Who Is Narvi, the Newest Dwarf in ‘Rings of Power’ Season 2?

We are finally heading back to Middle Earth as the second season of Amazon Prime Video’s eyewateringly expensive series Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is set to arrive in just over a month. With a new season comes new characters, including a new dwarven face in the form of Narvi.

As the show continues to expand the lore of Middle Earth, with access to the appendices of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, we will discover more about the making of the Rings of Power. Already, Sauron has deceived us in the first season, disguising himself as the human Halbrand, but his work is not yet done. We know he will return disguised as Annatar to continue what he started, but with the elf rings already forged, the second season will look more closely at the dwarves and their role in the rings’ creation.

Dwarves are one of the tougher and more ingenious races of Middle Earth. With their sturdy builds, strong hands, and great eye for detail, the dwarves are industrial and stoic. The dwarves are well known for their craftsmanship, and one such dwarf in particular was famed for it. Meet Narvi, a dwarf of the Second Age of Middle Earth who is now making his entrance in Rings of Power’s second season, revealed today in an exclusive image from Entertainment Weekly.

Who is Narvi?

Narvi appears in the Lord of the Rings’ appendices as a craftsman who worked closely with Celebrimbor to create the Doors of Durin for the West Gate of Khazad-dûm. The two are said to have a good relationship, but that may be tested as Sauron worms his way between them all, stoking distrust amongst the races and even in-fighting. Talking to Entertainment Weekly, actor Kevin Eldon, who will be portraying Narvi, said of his character,

“He’s weaving in and out of the action throughout the season. He’s only mentioned in Tolkien’s appendices, and he’s described as a great craftsman. [Showrunners] J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay had little to go on, but I think we have successfully turned this footnote into a flesh-and-blood character. As well as being this fantastic architect, we see in season 2 that he’s an adviser as well. He’s a right-hand man of King Durin.”

We aren’t yet sure what role Narvi will have in the forging of the seven rings for the dwarves. He may act as a go-between between Celebrimbor and King Durin. His allegiance to his King may be tested, though, as the negative influence of the rings takes of Durin III. Eldon continued to explain,

“Narvi has an interesting journey in season 2, as the king increasingly falls under the power of the rings. These rings are getting under his skin; he’s becoming less logical and showing signs of madness. So Narvi has to make a very difficult choice about whether he obeys his natural instinct, which is to be loyal and to follow the king’s wishes or to abandon that very basic requirement of his life and instead show more loyalty to Khazad-dûm? He gets to a point where he has to leap one way or the other. I’m not going to tell you what he chooses, but it’s certainly a dilemma for him.”

After the blow-out fight he had with his son, Durin IV, Durin III needs to be making friends, but it sounds like the power of the rings will further drive a wedge between him and his family as well as his loyalties to the dwarves of Khazad-dûm.

It will be interesting to see what the Rings of Power does with a character that only receives a small mention in Tolkein’s work, so we will be sure to look out for him when the next season lands on Amazon Prime Video on August 29.