Warning: The following article contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2, Episode 6, “Where Is He?”.
Elendil remains squarely in the spotlight in The Rings of Power Season 2’s sixth installment, “Where Is He?”, going on trial not once, but twice! It’s a dramatic turn of events that promises major repercussions for the Lord of the Rings show’s future.
The Escapist recently caught up with star Lloyd Owen for the full lowdown on Elendil’s biggest moments in Episode 6, including his defiant courtroom outburst, his “impossible” romance with Míriel, and what it all means for the ex-sea captain’s series-long journey towards the throne of Gondor.
[Note: This interview has been edited for clarity.]
Elendil essentially goes on trial twice in Episode 6. The first time, it seems as though he’ll kowtow to Ar-Pharazôn during his trial, however, he ultimately denounces him as a traitor and declares Míriel Númenor’s true ruler. Can you talk through Elendil’s mindset in that scene?
Yeah, good question. He’s under instructions from Míriel [since] Episode 5 where she feels because of his vision within the palantír that that’s changed the course of history. And what we’ve seen of Elendil so far is a man of duty and responsibility, and a man whose faith gets like –you know, in Season 1, when the leaves of the Nimloth Tree come on, there’s a connection to him and Míriel. And because of the Galadriel influence, that deep instinct within him, that sort of Elven instinct, is reawakened after many, many years.
And so, in that situation, he has followed his, if we call that his heart, if you like – his Faithful heart – and he’s done that alongside Míriel. Therefore, he follows her instruction, because he trusts the hierarchy of her position. His queen’s giving him an order. He’s a soldier; he understands that. And so that’s when he, even though he raises his arm to [Pharazôn’s son] Kemen, he doesn’t fight anymore.
But it’s the moment [in Episode 6] where essentially Pharazôn is asking him to renounce his faith, that’s a different concept to him, I think. So, whereas it was his intention to bow to Pharazôn, [to do] whatever was needed to keep the ship steady – the “Ship of Númenor” as Míriel views it, at this point – he would have done it. But he’s asked a question that is antithetical to its faith. I think that’s why he finally says no – that he can’t do it. And actually, what’s interesting about that is that the balance of hierarchy power between him and Míriel slightly changes because he’s got that solid “believer” feeling, and that’s unimpeachable.
You can’t challenge the fact that I’ve been told by my faith what to do. It’s clear for him that is the end of his life if the gods will it, if the Valar will it. It’s quite a powerful position for him.
Despite the first trial’s outcome, Elendil’s daughter Eärien remains firmly entrenched in Camp Pharazôn. At the same time, she clearly doesn’t want her father to die during the second, trail-by-sea ritual. She’s desperate to get through to him, but does Elendil still think he has a chance of getting through to her?
Great question. When she comes – and we work quite hard at this – but I think when [Eärien] comes to visit [Elendil] in that dungeon scene, she’s very much in the politician mode. She’s telling him that he’s got to change his mind, almost like a bit of an order, but then obviously, she’s gonna be emotional about the fact that her father’s not gonna do that, and he’s gonna die.
It’s almost like a parental lesson for her, if you think of it that way. It’s the most loving thing to do to her is to say “I will demonstrate for you what having integrity, what self-sacrifice is, and how it’s important to hold on tight to your principles. And if that means losing my life, then that’s what I’m going to do.” And I think her breaking down at that point, I kind of hope it would undo him. You know, the relief of having his – I don’t know whether you got any of this in watching [Episode 6], because what you do on the day and what ends up on [the screen] is a different thing – but I was hoping was that there was some sort of relief that he’s got his girl back. She’s finally come back to him, the little baby he used to comfort.
And when she cries in his arms and then she very quickly gets back to sort of taking the Pharazôn party line and there’s just no chance. She’s gone, she’s drunk the Kool-Aid and there’s no persuading her, is the position he finds himself in. Untouchable. Look, I mean, if you had four seasons just on Eärien and Elendil, there might have been a longer conversation to have with her to try and win her over. But I just think in that moment it’s like she’s so far gone, he doesn’t know where to start.
But Eärien obviously also brings Míriel to see Elendil, hoping that she’ll be able to talk him around. It’s another of The Rings of Power Season 2’s hints that maybe his relationship with Míriel runs deeper than simply a loyal subject and his queen. How would you describe Elendil’s feelings for Míriel at this point in Season 2?
First of all, given what I just said about the Eärien thing, what’s amazing is that she brings in her mortal enemy in the shape of Míriel because she thinks that she might persuade [her] dad not to kill himself tomorrow. Essentially, right? Which again shows how much she loves her father. And I think from Míriel’s perspective, this is a love that sort of can’t happen. Not because it’s illicit or they’re married, it’s just that for Elendil, the hierarchy is such, the sense of queen/subject [or] queen/soldier is a thing that’s impossible [to overcome] as far as he’s concerned.
But [a romantic relationship with Míriel] is also impossible because of where he is. He’s grieving, hugely, his wife. This is a bit we’ve invented for [The Rings of Power], but his wife has died. He’s this widowed father and his wife has died. And I think it’s one of those ones where he’s not sure that she feels the same as him and she’s not sure that he feels the same as her, but they know they have this connection that is emotional in the sense that they need each other desperately. They’re both isolated because they were the ones that took responsibility for the decision [to lead Númenor’s ill-fated expedition to Middle-earth in Season 1].
There’s a safe area of discussing your feelings around faith that’s not intimate, if you know what I mean? It has a safer intimacy, put it that way. But I think they both feel it, and whether they could ever openly admit it is a very different question.
You get a real sense of the lessons Elendil and Míriel learn from each other in The Rings of Power Season 2. You see it in Episode 6, when Míriel faces the trail-by-sea in Elendil’s place. That’s very much her moment, and he wants to be her moment – holding her out as “Tar-Míriel” – is it also an important part of laying the ground for Elendil’s own journey to the throne, as the future King of Gondor depicted in The Lord of the Rings?
Yes, it’s – the hope, I suppose, with the show from and my personal, selfish Elendil perspective is you watch how a leader gets made as opposed to born. So, [Míriel] teaches him a lot about the court. We see that in the funeral of her father, he’s having to be her eyes. So, he’s learning about these various things.
I assume the great leaders have a humility about them, which I certainly sense in Elendil. But I think in that moment where he shouts her name, Tar-Míriel, that feels [like] political smarts because it’s like, “Let’s whip this crowd up and let’s try and get that rebellion going,” even if that’s not what Míriel wants.
So, you’re right, that is where that sense of [Elendil’s future comes in] – because every character in Tolkien, if you read The Lord of the Rings, every one of them talks about their fate, every character in Middle-earth has this sort of sense that they’re on a path which is kind of inexorable. I think those are those things that drive him, you know?
Even though he doesn’t know where he’s going to end up, there’s something about this innate leadership, this sense of faith and duty that is a deeper instinct than he can consciously describe. But that’s pushing him and driving him [in Season 2], yeah.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 is currently streaming on Prime Video, with new episodes dropping Thursdays.
Published: Sep 19, 2024 09:00 am