Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and Tolkien's Middle-earth lore.Khazad-dûm, a.k.a. Dwarrowdelf, was once the celebrated realm of the dwarves, founded by Durin the Deathless, the first King of the Dwarves of Durin’s folk. It is understood that its formation predates that of the Sun and the Moon, with the esteemed land, at one point, holding the status of the most celebrated Dwarven kingdom. All had been thriving, too, in this realm of the dwarves — until the Third Age, the year 1980 to be precise, when the inhabitants fell prey to their greed for mithril, a metal they habitually mined and hoarded for wealth. One such unfortunate occasion proved to be their doom, when the deep mines gave way to a Balrog of Morgoth, a creature so terrible in its wrath, that it made light work of the Dwarven homeland, slaying its king and forcing the Longbeards into exile. The incredible Khazad-dûm had fallen.
With Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power bringing in its own twist to the events predating J.R.R Tolkien’s established canon, a civil, to the point of bordering on tender, relationship between the elves and the dwarves in the Second Age, established explicitly through the series’ second episode "Adrift," has fans speculating whether the show is moving to set up the elven-smiths as a catalyst in the fall of the Longbeards’ motherland. This rather intriguing take would certainly explain the hostility between the two groups of humanoids in the Lord of the Rings events known to follow in the Third Age.
“Adrift” sees an introduction to two vast worlds; Eregion, the mountainous land of the elves, as well as Khazad-dûm, the mystical realm of the dwarves — both embodying peak glory and beauty, from the former’s long scenic towers to the latter’s lush water streams. But it is what takes place among these two kingdoms that is truly eye-catching, and perhaps slightly eyebrow-raising, considering the end of this particular story, isn’t all too pleasing. Elrond (Robert Aramayo) crosses over to Khazad-dûm to pay a visit to his old comrade Prince Durin IV (Owain Arthur) and the depth of their shared bond is immediately brought to light through the elf affectionately referring to the dwarf as his "brother," who on his part, harbors internalized feelings of betrayal from the other man’s prolonged absence from his life — probably the last reason for an elf-dwarf dispute imaginable!
“Twenty years may be the blink of an eye to an elf,” remarks Durin, speaking of the elves’ immortality, “but I’ve lived an entire life in that time!” Elrond’s subsequent apology, coupled with a friendship test of sorts, and a warm visit to the old friend’s house — one filled, quite interestingly, with tales of dwarves mining and tunneling, too — earn him forgiveness.
However, it is after the elf’s departure that things take more of a riveting turn, when Prince Durin reveals to his father King Durin III (Peter Mullan), the fact of the elves being in the dark about the dwarves’ possessions — seemingly an allusion to their Mithril-clad mines. King Durin’s glaringly cryptic warning lines in reply — “There can be no trust between hammer and rock,” he says skeptically — come across as foreshadowing in its darkest form, with a foreboding sense of lingering doom, likely brought on to Khazad-dûm, in one way or another, from the elven-smiths — especially if Elrond’s dazzled outlook upon entering Khazad-dum, with its mighty mines and green pastures fit for farming, is anything to go by.
Whatever the case may be, there seems to be substantial hinting towards the elves going on to play a major role in bringing about the preordained fall of their counterparts’ treasured homeland of Khazad-dûm — the westward gate to which they have already helped build — be it intentional, as to stage an alliance for getting their hands on the priceless Mithril, or unintentional, as in perhaps a mining deal put into effect from Prince Durin’s side to honor the elf-dwarf camaraderie. All remains mere speculation for now.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres new episodes weekly every Friday on Prime Video.