Warning: spoilers ahead for The Rings of Power episode 4You heard The Lord of the Rings: The Right of Power right - Elrond's brother was the very first king of Númenor. The Rings of Power's Elves and Númenóreans couldn't sit further apart, geographically as much as culturally. While Team Gil-Galad have spent centuries as Middle-earth's dominant force, the Númenóreans have largely remained isolated on their personal island paradise. While the two civilizations cooperated initially, Númenor takes a dimmer view of pointy-eared folk during The Rings of Power's timeline, and the bad blood now runs deep between races.
Those close early relations between the Elves and Númenóreans don't seem quite so surprising after The Rings of Power episode 4 ("The Great Wave"). A previous scene between Morfydd Clark's Galadriel and Lloyd Owen's Elendil saw the latter mention "Elros" as the builder of Númenor's Hall of Lore. Galadriel acknowledged knowing Elros, but pointed out she was closer to his brother, Elrond. In The Rings of Power episode 4, Elros is spoken of once again, but this time as "Elros Tar-Minyatur" the first king. These Elros mentions all refer to the same man, but how can the sibling of an elf possibly rule over a kingdom of men such as Númenor?
In J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth mythology, Elrond and Elros were the sons of mother Elwing, an elf, and father Eärendil, whose heritage was half elf and half human, meaning their children inherited the blood of both races. Elrond and Elros were both very young when the War of Wrath against Morgoth began, and played no great part in its unfolding. As Elrond describes in The Rings of Power episode 4, however, their father proved instrumental in Morgoth's defeat, sailing to Valinor and convincing the Valar to lend their strength. As reward, Eärendil's two sons were given a choice between their elven and human bloodlines. Elrond obviously chose his mother's side, and stayed in Middle-earth with the Elves, whereas Elros chose to become human. When the Valar then raised Númenor as a reward for the men who fought against Morgoth, Elros - the mighty son of Eärendil who turned down immortality - was appointed their first king.
Elros' Fate & Lord Of The Rings Legacy Explained
Even though Elros technically rejected his elf half, he lived an exceptionally long time - even for a Númenórean - and ruled his island kingdom for over 400 years. Though Tolkien never specifies whether Elrond and Elros (who subsequently became known as Tar-Minyatur) stayed in touch following their Second Age separation, Númenor enjoyed a healthy friendship with the Elves during its early days. Some of Gil-Galad's followers might've made trips to Númenor during the reign of Tar-Minyatur, and Elrond could've been among these visitors.
Once Elros eventually died, the line of succession continued across centuries through to Tar-Palantir and his daughter Míriel, who rule as King and Queen Regent during The Rings of Power. Though the ruling line ends with Míriel, Elros' blood passed down through the descendants of Princess Silmariën, who was denied the throne on the basis of being a woman. Silmariën's line would endure far longer thanks to figures of legend such as Elendil, Isildur and, eventually, Aragorn. This does, of course, mean The Lord of the Rings' golden couple - Aragorn and Arwen - are distantly related, since the latter's uncle is also Aragorn's great-grandfather over many generations. Not quite Westeros-worthy, but still a bit icky.
As well as ensuring the survival of Elros' bloodline, Silmariën's descendants (known as the Faithful) honored his beliefs and values when Númenor's kings would not. As seen in The Rings of Power, Númenor gradually rejects the Elves, the Valar, and the traditions Elros founded their kingdom upon. These qualities survived through the Faithful, were brought to Middle-earth by Elendil and his sons, and were finally restored by Aragorn upon his ascension to the throne in The Return of the King.
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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power continues Thursday/Friday on Prime Video.