Hearing the news that the Harfoots will be taking a “backseat” in The Rings of Power Season 3 does not sit right. Coupled with a strange episode release schedule, you have to wonder why the showrunners are approaching the third season with such a lack of transparency around their decision-making. Is there an underlying problem, or are they setting up a major surprise?
“Backseat” is a vague term. Unless co-showrunner J.D. Payne has something special up his sleeve, his non-descript update on the Harfoots in Season 3 feels like a letdown for fans. While he did state that we shouldn’t rule Halflings out entirely, he is either distracting fans from a potential spoiler or the Harfoots’ involvement has indeed been cut significantly.
I also dislike this corporate talk. “Backseat” is a cop-out to avoid being completely honest. Just say it how it is rather than using buzzwords you’d expect to see on LinkedIn.
Harfoots are one of the three original ancestral breeds of Hobbits – alongside the Stoors and Fallohides – who eventually merge into the community we come to know as the Hobbits of the Shire.
In The Rings of Power, Elanor “Nori” Brandyfoot becomes the unexpected companion of The Stranger, who is revealed as Gandalf at the end of Season 2. Nori’s dynamic with Poppy Proudfellow offers fond reminders of Frodo and Sam. This was clearly an intentional move by the showrunners to introduce familiarity through the Harfoots, while also establishing the roots of Gandalf’s lifelong affinity for Hobbits.
One theory is that Prime Video is under pressure to move the plot forward in fewer seasons. Reducing screen time for the Harfoots might be a necessary sacrifice, keeping them on standby for a pivotal scene with Gandalf later on. Alternatively, perhaps the Harfoots were only meant to prop up the Gandalf storyline – acting as a narrative clue that The Stranger was the famous wizard all along. However, if that was their sole purpose, expanding this part of Middle-earth in the first place feels hollow.
Putting the Harfoots in the “backseat”- essentially sidelining them or removing them from key plot points – is a grave mistake if Prime Video intends to honor Tolkien’s legendarium. It diminishes the importance of Hobbits, who serve a vital purpose in this universe for several reasons.
First and foremost, Hobbits form the emotional core of Middle-earth. They represent ordinary humanity; their physical smallness is deliberate, designed to contrast with their capacity for unexpected heroism. Nori displays many glimpses of this across Seasons 1 and 2. Her commitment to the truth and her appetite for adventure – undertaken for the sake of The Stranger’s identity – echo the wider themes of the lore. She highlights that Bilbo, Sam, Frodo, Pippin, and Merry were not anomalies.
Hobbits also harbor no desire to dominate others, excelling instead at contentment and humility. They have no ambition to wage war or hoard power; they thrive on peace, quiet, and simple living. This simplicity acts as a natural shield against dark forces. In a world where Sauron’s influence grows through greed, corruption, and violence, keeping Nori and Poppy alongside Gandalf as he navigates the Second Age is a narrative strength. The Harfoots give the audience something deeply relatable to cling to: a longing for nature, home, and the quiet triumph of good over evil. Elevating these “little guys” within Gandalf’s arc rather than shoving them into the backseat preserves that underdog spirit – something an ancient, high-fantasy Middle-earth desperately needs to keep the story grounded.
I hope I’m wrong. But if Prime Video has opted for as much darkness, peril, and war as possible in Season 3 – prompting the creative decision to relegate the Harfoots to a “backseat” – then I think this defeats the point of what Tolkien’s world is about. The Hobbits represent what is good in the world. They remind us that even in the deepest darkness, there is light. And without going full Samwise Gamgee, that light is precisely what the story needs, regardless of how lost all hope may seem.
I’ll admit, I’m a little anxious for The Rings of Power Season 3 – either my anxiety will be for nothing, or something is happening behind the scenes that’s driving a strange marketing tour.
