Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2!
Chaos is brewing in the world of people in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2. Acting as a prequel to JRR Tolkien’s iconic novel, the 1st of the Prime Video shows the island of Númenor working to preserve the peaceful state of their land, even with Galadriel’s warnings of Sauron’s return. The rings of power Season 1’s ending left Númenor in a state of early turmoil with the death of King Tar-Palantir and Míriel’s blinding during Mordor’s rise in the Southlands.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 begins with Míriel struggling to maintain her power in Númenor as her cousin, Pharazôn, begins to turn the tide in his favor with the local population. With the appearance of a great eagle swaying support in his favor, Míriel goes into hiding as Pharazôn takes the throne, although the former queen does not give up easily as his son Kemen begins to cause more problems for the island, creating a Game of Thrones-Like a game of political chess.
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The ensemble Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 cast sees the return of Trystan Gravelle as Pharazôn, Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Míriel and Leon Wadham as Kemen, as well as Galadriel’s Morfydd Clark, Sauron’s Charlie Vickers, Robert Aramayo’s Elrond and The Strangers’ Daniel Weyman, among many others. Raising the stakes not only for the elves, but also for the island of men, season 2 continues to be a bold and exhilarating expansion of Tolkien’s world.
With the final season just over half way through, Screen Rant Interviewed Trystan Gravelle to discuss The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2, Pharazôn’s rise to power in Númenor, filming the Great Eagle scene, his and Kemen’s fractured relationship this season, and what to expect from the power struggle between Pharazôn and Míriel in the rest of the season.
Pharazôn’s ambitions are a “Typical example“Of the dangers of men in Middle-earth
“It’s a case now of opportunity meeting preparation”
Screen Rant: So I love that this season with Pharazôn, we’re seeing almost that Game of Thrones-Like mental planning when he tries to win Míriel’s crown. What was it like sort of flipping the dynamic as we saw that he was somewhat of a supporter of hers, at least in public, for much of season 1?
Trystan Gravelle: It’s a typical example, really, of the world of people that, of course, you can offer your support to people, but I think we all hide our ambitions, as well, sometimes. And some better than others. I guess it’s a case now of opportunity meeting preparation. He has been preparing all his life, and what do you do? I think with Pharazôn, maybe he’s not averse to using underhanded tactics to get his way. That doesn’t mean it’s bad. I mean, if we look at it from a moral point of view, is there such a thing as morality when it comes to playing hardball with war and crowns and everything? All is fair in love and war, and I think that’s the mentality he’s coming from.
Having the full arc of Pharazôn didn’t change Gravelle’s approach to Season 2
“It’s a marathon, not a sprint”
So speaking of preparation, this is a show that JD Payne and Patrick McKay have obviously mapped out quite extensively in the future, and I’m curious how much you knew that was going to be your arc this season, and maybe how that influenced both your season 1 And your season 2 performances?
Trystan Gravelle: Well, I would read all the books and everything, so we have an idea of how it goes and everything, but you can’t really play the ending at the beginning. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. And also, it is a great privilege. Not everyone gets the privilege to get their teeth into a character, know where the story is going, but let it breathe. You have the bones, and now you get meat off the bones, put some meat on the bones. So, that was a huge privilege for me, I think, too.
I really like that it’s very nuanced. I know we see him as a kind of Garry Kasparov, Magnus Carlsen, at the moment, of the kingdom. Playing the chess games with everyone, but it comes from a lot of what he believes is the right way for his people and for the entire island of Númenor. Everyone has this massive existential crisis that they’ve become very disenchanted with, and it’s a generational thing. This is not just now, it is over generations. People are going, “Well, why are we in heaven? Why are we put here? What are the rules, too?” It’s a little Bluebird-y, you know, don’t open the cabinet, don’t sail west.
I think we’ve probably had enough of being treated as second-class citizens in Middle-earth. So I think now is the time to ask some really hard questions about where we go from here. I don’t see him as a nasty job. I’m sure anyone can be if pushed, but I’ve never been in charge of a kingdom or anything. [Laughs] What would you do if the passage to a better life for you and your people was blocked? What lengths would you go to?
Filming season 2’s Great Eagle scene was “Absurd“For gravel
“I have a little chuckle to myself about everything, get it out of the way”
I want to talk about the great spectacle of the giant eagle that comes and signals that Pharazôn should take over. Your storyline has been very grounded in character-to-character interaction so far, and compared to season 1, this is the biggest set piece that Pharazôn has been involved in. I would like to hear what it is like filming that on the day, to imagine this big animal coming to you and feel the spirit of what the scene is meant to be.
