Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power spoilers follow.
While most of you know the story of Frodo Baggins trying to toss the One Ring into Mount Doom, things are now coming "full circle" in Amazon's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
Heading back to before the first hair had even sprouted on Bilbo's toes, showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay are bringing JRR Tolkien’s Second Age of Middle-earth to life on the small screen.
Although the series takes place thousands of years before Peter Jackson's The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings movies, there are still some familiar faces along for the ride.
As well as younger versions of Elves Galadriel and Elrond, there are also whispers of the villainous Sauron. Most will remember him as that big eye in the sky from The Lord of the Rings, but here, Sauron is serving his own master in the form of the villainous Morgoth.
But just who is Morgoth, and what does The Rings of Power's big bad mean for the fantasy epic?
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The Rings of Power — Who is Morgoth/Melkor?
For those unfamiliar with Tolkien's world, Morgoth is effectively this world’s very own version of Satan.
Originally called Melkor, Morgoth was one of the Ainur (Holy Ones), who were the first beings to populate this world's version of Earth... known as Arda. The Ainur were created by lúvatar, but when Melkor grew jealous of his creator's power, he sought it for himself. In one of Tolkien's many languages, the Sindarin translation of Morgoth means "Black Foe" or "Dark Enemy," which is a mantle that he definitely lived up to.
When lúvatar united the Ainur in song to form Arda, Melkor decided to sing his own music and was punished. Each of the Ainur were drawn to different aspects of the world, with Melkor liking extremes like scorching heat, bitter cold and brutal violence. This was the start of his nefarious ways, and after Arda was born, he corrupted anything he touched — even creating dark creatures like the Balrogs.
Melkor also set up his own fortress and corrupted a number of Elves to breed the first versions of the Orcs we know today. Some think the frozen ruins Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and the Elves find Sauron's sigil in could be the ruins of Morgoth’s Utumno fortress.
The Rings of Power – What happened to Morgoth?
Melkor's name changed to Morgoth when he destroyed the Two Trees of Valinor that brought light to the undying realm of the afterlife, murdered the High King of the Noldor Elves, and stole the three Silmarils.
There's already been a mention of these jewels in The Rings of Power, when a young Elrond (Robert Aramayo) came across the hammer of Fëanor in the workshop of Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards). Their beauty was so great that it nearly turned Morgoth away from his evil crusade.
The theft of the Silmarils saw the Elves rise against anyone who dared to try and take them. This butterfly effect triggered the War of the Jewels, which was so devastating it saw a piece of Arda's map sink into the ocean.
Sauron comes into the fold as Morgoth's loyal general, who he put in charge of another of his fortresses, called Angband. Morgoth didn't just have dragons and werewolves by his side, as several houses of men joined his cause.
Further tying to The Rings of Power, Charlie Vickers' Halbrand has warned Galadriel he is "not the hero" she seeks because he's descended from one of these houses.
You've likely heard of the War of Wrath in The Rings of Power because it's a pretty big deal.
Elrond's father was the half-elf Eärendil, who successfully captured Morgoth at Angband and made his crown holding the Silmarils into a collar. In what seemed like his final defeat, the demonic deity was shoved through the Door of Night and locked away in the Timeless Void.
We know Sauron tried to continue his master's work, which leads to the events of The Rings of Power. It looks like at least some of Morgoth and Sauron's forces are hiding out in the Southlands.
The Rings of Power — Will Morgoth return?
The War of Wrath was the first time the Valar intervened, meaning it was a suitable end for the First Age. Even though The Rings of Power is charting a whole new age, that doesn't mean the ghosts of the past aren't haunting us. It's a sort of a chicken-and-egg scenario, and just like Sauron had the Witch-king of Angmar, Morgoth has Sauron.
Much like Sauron was an overarching evil throughout The Lord of the Rings, expect Morgoth to be a looming presence in The Rings of Power.
Sauron fled from the War of Wrath and hid out in Middle-earth for so long, most assumed evil had been banished from Arda. We know this isn't the case, and what would any good series be without a villain?
We've already seen Galadriel on a mission of vengeance against Sauron because he killed her brother, Finrod (Will Fletcher), so he'll likely remain the de facto big bad for now. However, as the steadfast servant of Morgoth, there could be an even bigger power at play.
Morgoth put in a contingency should he fall, which is likely why Sauron seemingly tucked tail and ran from the War of Wrath. His next steps remain to be seen, but worryingly, it's prophesied that Morgoth will return one day. Thankfully, it's also foretold that he'll be slain for good by the heroic Túrin Turambar, and the world will be remade by lúvatar without any evil.
For the time being, we're too worried about figuring out who Adar is and tracking down Sauron even to be thinking about Morgoth clawing his way out of the Timeless Void.
Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power airs weekly every Friday on Amazon Prime Video in the UK.
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Tom Chapman is a pop culture-loving writer and NCTJ-accredited Broadcast Journalist with over seven years of experience covering the small and silver screen.
Starting his career with a post at Movie Pilot in Berlin, Tom took on freelancing full-time with regular stints at Digital Spy, Screen Rant and Comic Book Resources.
These days, you can still find him covering all things Marvel and Star Wars at Digital Spy, while dipping his toe in bylines at Yahoo! and IGN.
Tom likes to think his spirit animal is a cross between Gale Weathers and Olenna Tyrell.
