Not all is well in Númenor. Season one of The Rings of Power saw Queen Regent Míriel lead Númenóreans to Middle-earth at Galadriel’s request. The expedition ended in war and many Númenórean lives lost. As you can imagine, Míriel’s choice, along with the passing of her father the King, causes any rifts existing in Númenor society to expand. And her cousin and advisor Pharazôn is all too ready to take advantage of those rifts.
While visiting the set of The Rings of Power season two with a small group of journalists, we talked with actor Trystan Gravelle about Númenor needing a zhuzh and Pharazôn’s scheming. Don’t worry, we won’t get into Second Age spoilers.
We know where Pharazôn ends up and we saw him starting to head that direction in season one. Where do things pick up in season two?
Trystan Gravelle: In season two there’s a bit of rebuilding of image. They’ve gone into a war that initially he didn’t want to go into. I think there was a bit of a rude awakening for everybody, that I guess they’ve always been touted as a thalassocracy, Númenor has. The whole place has become slightly sclerotic maybe, with rot kicking in. I think there needs to be a little bit of a zhuzh-up in the kingdom there. This is where Pharazôn comes into it. Not only have they lost the war that they went over with their expeditionary force to win, but they’ve been embarrassed as well in that the Queen Regent has lost her sight.
So, Númenor doesn’t look good with regards to whoever else might be out there. Because we’ve been so insular, maybe it’s time to maybe get on the front foot with things. That’s where he is at the moment, or where his mind is. He’s not the king of Númenor, but that’s where his mind is. He has to put pieces in play.
Season one had some of the politicking side of Númenor. Can we expect more high court drama in season two?
Gravelle: You’ll definitely see some from Pharazôn, because there’s such a difference between Míriel and Elendil. With Pharazôn, he knows that you have to indulge in the dark arts. He’s a great believer in maybe the ends justifies the means. And being a sea captain himself, or an ex-sea captain, I mean, he would probably have been there, done it, got the T-shirt, and is going like, “Well, actually sometimes you do need to get your hands dirty. And it’s not just about honor and stuff.”
I read a brilliant book by David Frye called Walls. It is about people who lived inside walls in the civilizations that they built, and then the so-called barbarians on the outside that didn’t need to build walls. And there’s definitely a difference of perspective in how they see the world. When you build these walls, you can become your reputation, or what you have inside those, counts for nothing in the outside world. So, it’s up to you to build that again. Then there comes a fear, I think, and there’s a lot to lose because you become more cognizant of this civilization that you’ve built where it’s not just about survival and move on. A part of your consciousness now is in these stones, is in this set place that you’ve built for yourselves. And so the height that you fall from is greater.
I went off on a tangent there. Yes, [there will be more politicking] and a lot of image building.
You mentioned Queen Regent Míriel. What can you tell us a little bit about her and Pharazôn’s relationship? Especially in the wake of what happened in Middle-earth.
Gravelle: With all families, I think there’s always a bit of healthy competition, as well as love and everything. Even with whatever schadenfreude you may feel sometimes. If you see somebody trip up, there’s always a greater thing of who you are as a person and why did you feel that. And Pharazôn, I don’t think, is some psychopath or anything. His perspective is different, and that’s what’s apparent here, is that Tar-Palantir or Ar-Inziladun were part of the faithful. I think that’s about appeasing old traditions, and I think it’s holding Númenor back. So, there’s a frustration there and a clash of ideals.
I guess you’re a swan on the surface, but underneath there’s the scheming, there’s the paddling, and all the ugly stuff going on underneath. That’s on both sides as well. There’s always going to be a level of insecurity and mistrust after what’s happened. Because there is, it’s embarrassing that we’ve come back with a tail between the legs, this great empire, so we thought.
Míriel trusted the Elves, trusted Galadriel. Is this a further wedge between the Númenoreans and the Elves?
Gravelle: I think it’s a huge thing, that you led your people into a war where they got embarrassed. I know you’re still Queen, but you need help. You’re dependent on people. And also as well, if that gets out, that there’s this great empire that’s not what everybody thought they were, I mean, what does that mean? Are we going to have ships sailing by our shores? And there’s all these questions, the geopolitics comes up again. So yes, it’s definitely a cause for concern.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two premieres with three episodes on Prime Video on August 29.
