00:00Welcome to a massive red carpet in London.
00:02I would like to know where we find your character at the start of Season 2.
00:06Tell me about the journey you go on, without spoiling it for us.
00:09Yes, well, Midiel, at the beginning of Season 2, she's in a very, very low place.
00:15At the end of Season 1, she's lost her father, the King.
00:18She's lost her vision, so she's blinded.
00:20And she's lost a huge battle, and many of her Numenoreans have died in that battle.
00:26So she is returning to Numenore, a changed woman, a changed potential leader.
00:32And change is afoot, and people are very upset in Numenore.
00:38So you've got a political fracturing.
00:40And we're basically going to see how Midiel navigates all of these changes in Season 2.
00:45And she's got a few tough, tough days ahead, but I have a feeling she's going to be okay.
00:50It sounds almost as if you're playing a completely different character to who you played in the first season.
00:54You know, so much happens to her.
00:56Do you say she's lost her sight as well?
00:57Yes.
00:58So what training was involved for you to then go on set and portray a believable blind person?
01:03I mean, in Season 1, that was sort of my first opportunity to kind of do research.
01:09And I feel like I could absorb as much as I can in terms of what it is to sort of lose vision.
01:15You know, it would be different to be born blind versus having vision and having it suddenly stripped away.
01:21But as an actor, it was really about kind of heightening my other senses.
01:24Listening to my fellow actors, sort of feeling the energy in a scene, in a room.
01:29And having your vision sort of taken away when you can't connect with people visually.
01:33It's interesting as an actor, because it's something that I realized,
01:37oh, I normally rely on this quite a bit.
01:39And it means I really have to listen and feel, you know, even more so than I normally would.
01:45So it's a great acting challenge.
01:47And I think for the Queen, she accepts this situation.
01:52It's not about it diminishing her, weakening her.
01:54She accepts the fact that she has lost her vision,
01:56but she still intends to be the leader that she was meant to be.
02:00Season 1 has been out for two years now.
02:02Can you tell me a bit about how it's changed your life, perhaps?
02:04You get daily, weekly fan interactions with yourself.
02:08Are you hearing a lot from the Rings of Power fans?
02:10You know, I try not to lurk online, which is where I feel like a lot of this...
02:14You try not to.
02:15Yes, a lot of the theories and debates and things.
02:18But, you know, as I say, I hide in plain sight.
02:21I feel on the series.
02:23I have my long wig and my costumes and my dialect.
02:27And when I'm just walking down the street, I'm just Cynthia in my T-shirt and jeans.
02:32So, yeah, I can kind of get away with hiding.
02:34I don't think people always connect the fact that,
02:37wait, you're the Queen of Numenor.
02:39But I love the opportunity to engage.
02:43And I think, not that the show has been out a while,
02:45now we're coming out with Season 2 finally.
02:47It's time to sort of feel the love from the fans
02:50and even just hear their thoughts on what they think Season 2 is going to be.
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