Spoilers for Season 2 of Rings of Power are ahead! If you aren’t caught up, you can stream the series as well as the OG Lord of the Rings trilogy with an Amazon Prime subscription.
In the Season 2 finale of Rings of Power, there were a few obvious connections made between the prequel series and the beloved Lord of the Rings. Namely, The Stranger was revealed to be Gandalf and Míriel gave Elendil the sword Narsil that will eventually be reforged into Andúril and given to Aragorn. So, with all those things in mind, I chatted with the ROP cast about the references, and while speaking with Cynthia Addai-Robinson about her character's big moment with the iconic sowrd, she told me why it was so significant for both LOTR fans as well as casual viewers.
Telling me that she enjoyed the fact that someone referred to the moment as a “lore drop,” Addai-Robinson started by explaining that her “inner child” came out when she saw it:
It's like your inner child, especially when, you know, for us, we have an actual prop that's some artisan handcrafted, forged. I mean, some of these, like prop swords, I mean, they've got weight to them, you know? I mean, it really is impressive. And so you have within the seriousness of the moment and the sort of what the scene needs to be, you're a kid, and you're like, ‘Oh my God.’ You're sort of like, ‘Wait, I want to see it like. Let me hold the sword?’
If you grew up watching the Lord of the Rings movies props like the One Ring, Gandalf’s staff and Andúril (among other things) are big deals, and seeing them in person must be mind-blowing.
As a viewer, it’s also thrilling to see references and implementation of beloved characters and props in a show like Rings of Power. So, you better believe that as someone who recently re-watched Return of the King, I squealed when I saw Narsil being given to Elendil in the finale, because I was thinking about the following words Aragorn said to Elrond as he was given the sword:
Sauron will not have forgotten the sword of Elendil. The blade that was broken shall return to Minas Tirith.
Even the framing of Elrond and Míriel giving the swords to Aragorn and Elendil, respectively, is similar. The close-ups of them holding the weapons up to their faces, their reactions, it's all incredible.
However, if I hadn’t rewatched the LOTR movies recently, I don’t know if I would have clocked the reference. To that point, the Míriel actress told me that they were crafting this scene with fans who might not know the lore in mind too. She explained:
I also felt that it was critical that the scene still needed to carry a certain weight for those who do not know what that sword symbolizes, or you know its role in the lore…I always use my mom as the sort of gage. I'm like, ‘Well, is my mom going to have a reaction if we say Narsil?’... So, it's really about what does Narsil symbolize in that moment, you know? What is the significance of her sort of like bestowing this onto him, and it's really about this passing on of responsibility. She cannot leave with him. You know, as much as that would be really lovely – lovely in a sense – her place is there and his place is to go and sort of gather, you know, start a revolution, essentially, and take the sword with it.
So, the magnitude was evident no matter how much you know about what's to come. Elendil and Míriel's interaction is deeply impactful because these two love each other so much and are saying goodbye as they go on to fight two incredibly massive wars to stand up for what’s right. The fact that the sword ties into what's to come in a major way is just the cherry on top.
Whether you are a massive fan of the books, movies and show or you're only into the Amazon series, no matter what, as Addai-Robinson pointed out, this passing of the sword carries major significance.
Moving forward, Míriel, Elendil and that sword will likely make a massive impact on Rings of Power Season 3 as she stays in Númenor to stand her ground against Pharazôn and he sets out to find his sons. You better believe that my little Lord of the Rings-loving self can’t wait to see it all unfold and eventually (hopefully) lead into the epic battle that ends with Elendil’s son using Narsil to cut the One Ring off Sauron.
