Amazon's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will cover the majority of the events of J.R.R. Tolkien's Second Age. This purview includes the fall of Númenor, which sees Elendil and his two sons Isildur and Anárion escape the drowning isles and flee to Middle Earth, where they establish the kingdoms of Arnor and Gondor, respectively.

Isildur, in particular, is designed as one of the central characters in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, with the Amazon original trailer showing Maxim Baldry's Isildur sailing the ocean. This scene in The Rings of Power preview likely details Isildur's journey from Númenor to Middle Earth, with the young prince becoming separated from his father and brother during a storm. Across the remainder of Tolkien's Second Age, Isildur grows to become the king of Gondor and the leader of men, with The Rings of Power likely to replicate his character's original journey.

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In this way, The Rings of Power's planned story changes Isildur's character portrayal in Peter Jackson's original The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Jackson's Isildur appears foolish and brash during his limited amount of screen-time, with The Rings of Power set to flesh out the multi-faceted character that Tolkien originally created. Here's how The Rings of Power's story makes Isildur a far more tragic (and less foolish) character, as well as what happens to Isildur in The Lord of the Rings.

What Happened to Isildur in The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Isildur in Lord of the Rings.

Isildur (Harry Sinclair) is granted only a few scenes in Jackson's original The Lord of the Rings trilogy, with his appearances limited to The Fellowship of the Ring's prologue. After Galadriel adds exposition to the forging of the Rings of Power in The Fellowship of the Ring's opening scene, Isildur is seen battling for the alliance of Elves and Men on the slopes of Mount Doom; fighting "for the freedom of Middle Earth." As all hope seems lost and Sauron kills his father, Isildur takes up Elendil's sword Narsil and slays the Dark Lord, cutting the One Ring from his finger. When led inside by Mount Doom by Elrond (Hugo Weaving) and urged to destroy the ring, Isildur falls under the One Ring's influence, claiming it for his own.

In the subsequent scene, Isildur is ambushed by a pack of Orcs and betrayed by the One Ring, with Isildur shown dead and floating in the waters of Gladden Fields. Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring paints Isildur as a brash, foolish character, unable to see the evil nature of the One Ring. Jackson's direction even goes as far as to depict Isildur's hubris as the reason for his death, with the new king of Gondor wearing the ring around his neck as a symbol of strength before his demise.

The Rings of Power's Plans for Isildur's Character

isildur cropped

However, the Isildur shown in The Fellowship of the Ring's prologue is merely a snapshot of his last days, with Tolkien's Isildur a far more complex and likable character. It is this version of Isildur that The Rings of Power plans to portray, with showrunner Patrick McKay (via Michael Corleone from The Godfather." This layered approach to Isildur's strengths and weaknesses as he rises from a petulant prince to a leader of the coalition of Elves and Men suggests a far more nuanced take on Isildur than simply the king that "failed to destroy the One Ring."

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Furthermore, McKay goes on to state that this approach is designed to explore "Isildur's story more than the source material so the audience would feel that it ends in tragedy rather than foolishness." This suggests Isildur's growth as a leader will engender him to The Rings of Power audiences as one of the Amazon series' primary protagonists, making his fall from grace at the beginning of the Third Age all the more galling. Provided The Rings of Power successfully adapts Isildur's heroism across the Second Age to the screen, it will be hard for The Rings of Power audiences to see the same foolhardy version of Isildur that Jackson original introduced in The Fellowship of the Ring in 2001.

Why The Rings of Power Makes Isildur's Story a Tragedy

Isildur looking at the ring

As aforementioned, Isildur's original story is steeped in tragedy, with most of his good deeds undone by his inability to destroy the One Ring. It is this tragic angle that The Rings of Power will play up across its slated five seasons, with Isildur first shown to audiences as he flees his childhood home of Númenor. After surviving this cataclysmic and harrowing event, Isildur and his family establish The Lord of the Rings' Gondor and Arnor, with Isildur playing a key role in shepherding the surviving race of Númenorian Men to safety and reinstating them as a positive force within Middle Earth after Sauron's deceptions. It is also Isildur that plays a critical role in the war efforts of the Elves and Men against Sauron, with his skill as a military tactician blocking Sauron's retreat and forcing the Dark Lord to fight with his forces - directly leading to his defeat.

Isildur's narrative draws distinct parallels with classic The Lord of the Rings characters such as Boromir and Faramir, good men whose intentions are unable to save them from harm and despair against the might of the One Ring. By revealing to audiences the extent of Isildur's heroism and good intentions in the LOTR canon, The will paint Isildur as a hugely tragic figure. The Rings of Power, therefore, will go some way towards dispelling Isildur's portrayal as a foolish leader from The Fellowship of the Ring while making him one of the most compelling characters to emerge from Amazon's The Lord of the Rings prequel series.

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