The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power brings fans back to Middle-earth, but things are not exactly the same. Set in the Second Age, there are still discoveries to be made that will shape the world into the one found in J.R.R. Tolkien‘s The Lord of the Rings. And one important discovery is happening in the Khazad-dûm. In Season 1, Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur) had something to hide until he finally revealed the truth to his friend, Elrond (Robert Aramayo), in Season 1, Episode 4, “The Great Wave.” Prince Durin admitted to secretly mining mithril from the depths of Khazad-dûm. The idea of the Dwarves mining a mineral doesn’t seem so groundbreaking, but mithril has a significant history in Middle-earth. A history that is just beginning in The Rings of Power series and will have a heavy impact on Middle-earth in the present and future. The series has already shown how uniquely powerful mithril is, but they have yet to find the limit of what it can do.

‘The Rings of Power’ Shows the Dangers of Mining Mithril

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In Season 1, Episode 4, Elrond learns that Durin is sneaking off to an old mining tunnel. Elrond follows his friend to the tunnel, forcing Durin to explain. He is mining a unique substance, but the process is dangerous. As such, King Durin III (Peter Mullan) has put restrictions on the work. When Elrond asks what it is, Durin calls it “gray glitter.” Though the substance has no name in the Elvish language, Sindarin, Durin approximates it to be “mith-raud.” Elrond corrects him, translating his term with the word “mith” for gray and “ril” as glitter, putting them together to make mithril, a name more familiar to Tolkien fans.

Though the mineral is precious, mining it is hazardous. At this point, the Dwarves are keeping mithril a secret, knowing that as soon as the substance is common knowledge, it will be in high demand. However, Prince Durin gives Elrond a shard of mithril as a token of friendship. While the two discuss the substance, the mithril mine caves in, trapping four Dwarves. Although they manage to save all four without any fatalities, Durin’s father decides to shut down the mining operation, much to Durin’s anger. It seems unlikely that Durin will let it rest forever, given the lore explained in The Lord of the Rings and, perhaps more importantly, mithril’s growing role in Rings of Power.

The Origins of Mithril Are Different in ‘Rings of Power’

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In Season 1, Episode 5, “Partings,” the High King of the Elves, Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker), asks Elrond about an obscure Elvish legend called The Song of the Roots of Hithaeglir. The story is about a battle in the Misty Mountains where an Elven warrior and a Balrog of Morgoth fought over a tree that supposedly hid the last of the lost Silmarils. The Elf channeled all his light into this tree to protect it. Meanwhile, the Balrog channeled his hatred into it to destroy the tree. When lightning struck the tree, it created a new power. Gil-galad describes this power as “pure and light as good” and “strong and unyielding as evil.” This power is said to have seeped down the tree roots and into the depths of the mountains, where Gil-gad believes it became the mithril that Durin found. If this legend is to be believed (as Gil-galad seems to), mithril contains the light of the last lost Silmarils. The Silmarils are stones that contain light from the Two Trees of Valinor which brought light to Middle-earth from the land of the Valar.

The origins of mithril are a departure from Tolkien’s lore, giving the mineral more power than it previously had. While Rings of Power makes it a magical substance born of light, dark, and Silmarils, Tolkien wrote it as a valuable and rare but naturally occurring mineral. Rings of Power‘s origin story directly defies Tolkien’s canon, as neither of the lost Simarils was near the Misty Mountains. Nor were they in a tree, as Tolkien describes one as being lost in the sea and the other deep underground. However, the reason Rings of Power made such a drastic change is obvious: it adds to the significance of mithril. In Rings of Power, mithril is far more powerful than it would be otherwise, giving it the ability to shape Middle-earth’s future. While even Tolkien made mithril an important mineral, it was only a mineral desired by the greedy to show off their wealth, but in Rings of Power, it is something else entirety. Mithril is necessary to the Elves’ survival in Middle-earth, giving Prince Durin a good reason to defy his father.

