Many of the conflicts Ring of Power So far, the focus has been on Sauron conspiring with some of Middle-earth’s oldest foes to destroy the Elven kingdom. But alongside his rise and return, we’ve also seen a glimpse of the rise of Arda’s other great power, the island of Númenor, and the emergence of two very intriguing characters poised to meet their destiny.
I’m referring, of course, to Elendil and Isildur, played by Lloyd Owen and Maxim Baldry. Ring of PowerThe father and son we met in season one were a far cry from the destined human king we met in Galadriel’s haunting prologue. Travel companionsElendil, a brave sailor and soldier who earns the trust of Queen Regent Miriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson), and his rebellious son Isildur, eager to prove himself by exploring the world outside their island home, are both shockingly different from their future famous selves — differences that only become more pronounced as the season climaxes, tearing the two apart when the Númenóreans intervene in the Battle of the Southlands to disastrous ends.
But now separated, the pair slowly journey into Season 2, maturing into the men who will lead the Final Alliance to Mount Doom in the climax of the Second Age. For Elendil, this means forging a stronger bond with Miriel, who was blinded in the aftermath of the Battle of Southland and returns to Númenor to learn of her father’s death, leaving the island in political turmoil. “When she goes blind, Elendil needs to be her eyes,” Owen told Entertainment Weekly as part of their new cover story. “So he sees and informs, and she interprets what he sees, and thus Elendil learns. This is a leader in training towards where he must ultimately lead him.”
Isildur’s path to heroism isn’t as high-concept, and it’s certainly not as glamorous. “He wakes up in a cave and has to go through Shelob to get to safety, which is a wicked way to start a season,” Baldry added. “It’s a story of survival, a story of ‘be careful what you wish for’. He grows from a boy into a man and has to learn who to trust and who not to trust.”
largely Lord of the Ring Fans watching Ring of Power We already know how the story of Númenor, Elendil, and Isildur will play out, but with how Season 1 has set up these characters, it will be interesting to see how the series slowly but surely draws them into the characters we know better.
Ring of Power It will be back on Amazon on August 29th.
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