Where is the Ring of Barahir in Rings of Power

 Some minor book and show spoilers

Those who have watched the Peter Jackson films may have noticed that Saruman deduces Aragorn's lineage from a particular ring he wears which is described to him by Grima. This ring has a long history and ever since I saw Galadriel and Elendil together I have been wondering whether it will be included in the show and when we might see it.

The ring has a long history, while it is a piece of cicular jewellery it has no connection to Sauron. It was brought to Middle-earth from Valinor by Finrod (who you may remember was Galadriel's brother). The tale of this particular ring is so interconnected with the tale of Aragorn's ancestry that I will permit myself a quick dive into Tolkien's mythology before I consider it's potential role in the show.

The ring is described in the Silmarilllion as 'like to two serpents, whose eyes were emeralds, and their heads met beneath a crown of golden flowers, that one upheld and the other devoured'

The image below is of the prop used in the films:

Finrod gave the ring to Barahir as a gift for saving his life when the Siege of Angband (Morgoth's fortress) was broken in the Dagor Bragollach. We are told that 

'The King Finrod Felagund, hastening from the south, was cut off from his people and surrounded with small company in the Fen of Serech; and he would have been slain or taken, but Barahir came up with the bravest of his men and made a wall of spears about him; and they cut their way out of the battle with great loss. Thus Felagund escaped, and returned to his deep fortress of Nargothrond; but he swore an oath of abiding friendship and aid in every need to Barahir and all his kin, and in token of his vow he gave to Barahir his ring.'

 The ring came to Beren (Barahir's son) following his father's death at the hands of Morgoth's Orcs. One of Beren's many great deeds was tracking down this group of Orcs and retrieving the Ring. The tale of Beren and Luthien is one of Tolkien's best and most personal stories. The names Beren and Luthien are engraved on his and his wife's graves. The tale is long but the part that concerns us is this. Beren is tasked with retrieving a Silmaril from Morgoth's crown as the bride price of Luthien. This is a seeminly imposible task but he resolves to attempt it. He calls upon Finrod to keep his oath and although Finrod agrees two of Feanor's sons are in Nargothrond and dissuade the other Elves there from helping Beren.They do this because they have sworn an oath that they will attack any who witholds a Silmaril from them, this leads directly to events known as the Kinslayings.

Finrod renounces his Kingship and resolves to help Beren, Beren, Finrod and a few loyal Elves set out on the seemingly hopeless quest. They are captured by Sauron who has set himself up in a tower he captured. This tower was the original Minas Tirith (Tower of Guard) and was built by Finrod before being taken. It has now become a place of horror and is known as Tol-in-Gaurhoth (The Isle of Werewolves). Though Sauron has captured them he does not know who they are and one-by-one sends werewolves to kill them in an effort to find out who they are. Eventually only Finrod and Beren remain. A wolf comes for Beren but Finrod breaks his bonds and kills it but is himself mortally wounded. Beren is saved by Luthien and their quest is ultimately successful. They are the Direct ancestors of Earendil, Elros and Elrond and the Kings of Numenor. The ring does not pass to Miriel as it was given to a daughter who was passed over for the kingship, she is the ancestor of Elendil and it survives through the ages until we see it on Aragorn's hand at the end of the Third age.

We do not know if Finrod's oath to Barahir is in the show. We have Galadriel's claim that her brother swore an oath to find and defeat Sauron which she took upon herself. This may be a case of the unreliable narrator or the showrunners could have removed the oath from the show in their condensation of the first age. We already have a scene which evokes the Oath of Feanor but is not a direct translation of it along with the condensation of the five great battles and the War of Wrath into a single brief sequence so this is entirely possible. 

What we do see is her admission to Halbrand in episode five that Finrod was not killed by Sauron but by his servents. The body shown in episode one has clear claw-marks on it and we see an image of Luthien carved into the trees along with Huan the hound (see image below). We still do not know how much of this story is retained but The Ring of Barahir is an important part of the story of Arnor and Gondor as well as having strong ties to Galadriel.

 I had hoped that we might see Elendil reveal the ring to Galadriel while she was on Numenor, she would know this as her brother's ring and know its importance. If the oath she claims her brother swore was in fact the oath to Barahir this would have provided a hugely powerful character moment for her not only seeing something that directly coneects to her brother but also the admission that the oath she has been following was not the one he swore. Alas we did not see this and in fact the only ring visible on Elendil is his wedding ring from his wife with the inscription 'Safe return'.

This has got me thinking about where the ring may be in the show. I think it is too important a part of many main characters to simply have been left out. Therefore I have been wondering where it may be and offer the following options:

- Elendil's father Amandil is alive and still has the ring

- Elendil has the ring but does not wear it openly

- Isildur or Anarion have the ring

Elendil's father Amandil is alive and still has the ring

In the books Elendil's father has an important roll in the tale of the Downfall of Numenor, he is the leader of the group known as The Faithful (who remain true to the Valar and still have secret dealings with Elves) and he sails west prior to Pharazon launching his fleet to attack Valinor to beg for clemency (following in the footsteps of his ancestor Earendil). We never know if he is successful but it is hinted that he was as the nine ships of the faithful are saved from the ruin of Numenor and return to Middle-earth.

While Anarion has been mentioned there has been no discussion of Amandil in the show, the only reason I think he may be alive is the absence of the Ring and my belief that Anarion would not return to the west if he did not have family there. In the mythology Amandil is the Lord of Andunie, this would give Anarion more reason to return to the west on top of his faithfulness.

Elendil has the ring but does not wear it openly

 Prior to episode seven the show hasnot done a great job of detailing this but Lloyd Owen has discussed in several interviews that Elendil suffered a crisis of faith after his wife's death. We have been told that she drowned but what he has revealed is that she drowned saving Isildur. The lack of this context to Elendil's relationship with Isildur is a minor criticism I have with the show's writing. If Elendil is having a crisis of faith I can well beleive that he would not wear this symbol openly, especially in Armenelos which is primarily populated by people of the 'Kings Men' faction. 

While I think this theory likely I dislike it as we see Elendil reveal to Galadriel several times his true alignment with the faithful. It would feel like such a missed opportunity if they did not have him show Galadriel the ring as this moment would have huge weight in both character's development.

Isildur or Anarion have the ring

Anarion having the ring is the simplest theory, we have never seen him on-screen so it would be entirely possible that he could have it. Isildur having it is less certain, it is not noticable on his hand at any point in the show and given his backstory I am uncertain whether Elendil would give it to him or even that Isildur would feel worthy of accepting it if it was offered to him.

My favourite of these options would have to be the introduction of Amandil as a character, I love his character in the books and having him in the show would add a lot to the Numenor storyline. As with many of the characters who have not been introduced directly this season it makes sense that we have not seen him. We already have a huge number of characters to get to know and adding more would certainly confuse many casual fans. Then we have the issue of adding his character into the storyline we have been given without making it seem forced. Given we have Elendil in Armenelos and Amandil would be out west it makes sense not to include him.

I do not think my idea the most likely (I think the most likely is either Anarion having it or Elendil choosing not to wear it), but it is the one I would most appreciate them using as a Tolkien fan.