Breaking Down Theo's Shock Moment in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 3 and the Mystery of His Father With Actor Tyroe Muhafidin

Warning! Spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 3 Episodes 1-4 follow.If you’re caught up with The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, you’ll have watched Season 3, Episode 4 and were probably left reeling by a shock character death that leaves the elves in a spot of bother going into the final stretch.During the first four episodes of Season 3, we see Theo, played by Tyroe Muhafidin, tempted by Sauron into becoming a Nazgnagôl. Nazgnagôl are men who wear one of Sauron’s Rings of Power, but still retain something of their humanity. That is, they are not fully Nazgûl, or Ringwraiths, as we know of the beings in the Third Age of J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-earth. They are, at this stage, Ring Servants.Theo, last seen as a hopeful child of the Southlands and friend of hero elf Arondir, is now older and full of hate after five years of Númenórean oppression. Sauron sees something in him, something special, and offers Theo a gift. In Episode 2, appropriately called The Gift of Men, Sauron performs a dark ritual that lets Theo “meet” his mysterious father, or at least that’s what we think is happening here (with Sauron, you never really know!).This is a callback to a scene in Season 1 where a young Theo encounters The Hilt, a broken sword-hilt forged during the First Age. It had been left hidden in a barn where Theo discovers it, and we see Theo’s blood drip into the Hilt, somehow feeding its regeneration. Clearly, Theo had some dark power inside him, although it was left unaddressed, sparking many fan theories over recent years.The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 3 PhotosIn Season 3, Sauron notices the dark mark left on Theo’s arm after his interaction with The Hilt and immediately raises an eyebrow. Who was Theo’s father, really? During the ritual, Sauron uses the power of necromancy to communicate with the dead in the Unseen World. Sauron listens to the words of the dead, and tells Theo his father was named Fäldred, Son of Hammethreg. Theo asks, “Who are you, father?” The response, in Black Speech, is “Gorthmundur.” Sauron tells Theo this was a “Noble House of old, the sworn stewards of Mordor blessed with… certain powers.”These powers, it seems, were passed down to Theo. “There is a reason you were drawn to that hilt, and it to you,” Sauron continues, before suggesting that Theo might have become ruler of the Southlands had his mother not “hidden the truth.” Theo responds to say his mother told him his father left. Sauron disputes this, before issuing a revelation that sends Theo spiralling: his mother murdered his father over what he had become.Sauron, ever the opportunist, offers Theo a Ring of Power. He tells him that he has the power within him to become “a conqueror, a sorcerer, a king.” The downcast Theo accepts the gift.Fast forward to Episode 4, and one of two shock deaths that punctuate this first block of The Rings of Power Season 3. Theo, now in full Nazgnagôl gear and spurred on by Sauron, murders his friend Arondir during the escape from Gundabad. It’s a shocking twist that cements Theo’s descent into darkness, and marks the end of the road for one of the mighty heroes of The Rings of Power.In the interview below, I ask Tyroe Muhafidin about Theo’s journey in these first four episodes, what it’s like to play a Nazgnagôl, and where the murder of Arondir leaves The Rings of Power. And yes, we get into the question of Theo’s parentage. Was Sauron telling him the truth about his father?IGN: The first question is an obvious one: how does it feel to be playing a Nazgnagôl?Tyroe Muhafidin: It was crazy. The costume automatically gives you a sense of such great strength and power. The biggest thing for me was, as soon as I put on those gauntlets there was an automatic transforming moment for me where you could just feel the power through your body. And it's interesting because I went from playing basically a helpless child to some godlike being. So it was a real jump and I had to do a lot of work in terms of my physicality and trying to look powerful and strong, which was something so new to me because I've always been scrawny and helpless. So yeah, it was a challenge, but I think I got there in the end, and I'm super, super grateful that I've got a chance to be something so iconic and to play something so iconic.Tyroe Muhafidin plays Theo in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Image credit: Prime Video.IGN: What is your understanding of what Nazgnagôl are, as it was explained to you?Tyroe Muhafidin: So a Nazgûl directly translates to Ringwraith, whereas