Amazon Studios The Rings of Power is here. We want all Spoilerites to have the best viewing experience possible and have the widest knowledge base about the Second Age of Middle-Earth. This is a weekly Let’s Get Nerdy article series highlighting a different piece of Tolkien I think you need to know about!
In past articles I have answered the question:
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- What Are the Rings of Power?
- What is Númenor?
- What is the Second Age?
- Who are the Harfoots?
- Who is Prince Durin IV?
- What is Khazad-dûm?
- Who is Celebrimbor?
- What is the Last Alliance of Men and Elves?
- Who is Elendil?
- New Pics! Who are Bronwyn and Theo?
- What is Rivendell?
- The Rings of Power First Reactions Are In!
- What is Lindon?
- What are the Nine Human Rings?
- Empire Magazine’s The Rings of Power Covers
- New Character Pictures
- Will Wizards Appear in The Rings of Power?
- New Promo for The Rings of Power
- What is Eregion?
- Leaked! Rings of Power Trailer Breakdown
- The Rings of Power Teaser Breakdown
- New EW Rings of Power Pictures
- SDCC Rings of Power Trailer Breakdown
- Who is Isildur?
- The Rings of Power is Here! Read the Reactions
- Who is the Stranger?
- Who is Queen Míriel?
- Who is Ar-Pharazôn?
- What is the broken black blade?
- What is Mordor?
- What is Mithril?
- What are the Silmarils?
- What is Narsil?
- Who founded Númenor?
- Who is Galadriel’s Brother Finrod?
- Rings of Power Adds 15 New Cast Members for Season 2
- Who is Círdan?
- Will Celeborn Appear in The Rings of Power?
- Are Galadriel and Sauron Enemies in Book Canon?
- Who is Narvi?
- Jamie Bisping Cast as Viran
- Will the Harfoots Settle The Shire?
- What to Watch Before The Rings of Power Season 2
- Will We See More Rings in The Rings of Power Season 2?
- Will Lord Belzagar Appear in The Rings of Power Season 2?
- Who is Diarmid?
- Will Ringwraiths appear in The Rings of Power Season 2?
- Will Gil-Galad Lead an Army in The Rings of Power Season 2?
- Is the Balrog Durin’s Bane?
- Who is Isildur’s sister Eärien?
- What is Rhûn Where Nori & The Stranger are Headed?
- Will Galadriel Go Dark in The Rings of Power Season 2?
One of the most exciting episodes of The Rings of Power was when the Southland was revealed to be Mordor. To describe it as “Explosive” *insert three fire emojis here* almost does a disservice to the scale of what the episode threw down! Long-time Spoilerites will recall an episode of Finally Friday where Stephen and I shared our reactions to the episode. There were also a lot of fun fan reactions from our live viewers. Be sure and check that video out in the Archives if you missed it LIVE last year.
In past Let’s Get Nerdy features I wrote about characters from Pelargir or canonically based in Pelargir and what excites me about the potential there. Since the Southlanders are no longer going to be able to remain in The Southlands (as it is now The land of Mordor: where the shadows lie …), Browyn, Theo et al need somewhere to resettle and rebuild their lives. We know they are headed to Pelargir – so, what does that mean?
As I’ve previously mention, Pelargir is a port in Gondor. There’s still confusion for me about anything based in Gondor using Gondorian names since Gondor (as we think of it during the events of The Lord of the Rings in the Third Age of Middle-Earth), doesn’t actually exist in the time period when The Rings of Power is set. It was founded during The Second Age, however, so this could be the storyline the series’ writers are pulling for the Southlanders. Per the Tolkien canon Pelargir is founded by The Númenoreans (ancestors of the Gondorians).
If I may put my tin foil conspiracy theorist hat on for a moment: at some point toward the early-middle of The Rings of Power season two The Southlanders and the Númenoreans will meet up. We’ll get a brief conflict between the Elendil/Queen Regent Míriel and Arondir/Bronwyn factions before all the humans decide to work together and eventually found Pelargir.
Pelargir is like Númenor and Eregion, geographically. It’s on a delta or the river Anduin. You may remember the river Anduin from Faramir’s vision of Boromir’s body floating past him in his funereal boat.
Watch the scene here:
Faramir’s Dream
Couldn’t find this great little scene on YouTube anywhere so thought I’d upload it. A short dream sequence in which Faramir has a vision of seeing Boromir’s body floating downriver.
My theory is further backed up by the book canon that Pelargir was founded by The Faithful. The Faithful, you’ll recall, are the faction of Númenoreans who are loyal to their elvish roots. High King Elendil is sometimes seen as the leader of this moment in his time. As the land of Gondor sprung up around this early settlement Pelargir went on to become a principal port city of Gondor. It’s not until the Third Age when Gondor’s power was seen to decline under its lack of kingly leadership that Pelargir suffered consistent attacks and pillaging – not unlike Osgilioth which we see throughout The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King film.
Since the Southlanders are headed to Pelargir I would bet it’s being established a principle location for the second season of The Rings of Power.
