The following contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2, Episode 8, “Shadow and Flame,” now streaming on Prime Video.
Season 2 of The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power may have just ended, but two of the show’s stars are already wondering what is next if Season 3 gets the green light. Robert Aramayo, who plays Elrond, and Benjamin Walker, who portrays Gil-galad, recently spoke to Screen Rant about where the character of Elrond could go in the future of the series.
The Season 2 finale showed Elrond and Gil-galad ultimately leading their people to a sanctuary and safety while caring for an ailing Galadriel. Aramayo says he thinks that the battle at Eregion and what happened there may haunt Elrond down the road and also thinks his character may find a way to pay tribute to the late Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards), who ultimately met his demise in the finale.
Elrond Actor: He’s Failed
“Yeah, it’s complicated, isn’t it?” Aramayo said about the events of the season finale. “He’s failed, and he thinks he’s failed Celebrimbor, and Middle-earth by extension. But I think if you know the lore, maybe that failure stays with him and motivates him to, potentially, pay homage to Celebrimor and what is lost,” he said.
He’s failed, and he thinks he’s failed Celebrimbor, and Middle-earth by extension.
Elrond has had a “really complicated season,” Aramayo said, in terms of the character trying to “kindle his own thoughts on what’s going on. He has just this feeling in the pit of his stomach that something is not right with these rings, something is not right with the way that she’s looking at them. But what I like so much is to think about – talking about the battle – if his plan would have come off, if Durin would have showed up, he would have won,” he added.
Durin Would Have Helped in Battle
Aramayo, who is knowledgeable about the J.R.R. Tolkien material upon which The Rings of Power is based, added, “When you read the lore about Húrin, I think, killing 70 orcs, just as the last man before Morgoth drags him off to the thing, Tolkien’s characters in those emotional moments are capable of incredible things. I think if I had Durin next to me, as I was expecting, we would have won.”
Instead of fighting next to his friend, Prince Durin IV, was dealing with the loss of his father, King Durin III, after he released the Balrogs while mining for ore, having been corrupted with greed from his Ring of Power.
Walker agreed, saying that Elrond’s relationship with Durin was something unique to the character. “You were the only person that could bring Durin and his people. It would have been, not only a win for Middle-earth, but a win for you, and your confidence in your standing within the Elven kingdom, yeah, yeah. It’s that much more poignant,” Walker said.
The fact that it fails, Aramayo said, is “just devastating.”
Season 3 of the series has not been confirmed, but earlier this year, The Hollywood Reporter stated that Rings of Power showrunners Patrick McKay and JD Payne signed a three-year deal with Amazon MGM Studios. The report stated that while a third season has not yet officially been ordered, the team had started to outline the initial story.
All episodes of Season 2 of The Rings of Power are now streaming on Prime Video.