Trystan Gravelle: It’s incredible. It’s brilliant. You are living the dream. Of course, it would be absurd, we will never get a bird that big. [Laughs] But once you get over the absurdity of it, or I’m like an actor, it’s just wonderful just to get out there and just let your imagination run. You have everything else, the set is built, the people who are there in the costumes, and everything. You just have to push it that extra few yards by imagining the big eagle with the wind machines and everything, it’s incredible. You pinch yourself. This is your job that you are going to. I think, sometimes, I tend to look at things. I get it out of the way before we start filming the absurdity of every scene or whatever. Everything we do in life is just ridiculous and absurd, isn’t it? So, I have a little chuckle to myself about everything, get it out of the way, and then burst on with business. It was a wonderful day that was great. Everyone was so professional and so wonderful to be around. The supporting artists, the crew, the designers, everyone was there. We thought, “Everybody gives it their all, it’s going to look incredible.”
Kemen’s relationship with his father is one of trying to please his father (and failing).
“… It’s certainly an interesting path he’s going down”
So, in episode 5, we see Pharazôn start to make his changes to Númenor, but we also see Kemen really start to become kind of power hungry as he becomes his father’s right-hand man. I’d love to hear about exploring that dynamic and why you think his son is going down the sort of villain path that Farazon is.
Trystan Gravelle: Yeah, well, I think it’s trying to prove to his father. I think it’s a difficult thing, because Farzan had an upbringing where he knows where he comes from, he knows what his future holds, and he did it all. He was the sea captain that Elendiel is. He did it all. And I guess, in season 1, and right at the beginning of season 2, we see him in his robes – and I kind of like that, as well, because they flop on you, sometimes, the robes, you know what I mean ? You can go to the gym and pump yourself up as much as you want, but when you have a silk robe, it softens you.
And I think that’s great, because it shows, again, us people, we just fall into the roles that we play sometimes, and he’s a chancellor, he loves life in the moment. Of course, he wants a little bit more, but it’s a little bit of – not complacency, but just a little bit, it’s the potential of running towards reality. And then, of course, we see him step up now, and now we’re going to see him rediscover his past glory, and that’s going to be an interesting thing for him.
But with someone, someone cannot be his mother. He was given everything, I guess, the best possible start in life, but kind of squandered the chances. Of course, this is one to ask Leon, too, with what Kemen is like a person, because we are all different and something. But I think Pharazôn is a very tough person to please, and doesn’t give much away. And yes, he’s a chess player, so it can be difficult, I think, to have your father’s acceptance and your father’s love and for him to say, “Well, I’m proud of what you’ve done.” And there is a tendency, perhaps, to go overboard with wanting to shout at his father, “Look at me, just acknowledge me, I am my own person.” I would imagine. But yeah, it’s certainly an interesting path that he’s going down.
Miriel is in “For one hell of a time“To regain her power from Pharazôn in Season 2
“… There will need to be a remodeling”
I see I have time for one more question, and one more thing I wanted to ask was that we talked about how Farazan is a very spiritual chess player. Miriel walks in, not hiding, but she flies a little under the radar, and I’m curious what you can tease the audience about what will come of that power struggle between them with her in hiding, in a sense. , and you make your own plans?
Trystan Gravelle: Well, I mean, I think she’s having a hell of a time, isn’t she? Because it’s completely opposite of the direction I want to go in. So, there will need to be a remodel, I guess, of your vision and how you see Númenor going. It will be quite bumpy for you. Because obviously, we’re going to have to work on her, how she sees the world, and she’s not in a position right now just for her opinion to be absolute and for everyone to go with her. So, she will have to compromise a lot of her beliefs, and a lot of what she perceives as reality will change, I think, because of what happened, the carpet pulling that happened.
About The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2
In Season Two of The Rings of Power, Sauron has returned. Cast out by Galadriel, without army or ally, the rising Dark Lord must now rely on his own cunning to rebuild his strength and oversee the creation of the Rings of Power, which will allow him to bind all the nations of Middle-earth to his Evil will. Building on the epic scope and ambition of Season One, the new season plunges even its most beloved and vulnerable characters into a rising tide of darkness, challenging each to find their place in a world increasingly on the brink of Disaster. Elves and dwarves, orcs and men, wizards and harefoots… As friendships are strained and kingdoms begin to crumble, the forces of good will fight ever more valiantly to hold on to what matters to them most of all… each other.
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