The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is pretty clearly setting up one of its biggest stories, though it may not arrive for a couple more seasons. The Prime Video series used its first season to establish this period of Middle-earth and its characters, but it looks as if upcoming episodes will begin to dive into the action. The trailer for The Rings of Power season 2 teases a variety of canon events to look forward to, but in one case, the brief moment shown in the promotional material indicates that there will be a bit of a wait before it plays out on screen.
Based on the trailer, The Rings of Power season 2 will take several large steps in the plot. Sauron has emerged in his Elf form, Annatar, which means the Rings of Power will undoubtedly be created in the coming episodes. Additionally, there are shots of Adar and the Orcs marching on what can be assumed is Eregion, so the Elves of Middle-earth are sure to begin their war with the Dark Lord in earnest. Then, there are the Dwarves, whose home of Khazad-dûm is already in danger in The Rings of Power season 2. Still, none of this will be as grand as the foreshadowed disaster in Númenor.
The Rings of Power season 1 introduced a charismatic and relatively kindly Pharazôn, but the trailer for season 2 hints that this politician is about to get more aggressive. Pharazôn only appears briefly in a scene where he draws a sword in front of a crowd of Númenóreans while a Great Eagle lands behind him. Though there isn’t much context, it seems to imply that Pharazôn will begin his coup in The Rings of Power season 2, setting the stage for Númenor’s downfall in season 3.
In Tolkien canon, Pharazôn becomes the king of Númenor and leads his people to believe that they should no longer live as lesser than the Valar, the demigods of The Lord of the Rings who live in Valinor (the Undying Lands) or the Elves who had been permitted to live with them. So, Pharazôn attempts to bring a fleet of ships to Valinor to attack the Valar. This foolish move brings on the wrath of the gods, who send a massive wave to destroy Númenor. This is the vision Queen Míriel saw in The Rings of Power, and the trailer for season 2 continues this overt foreshadowing.
Though The Rings of Power season 2 is taking steps toward Númenor’s downfall, there is still a long way to go before this disaster. As seen in season 1, Pharazôn isn’t a blatantly evil character and isn’t yet foolish enough to try to wage a war with the gods. So far, he only has a minor prejudice against Elves and a frustration with Queen Míriel. Based on Rings of Power‘s trailer, season 2 will see Pharazôn finally lose all faith in Númenor’s leadership, but it will take some manipulation from an evil force before it goes further than this.
Like most ominous decisions in The Lord of the Rings canon, Pharazôn attacks Valinor after being manipulated by Sauron, who takes the form of a Man at some point during the Second Age and becomes one of the king’s advisors. Since it seems that the Dark Lord will be in his Annatar form in Eregion and Mordor for much of The Rings of Power season 2, he likely won’t head to Númenor until season 3. Therefore, audiences will have to wait a while longer before the destruction of the island kingdom truly begins, but it should be entirely worth it.
The heavy foreshadowing of Númenor’s downfall a couple of seasons before it happens makes sense since this disaster will easily be one of the biggest stories of the series. There are several exciting plotlines in the Second Age, such as the fall of Khazad-dûm to the Balrog or Sauron’s siege of Eregion, but since the destruction of Númenor is an actor of the gods, it will be of an entirely different caliber. Additionally, this event begins Elendil and Isildur’s journey to establish Gondor and Arnor, so it holds significant weight in the overall story going forward.
The downfall of Númenor also results in Sauron being unable to take beautiful or seductive forms, which means a shift for this villainous character as well. So, it’s no surprise that The Rings of Power would want to ease into this story slowly, building up audience anticipation for the season when things finally begin to fall to pieces around the people of Númenor.