The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power returns this week, picking up five years after season two. Sauron is that much closer to crafting the One Ring, but in the meantime, Middle-earth has become a battleground between his followers and his opponents. As season three begins, Númenor is one of the few realms remaining that has yet to declare a side.

One reason for that is because Númenor is an island kingdom, so it’s viewing the rise of Sauron from a distance. But another is because it’s dealing with its own political struggles. Queen Regent Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) lost her throne to her cousin, Al-Pharazôn, in season two. In season three we see that her supporters, called the Faithful, haven’t given up hope that she will rule again.

Ahead of The Rings of Power’s season three premiere, io9 spoke to Addai-Robinson about what’s in store for the “Queen of the Sea,” especially now that the J.R.R. Tolkien series has moved past needing to lay a lot of groundwork ahead of its biggest clashes.

“I think there’s an interesting challenge where you have both people who are deeply familiar with this material and this lore and then [also] trying to introduce this to audiences who are maybe less familiar or this is completely new,” Addai-Robinson said.

“I’m often thinking of the super fan or the older fan or somebody who grew up reading the books or seeing the films, and [also] somebody who’s 12 years old, and this is their introduction, their point of entry.

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