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?
- Where are the Southlanders Going?
- Is Durin Still a Prince?
A few weeks ago I wrote about Eärien for the first time here on Let’s Get Nerdy! She is the original-to-The-
Rings-of-Power daughter of Elendil and sister to Isildur. At the end of the first season of The Rings of Power we saw her discover a Palantir. Fans of The Lord of the Rings films will recall the Palantir as used by both Saruman (Christopher Lee), and Pippin (Billy Boyd), featured most heavily in The Fellowship of the Ring and The Return of the King.
Palantíri, or Seeing Stones, fall into the pretty classic European trope of scrying stones. Magical rocks or gems which can be used to view the past, divine the future, or communicate. They’re often used by magic wielders. Another version of a scrying device as seen in The Lord of the Rings is the Mirror of Galadriel.
The Palantíri are all in communication with each other all the time. They can be used for nefarious purposes like spying and, if a particularly powerful being uses a Palantir to be in contact with a weaker mind they can manipulate them – sometimes to the point of complete control.
As Tolkien tells us through Gandalf in The Two Towers:
“The palantír replied to each, but all those in Gondor were ever open to the view of Osgiliath. Now it appears that, as the rock of Orthanc has withstood the storms of time, so there the palantír of that tower has remained. But alone it could do nothing but see small images of things far off and days remote. Very useful, no doubt, that was to Saruman; yet it seems that he was not content. Further and further abroad he gazed, until he cast his gaze upon Barad-dûr. Then he was caught!”
How does this apply to Eärien I hear you asking, Spoilerite.
Welp, in my opinion, the most likely scenario is Eärien will somehow use it to get a sneak peek at the much-written-about-here Fall of Númenor which could have significant ramifications for her and her family. If this is the case there’s a chance what Eärien divines will inform Elendil and Isildur’s choice to immigrate to Middle-Earth and found the twin kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor. There’s a chance it will cause her to stay on Númenor or perhaps to go to Middle-Earth. As an original character we have a less clear path for Eärien than her family members throughout The Rings of Power’s narrative march toward the Third Age of Middle-Earth. I also suspect whatever Eärien sees via the Palantir – whether it directly relate to the Fall of Númenor or otherwise – will directly affect the drama between the family
From Tolkien’s direct canon we know Elendil took seven Palantíri with him when he immigrated to Middle-Earth and distributed them across his kingdoms. Elendil kept three for himself in Arnor and sent four with his sons to Gondor. They were an easy way of communication among the human kings during the Second Age of Middle-Earth and helped establish Arnor and Gondor as powerful nations. Palantíri were always relatively secret. Magical objects on a need-to-know basis which boosted almost telepathic communication between the users. This ease of communication also helped put the new human kings and queens on a level with elven kings and queens of Middle-Earth at the time. It wasn’t until the events of The Lord of the Rings that Palantíri became more common knowledge.
