The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power welcomes several new faces to Middle-earth, including Amelia Kenworthy’s Mirdania. So, who is The Rings of Power Season 2’s new character, Mirdania?
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The Rings of Power Season 2’s Mirdania, Explained
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2’s Mirdania is an Elven-smith from Eregion. Here’s Amazon MGM Studios’ official bio for the character: “Mirdania is a protégé of master craftsman Celebrimbor. But her loyalty will be tested when an unexpected visitor arrives in Eregion, with the potential to alter the destiny of the Elven-smiths forever.” Need a refresher on Celebrimbor? He’s a major supporting character in The Rings of Power Season 1, and – using techniques learned from Halbrand Sauron – forged the three Elven Rings in the finale, “Alloyed.” Meanwhile, the “unexpected visitor” referenced in Mirdania’s bio is none other than Sauron himself!
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What are Celebrimbor, Mirdania, and their pals doing working with the dark lord? Don’t worry: they haven’t broken bad; they don’t even know they’re in cahoots with Sauron. As confirmed by Season 2’s SDCC trailer, Sauron presents himself to Celembrimbor as Annatar: an angelic being and “sharer of gifts.” In this case, his gift is knowledge – but with a price. “Annatar” will indeed teach the Elven-smiths how to make magical bling, however, their handiwork will come laced with Sauron’s evil, binding magic. Remember how (nearly) all the rings in The Lord of the Rings corrupted their wearers? This is the reason why.
Is Mirdania in The Lord of the Rings Books?
Nope, Mirdania isn’t in The Lord of the Rings, or any of J.R.R. Tolkien’s other Middle-earth books, either. Instead, she’s an original creation developed by showrunners J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay specifically for The Rings of Power Season 2. This is nothing new for Lord of the Rings adaptations; co-writer/director Peter Jackson invented several Elf characters for his Lord of the Rings and Hobbit movies. Evangeline Lilly’s Tauriel in the Hobbit trilogy is a notable example of this practice.
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Besides, there is wiggle-room for Mirdania to exist within existing canon. Tolkien describes multiple Elven-smiths working under Celebrimbor and Sauron; he just doesn’t name any of them. As such, Mirdania’s introduction in The Rings of Power Season 2 doesn’t contradict The Lord of the Rings lore, but rather expands on it. And fair enough, too; it would’ve been tricky to feature Celebrimbor’s assistants and not give any of them names!
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 premieres on Prime Video on August 29, 2024.
Published: Jul 31, 2024 07:21 am