Mithril Saves the Elves in ‘Rings of Power’ — and Maybe the Rest of Middle-earth

The new origin story connects mithril to another plotline in Rings of Power. In Season 1, Episode 5, Gil-galad also reveals to Elrond why the history of mithril is so important. With the rot growing on the tree as proof, Gil-galad tells Elrond that the Light of the Eldar is fading. Without a way to stop it, the Elves must either leave Middle-earth or fade away. Desperately looking for a way to stop the rot, Gil-galad believes that mithril is the answer, putting Elrond in the difficult position of choosing loyalty to his friend or the survival of his people. Elrond refuses to confirm if the Dwarves found mithril because it would break his oath to Durin. But, he and Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) soon discover that the only way to save the Elves is to obtain a large quantity of mithril quickly. To do this, Elrond would have to break his promise to Durin. Elrond struggles with the choice and eventually shares the truth with Durin, who agrees to talk to his father.

Though Durin III denies the Elves’ aid, Celebrimbor finds a way, or Sauron (Charlie Vickers) gives him hints. By using an alloy, Celebrimbor used the shard of mithril that Durin had given Elrond to create three rings, the Elven Rings of Power. Though they are potentially tainted by Sauron’s involvement, the rings do stop the rot when Gil-galad, Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), and Círdan (Ben Daniels) don them, allowing the Elves to stay put. The magical origins of mithril explain why even a limited amount can save the Light of the Eldar, and that may not be mithril’s only ability. Celebrimbor and Sauron (now Annatar) discuss making Dwarven rings for all the powerful Dwarf-lords in exchange for more mithril, and with earthquakes plaguing the Dwarves, Durin III agrees. Of course, fans know that all the rings do not stop there. Men get their own set, which, at this point, seems sure to be made of mithril as well. Through its magical properties, mithril saved the Elves and soon the Dwarves, but it is dangerous. Sauron is planning something, and these mithril rings are a part of it.

Mithril Is Found Throughout Middle-earth

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Even without its magical properties in Rings of Power, mithril plays a memorable role in Middle-earth. Mithril is a precious metal known to be both lightweight and strong, making it ideal for armor, weapons, and many other things. It’s worth ten times its weight in gold and does not tarnish. As mithril can only be found in a handful of locations and possesses important powers, it is in high demand with all the people of Middle-earth. Khazad-dûm, more widely known as Moria, is one of the few locations, along with Númenor, where it has not yet shown up in Rings of Power. Given the new origins, mithril may be limited to Khazad-dûm in Rings of Power, which would change little. Whether there are other sources or not, mithril is rare, allowing the single mithril vein in Moria to make the Dwarves exceedingly wealthy.

Though most commonly referred to by its Elven name, in true Tolkien fashion, the author gave the metal many names. Men used the term Moria-silver or true-silver. And the Dwarves are said to have a secret name for it. Middle-earth saw mithril as a sign of wealth and power. The guards of Citadel in Minas Tirith wore mithril helmets that lasted for generations as a remnant of their former glory. And, even in Tolkien’s lore, Nenya, the Elven Ring of Power worn by Galadriel, was forged from mithril. Mithril can also be found in the Doors of Durin, which have not yet been made in Rings of Power, but they have been hinted at. The Doors of Durin use an alloy called ithildin, which Celebrimbor makes at the beginning of Season 2. The doors were made by Celebrimbor and the dwarf, Narvi, who appears in Season 2, played by Kevin Eldon. These doors guard Moria against foes with the riddle “Speak, friend, and enter.” In The Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo and his companions encounter these doors on their journey. The door stumps them briefly, but Gandalf uses the Elvish word for friend, “Mellon,” and the doors swing open and allow the group to enter.

Tolkien also established that Sauron craved the metal, and much of the mithril mined from Moria was collected by Orcs, who gave it to him as a tribute, a fact Rings of Power can incorporate as he helps forge the rings. By the time Bilbo and his friends went on their adventure, the only way to get mithril was to inherit it or to melt down something else to reforge it. Thorin Oakenshield gifted Bilbo a small mail shirt made of mithril from the recovered treasure as a reward for his help against the dragon Smaug. The armor was forged for a young Elven prince before becoming part of the dragon’s hoard. Bilbo wore it during the Battle of the Five Armies. The same mithril armor saved Frodo’s life in the mines of Moria when it deflected an otherwise lethal stab from the cave troll.

