Chaos is brewing in the world of Men in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2. Acting as a prequel to J.R.R. Tolkien’s iconic novel, season 1 of the Prime Video show saw the island of Númenor working to preserve the peaceful state of their land, even with Galadriel’s warnings of Sauron’s return. The Rings of Power season 1’s ending left Númenor in a state of early turmoil with the death of King Tar-Palantir and Míriel’s blinding during Mordor’s rise in the Southlands.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 picks up with Míriel struggling to maintain her power in Númenor as her cousin, Pharazôn, begins turning the tide in his favor with the local population. With the appearance of a Great Eagle swaying support in his favor, Míriel goes into hiding as Pharazôn takes the throne, though the former queen doesn’t give up easily as his son Kemen begins causing more problems for the island, creating a Game of Thrones-like game of political chess.

The ensemble Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 cast sees the returns of Trystan Gravelle as Pharazôn, Cynthia Addai-Robinson as Míriel and Leon Wadham as Kemen, as well as Galadriel’s Morfydd Clark, Sauron’s Charlie Vickers, Robert Aramayo’s Elrond and The Strangers’s Daniel Weyman, among many others. Raising the stakes not only for the Elves, but also for the island of Men, season 2 continues to be a bold and exhilarating expansion of Tolkien’s world.

With the latest season just over halfway through, Screen Rant interviewed Trystan Gravelle to discuss The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2, Pharazôn’s rise to power in Númenor, filming the Great Eagle scene, his and Kemen’s fractured relationship this season, and what to expect from the power struggle between Pharazôn and Míriel in the rest of the season.

Pharazôn’s Ambitions Are a “Typical Example” Of The Dangers Of Men In Middle-Earth

“It’s a case now of opportunity meeting preparation“

Screen Rant: So I love that this season with Pharazôn, we’re seeing almost this Game of Thrones-like mental planning as he tries to win the crown from Míriel. What is it like sort of flipping that dynamic as we saw that he was somewhat of a supporter of her, at least in public, for much of season 1?

Trystan Gravelle: It’s a typical example, really, of the world of Men that, of course, you can offer your support to people, but I think we all hide our ambitions, as well, sometimes. And some better than others. I guess it’s a case now of opportunity meeting preparation. He’s been preparing for it his whole life, and what do you do? I think with Pharazôn, maybe he’s not adverse to using underhand tactics to get his way. That doesn’t mean that that’s bad. I mean, if we’re looking at it from a moral standpoint, is there such a thing as morality when it comes to playing hard with warfare and with crowns and everything? All’s fair in love and war, and I think that’s the mentality that he comes from.

Knowing Pharazôn’s Full Arc Didn’t Change Gravelle’s Approach To Season 2

“It’s a marathon, not a sprint“

So talking about preparation, this is a show that J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay have obviously mapped out quite extensively into the future, and I’m curious how much you knew this was going to be your arc this season, and maybe how that influenced both your season 1 and your season 2 performances?

Trystan Gravelle: Well, I’d read all the books and everything, so we have an inkling of how it goes and everything, but you can’t really play the end at the beginning. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. And also, it’s a huge privilege. Not everybody gets that privilege to get their teeth into a character, knowing where the story’s going, but letting it breathe. You’ve got the appendices, and now you get to flesh out those bones, put some flesh on the bones. So, that was an enormous privilege for me, I think, as well.

I was very keen on it being very nuanced. I know we’re seeing him as some sort of Garry Kasparov, Magnus Carlsen, at the moment, of the kingdom. Playing these chess games with everybody, but it is coming from a place of what he believes is the right path for his people and for the whole island of Númenor. Everybody is having this massive existential crisis that they’ve become very disenchanted, and this is a generational thing. This isn’t just happening now, it’s over generations. People have gone, “Well, why are we in this paradise? Why have we been put here? Why are there rules, as well?” It’s a little bit Bluebeard-y, you know, don’t open the cabinet, don’t sail west.

I think we’ve probably had enough of being treated like second-class citizens in Middle-earth. So I think now’s the time to ask some really hard questions on where do we go from here. I don’t see him as a nasty piece of work. I’m sure everybody can be if pushed, but I’ve never ever been in charge of a kingdom or anything. [Laughs] What would you do if that passage to a better life for you and your people was blocked? What are the lengths that you would go to?

Filming Season 2’s Great Eagle Scene Was “Absurd” For Gravelle

“I have a little giggle to myself about everything, get it out of the way“

Image via Prime Video

I want to talk about the grand spectacle of the Giant Eagle that comes and signals that Pharazôn should take over. Your storyline has been very much grounded in character-to-character interaction thus far, and in comparison to season 1, this is the biggest set piece that Pharazôn has been involved in. I’d love to hear what it’s like filming that on the day, having to imagine this grand animal coming to you and feeling the spirit of what that scene is meant to be.

