Why Lord of the Rings never went to Númenor before The Rings of Power
After confining itself to largely familiar Middle-earth locales in its first two episodes, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerhas finally shown us a place never depicted on screen before: Númenor. Indeed, much of the run time of the Prime Video series’ third episode, “Adar,” is spent on the island kingdom, which — despite its legendary status — never actually appears in either J.R.R. Tolkien’s original trilogy or the Peter Jackson movies it inspired.
That’s right: The history, culture, and geography of Númenor are all covered in The Lord of the Rings’ appendices, as well as not-so-accessible tomes published after Tolkien’s death, The Silmarillionand Unfinished Tales. Because of this, Númenor’s introduction in The Rings of Power almost certainly left more casual fans scratching their heads over how the island kingdom fits within wider Middle-earth lore.
If that’s you, this handy roundup will bring you up to speed on all things Númenórean in no time — including the kingdom’s location, origins, current ruler, and connection to The Lord of the Rings.
[Ed. note: The following covers events not yet depicted in The Rings of Power.]
The star-shaped island of Númenor (also known by other names, including Westernesse) is, as Galadriel notes in “Adar,” the westernmost point of Middle-earth. Tolkien describes its position in the Sundering Seas as closer to Valinor, the continent on which the godlike Valar live, than to Middle-earth.
It’s the logical place for Galadriel to wind up after being so close to Valinor. And it also tracks with Númenor’s seafaring culture, as their civilization was renowned for the skill of both its shipbuilders and sailors. The Númenóreans’ nautical prowess also allowed them to make numerous trips to
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