Warning: The following article contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2, Episode 6, “Where Is He?”.
The Silmarils get their biggest shout-out yet in The Rings of Power Season 2, Episode 6 – yet the show still won’t explain what they are! So, read on for everything you need to know about the Silmarils, including why they’re so important to The Rings of Power‘s story.
What the Silmarils Are & Why They Matter in The Rings of Power Season 2
The Silmarils are three legendary gems forged by Celebrimbor’s grandfather, Fëanor, in the First Age – centuries before The Rings of Power‘s main narrative. They contain the light of the Two Trees of Valinor: the direct forerunners of Middle-earth’s Sun and Moon. This makes the Silmarils highly sought after, especially after Sauron’s then-boss, Morgoth, destroys the Trees.
Indeed, conflict over the gems – which kicks off when Morgoth pinches them – drives the plot of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings prequel, The Silmarillion. Adar touches on this in Episode 6, recalling how Morgoth’s crown once held the stolen Silmarils. Meanwhile, Sauron (disguised as Annatar) invokes the Silmarils’ unrivaled beauty elsewhere in the episode, convincing Celebrimbor to forge the remaining Rings of Power as a way of finally topping Fëanor’s legacy. So, the Silmarils matter in The Rings of Power in the sense that the show’s core ensemble still cares about them a lot.
But how come The Rings of Power showrunners J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay and their team didn’t include more of the Silmarils’ backstory in Season 2? Because they couldn’t. Amazon MGM Studios only owns the rights to The Lord of the Rings and its Appendices; that’s why it’s Tolkien’s sole work acknowledged in The Rings of Power‘s opening credits. It’s also why Payne and McKay can only include references to the Silmarils culled from Lord of the Rings in The Rings of Power. Anything covered exclusively in The Silmarillion – or any of Tolkien’s other writings, for that matter – is legally off limits.
Related: The Rings of Power: How Does the Palantír Work?
What Happened to the Silmarils After Morgoth’s Downfall?
It’s a bit complicated (this is Tolkien, so of course it is). The short version is that one of the Silmarils becomes a star, while the other two wind up in a fiery crevasse and at the bottom of the sea, respectively. That doesn’t mean the Silmarils’ role in Middle-earth’s story ends with The Silmarillion, however.
Related: The Rings of Power: Who Are Eärendil, Beren & Tuor in Lord of the Rings Canon?
Remember the phial of starlight Galadriel gives Frodo in The Fellowship of the Ring? The one he and Samwise Gamgee use to defeat oversized spider-spirit Shelob later on? It contains the light of Eärendil – the star that once was (and technically, still is) a Silmaril!
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