In and among all the louder, more attention-grabbing relationships in Middle-earth in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2, a love story of the quieter, more forbidden sort was springing up across the sea in Numenor, between deposed Queen Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) and former sea captain Elendil (Lloyd Owen). While definitely a highlight of my personal viewing experience, implied romances like this aren’t necessarily intentional, instead arising from the chemistry between the actors. Even when such scorching chemistry does exist, it’s not unheard of for it to go ignored for the sake of the larger story. Fortunately, showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne knew exactly what a good thing they had with the forbidden love between queen and captain.
In a new interview with Collider’s Carly Lane, the pair were asked about Elendil and Míriel’s unspoken romance, and how it was built out in the second season. The pair confirmed that the whole thing stemmed from organic moments between the actors in Season 1, with Payne explaining:
“It was in Season 1, Episode 8, where they’re in the hull of that ship. Even on the page, it hadn’t necessarily been planned, and then we started seeing the dailies and we were like, “Oh my gosh, is there chemistry?”
McKay went on to add that they weren’t the only ones feeling the vibe between the two of them, with Wayne Yip, the director of the Season 1 finale also sensing the vibe between the characters:
“It was the day of shooting;. The director of the episode, Wayne Yip, and also, weirdly, some of our Amazon friends were like, ‘Maybe there should be a little vibe.’ And it just played really beautifully. Then that became one of the low-key subtexts of Season 2, where Elendil and Míriel are having a rough go of things, and they’re an anchor for each other. There’s been a vibe there.”
Lloyd Owen and Cynthia Addai-Robinson Were Also Feeling the Chemistry
The actors were also well aware of the chemistry they shared in the Season 1 finale, with Owen telling Lane in an interview earlier this year that the way the episode was shot allowed the two of them to explore these budding feelings between their characters, saying:
“And then there was something that happened, the particular way that [director] Wayne Yip shot it. Oftentimes, you’ll shoot one way, and then the camera will turn depending on that, but he shot it with two cameras, so we were able to play the scene very instinctively, without having to compromise at all. Sometimes, if you can get those two cameras going, then something can happen. JD and Patrick and Cynthia and I have sort of… something developed from that scene that they wrote.”
While Owen initially chalked up their bond to shared grief over all they’d lost, he added that Season 2, Episode 5, really changed the dynamic of their relationship again, by allowing them that same instinctual exploration of the scene:
“What you saw in Episode 5, when she stops him and puts his hand on his chest… There was something, again, slightly instinctively, that happened, because it was there so long. Sorry, you’re getting me back into that moment. But it was there so long that he had to do something, because it wasn’t just her stopping him talking. It was there for long enough that he thought, “Okay, maybe I do touch your hand.” And then she obviously removes it at that point. It was a lovely little ballet, really, of feelings all unexpressed, which are… they’re always the best, aren’t they?”
Owen goes on to say that because of their ranks and responsibilities, there’s a feeling that a romance between them is impossible. But never say never, I say. The first two seasons of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power are streaming now on Prime Video.
