Nori’s involvement with the stranger who arrived in the meteor has always been a source of contention in her family. The others wished to cast his out and leave him behind because he is one of the big people, whom they believe are a threat to their kind. This storyline reached a spectacular climax in the latest episode, when the three strangers who were pursuing him inevitably came face to face with the Harfoots who harbored him. So who are these mysterious figures, and what do they want with Nori’s friend?
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When the first trailers for the Rings of Power were released, many fans believed that the three sinister-looking people were elves, and that one of them could possibly even be Sauron himself. However, the latest episode has shown that they are not elves but in fact humans. They are corrupted and evil sorcerers who have somehow tapped into the dark power of Morgoth that still lingers in Middle Earth. Judging by their study of the meteor site, their cruel use of fire, and their tracking of Nori’s friend the stranger, they are following the ancient prophesy that the coming of the meteor will bring Sauron’s return. They are emissaries who aim to aid his resurrection, and are willing to stop at nothing to make sure his terrible evil endures. They are known as the Ascetic, the Dweller, and the Nomad, and are stylistically dressed as if they are some kind of cult or coven of Sauron’s most loyal servants.
Up until now, the three figures have been nothing but shadows in the distance. They were a far-off concern that had no tangible link to the other storylines happening across the series. But during the 7th episode, everything came to a head when the three strangers plucked the flower from the tree that the meteor man had healed. It became clear that he is the one they have been searching for all along. This has been hinted at throughout the series; for example, through the shield that they carry containing the same star-form of constellations that the man from the meteor has been seeking in the sky. The three sorcerers and the meteor man are clearly linked. However, whether this is because he is the dark lord, or because he has been sent to Middle Earth to defeat the dark lord, remains unclear.
After everything that the meteor man has done to help Nori, Poppy and their people, the brave Harfoot tries to stand up to the three enemies when they appear on the edge of her lands. She tells them that they are going the wrong way, and that her friend had actually wandered off in the opposite direction. Unfortunately for her, the cruel humans are able to sense the path that the bearded man has taken, and can therefore tell that she is lying.
It’s not clear whether they want to send a warning to the Harfoots, or whether it is simply a punishment for standing up against them. Regardless of motive, the leader of the three shows a terrifying display of dark magic when she steals the fire from the torch being brandished at her, and uses it to burn everything to the ground. All that the Harfoots have worked so hard to build and protect for all of their traveling years is destroyed: their wagons, their food supplies, and their summer glade, which keeps them safe until they travel again at autumn.
A terrifying sneak peek of the final episode of the series shows Nori with the menacing pale eyes of the cult-members, as she heads towards the meteor man. Perhaps the three strangers have possessed the Harfoot, and are using her body to trick her friend into their capture. Or perhaps the three have similar shape-shifting abilities to that of their master Sauron, and are therefore able to disguise themselves as her. The truth is yet to be seen. But the identity of the meteor man could have disastrous consequences for the whole of Middle Earth. Whether he is one of the maiar wizard like Gandalf, or whether he is the dark lord himself, will most likely be revealed when the three figures find him.
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