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The Rings of Power season 3’s new heroic Orc character offers a fresh perspective on Middle-earth
*The Rings of Power* season three introduces Marnûkh, an Orc who helps Galadriel and Arondir try to stop Sauron from making the One Ring. His role offers a more individual view of Orcs, a group often presented in Tolkien’s world as uniformly evil and used as Sauron’s soldiers.
Marnûkh says Sauron’s plan would leave Orcs as fodder in his wars, and leads the elves towards Gundabad to rescue a smith whose knowledge could help Sauron forge the Ring. The article links his character to the show’s earlier story of Orcs seeking independence under Adar, whose death was followed by a five-year time jump. Arondir remains suspicious of Marnûkh, highlighting how the character complicates the elves’ assumptions while retaining traits that irritate them.
In short
- Marnûkh is an Orc working against Sauron.
- He leads Galadriel and Arondir towards Gundabad.
- His story challenges simple portrayals of Orcs as evil.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Giving Marnûkh individual motives and a chance to oppose Sauron can make the Orcs’ place in Middle-earth more morally complex and give the story fresh dramatic possibilities. It also lets the series explore themes of coercion and freedom by showing an Orc who rejects being used as expendable material in another’s wars.
The case against
A more sympathetic Orc character may be seen as a meaningful expansion of Tolkien’s world, but it can also risk shifting the moral framework and tone of a story in which Orcs have generally served as agents of evil. Viewers who value fidelity to that portrayal may feel the change weakens the established distinction between the forces opposing Sauron and those serving him.
Explained simply
The Lord of the Rings stories take place in Middle-earth, where Sauron seeks power over its peoples. The Rings of Power is a television series set long before the events of the familiar books and films; it follows elves including Galadriel and Arondir as they confront his plans.
Orcs are a people who have generally appeared in Tolkien’s stories as servants and fighters for Sauron. The series has also explored whether they can seek a life beyond his wars, including through Adar, an Orc leader whose story ended before a five-year jump in the action.
That history matters because it shapes how the elves see Orcs and how Orcs might see themselves. A character who works with elves while remaining recognisably Orcish raises questions about trust, independence and whether a whole people should be judged by their role in Sauron’s forces.