What is the importance of the Rings of Power Rhun location? The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power episode 8 reveals much about the Stranger (David Weyman) and whether or not he is Gandalf or Sauron, but the season concludes with him and Nori (Markella Kavenagh) heading off on an adventure to the LOTR Rhun lands. Where is Rhun and what is it to Lord of the Rings?
What is LOTR Rhun in Tolkien lore?
Rhun is the land to the far east of Middle-Earth, with a border that runs alongside the farthest edge of Mordor. Fans of the Lord of the Rings movies will know it as the home of the Easterlings, the race of Men who fought as part of Sauron’s army in Return of the King with the giant war elephants.
It had been stated by the showrunners that the mysterious White Cloaks were from Rhûn and Rings of Power finally confirmed this, as well as seemingly revealing that these three Sauron-worshippers were basically Ringwraiths. This is important to the lore of Rhûn, as the Easterling king Khamûl is the only one of the nine Nazgûl who is named in Tolkien lore, so he is due to receive a Ring of Power at some point.
As to why the Stranger needs to go there, it is possible he will meet with the other wizards/Istari. While Gandalf is said to have never ventured as far as Rhûn, Saruman, and the two Blue Wizards did. The reason that the Blue Wizards never appeared in Lord of the Rings is that they were in Rhûn, attempting to circumvent Sauron’s hold on the people there. If the Stranger has a star map, then it could be a meeting point for all the Istari. Therefore, fans may see Saruman, Radagast, and even the Blue Wizards Alatar and Pallando in Rings of Power season 2.
