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Although The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has many secrets still waiting to be revealed, such as the true identity of The Stranger, among other things, there are still some storylines that are to be expected in the series.
Fans of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power know several things need to happen for the show to make sense, which is why viewers are waiting to see how a few different events will play out in the series. Among those events include the crafting of the other 16 rings of power, the fall of Khazad-dûm, and the forging of the One Ring. But one major event The Rings of Power continues to inch even closer to is the fall of Númenor.
The Rings Of Power: How Will The Great Eagles Play A Role in Season 2?
In the new trailer for The Rings of Power, there was a short glimpse of the great eagles in Númenor. How will they play a role in season two?
Even in season one of The Rings of Power, Queen Regent Míriel shows Galadriel the fall of Númenor through a seeing stone. But with the official trailer for season two released, there are even more snippets hinting that the downfall of this great kingdom is getting even closer. But will the Kingdom of Númenor meet its doom in season two?
Will Númenor Fall In Season Two Of The Rings Of Power?
Of course, it’s impossible to say for certain exactly what is going to play out in the new season. But based on the official trailer for season two, some information can be gathered about what to expect for Númenor in the upcoming season of The Rings of Power.
The trailer gives some major hints regarding the fate of Númenor in the new season. This first hint given is the brief moment seen with Pharazôn. It’s a quick scene, where Pharazôn lands and draws a sword in front of many Númenoreans. While the scene itself doesn’t tell us much or give context, it can be safe to assume that Pharazôn is planning and quite possibly launching his coup in season two.
The second hint given in the trailer is the Great Eagles of Middle Earth. According to Tolkien lore, the Great Eagles appear in Númenor before its downfall to warn the people what is to come. Assuming The Rings of Power follows this, it’s possible that is the very reason there are Great Eagles in the trailer.
Although both of these steps towards the fall of Númenor are given, it’s not likely that The Rings of Power will show the fall of this great kingdom in the upcoming season. Yes, it’s a progression towards the downfall, but there is still a lot more that needs to happen before the ultimate disaster. Unless the series is able to fit in all the steps that ultimately lead to Númenor’s destruction in season two, then it’s likely The Rings of Power will be saving this catastrophic event for a later season.
How Does Pharazôn Play A Role in Númenor’s Downfall?
As previously mentioned, Pharazôn does plan a coup to take over leadership in Númenor. But how does this lead to Númenor’s downfall?
In season one of The Rings of Power, Pharazôn is introduced as a statesman in Númenor. Although he didn’t take any drastic actions in the first season, the series shows he’s hungry for power, which foreshadows what’s to come: his takeover and Númenor’s downfall.
According to Tolkien’s written work, he eventually acts on his want for power. He does so by marrying Queen Míriel of Númenor after the death of her father and Pharazôn’s uncle, King Palantir. This went against both Míriel’s will and the laws of Númenor. By doing so, he was able to easily usurp the throne and become Númenor’s last king. Whether or not The Rings of Power will choose to follow the exact storyline isn’t known, but one thing is certain: the show is setting up for Pharazôn to plan a coup to take over the kingdom.
Once king of Númenor, Pharazôn changed quite a couple of things. Although Númenor wasn’t already a fan of Elves, under Pharazôn’s rules, things became even worse, with the kingdom becoming extremely hostile towards the Elves. Not only that, but Pharazôn becomes obsessed with immortality, so much so that he is fooled by Sauron. Sauron tells him immortality can be gained through Morgoth, which led to Pharazôn building the first temple to the Dark Lord in Númenor. All of this is setting Pharazôn on his path to his final action that infuriates the Valar, leading to Númenor's downfall.
Why Does Númenor Fall?
But it wasn’t until Pharazôn committed his most heinous act that triggered the destruction of Númenor.
Up until this point, nearly everything Pharazôn was doing, especially once he was under the influence of Sauron, was putting Númenor out of favor with the Valar, the gods of Arda in The Rings of Power. But once Sauron convinced Pharazôn to sail west to Valinor (where Sauron told him that immortality could be obtained), the Valar made the ultimate decision to punish the Númenoreans.
The Valar did this for multiple reasons, but the biggest of them was because Pharazôn led Númenoreans where they were not allowed. It was explicitly forbidden by the Valar for the Númenoreans to sail to Valinor. Once this act was complete, the Valar called upon Eru Ilúvatar, the supreme god and creator of all of Arda, to wipe out Pharazôn’s fleets of ships and drown the legendary Kingdom of Númenor.
