The following contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2, Episode 6, “Where is He?,” now streaming on Prime Video.
When The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’s sophomore season was announced, J. R. R. Tolkien fans predicted the Game of Thrones in Númenor would heat up. As it turns out, Ar-Pharazôn has made his move to sieze power from his cousin, Tar-Míriel. He wants to lead the realm and show they were better than their ancestors, which included a line of Elves.
There was hope that things could be salvaged. Elendil stuck around to rally the Sea Guard and try to get the place back to its roots: worshiping the angelic Valar gods. Unfortunately, with Valandil being killed, the guard disbanded, and Elendil imprisoned for treason, it feels like hope is fading quickly. Episode 6, “Where is He?” makes the story even bleaker, teasing Númenor’s most heartbreaking arc as this civil war grows.
Rings of Power Season 2 Puts Elendil and Míriel on Trial
Pharazon Realizes He Needs Power to Destroy the Valar’s Ideologies
The vain Pharazôn is adamant that anyone who borders on sedition be jailed or sentenced to death. It’s the only way to protect his vision of peace and order. He doesn’t want his people becoming embroiled in a war between Adar, Sauron, Elves, Dwarves, and other Men. It’s arrogant to think they’re galvanized and isolated, but Pharazôn’s council views the outside world as an odious conflagration of their way of living.
Elendil refuses to rebuke the Valar or swear fealty to the king. The council decides to put him in a sea trial in a cove, where a holy leviathan will either kill and remove him as an obstacle or fail to show and prove that Elendil’s religion is fake. Pharazôn knows this sea monster will end up giving him a victory either way. However, Míriel arrives to take his place. Elendil backed her, so she will endure the ordeal in Rings of Power Season 2.
Elendil’s daughter, Eärien, pushed to oust the queen, but she does help Míriel protect Elendil in this situation, which is the common ground they have, for now. Plans backfire when the monster sends Míriel back up through a water spout. People begin chanting for the “Queen of the Sea.” It makes her followers more confident in her claim to retain the throne, while cynics like Eärien have reason to renege on supporting Pharazôn’s cult. Elendil is in raptures, as he can tell this is the political trump card they need to take the crown again.
Rings of Power Season 2 Has Pharazôn Using the Palantir
Pharazon Officially Makes a Connection to Sauron’s Might
A bitter Pharazôn heads to his quarters and uses the palantir (the all-seeing, precognitive Elven orb) that his cousin once used to see the gloom to come. He is looking for answers and to witness if his reign will last. Instead, he has violent visions of war, Sauron’s fire and the dark lord himself. This could go the way of the Tolkien books where Pharazôn’s army went after Sauron, only to work with him. Sauron used this hatred inside the hearts of Men, and his nine rings, to create monsters.
This helped him make the Nazgûl, as well as allies such as the Witch-king, who fans think will be Kemen, Pharazôn’s evil son. Of course, rather than have them at odds first, the series can retool the arc and have Pharazôn seeking out Sauron as an ally off the jump. This presents a direct opportunity to get the rings made at Celebrimbor’s Forge and give Sauron the acolytes he so desperately seeks.
Actor Name
Trystan Gravelle
Place of Birth
Carmarthenshire, Wales
Date of Birth
May 4, 1981
Notable Movies
Anonymous, One Chance
Notabe TV Shows
National Treasure, A Discovery of Witches
Pharazôn wants power and the means to intimidate. With hints that his hold on the kingdom isn’t as robust as first anticipated, Pharazôn will embrace this aid. Ultimately, inviting Sauron is inevitable, which will unfortunately make the region evil and corrupt to the point where descendants like Aragon would have to redeem centuries later.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power streams Thursdays on Prime Video.
