Markella Kavenagh and Cynthia Addai-Robinson Discuss ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ Season 2 [Interview]

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 might have brought the calamity to Eregion on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 Episode 7, “Doomed to Die,” yet there are still some stories in the lands far beyond that have a lot to tell. 

One of those stories comes from the far west on Númenor, where the drama of its royalty with Cynthia Addai-Robinson’s Queen-Regent Míriel seeks to divide its people. The other comes from the East in Rhûn, where Markella Kavenagh’s Nori helps the Stranger find out who he is while the Dark Wizard’s forces scourge the deserts.

I recently spoke with Kavenagh and Addai-Robinson about The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2’s reoccurring theme of sacrifice, missing out on interacting with Galadriel and the characters in the West, and if the expansion around Míriel’s childhood had an impact on her character this season.

The idea of sacrifice has become a major element of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2.

Many characters, ranging from Galadriel and Adar to Durin IV and Elendil, have had to make hard choices in order to keep their hopes of survival alive. Kavenagh believes that, in Nori’s case, she’s had to give up a lot in order to help the Stranger find his way.

“For Nori, she’s either sacrificed her desires in the sense of exploring the unknown when she was with the Harfoot community,” Kavenagh began. “There just wasn’t the space or the time to entertain her ideas. Now, the sacrifice is parting ways with the Stranger because it’s not something that I think she expects at the start of the season.”

“As we progress, as she has all these experiences and meets the Stoors, she realizes that maybe it’s time to just let go of their journey together for now,” Kavenagh finished.

Meanwhile, in Míriel’s case, sacrifice plays a much larger role as the queen-regent has been forced to face Pharazôn’s changes. Addai-Robinson states that with Míriel’s dedication to Elendil and the Númenorean people, she has a lot more to hold on to.

“What resonates with me [is] that idea of sort of a parting of ways,” Addai-Robinson started. “It’s like this happens in our lives. We have people that hold great significance that we maybe know for a short amount of time, or we know for many years.”

“At a certain point, sometimes your paths might diverge, and you see the change. It’s a very understandable, relatable thing of like, ‘This is this moment where we’re going to part and be our own people and our own individual,'” Addai-Robinson added.

In relation to Míriel’s storyline, Addai-Robinson stated that there’s something more grounded to it: “It’s definitely about the greater good. But the most human aspect of that is it’s sad to say goodbye. We don’t sort of say that in so many words. It’s definitely more resolute. It’s like, ‘Take this sword, and you know what you need to do.'”

Watch the full interview with Markella Kavenagh and Cynthia Addai-Robinson:

While the events in Númenor and Rhûn don’t necessarily affect what’s happening in Eriador in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2, some fans were holding out for some interactions that the previous season had, like Galadriel’s meeting with Míriel. Addai-Robinson hoped that Míriel would get to meet with Galadriel again this season.

“I was hopeful that we would get to sort of be a meeting of the minds again because we had some really cool scenes,” Addai-Robinson said. “I will be curious to see do their paths cross. If so, what [would] that look like, what that sort of Alliance would look like because Míriel was definitely very solid in saying Númenor will return.”

“It was this really private moment with her and Galadriel and Elendil and it was this call to arms. So, I hope they get to meet again! I hope so,” Addai-Robinson ended.

Going further into Míriel’s development, she had been through a lot in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2. However, her backstory and rise to power to Númenor’s throne was a mystery for fans that began back in Season 1. When talking about integrating Míriel’s childhood into her performance, Addai-Robinson said that she did think about doing so.

“It’s very interesting because I have the benefit of having some stuff I can use from the canon, but [with a lot of] gaps,” Addai-Robinson explained. “I did think a lot about what does it mean when you are in a lineage to sort of eventually become the leader one day.”

“It means your whole life, you will be taught the skills and given the lessons to prepare you one day for that. So, she would have a very rarified, privileged upbringing. But Númenor is an egalitarian society.”

Addai-Robinson went deeper into the core idea of utilizing both J. R. R. Tolkien’s materials with The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power‘s world: “This isn’t about having a silver spoon in your mouth. It’s more about all that you need to learn about human nature, people, leadership.”

“I always imagined that [Míriel and Pharazôn] were kids, and they grew up side by side, and there weren’t very many people that would necessarily understand her position… She really is, pun intended, on an island of one.

“I think she’s somebody who’s very emotionally intelligent and inherently understands people, and that’s going to prepare her for whatever lies ahead,” Addai-Robinson concluded.

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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 is now streaming on Prime Video.

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