Míriel's Sea Trial Explained

In the latest episode of Amazon The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, “Where is he?” Elendil is sentenced to trial by Pharazôn as punishment for high treason against Númenor. Lord Belzagar recommends an elven test to determine Elendil's loyalty. He produces a tome showing an image of what appears to be an ancient sea serpent devouring a man whole, stating, “If the faithful wish to live by the old ways, they should also die for them.” It is not entirely clear what this means, but it does not bode well for the once proud sea captain. Míriel and her daughter, Eärien, attempt to dissuade him from maintaining his loyalty to the usurped queen in order to save his life, but he refuses, saying, “Faith is no faith if it is not lived.”

Although it is not yet clear what Lord Belzagar means when he says that they will “let the Valar decide” [Elendil’s] fate”, it is obvious that he will soon come face to face with a monster from the deep. In an unexpected moment of heroism, Míriel takes his place to face the beast. Shortly after being dragged beneath the surface, she emerges onto the shore, having been brought back from the sea by the serpent. But it is not entirely clear what all this means in the wider context of Middle-earth, except perhaps to those familiar with the wider mythos of author JRR Tolkien's world.

Tolkien had many unnamed beasts and entities in his canon

Tolkien had many named and unnamed creatures in his vast, sprawling world of Arda, in which Middle-earth is but a continent. In the more recent episodes of Rings of Power, the public has seen entities such as the Barrow-wights. These creatures have appeared in the novel The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring in the Barrow Downs near the Old Forest just outside the Shire. Merry, Pippin and Frodo encounter them and are briefly captured by the spirits that inhabit the grave sites. They have ties to the Witch-king of Angmar, leader of the Nazgûl. They appear as ghosts and have a hypnotic ability to taunt and lure unsuspecting travellers to their deaths.

Audiences are also seeing hints of appearances of a very infamous creature this season. Rings of Power. Gandalf memorably faced Morgoth's Balrog in The Fellowship of the Ring and “struck his doom upon the mountainside.” Also known as the Valaraukar or Durin's Bane, Balrogs were originally Maiar, spirits who had shaped the World and the Valar in the beginning. At some point, they were turned to darkness after being seduced by Morgoth (the first Dark Lord) in the Elder Days. The Balrog, which most fans would know from the films, made its way into the depths of Moria, where the Dwarves awoke it, and the Fellowship would encounter it much later. It seems that Rings of Power will tell the legendary fall of the dwarf kingdom, whose citizens awaken the Balrog after digging “too greedily and too deep”.

Outside Moria sat another mysterious entity encountered by the Fellowship in the first episode of The Lord of the Rings in the chapter “A Journey into the Dark”. The Watcher in the Water, or simply The Watcher, appears as a tentacled, beaked creature in Peter Jackson's adaptations. It attempts to capture Frodo before the gates of Moria, driving the Fellowship into its dark, cavernous recesses. Visually, Jackson relied on a surprisingly sparse description from Tolkien. On the page, the creature is described rather simply as it encounters Frodo: “Out of the water had crawled a long, sinuous tentacle; it was pale green, bright and wet. Its toed end had grasped Frodo's foot and was dragging him into the water.” The full extent of The Watcher's size and girth beneath the surface of the water remains unknown.

Creatures forced to serve others include Wargs and Oliphaunts. Wargs are a race of wolves ridden by Orcs. They are present in Rings of Power as well as The Lord of the Rings and are generally depicted as squat, hunchbacked, dog-like creatures. Oliphaunt is the name given by Hobbits to the elephant-like creature, Mûmakil. In fact, they are so much a part of Hobbit lore, that Samwise Gamgee is expressively excited when he sees one for the first time. They were used in battle by the Haradrim, a segment of Men from an area south of Gondor known as Haradwaith. Jackson depicts these Men and beasts in The Two Towers and in the Battle of the Pelennor Fields in The Return of the King.

Míriel's Trial at Sea was invented for the Rings of Power but fits into Tolkien's tradition

Míriel's interception at Elendil's trial is not canonical in Tolkien's lore, nor is Eärien, for that matter, but it is a great dramatic moment in the series. When Lord Belzagar refers to the Valar, he is referring to the beings who were responsible for creating order in the world of Arda and shaping it. They live on the continent of Aman. Ulmo was the Vala responsible for governing the oceans of Arda. He might be compared to Poseidon in Greek mythology. Ulmo had a vassal, a sea-spirit named Ossë, who was more associated with tidal shores and less with the deep seas. So, it is likely that the unnamed sea-worm is acting on behalf of Ulmo or Ossë (or both) when he brings Míriel back from the sea.

Tolkien has no exact equivalent of the sea serpent that appears in Rings of Power in his works of fiction related to The Lord of the Rings. This does not mean that it could not and that the authors are taking extreme liberties. In fact, in The Lost Road and Other Writings — further stories of Middle-earth published after the author's death, he mentioned them. The series of drafts and essays includes them as a kind of footnote in a discussion of Elvish legends and linguistics. In practice, what Rings of Power the writers took the kernel of an idea and expanded it to fit a particular moment for a certain character. Besides, what could be more nautical than a mythical sea worm for an island kingdom of sailors?

In some of his other works, Tolkien included sea creatures similar to the one in Rings of PowerIn 1927 he wrote a children's book entitled Roverandom about an adventurous dog named Rover. The book includes fantasy elements such as wizards, the Man in the Moon, and voyages across the open sea. Tolkien wrote the story as a way to comfort his son, who had lost his favorite toy dog ​​on the beach during a family holiday. One sequence in the book involves Rover and the sea-people dealing with a sea serpent that has been awakened from an indefinite slumber beneath the waves and must be brought back to rest. The book was not published in the UK and US until 1998, with an audiobook released in 2005.

The romantic bond between Elendil and Míriel was created for Rings of Power

Among other things created for Rings of PowerThe canon of is Elendil's pseudo-romantic relationship with Míriel. So far, it's mostly been a matter of lingering glances and eye contact, but their interactions are clearly coded. There hasn't been a romantic relationship established in the series yet, aside from Bronwyn and Arondir and Disa and Prince Durin in season 1. But with Bronwyn's death early in season 2, it seems the writers are looking to the possible characters of Isildur and Elendil to fill a missing element in the series. Probably a better move considering the Elf-Man relationship has already been covered in The Lord of the Rings with Arwen and Aragorn. Bronwyn and Arondir's relationship raised no new questions, while a Queen and her loyal captain (although, as Lord of Andúnië, Elendil is not exactly a commoner) could be an intriguing interaction to explore.

Míriel's fate is inextricably linked to the fall of Númenor in Tolkien's texts. She dies when she is engulfed by a great wave, just as she had seen in her vision in the seeing stone.

In Tolkien's writings, Míriel marries Pharazôn, her cousin. But whether the series will go that route or not remains to be seen. Tolkien had two different versions of how this might have played out in his drafts, one where Míriel was in love with Pharazôn and another where she forced the marriage. Perhaps the relationship with Elendiel is meant to replace that disturbing storyline entirely. It might be a case where fans won't complain. pure much about altering tradition. After all, this is made for a modern audience, and some liberties are inevitable.

Even with the changes taking place, Rings of Power has delivered a compelling second season so far. It has definitely picked up the pace from the first season, which, as a first season, lends itself to a glacial pace, as introductions and world-building need to be completed. There are only two episodes left in the season, leaving viewers wondering what will be resolved and what will be left hanging for Númenor and its citizens after such a turbulent run in season two.