What You Should Know About The White Cloaks On The Rings Of Power

As the first season of "The Rings of Power" crosses the midway point with Episode 5, the series' slow burn has begun to heat up, particularly when it comes to introducing new characters. In "Partings," viewers see a bit more of the trio of white-cloaked strangers who were glimpsed for a few seconds in the show's Comic-Con trailer. The new episode also layers on new details about the connections between its elvish, human, and dwarven protagonists, and provides more tantalizing tidbits about the dark forces threatening Middle-earth.

However, many mysteries remain. One especially puzzling character is the Stranger (Daniel Weyman), a bearded male who, as the new episode reveals, is somehow related to the hooded, white-clad figures. First found in a crater after a comet-like object blazes across the skies of Arda, the Stranger was discovered by the young harfoot Nori (Markella Kavenagh), and his identity has been the source of much speculation ever since.  

So, with this brief but alluring backstory in mind, who are these haunting figures? The location of their big debut may hold a major clue.

In "Partings," the white cloaks only appear on screen briefly, but the episode's end credits reveal a little more information about them. As it turns out, these figures are named the Dweller, the Nomad, and the Ascetic, and they're played by Bridie Sisson, Edith Poor, and Kali Kopae, respectively.

Further, their first scene in the series takes place at a site with quite a bit of narrative significance: the pit blasted into the ground when the Stranger fell from the sky. The white cloaks seem to be investigating the crater — as The Digital Fix proposes, they may be hunting the Stranger. It's unknown whose side the trio is on, but we are given a clue: When the white cloaks are perched on a cliff, one of them holds a staff with a symbol that bears a passing resemblance to the Eye of Sauron. In the Comic-Con trailer, the line "Evil does not sleep" accompanies this image. Finally, "The Rings of Power" executive producer Lindsey Weber told Time that Sisson's character has traveled "from far to the east — from the lands of Rhûn." As die-hard Tolkien fans know, Rhûn is the home of the Easterlings, a race of men who fought for Sauron in the Second and Third Ages.

Beyond this scant information, however, the true nature of the pale threesome remains unknown, although we're sure to learn more as "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" continues streaming on Prime Video.