Warning: spoilers ahead for The Rings of Power episode 4Queen Regent Míriel views Galadriel's arrival as the beginning of the end for Númenor in Morfydd Clark's Galadriel is taken to Númenor (through no choice of her own, it should be noted) she receives a frosty reception from the mortal locals. Even Cynthia Addai-Robinson's majestic Queen Regent Míriel rues the elf's presence, but whereas much of the Númenórean ill-will is pure xenophobia, Míriel has her own cause for concern.
As the Queen Regent explains to her intrusive guest, Númenor's palantír has shown a vision of the future - a day when ocean torrents engulf the entire kingdom. Witnessing this calamitous forecast for herself, Galadriel correctly points out that palantír visions do not always come true. Míriel counters by replying it already has - that the full, original vision shown to her by Tar-Palantir upon ascension to Queen Regent begins with Galadriel's arrival. Obviously, Galadriel has no intention of sending Númenor underwater, so how could her presence possibly mark the onset of its destruction?
One possibility is raised during the conversation Galadriel and Míriel share immediately after the Queen Regent makes her accusation. Tar-Palantir believed Númenor would upset the Valar by ending their friendship with the Elves, so attempted to rebuild those bridges between species. Because her father's efforts ended in riot and rebellion, Míriel believes (until The Rings of Power episode 4's final scene, at least) that her kingdom should remain isolated from other races. Ultimately, it may not matter. As demonstrated by both the smiths' guild and the treacherous Pharazôn, there's clearly plenty of anti-elf sentiment bubbling away on Númenor. The arrival of Galadriel - the first elf to step foot on Númenórean shores for some time - could be the spark that ignites all that simmering hatred. That outcome looks even more likely now that Galadriel has convinced Queen Regent Míriel to send her troops to fight and die against Adar's orcs in the Southlands. Though she didn't intend it, Galadriel's relentless quest to vanquish Sauron might've made Númenor's dark future inevitable.
Is Galadriel The Reason Sauron Comes To Númenor In The Rings Of Power?
The palantír showing Galadriel's arrival as the precursor to Númenor's destruction has a completely different interpretation that is currently eluding both women. In J.R.R. Tolkien's source material, the Númenóreans are certainly no fans of the Elves after Tar-Palantir's reign ends, but the Valar don't sink the island just because their favorite races aren't playing nice. The downfall happens because Númenor captures Sauron, who exploits the resentment building among the island's population for his own ends. Sauron eventually convinces Númenor's foolish king to wage war against the Valar, and only after this insult does the Armageddon shown in Míriel's palantír come to .
Galadriel may, therefore, doom Númenor in a way neither she nor Míriel anticipates. Mofrydd Clark's relentless elf was the one who dragged the Númenóreans into Middle-earth's fight, so if (as per Tolkien's original lore) the islanders ride into battle against Sauron and take him back home as their captive, Galadriel would've started a chain reaction that leads directly to Númenor's futile attack on Valinor, and the watery punishment wrought upon the kingdom thereafter.
Another possibility is that Míriel misinterpreted the beginning of the palantír's prophecy - Galadriel's presence isn't the problem... Halbrand's is. Halbrand is one of several characters speculated to be a disguised Sauron in The Rings of Power, and episode 4 sees him ominously whispering advice into Pharazôn's ear, just as the Dark Lord later will. Maybe Míriel is correct in assuming her island's doom is sealed by the appearance of a stranger, but her anger should be focused on the other castaway Elendil brought home.
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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power continues Thursday/Friday on Prime Video.