Diksha Sundriyal
Prime Video’s ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ takes the audience back to the time when the Rings of Power hadn’t been forged yet and Sauron hadn’t surfaced in his full form. The kingdom of Numenor is introduced in the third episode, where the hatred against the elves is picking pace, throwing the kingdom into turmoil with Galadriel’s arrival. With the King of Numenor, Tar-Palantir, unable to rule the kingdom, his daughter takes charge and becomes Queen Regent. It is quickly proved that Miriel is a force to be reckoned with and definitely someone that Middle-Earth needs on their side.
In the fifth episode of the show, Galadriel finally succeeds in getting the queen to sail to Middle-Earth and fight against the rising danger of Sauron. But before she leaves Numenor, Miriel receives a warning from her father, who asks her not to go. He says that darkness awaits her there. Does this mean that by walking into what will turn out to be a full-fledged war against Sauron, Miriel is walking towards her death? Let’s find out. MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD
Queen Miriel’s Fate
One of the things about prequels is that the fate of a lot of characters is already sealed, which often makes their story all the more tragic. For Miriel, a similar fate looms on the horizon, but the journey to that point is long and bloody. While her father is right in believing that his daughter and all those who have followed her to Middle-Earth will face darkness unlike they have ever known before, it won’t yet be the end of Miriel’s story. Not according to the books, at least. But then, TV series adaptations are known to stray a little bit from their source material, and ‘Rings of Power’ has a lot of space to explore Miriel’s story from a slightly tweaked point of view.
In the books, Miriel is the rightful heir to the throne of Numenor after her father, Tar-Palantir. However, she is usurped by her cousin, Pharazon. In the Amazon series, the hints of Pharazon’s capability to seize power from Miriel have already been laid down. We see the influence he holds over the public, and how easily he can sway their moods. People also seem to believe in him more than their own queen. In fact, his own son doesn’t hesitate from suggesting that he go against the orders of Miriel and not go to Middle-Earth. As of now, Pharazon has displayed a more loyal side to the Queen, though his political brain certainly thinks beyond simply following his cousin. How does this factor into Miriel’s fate?
After Pharazon takes the throne of Numenor for himself, he doesn’t kill Miriel, as opposed to what would have happened were they in a universe like ‘Game of Thrones’. Unfortunately for Miriel, she has to live long enough to see her island kingdom being destroyed by the wrath of Valar, which has already been hinted at in the show. Miriel has visions of a great wave taking over Numenor and destroying everything. She shares it with Galadriel, who suggests that this fate can be stopped if Numenor marches to Middle-Earth and stops the evil in its tracks.
Unbeknownst to both of them, this action is what will bring about the destruction of Numenor. Previously, Gil-galad, while talking to Elrond, had said that Galadriel might stoke the fire of the very evil that she was trying to put out, and this will prove true, in a number of ways. Eventually, Sauron will be brought to Numenor and he will convince Pharazon, now the king, to march on the forbidden lands of Valinor, which will bring about the wrath of the Valar. Miriel will be around at the time when the waves begin to come crashing down on Numenor, and that’ll mark her end.
Read More: Who is Whispering to Isildur in Rings of Power, Explained
