who also portrayed a young Ned Stark in seasons 6 and 7 of “Game of Thrones.” And, of course, any discussion of the most well-known star to play major roles in both properties begins and ends with Sean Bean, who died unforgettable deaths as Boromir in “The Fellowship of the Ring” and Ned Stark in the first season of “Game of Thrones.”
New episodes of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” stream every Thursday night on Prime Video.
