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The Rings of Power season 2 episode 4 introduces us to a very intriguing new character, and no, we don’t mean Tom Bombadil. The Stranger stumbles upon Bombadil’s land in the latest outing as he tries to figure out why the stars have sent him to Rhûn.
He follows his map to a huge tree and comes to the conclusion that his destiny is actually to use its branch as a staff. However, when the Stranger tries to pull it free, the tree swallows him whole. Bombadil rescues him, dragging him out of the clutches of the creature, who the subtitles reveal is called ‘Old Man Ironwood’.
"You should not be wakin’," Bombadil tells him, telling him to dig deep, eat earth and drink water. Later in the episode, when they’re sitting around the fire, Bombadil explains that Old Man Ironwood used to be part of a huge forest that has turned to sand. So who is this mysterious character, and does he have any links to Old Man Willow, one of Lord of the Rings’ most brutal creatures?
Be warned though, we're getting into The Rings of Power season 2 spoilers below.
Who is Old Man Ironwood? How does he relate to Old Man Willow?
Well, there’s still a lot we don’t know about this character aside from the fact that just like Bombadil, he is very old indeed. It seems that he may be a variation of the same species as Old Man Willow, who was a malevolent force in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings books. In one of the early chapters of The Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo, Merry, Pippin, and Sam encounter Old Man Willow in the Old Forest.
He casts a spell on them, causing them to fall asleep before dragging Merry and Pippin inside. Frodo and Sam try to burn him down to set them free, but it only makes things worse as Old Man Willow starts to squeeze them to death. Only Bombadil can free them, pulling them out of his clutches by singing the tree spirit a song.
In Tolkien lore, the creature is a beacon of evil, who is thought to be the cause of much of the Forest’s anger. He also has the power to make all routes lead to him… Bombadil does keep him in check partly, but it’s hinted that he doesn’t stop the creature entirely.
Could there be more of a link between these two characters than it seems? Perhaps, Rhûn may one day return to its previous lush, green landscape and turn into a forest… We’ll just have to wait and see.
Old Man Ironwood isn’t the only tree to appear in the latest episode either, as the Entwives are introduced. We’ve also got explainers on the new arrivals of the Stoors and why this version of Tom Bombadil does justice to the franchise.
If that wasn’t enough, check out our guide to The Rings of Power season 2 release schedule and our The Rings of Power season 2 review.
