LOTR: Rings Of Power Season 2 Bridges A Link Between Lore With Its Doors Of Durin
Contains potential spoilers for "The Rings of Power" Season 2
Season 1 of "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" wrapped up in October 2022. Midway through 2023, the buzz around Season 2 is starting to heat up. While it doesn't have a release date as of this writing, Season 2 did manage to wrap its principal photography without delays from the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes.
As the next installment of Amazon's Middle-earth adaptation approaches, fan site Fellowship of Fans has added fuel to the fires of anticipation by reporting a rumor that Kevin Eldon will play the Dwarf Narvi in Season 2. The exclusive scoop specifically reads, "NARVI the dwarf and friend of Celebrimbor will be played by Kevin Eldon in 'THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER' Season 2." The site also claims, in relation to the casting report, that "We will see the creation of the Doors of Durin during 'The Rings of Power' Season 2!"
Narvi is a canon character that plays a quiet yet crucial role in J.R.R. Tolkien's original writings. He's a Dwarven craftsman of the kingdom of Khazad-dûm who builds a close friendship with the Elven leader of Eregion, Celebrimbor. Together they build the famous Doors of Durin, the glowing blue entrance that the Fellowship of the Ring uses to enter Moria thousands of years later during "The Lord of the Rings."
Celebrimbor was played by Charles Edwards in Season 1 of "Rings of Power." However, despite the Elf's close affiliation with Dwarves in the source material, Edwards' character never entered Khazad-dûm, and his future bestie Narvi didn't even make an appearance. If the new rumor is true, it seems the two will finally connect in Season 2 and even forge their famous collaborative masterpiece to boot.
Throughlines are rare with Rings of Power and The Lord of the Rings
The fact that Season 2 of "The Rings of Power" could feature Narvi and Celebrimbor building the Doors of Durin together is kind of a big deal. There's no doubt that "The Rings of Power" marches to the beat of its own Middle-earth drum. Even so, when new creative minds work on adaptations within larger "universe" IPs (collaborative spaces like "Star Wars," the MCU, and Middle-earth), it's important to link new creations to past content whenever possible. This fosters familiarity in the mind of the audience and, when done well, can deepen the overall experience.
The issue with connecting "The Rings of Power" to the "Lord of the Rings" and "Hobbit" stories that audiences already know is the fact that they're set thousands of years apart. There are a few familiar faces, but these are primarily the handful of recognizable immortal beings that survive across the eons of time and space that J.R.R. Tolkien's world encompasses. Galadriel is one of these. Sauron and Elrond are also characters that show up in both stories. If The Stranger ends up being a wizard we've already met, like Gandalf or Saruman, he would also be a connection.
There are also a few key items and locations that span both tales. The Rings of Power, themselves, are an obvious connection. Mount Doom is another, as is mithril. Apart from these occasional throughlines, though, most of the people, places, and things we've seen are either separate or, at the least, dramatically different between the two stories.
Using the Doors of Durin to connect to Lord of the Rings lore
The Dwarvish kingdom of Khazad-dûm rides the line between vaguely familiar and completely new for viewers familiar with "The Lord of the Rings." That's because, in that story, we do see the underground kingdom, albeit in a ruined and abandoned state. It's been trashed by Orcs and terrorized by a Balrog for centuries. In comparison, during "The Rings of Power" story, the area is still vibrant and filled with light and life. See what we mean? Similar but different.
While the hope of Khazad-dûm eventually turns into the bitter dark of Moria, though, one thing that doesn't change at all between the "Rings of Power" and "Lord of the Rings" is its western entrance. The Doors of Durin are built during the Second Age and are still intact when Frodo, Gandalf, and company roll up a few thousand years later. They even still respond to the silly "friend" password that Celebrimbor and Narvi came up with millennia beforehand.
This makes the creation of the door more than just a cool part of "The Rings of Power" Second Age narrative. It's also another rare throughline between it and "The Lord of the Rings" story. Considering the fact that Season 1 of "Rings of Power" was received with mixed reactions from its audience, the ability to tie things back to the stories they already know and love so well is something not to be missed — and, based on this latest rumor, it seems showrunners J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay will seize the opportunity.