The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 star Ema Horvath explains why her character, Eärien, chooses Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle) over her own father. Based on The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, Prime Video’s fantasy series returned last month for its sophomore outing, following Sauron (Charlie Vickers) as he works to forge the titular rings. Troubles in the Middle-earth city of Númenor have been a key focus in the season 2 episodes thus far, with Eärien and her father, Captain Elendil (Lloyd Owen), finding themselves on opposites sides of a power struggle.

In a recent interview with Screen Rant, Horvath dives deep into Eärien’s headspace in The Rings of Power season 2, explaining that it’s a confluence of several factors that have shaped her decision to side with Pharazôn. Part of it, the actor explains, is her character’s own self-doubts and professional ambitions, but she stresses that the views Eärien subscribes to aren’t fringe ideas in Númenor, they’re the dominant ones. Check out Horvath’s comments below:

Yeah, [the Sea Guard disbanding] scene is interesting, because the power dynamic has shifted, and I think she’s a character who believes, at this point, that she is incapable of receiving love, and if she can’t have love, then she will settle for power and respect. And that’s obviously not true.

I think anyone watching the show is probably screaming at their TV and being like, “No, no, no! If you just talk to each other or something, there must be a way to rectify this.” [Chuckles] You kind of feel silly when you’re ordering someone with the gravitas of Lloyd Owen around on set, which I think it’s supposed to read that way.

But yeah, she doesn’t think love is possible for her. I don’t think she’s lost so many people in her life. She believes her brother to be dead, and she thinks her father doesn’t care, and therefore doesn’t, by extension, care about her, and so this is the next best thing.

That’s an element to it. I think it’s three things. I think it’s that, I think she has always had a bit of ambition, and the fact that this path opens up of Pharazôn being the head of the Builder’s Guild, and she wants to be an architect. That’s the second part of it. But the third part of it that I think sometimes gets lost is that these views are mainstream on Númenor.

Siding with Pharazôn and being swayed by his rhetoric is the mainstream popular view. The faithful are a small minority at this point in our story. So, I think it would also be very difficult for someone to listen to their parents, side with their parents, if the politics and cultural waves are heading one way. So it’s all three. She’s young enough to be swayed by that.

What Eärien Siding With Pharazôn Means For Númenor

Elendil Has Little Left Keeping Him In The City

Unlike in season 1, in which Númenor is largely peaceful, The Rings of Power season 2 has been sowing the seeds of the great city’s downfall. Pharazôn himself has actually featured relatively sparingly, but as a figurehead he’s played an important role over the last few episodes as Queen Regent Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) loses her grasp on the city. The consequences of this power struggle have mostly been explored thus far through Elendil’s storyline and his dynamic with Eärien and her nefarious new ally, Kemen (Leon Wadham).

Following his dismissal from his post as captain and the tragic death of Valandil (Alex Tarrant) in season 2, episode 5, Elendil could come to believe that there is little left for him in the city, especially since he believes his son, Isildur (Maxim Baldry) to be dead. His own daughter has seemingly elected to side with what is a fairly tyrannical ruling force, and he could choose to leave Númenor altogether. Without Elendil’s guiding hand, Eärien and Númenor could have dark days ahead.

Our Take On Eärien’s Pharazôn Allegiance In The Rings Of Power

Will Elendil & Eärien Work It Out?

Image via Prime Video

Eärien doesn’t yet know of Kemen’s murder of Valandil, and when she eventually learns of this it could end up swaying her allegiances. Her resolve, after all, doesn’t seem entirely steadfast, and it doesn’t seem likely that she would support such actions.

That being said, it’s likely that Kemen will spin his story so that Eärien doesn’t believe he stabbed Valandil in the back. As Horvath suggests in her comment, repairing the broken bond between Eärien and Elendil will probably mean putting the two Rings of Power characters in a room together so that they can talk things out, but the escalating conflict within Númenor means such a reunion may be off the cards, at least for now.