a lot of Rings of Power The finale of the second season almost pushed the series closer and closer to the usual events and the iconic image that appears The Lord of the Rings itself. The characters get to their normal selves, names are called… and some things do for the first time in the series. One in particular, apparently, made its debut with a clear homage to Peter Jackson’s film trilogy.
That moment, of course, came in the final episode of Númenor, as Elendil (Lloyd Owen) and Míriel (Cynthia Addi-Robinson) prepared to flee the capital after Ar-Pharazôn staged a coup d’état, rounding up Míriel’s followers. Preparing to stay behind to face his political rival, Míriel begged Elendil to return his crown which he had shunned from his job leading his sea guard, and gave him a gift to take out of the city in the form of a sword.
Not just anywhere a sword, yes, as he named it: it is Narsil, the sword of one day King Elendil will use it as he leads the Last Alliance in the battle against Sauron at the climax of the Second Age. That, if broken, would eventually be revived as Andúril and restored by his descendant Aragorn to restore the royal blood of the Kingdom of Gondor and Arnor. It’s a powerful moment, the first time we see Narsil in the series, and according to Addai-Robinson, he and his scene partner Owen wanted to go back to when Aragorn freed Andúril for the first time from Peter Jackson. The return of the Lord to mark its importance.
“We definitely had two moments where we were like, ‘Okay, we’ve got to make sure this event happens in a symbolic way,'” Addai-Robinson recently told io9 in a press conference. Rings of Powerthe second season finale. “And we were like, ‘Oh my god, Narsil!‘ Lloyd had watched a clip of Viggo Mortensen from the movie to see how to flip a sword [in a similar way].”
But for Addai-Robinson, neither he nor Míriel could respect the weapon at that time: because the scene was still to be felt by the audience who might not know the value of Narsil at the end in the hands of Elendil. “What was important to me was that it has this significance—it’s definitely an Easter egg, maybe more than an Easter egg,” the actor continued. “But I said it directly [on the day]even my mother needs to watch this scene and she doesn’t know anything about Narsil, she still needs to understand what this moment is about.”
“It’s a moment of significance and attraction, but at that moment we really don’t know—Míriel doesn’t know, Elendil doesn’t know, how that sword will play out. It’s really about giving this sense of responsibility, and really saying it [to Elendil] ‘Now you are ready to take on this responsibility and basically prepare for the transition.’”
Meanwhile for Míriel, crossing the sword represents her realization that she and the person closest to her in the capital are about to part ways—too long, perhaps for good, for those viewers familiar with Númenor’s fate. “Even though it hurt her to break up, I thought it was very true for me,” Addai-Robinson concluded. “Sometimes you have people in your life who know it’s important to go your separate ways and have the confidence to do so. And it can be sad, but you can still understand that it has to be this way, without a little love in your heart. He knows he has to stay. But I hope he won’t just wither away in prison. I think there is more to their story.”
The second season Rings of Power now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
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