The Rings Of Power Makes It Clear Joseph Mawle Is Getting Typecast In A Hilariously Obscure Way

Episode 4 of "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" sees another primary player rock up in Middle-earth with the arrival of Orc sympathizer Adar, brought to life by British star Joseph Mawle. The ring leader of this growing force of Orcs in the Southlands is taking charge and seemingly getting ready to blow the whistle on secrets that have somehow missed even the Elf eyes of his captive, Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova). While we've only gotten a bit of him thus far (he was technically and very briefly introduced in Episode 3), Mawle provides enough impact to ensure that he'll no doubt be a force to be reckoned with as we reach the inevitable forging of the rings.

Of course, when it comes to being such an integral part of Middle-earth's history, the casting had to be just right for this fallen possibly former Elf. Adar presents himself as a corrupted character who has lost what he was before, and for Mawle, that shouldn't be too difficult of a dynamic to wrap his head around. After all, he had a similar gig that saw him playing the brother to a "Lord of the Rings" star who trades in his life in Westeros for one beyond the Wall. 

Back when direwolves had barely become a thing, Joseph Mawle debuted on Season 1 of "Game of Thrones" as Benjen Stark, a sworn member of the Night's Watch and a loving uncle to Jon Snow (Kit Harington). While Benjen's moral compass shoots a little straighter than Adar's, both characters are notable for their slight pivots to the dark side. Just as with Adar, Benjen becomes a nightmarish creature when he is attacked by White Walkers and saved by the Children of the Forest. Wandering between the living and the dead (just like the tail end of that show in general), the potential of his cool character is extinguished when he is put down for good in the Season 7 episode "Beyond the Wall."

Like Adar, Benjen sees Mawle playing a character who is broken by an imposing force but still maintains fragments of his former self, despite being a little bit evil. The link between the Starks and Sauron doesn't stop there, either. You'll recall that Benjen is also the brother of noble but noggin-losing Lord of Winterfell Ned Stark, played by Sean Bean. Proving that typecast stars appear to come in pairs, before he took a job as the hand of the king on "Game of Thrones," Bean's most notable appearance in a fantasy tale was as the arrow magnet son of Gondor, Boromir. Here's hoping Mawle's time in J. R. R. Tolkien's world doesn't take a similar route, depending on your stance on Orcs, that is.