The following contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 1, Episode 4, "The Great Wave," now streaming on Prime Video.

The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit are filled with awesome weaponry. Swords like Glamdring and Orcrist were well-documented as ancient, storied weapons. Likewise, Aragon's sword in Return of the King was called Anduril. As a Númenórean heirloom, it symbolized his kingship and right to the throne of Gondor. Not all of the cool weapons were swords, though; Gimli found Durin the Deathless' Axe in Moria and used it for the remainder of the original trilogy.

The first few episodes of Prime Video's The Rings of Power have taken a page out of LOTR's book and emphasized some weaponry unique to the series. Inspired by the Two Trees of Valinor, Galadriel's dagger has been at the forefront of The Rings of Power's marketing material. Gil-galad's spear Aeglos has also been seen. However, the most interesting weapon in the series is the evil blade that Theo found in the Southlands.

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In Season 1, Episode 1, "A Shadow of the Past," Theo and his friend Rowan found a mysterious sword hilt beneath Waldreg's barn. While its origins and original owner wasn’t clear, the weapon immediately gave off evil vibes because it had Sauron's Mordor sigil engraved on it. That made clear that the sword represented the reawakening evils that had been dormant in Middle-earth for centuries. Its very presence left viewers with a sense of foreboding.

Over the next two episodes, the sword's hilt served Theo well. He used it to ward off an attacking Orc more than once and discovered that the piece was no mere hilt. When touched by blood, it would burn and smoke, and a blade would appear out of nothing. Seeing that, many fans believed that Theo would become one of the Nazgul or one of Sauron's evil minions. Season 1, Episode 4, "The Great Wave" furthered that assumption by hinting at the sword's evil origins.

When Theo used the sword to defend himself in "The Great Wave," the attacking Orc recognized it. In fact, the Orcs were specifically looking for that particular sword hilt. They talked about their master -- probably the Fallen Elf Adar -- being mad if they returned without the hilt in their possession. If the fact that the hilt could conjure a blade from blood didn't seem evil enough, it obviously had some historical significance to the villains or important powers beyond what had already been seen.

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The sword hilt was referenced again when Waldreg confronted Theo about taking it from his barn. He said "It is a power. Fashioned for our ancestors by his master's own hand. A beautiful servant. He who was lost, but shall return." There was a lot packed into those words. A "beautiful servant" possibly refers to Sauron's Annatar form, as Waldreg's ancestors were taken in by the fallen Mair. Waldreg's grammar was slightly ambiguous, so it could have been Morgoth or Sauron that fashioned the evil blade.

Either way, it was a gift for the leader of the evil Men in the Southlands. And the fact that Waldreg still had the blade pointed to his dark heritage and his bad intentions -- especially when he told Theo to prepare for what was coming. If Theo doesn't abandon the blade, he does indeed seem doomed to fall into the thrall of Sauron. But now The Rings of Power viewers have a much better idea of why the sword is so important that everyone wants a literal piece of it.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power streams Fridays on Prime Video.