Warning: the following contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power episode 6. Turn back now if you haven't seen Amazon's latest trip to Middle-earth!
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power delivered a storming episode with 'Udûn', the sixth in the show's run. The character Theo, played by Tyroe Muhafidin, plays a key part in the battle – when The Southlanders are on the verge of being wiped out, Theo gives the villainous Adar the mysterious sword hilt in hopes of saving his mother, Bronwyn.
"It was very challenging to act," Muhafidin tells Total Film about filming the scene. "I mean, I've never done a scene where I've had to watch my mother dying in front of my eyes. It took me months of preparation to find a way to get into that zone. And I hope I've done the scene justice."
Muhafidin says that, during that moment, Theo's emotions are tenfold as he's already lost his father – and the possibility of losing his mother is just too much. "He thought what would happen with the hilt was less valuable than his mom," he adds.
Unlike Theo, the elf Arondir refuses to reveal the hilt's location, and thus he's willing to sacrifice Bronwyn for the greater good. Could that ruin the growing relationship between Arondir and Theo? "It can go one of two ways," says Muhafidin. "Arondir understands Theo's decision, but Arondir was willing to give Bronwyn up. Theo probably thinks that as well. That could add a layer of tension, like, 'You could have let my mom die! And you wouldn't have done anything about it!' But then he could completely understand where Arondir's coming from, and the situation. It's just something so complicated and no person should ever be in that situation. We just have to see see how that plays out."
The episode ends with Theo unraveling what was supposed to be the hilt, only for there to be a different weapon wrapped up. Throughout The Rings of Power, Theo's struggled with the hilt, having been tempted by its power. It's another aspect of his character that could seemingly go two ways: he could embrace his background as a Southlander who worked for Morgoth or rise above it and become a hero.
"Theo coming of age, he's figuring out who he wants to be," Muhafidin says. "With the sword hilt, it came at the perfect time to strike if you wanted to turn him evil. When we meet Theo, he is not at a really favorable moment in his life. His mom was being shunned away from the village because of her relationship with the elf. With finding this hilt, he's finding a purpose and he's finding something to drive him. And if it has evil powers, regardless, it would take a hold of him. When he loses it, there's going to be grieving because it gave him so much. It's going to have an impact on him. And we'll see what the impact is."
The series as a whole has been conducive to theories – mainly about the identities of The Stranger and Sauron. But there's also been discussion about Theo and whether he could one day become the Witch King. That theory, however, was mainly linked to the sword, which has since seemingly been destroyed as it opened the dam to destroy the Southlands. Muhafidin does not comment directly on that theory, but does touch on another that has been doing the rounds on social media.
"I saw one saying Halbrand is Theo and Theo is Halbrand," he says. "And I remember seeing it and I was like, 'That's a cool theory!' It was that Theo is playing a young Halbrand, which obviously, episode six has completely debunked it. I was quite interested in it – but it's wrong!"
Next week, we catch up with Muhafidin once more to talk about what's to come for Theo. In the meantime, for more from the actor and the rest of the show's cast, check out our behind-the-scenes look at the making of The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power.