Nazgnagôl directly translates to Ring Servant. At this point in time when we've just put the ring on, we're not quite wraiths yet. We are still human men with autonomy over their body and can make their own decisions. We're just a lot stronger now. We've got a lot of power and a lot of dark power.An important thing to know is at the beginning of this season, the One Ring hasn't yet been made. So these rings are yet to be binded completely to Sauron's will, where we are not now complete, I guess, his minions. We still have autonomy over who we are. That was the fun thing to play in this season, the gradual descent into more and more madness and more and more evil and darkness. But at this point in time, we get to very much still be people, just very strong people, I guess.Sauron turns Theo into a Nazgnagôl in Season 3. Image credit: Prime Video.IGN: There's a really interesting scene where Sauron reveals Theo's parentage to him. What's your understanding of who Theo's father is? Sauron is suggesting at that moment that Theo has an innate power as a result of his parentage, but it's left ambiguous. And Sauron looks emotional even as he's talking to Theo about this. I almost was thinking he almost looks at him as his own son in some ways. So what's your read on that? What can you tell us about what all that means?Tyroe Muhafidin: It's revealed that his father was the head of a few dark sorcerers and he sided with the dark side a long time ago, alongside his peers and the other Southlanders who sided with Sauron. And so there's that kind of information that's brought out.But I think the big thing for Theo is when Sauron says his mother killed him when she found out. And I think that moment for me, and I think for Theo as a whole, it kind of sends a spin in the works of, what is Sauron really doing here and what is he trying to accomplish? Is he just trying to say words to make Theo happy, trying to build this broken boy up? Because he can see something for sure. And I don't think Theo really realizes. But I think there was always a dark side to Theo and maybe it was inherited, but that relationship to the Hilt was always something that stuck with him.And I think maybe when he got a taste of that darkness in the Hilt, maybe it was the first time he kind of felt the presence of his father, and maybe that's why it was so addictive, that feeling to him. So I think this season we find out a little bit more of where he comes from.But I think the biggest thing is, how much of it is the truth? What is Sauron saying that is manipulation and deceit and what is the truth? Which I think is kind of the fun dynamic of those scenes, is you feel like you're finding out a lot, but are you really?Theo and Arondir in Season 1. Image credit: Prime Video.IGN: There is a big moment in Episode 4 where Theo kills Arondir, a character who's been in the series from the beginning. When you first found out you'd be doing that, what was your reaction?Tyroe Muhafidin: It was interesting. I was excited because I was like, "Oh, this is some juicy stuff to get into." But I think the moment I got the script, I found out and I was really excited because it was going to be some really cool stuff. When I read it all, it all became very real for me. And it was like, "Wow, this is a big task. This is super daunting." And there were months of intense anxiety coming up to this moment. But yeah, I guess I was just super excited, but anxious at the same time. And I feel like I knew at some point something big like this was going to happen. So I think it was just a matter of being prepared for it and trying to service Ismail [Cruz Córdova, who plays Arondir] as well, the best I possibly could.IGN: What do you think the character death means for the show at that point and the story it's telling, but also for Theo? Do you see it as this is a moment that we see a tipping point in him that the audience is like, "Okay, yes, he has really gone too far."Tyroe Muhafidin: In terms of the show, it's a moment of no-one is safe and there's no mercy from the dark side. And this war is very much real. The most talented and bravest of your warriors will go down. And that's kind of, I think, setting the premise for the rest of the war that's going to go on.I think for Theo specifically, it definitely was that tipping point where his decision is made and his destiny is decided. And I think he realizes this afterwards as well, and whether he agrees with that decision he's made or not, he's made that decision.The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 3 episodes 1-4 are out now on Prime Video. Check back with IGN after Episodes 5 and 6 are released this week for more.Wesley is IGN's Managing Editor. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.