The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 Set Photos Confirm a Major Character's Return
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 is now in production, and some new set photos confirm that a major character is going to be making a return!
(MILD SPOILERS)
As you can see in these RINGS OF POWER SEASON 2 SET PHOTOS, Isildur (Maxim Baldry) will be back onscreen in The Rings of Power Season 2. Isildur was last seen in the penultimate episode of The Rings of Power season 1, seemingly perishing in a burning hut while saving the life of Queen Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) and the citizens of Númenor during the battle of the Southlands against the orcs. The Rings of Power Season Finale didn't dispel the notion that Isildur was gone, which was a major point of confusion for fans of J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books.
Who Is Isildur in Lord of the Rings?
Isildur is the infamous character that fans of the Lord of the Rings movies saw in the opening flashback sequence of The Fellowship of the Ring. Isildur is the eldest son of Elendil, the man who is the primary guardian of Queen Míriel and who will one day be the first High King of the Kingdoms of men he establishes on Middle-earth (Arnor and Gondor). During the War of the Last Alliance (where Elves and Men united against Sauron) Isildur saw Elendil fall in his duel against the dark overlord and took up the hilt of his father's broken sword, Narsil, and cut the One Ring off of Sauron's hand.
That blow led to the destruction of Sauron's physical body, the end of the War of the Last Alliance, and the start of a dark fate for Isildur. He took up his father's crown, but also refused to destroy the One Ring, instead harboring it for himself. The ring eventually betrayed Isildur, drawing a pack of orcs to its power; those orcs murdered Isildur, his men, and his son, and Isildur dropped the One Ring in a river in Gladden Fields, where it would stay lost until Smeagol would murder his friend Déagol and steal the ring, transforming into the monstrous Gollum.
The fact that the Rings of Power made it seem like Isildur was dead was always curious, given that even casual Tolkien fans know about his larger destiny. However, the set photos make it seem like Isildur's "death" was meant to shift him into more of a solo storyline, where he comes to know Middle-earth better by wandering it. Hardcore Tolkien fans will no doubt have objections; hopefully, the change opens up some interesting new storylines to justify it.
The Rings of Power Season 2 is now filming.