Trystan Gravelle: It’s incredible. It’s brilliant. You’re living the dream. Obviously, it would be absurd, we’re never going to get a bird that big. [Laughs] But once you’re over the absurdity of it, or I’m as an actor, it’s just wonderful just to get there and just to let your imagination run. You’ve got everything else, the set is built, the people that are there in the costumes, and everything. You’ve just got to push it that extra few yards with imagining this big eagle in there with these wind machines and everything, it’s incredible. You’re pinching yourself. This is your job that you go to. I think, sometimes, I do tend to look at things. I get it out of the way before we start filming the absurdity of every scene or everything. Everything that we do in life is just ridiculous and absurd, isn’t it? So, I have a little giggle to myself about everything, get it out of the way, and then crack on with business. It was a wonderful day that, that was great. Everybody was so professional and so wonderful to be around. The supporting artists, the crew, the designers, everybody was there. We thought, “Everybody gives it their all, it’s going to look incredible.”

Kemen’s Relationship With His Father Is One Of Trying To Please His Father (& Failing)

“…it’s certainly an interesting path that he’s going down“

Image via Prime Video

So, so in episode 5, we see Pharazôn start to make his changes to Númenor, but we also see Kemen really start sort of going power hungry as he gets to be his father’s right-hand man. I’d love to hear about exploring that dynamic and why you think it is his son is going down this sort of villainous path than maybe Pharazôn is.

Trystan Gravelle: Yes, well, I guess it’s trying to prove to his father. I think it’s a tough one, because Pharazôn has had an upbringing where he knows where he’s from, he knows what his future entails, and he’s done it all. He’s been the sea captain that Elendiel is. He’s done all that. And I guess, in season 1, and right at the beginning of season 2, we see him in his robes — and I quite like that, as well, because they flop on you, sometimes, the robes, do you know what I mean? You could go to the gym and pump yourself up as much as you want, but when you’ve got silk robes over you, it softens one.

And I think that’s great, because it shows, again, us men, we just fall into the roles that we play sometimes, and he’s a chancellor, he’s loving life at the moment. Obviously, he wants a little bit more, but there’s a little bit of — not complacency, but just slightly, there’s the potential of running to fact. And then, of course, we see him now step up, and now we’re going to see him rediscover his past glory, and that’s going to be an interesting thing for him.

But with Kemen, Kemen doesn’t know his mother. He’s been given everything, I guess, the best possible start in life, but has kind of squandered those chances. Obviously, that’s one to ask Leon, as well, with what Kemen is like as a person, because we’re all different and stuff. But I think Pharazôn is a very tough man to please, and doesn’t give much away. And yeah, he’s a chess player, so that can be hard, I think, to have your father’s acceptance and your father’s love and for him to say, “Well, I’m proud of what you’ve done.” And there’s a tendency, maybe, to go overboard with wanting to scream at his dad, “Look at me, just acknowledge me. I’m my own person.” I would imagine. But yeah, it’s certainly an interesting path that he’s going down.

Míriel Is In “For One Hell Of A Time” To Regain Her Power From Pharazôn In Season 2

“…there’s going to need to be a remodeling“

Image via Prime Video

I see I have time for one more question, so another thing I wanted to ask was, we’ve talked about how Pharazôn is very much a mental chess player. Míriel goes into, not hiding, per se, but she flies under the radar for a little while, and I’m curious, what can you tease audiences about what’s to come from that power struggle between them with her in hiding, in a sense, and you making your own plans?

Trystan Gravelle: Well, I mean, I think she’s in for one hell of a time, isn’t she? Because it’s totally the opposite of the direction that I want to go in. So, there’s going to need to be a remodeling, I guess, of your vision and how you see Númenor going. It’s going to be quite bumpy for her. Because, obviously, we’re going to have to work on her, how she sees the world, and she’s not in a position right now just for her opinion to be absolute and for everybody to go along with it. So, she’s going to have to compromise a lot of her beliefs, and a lot of what she perceives as reality is going to change, I think, because of what happened, the rug pulling that happened.

About The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2

In Season Two of The Rings of Power, Sauron has returned. Cast out by Galadriel, without army or ally, the rising Dark Lord must now rely on his own cunning to rebuild his strength and oversee the creation of the Rings of Power, which will allow him to bind all the peoples of Middle-earth to his sinister will. Building on Season One’s epic scope and ambition, the new season plunges even its most beloved and vulnerable characters into a rising tide of darkness, challenging each to find their place in a world that is increasingly on the brink of calamity. Elves and dwarves, orcs and men, wizards and Harfoots… as friendships are strained and kingdoms begin to fracture, the forces of good will struggle ever more valiantly to hold on to what matters to them most of all… each other.