Mithril Leads to the Fate of Moria in ‘The Lord of the Rings’

Though the rarity of mithril adds to its value, it also heightens the danger. By the Third Age , the Dwarves of Moria grew greedy, and as the mithril in their mines was exhausted, they dug deeper. But they went too far. In their search for mithril, they disturbed a Balrog , a powerful fire demon. This Balrog became known as Durin’s Bane after it killed the Dwarven king and sent the rest of Khazad-dûm’s citizens fleeing. The mines were abandoned, and that is why the place was renamed Moria, which means “Black Pit.” After that, Moria became the home of Orcs, but even they avoided the depths where the Balrog lived. Eventually, the Dwarves attempted to reclaim their ancestral home. This conflict was known as the War of the Dwarves and Orcs. Though the Dwarves won, they suffered heavy losses and, in the end, couldn’t stay in Khazad-dûm because of the Balrog.

Though mithril made Khazad-dûm wealthy, it also brought about its downfall .Some years after his adventure with Bilbo Baggins, Balin decided to resettle Khazad-dûm. His colony was successful in taking back the Eastern halls. They lasted for five years before the Orcs slaughtered them. Dwarves outside Moria didn’t know of the loss, only that they lost contact with Balin. This is not long before the Fellowships journey into Mordor. When the Fellowship traveled through perilous conditions in the mountains outside of Moria, Gimli suggested a shortcut through the mines, as he believed his cousin Balin to be in control of Moria. But the company arrived and found Balin and his colony dead. They ventured further and realized Orcs had infested Moria once again. The Fellowship fought their way through Moria, but the battle angered the Balrog. Gandalf tried to lead them away, and the Balrog pursued them. Gandalf faced the Balrog, destroying a bridge and letting it fall back to the depths. But the Balrog pulled Gandalf with it. With Gandalf’s sacrifice, the Fellowship escaped Moria. Gandalf fell with the Balrog until they landed on the peak of Celebdil. There, the wizard and demon fought for two days and two nights before

Gandalf defeated the Balrog , and later, the wizard returns to the story as Gandalf the White . After the destruction of the ring and well into the Fourth Age, a descendant of the House of Durin finally succeeded in reclaiming Moria. With the Balrog dead, the Dwarves were able to return to their long-abandoned home once more. But the history of Moria all goes back to the mithril mining that woke the Balrog and caused so much grief.

What Does That Mean For ‘Rings of Power’?

While the destruction of Moria would be a thrilling addition to Rings of Power , these events are meant to happen hundreds of years later. Though it is true that the series has already condensed the timeline, the fall of Moria would bring the story well into the Third Age of Middle Earth, while The Rings of Power is set primarily in the middle of the Second Age. If adhering strictly to Tolkien’s text, the Balrog is awoken during the time of Durin IV’s grandson, making it several generations later than this story. The series already has a lot of action to cover without expanding that far into Middle Earth’s future. Although the destruction would mirror the Númenor plot beautifully, it would require drastic changes for

Rings of Power to reach the end of this particular story, though there is precedent for this. It’s entirely possible that the series will throw out the timeline and show the fall of Khazad-dûm. Already, Rings of Power has hinted at this eventuality, with Durin discovering a vein full of mithril, the demand for the mineral skyrocketing, and the brief appearance of the Balrog that will destroy Khazad-dûm. Now that Durin III is using mithril to bargain with Sauron (unknowingly), there is every indication that Rings of Power will show at least the beginning of these events. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is streaming now on Prime Video with new episodes on Thursdays.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Epic drama set thousands of years before the events of J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’ and ‘The Lord of the Rings’ follows an ensemble cast of characters, both familiar and new, as they confront the long-feared re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth.