I Loved This Character In Rings Of Power Season 2, But I Hope We Never See Him Again

I was happy with how The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 handled a particular character, but I hope that future seasons will leave him out. The Prime Video series has been controversial for its many divergences from Tolkien canon, inspiring an ongoing, heated debate about what sorts of changes are too far. While any screen adaptation of the Second Age of Middle-earth would require significant alterations to work, Rings of Power has gone beyond this by introducing canon characters outside their normal parameters. A notable example of this is Tom Bombadil.

One of the bigger surprises of Rings of Power season 2 was the appearance of Rory Kinnear’s Tom Bombadil. This is a character of Tolkien’s own invention, who aided Frodo and his Hobbit friends during the first leg of their adventure in the Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring book. Bombadil is a deeply strange character, and though his place within the story has long been defended by Tolkien, on-screen adaptations tend to leave him out. Rings of Power challenged this by introducing Old Tom in season 2, and though his role was strange, I was quite happy with how it all turned out.

Rings Of Power Handled Tom Bombadil Perfectly In Season 2

Rings of Power introduced Tom Bombadil rather unexpectedly, but I feel that his character was still handled well. The Stranger—who was officially revealed to be Gandalf in season 2—met Old Tom in Rhun while on a hunt to learn more about his identity and purpose. Rings of Power presented Bombadil as a sort of guide for Istari, which is not a role Tolkien ever explicitly gave the character. Additionally, there’s no indication in Lord of the Rings that Bombadil ever settled in Rhun. In fact, it’s noted that the strange being wouldn’t leave his realm of Withywindle and the Old Forest.

Still, I like the creative liberties Rings of Power made here. The show refrained from providing too many answers about Tom Bombadil, and Kinnear’s performance was just as quirky and mysterious as it should have been. Bombadil stated in Lord of the Rings that he had traveled all around Middle-earth, so it’s reasonable that he could have observed the damage in Rhun during the Second Age. Additionally, it’s canon that Gandalf would seek council from Bombadil, so establishing the idea that Old Tom had essentially trained the wizard is interesting. It was a risk that I feel was paid off.

Including Tom Bombadil Was A Major Risk For Rings Of Power

Rings of Power has taken a lot of risks with canon, and it hasn’t always paid off. I still roll my eyes at the origin story the series created for mithril and the idea that only this ore could prevent the Light of the Eldar from fading (the light of the Two Trees of Valinor exists in the very sun, moon and stars, so this explanation in Rings of Power is useless). After the controversy that such changes invited in Rings of Power season 1, Prime Video might have shied away from including Tom Bombadil in season 1. After all, this is a character that other adaptations have avoided.

Old Tom is easily among the most mysterious characters in Tolkien’s works, and many over the years have questioned whether he ever should have been included. Tolkien defended Bombadil’s role, but he provided minimal explanation regarding how this character really fit within the legendarium. Over the years, the lack of answers is what has made Old Tom so charming and fun, so misrepresenting the character on-screen could be highly damaging. Rings of Poper took up the challenge of including Tom Bombadil, and it managed fairly well. However, Prime Video should avoid getting too close to the sun.

Why Tom Bombadil Should Be Left Out Of The Rest Of Rings Of Power

I believe that Rings of Power season 2 handled Tom Bomadil’s character well, but I fear that keeping him around would be pushing it. The more Old Tom is on screen, the more familiar he becomes to audiences. He would eventually become too commonplace and less mysterious—a regular Lord of the Rings character whose actions could be predicted and whose stake in Middle-earth’s big conflicts becomes too clear. Rings of Power managed to avoid answering many of the big questions that Tolkien purposely left ambiguous, but it likely couldn’t keep this up for several more seasons.

Rings of Power managed to avoid answering many of the big questions that Tolkien purposely left ambiguous, but it likely couldn’t keep this up for several more seasons.

I would love if Kinnear’s performance in Rings of Power season 2 was the last we saw of this character. Perhaps the show’s version of Gandalf could even look for this mysterious guide, only to discover that he must face his road alone. Tom Bombadil could be referenced—and we know that Gandalf will meet him again one day—but keeping this off-screen would contribute to the mysterious, other-worldliness of this Lord of the Rings character. Otherwise, Rings of Power would risk undoing what it carefully managed in season 2.