The Rings Of Power: King Durin III Might Be Getting A Famous Middle-Earth Necklace In Season 2
In a recent For Your Consideration event that Amazon Studios put on for "The Rings of Power," a number of the cast members from the Middle-earth series answered questions from various news outlets and guests. The splashiest piece of news to come from the panel was Galadriel actress Morfydd Clark's tease that Season 2 will bring new rings and further exploration of her character's possession of Nenya, one of the Three Elven Rings.
However, the friendly interrogation didn't stop with Clark's comments. It also extended to others, including Peter Mullan, who plays Durin III, the elderly King of Khazad-dûm. During a Q&A with Deadline in connection with the FYC event, the Scottish actor also hinted at an impending increase in the quantity of finger-sized jewelry circulating around Middle-earth. He started by pointing out the obvious, "There are more rings; the show is called 'The Rings of Power.'" After this rhetorical statement, the kingly character added the cryptic line, "Maybe I'll be getting a new necklace, who knows?"
This could be little more than an actor joking about the jewelry-obsessed nature of the story that he's acting in. Then again, it could be a deep-cut reference to one of the most famous achievements of Dwarven craftsmen in all of Middle-earth history: the Nauglamír.
What is the Nauglamír?
Before any rings are forged by Sauron and the Elves, the primary power trinkets in Middle-earth are called the Silmarils. These are three hallowed jewels forged in the depths of time by the scandalous Elven smith and antihero, Fëanor — a fella who also happens to be Galadriel's uncle and the Elf who most likely made the Palantíri, the seeing stones that plague Pippin in "The Lord of the Rings."
The entire First Age of Middle-earth history is largely spent fighting over the ownership of these three jewels. Most of that time, they're possessed by the original Dark Lord, Morgoth, but eventually, one is recaptured and incorporated into another iconic piece of First Age jewelry called the Nauglamír, also referred to as the "Necklace of the Dwarves. "The Silmarillion" describes this neckpiece of exquisite Dwarven craftsmanship as "the most renowned of their works in the Elder Days." The book further describes the jewel-laden strand thusly, "It was a carcanet of gold, and set therein were gems uncounted from Valinor; but it had a power within it so that it rested lightly on its wearer as a strand of flax, and whatsoever neck it clasped it sat always with grace and loveliness."
The Nauglamír is a highly-coveted piece of jewelry made by Dwarves for the Elvish king Finrod (Galadriel's brother who is later killed by Sauron). Interestingly, "The Silmarillion" specifically states that it was Finrod's most beloved possession of all his treasures. After Finrod's death, a Silmaril is added to the piece, making it more wondrous than any other possession ...and naturally making it a point of contention for, well, everyone.
What happens to the Nauglamír
As is the case with most of the precious trinkets and knickknacks in Middle-earth, the entire history of the Nauglamír is too long to summarize in a few hundred words. Suffice it to say, once the Silmaril is added to the already impressive necklace, it attracts ethically-compromised individuals from every corner of Middle-earth. At one point, a group of Dwarves ambush and kill an Elven King to steal it. That same group is counter-ambushed on their trip home by a different group of Elves and Ents, and the prize is reclaimed. From there, more Elves show up and end up fighting each other for the prize, destroying an entire Elvish kingdom in the process.
Elrond's mother, Elwing, eventually takes the Silmaril and escapes in what is, again, a long story. For our purposes, though, what matters is that when Elwing escapes with the hallowed jewel, we don't hear what happens to the rest of its fabulous housing. The Nauglamír just disappears from the Middle-earth history books.
All of this happens in the lead-up to the beginning of the Second Age, when "The Rings of Power" series is set. This leaves it entirely open for the show to incorporate the famous Dwarven necklace into its storyline, especially considering the fact that it already tied the Balrog into the narrative several thousand years too early. Perhaps Mullan's comment about a necklace is just silly banter from a veteran actor who knows how to throw fans off the scent. Then again, maybe, just maybe, we'll see the Nauglamír unexpectedly show up in Season 2, pulled forward from the depths of time.
Corrupting jewelry is the name of the game for Season 2
Whether it's the Nauglamír or a Dwarven Ring of Power, either way, Durin III, his son Durin IV, and his daughter-in-law, Princess Disa, are in for a bumpy ride. With Sauron officially revealed and Rings of Power being forged en masse, it's only a matter of time before the Dark Lord attempts to corrupt the Dwarves with his shiny, overpowered trinkets.
Mullan hinted at this as well. Deadline said that, while he wouldn't give any more details on the necklace, the actor did confirm that Durin the III and IV will continue to have troubles heading into Season 2. "My guy goes through some things that change him," the actor explained, "So his son is reacting to a very different father; he's not the father that you see. He's someone else."
The two relatives have a destructive conversation toward the end of Season 1, but there's no indication that they can't patch things up in the future. These darker hints, though, seem to indicate that things are only going to get worse. The question is, will it be the promising potential of mithril, a set of corrupting Rings of Power, a dazzling Dwarven heirloom necklace, or some other treasure-related item that will be the issue that tears them further asunder?