Fans of The Rings of Power are seething with rage towards a character in season 2, and it's not who you'd expect

Full spoilers observe for The Rings of Power season 2 episode 5.

The Rings of Power season 2 has handed its halfway level – and the stakes have actually been raised in Númenor after what transpired in this season's fifth episode.

Indeed, with the discharge of season 2 episode 5, titled ‘Halls of Stone', early on-line discussions surrounding the hit Prime Video sequence' newest entry have been dominated by one sequence in specific: the dying of a minor however no much less widespread character.

This is your remaining spoiler warning: do not learn previous the picture under until you've got seen The Rings of Power‘s latest episode!

Kemen (left) has infuriated followers with his actions in season 2 episode 5 (Image credit score: ross)

So, who dies in ‘Halls of Stone'? Valandil, a Númenórean soldier who not solely served underneath Elendil, however who was (till his dying) additionally one of the best buddy of Isildur.

Some followers, together with myself, had sensed that Valandil would possibly not be lengthy for this world after his tense run-ins with Pharazon's son Kemen all through season 2. Nonetheless, his demise at Kemen's arms in the Amazon present's newest installment was surprising. That got here after Valandil had spared Kemen's life – albeit after Elendil pleaded with Valandil not to kill Kemen – following a bruising scuffle between The Faithful – Númenóreans who are nonetheless pleasant with the elves – and The King's Men, who are jealous of the immortal elven race.

#tropspoilers #TheRingsOfPower VALANDIL 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭September 12, 2024

As I discussed, Valandil is not a main character in Amazon's The Lord of the Rings prequel sequence, however the truth that he perished at Kemen's arms has infuriated the high-fantasy present's international viewers. Indeed, Kemen has slowly turn out to be one of the fanbase's most resented people, and this newest act has solely fueled viewers' hatred for the fictional being.

Need proof of that? Just head over to The Rings of Power‘s official Reddit page, the place viewers are already demanding that Kemen meet a notably horrible finish for what he did to Valandil. Ahmadthepianoguy led the cost on that entrance, writing “I need Kemen to die the worst possible death and I want them to spare none of the budget on the gore”, whereas Home-Furnishing mentioned they “haven’t felt this much hatred for a fictional character since GoT [Game of Thrones]”. The same sentiment was expressed by hanburgundy, who merely acknowledged “Middle earth finally has its Joffrey” – Joffrey being the detestable Lannister teen who inflicted distress on many of GoT‘s different homes earlier than he met his finish in season 4 episode 2 of the hit HBO sequence.

Comment from r/LOTR_on_Prime

Numerous different followers on Reddit, and on different social media websites like X/Twitter, additionally hit out at Kemen's life-taking act, however a lot – and I imply a lot – of them are expletive-laden feedback telling him the place to go, so I'll chorus from posting these ones right here. Among the less-colorful feedback, some Redditors, similar to Jayk_Dos31 and snostorm8, theorized that, given his malicious tendencies, Kemen looks like an apparent candidate to obtain one of the 9 rings for the Kings of Men. As The Rings of Power‘s creators lately advised me, these rings are “more seductive and sinister” than their elven counterparts, so the embittered and depraved Kemen is actually ripe sufficient to be corrupted by them – you already know, if he is gifted one, which looks like a stretch as a result of, properly, he is not a king.

But I digress. While Redditors reacted with fury over Kemen's actions, many X/Twitter customers spent their time mourning the loss of one of one of the best Prime Video exhibits' most notable aspect characters. Users together with cauldrononfire, boldlybookish, and eshiehoshi had been simply three of many people who lamented Valandil's demise, and I think extra viewers will accomplish that as soon as they've watched ‘Halls of Stone'.

Don’t even discuss to me about Valandil.#tropspoilers pic.twitter.com/HbSVdX4yrwSeptember 12, 2024

As at all times, I plan on bringing you much more information, exclusives, and fan reactions for The Rings of Power season 2 between now and its finale on October 3, so keep tuned to TechRadar for extra. In the meantime, learn some of my earlier protection in the part under.