Rings of Power Has Revealed the Series Antagonist, And It’s Not Sauron

Spoilers follow for this week’s episode of The Rings of Power! Considering the title of the series, fans have been expecting Sauron to be the antagonist of Amazon Prime’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power in a big way. So far that hasn’t been the case. Though the presence of the character has been felt throughout the first three episodes, Sauron hasn’t actually had much screen presence beyond a brief sequence in a montage. This week’s episode of the series however introduced a major player to the series without even making a big deal out of it, and frankly it’s a character that will be just as much of an antagonist for the entire series as Sauron.

Who is Ar-Pharazôn in The Rings of Power?

Revealed in this week’s episode of The Rings of Power, Ar-Pharazon is referred to as a chancellor of Númenor when introduced in the series, but don’t let his looks deceive you, this guy is bad news. The episode manages to tease some of the situation going on in Númenor, that their former king lives in exile after wishing to still be friendly with the Elves, but has now been replaced by his daughter, Queen Regent Míriel. The Rings of Power is being very sneaky about how he fits into the story though, not even offering a tease about Ar-Pharazon’s place in the larger narrative which will have drastic consequences and result in major changes to Middle-earth.

What does Ar-Pharazon do in The Lord of the Rings?

In the context of Tolkien’s mythology, Ar-Pharazon usurped the throne of Númenorthrough quite a bit of trickery (something which doesn’t appear to have happened yet in the TV series), but it’s worth noting that his pride in taking the role would only contribute to his downfall. Key to Ar-Pharazon’s rule as king however is that he would ally himself with Sauron, but not in the sense of a traditional partnership. Ar-Pharazon would use the resources available to him as the leader of Númenorto make Sauron subservient to him, or so he thought. With a wealthy and powerful king now under his wing so to speak, Sauron influences Ar-Pharazon to rebel against the Valar (Middle-earth’s godlike deitities) and wage war on Valinor, hoping to gain eternal life in the process.

Ar-Pharazon’s pride and tyranny would be the ruin of Númenor though, with Ilúvatar (essneitllay God in Middle-earth) flooding the island and completely wiping it away from the map because of his actions. The reach of Ar-Pharazon’s effect on Middle-earth didn’t end there however, as his taing the throne of Númenor and becoming a tyrant would be further push for Elendil to sail for Middle-earth with his sons and then found the kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor. In short, the actions of Ar-Pharazon will end up having a direct effect on the larger The Lord of the Rings narrative, but he’s going to kill a lot of people to get there.

When does The Rings of Power take place in the Middle-earth timeline?

It’s worth noting that The Rings of Power is largely condensing the timeline of moments within The Second Age from what is established with Tolkien’s texts. Many of the events that we’re seeing play out on screen are happening simultaneously while in the official timeline of Middle-earth may be spread out by hundreds of years. This is a feature, not a bug, for The Rings of Power though.

“This is one of the most massive canvases that any storyteller has ever really had,” series co-creator J. D. Payne told Total Film. Speaking about Isildur’s presence in the story, which has been moved up, he adds, “That’s one of 50 examples I could pull out of places or people or cultures or events that will eventually pay off in this massive way, in the 40th hour through 50th, in hours zero through eight. And now from nine through to 16 – we’re starting Season 2, and we’re saying, ‘How are we going to plant those seeds so that we can reap the harvest years down the road?’”

How to Watch The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

The new series can only be streamed on Amazon Prime Video, be it directly through an internet browser or on a Prime Video app on a Smart TV or other device. The series is only available to watch for Amazon Prime subscribers, available on a monthly or annual subscription, but you can sign up for it here.