Adapting Tolkien's sprawling canon of Middle-Earth lore, The Rings of Power explores ideas and locations that we don't get to see in the main Lord of the Rings trilogy. We visit Númenor and the Southlands, and witness a new side to characters like Galadriel and Gandalf. But as the show began to spend more time on the rise of Sauron, one perspective seemed a little underdeveloped: that of the Orcs, the much-maligned race who make up most of Sauron's army.
In The Rings of Power season 3, we finally experience more of that Orcish perspective, represented by a new character named Marnûkh (Adam Young), "an Orc with an arc." Arriving in episode 2, his storyline echoes the period in The Lord of the Rings when Gollum guides Frodo and Sam through Mordor.
Marnûkh's role revolves around leading Galadriel and Arondir to the Orcish prison of Gundabad, so they can rescue an elven smith who has been imprisoned there for years. If they can save her, then they can undermine Sauron's plan to make the One Ring – but it takes a while for the elves to accept Marnûkh's motivations.
Courage is found in unlikely places
In Tolkien's world, we're not encouraged to see Orcs as individual people with relatable feelings. They tend to be depicted as intrinsically malevolent and repulsive, functioning as anonymous cannon fodder in Sauron's wars. In turn, Tolkien's influence over other fantasy properties like Dungeons and Dragons has led to a lot of debate around the concept of fantasy racism, and whether it's offensive to depict an entire race of people as evil, ugly, and subservient to their villainous master. The Rings of Power has to contend with that question, and while the show doesn't stray too far from Tolkien's vision, the first two seasons already introduced the idea of Orcs forming their own faction to rebel against Sauron's rule.
Season 1 positioned the fallen Elf Adar as one of the show's most prominent original characters, leading an army of Orcs who want to establish their own independent territory. Adar's leadership is brutal, and his followers are far from morally upstanding, but their existence introduces the possibility that one day, the Orcs might live in peace.
In Tolkien's world, we're not encouraged to see Orcs as individual people with relatable feelings.
Of course, that dream ends with Adar's demise in season 2. Then during the five-year time jump between seasons, it seems that his former followers have fallen in line with Sauron's goals. Any dissidents have either been killed or are operating in secret, like Marnûkh, who seeks out Galadriel and tells her about Sauron's plans for a "master ring," seeing her as a potential ally because she was previously willing to negotiate with Adar. "If he forges that ring, we'll be nothing but food for his enemy's swords," says Marnûkh, neatly explaining his lack of loyalty toward Sauron.
If Galadriel can free this elven smith from Gundabad before Sauron arrives, then Sauron won't gain the knowledge he requires to forge the One Ring. Believing that Marnûkh cannot be trusted with Galadriel's safety, Arondir joins them on their quest, creating an uncomfortable dynamic where Arondir constantly expects Marnûkh to betray them, while Marnûkh purposefully gets on his nerves by being crass and abrasive.
A new fellowship
Objectively speaking, Marnûkh is making a heroic choice that could easily lead to his own death. However, Arondir struggles to accept that Marnûkh can be trusted, because Arondir has spent his entire life viewing Orcs as the enemy.
Arondir probably wouldn't maintain this level of bias against one of Sauron's human followers who decided to switch sides, but Marnûkh is extremely Orcish in a way that irritates Galadriel and Arondir's elven sensibilities, making puerile jokes and catching live butterflies to keep as a snack. So when it comes to Tolkien's rather one-dimensional view of Orcs, Marnûkh allows The Rings of Power to have its cake and eat it too. He's stereotypically Orcish in pretty much every respect, yet he still becomes a trustworthy ally in the war against Sauron.
Once they reach Gundabad, Galadriel and Arondir truly have to put their life in Marnûkh's hands. Pretending that they're his prisoners, he leads them into a fortress full of Orcs who would happily torture them to death. Then he guides Arondir to the cells, and even helps him free Galadriel's long-lost husband Celeborn when they find him inside.
In episode 4's closing scenes, as the elves and Marnûkh prepare to flee the fortress, Arondir actually saves Marnûkh's life in battle and helps him to his feet, signifying that he has finally managed to look past his hatred of orcs. Arondir ends up dying later in this scene, while Marnûkh's fate remains ambiguous, having been struck down without explicitly dying onscreen.
As the show's most significant Orcish character to date, Marnûkh invites us to question how much of the Orcs' treacherous, villainous reputation is down to nature, and how much is the result of nurture, shaped by their experiences under the thumb of a tyrant. Marnûkh clearly sees himself as a victim of Sauron's rule – although with most other orcs still fighting on Sauron's side, it's easy for the show to keep portraying them as enemies who the heroes can slaughter without guilt. It's a tricky balance to strike within this season's wartime narrative, but Marnûkh's role adds some much-needed depth to the Orcs' place in Middle-Earth.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 3 episodes 1-4 are streaming now on Prime Video. Don't miss an episode with our Rings of Power season 3 release schedule and read our verdict on the new season in our Rings of Power season 3 review.
