The Rings of Power Dropped a Major Tolkien Connection to Middle-earth’s Deepest Lore

Gandalf meets the Secret Fire

Gandalf, played by Daniel Weyman, encounters the Flame Imperishable in a scene reminiscent of the biblical burning bush. The flame speaks as a presence within all things and says it created the heavens and stars, with Middle-earth held within it. In Tolkien’s books, Gandalf calls himself a “servant of the Secret Fire.” The series gives the phrase a more direct explanation, although the flame does not appear as a burning bush in Tolkien’s story.

A divine force in creation

The Silmarillion identifies the Secret Fire as the Flame of Anor or the Flame Imperishable, and describes it as the divine power of Eru Ilúvatar. It is not simply a force Ilúvatar controls; the story presents it as a living extension of the creator, present throughout creation.

The Secret Fire gives life to Middle-earth. The article also links the desire to possess it with Melkor’s rebellion and transformation into Morgoth.

Religious echoes in Tolkien’s work

Tolkien described The Lord of the Rings as a fundamentally religious and Catholic work, though he said this was initially unconscious and became conscious during revision. Religious ideas are sometimes expressed through characters and, at other times, more directly.

Clyde S. Kilby recalled Tolkien telling him that the Secret Fire at the heart of the World was the Holy Spirit. The article also notes biblical comparisons between the Holy Spirit and fire, including the tongues of fire in Acts and the description of God as a consuming fire in Hebrews.

Ilúvatar’s presence becomes visible

Earlier seasons of The Rings of Power hinted at Eru Ilúvatar, but this episode depicts his presence directly for the first time. The encounter also reveals why Gandalf was sent to Middle-earth.

Tolkien wrote little about Ilúvatar intervening directly in creation. The episode’s depiction makes that presence more explicit, while the story continues to treat both Ilúvatar and the Valar as mysterious.