Warning: spoilers ahead for The Rings of Power episode 4Is Isildur hearing things in Maxim Baldry's Isildur finds himself at a crossroads in The Rings of Power. Expected by his father to take the Sea Trials and follow in the family tradition of serving Númenor's navy, Isildur feels a youthful urge to put off his future and explore. In The Rings of Power episode 3, Isildur found himself distracted while training at sea, looking toward the west of his island and hearing a gentle woman's voice call his name.
The desire to follow this strange inner calling grows in The Rings of Power episode 4. During another sailing session, Isildur is once again transfixed by the west. The same female voice is heard, but this time a glimmering sunrise shines on the exact spot Isildur is obsessed with. The call is so powerful, Isildur decides to sabotage his own training, intentionally getting ejected from the Sea Guard so that he might act upon his curiosity instead of continuing down the road his father demands. The reason behind Isildur's preoccupation with western Númenor is subtly explained in both The Rings of Power episode 3 and episode 4.
Upon hearing his son's wish to defer the Sea Trials, Elendil told Isildur, "I'll tell you what I told him [Isildur's brother], there is nothing for us on our western shores. The past is dead." After Isildur's act of self sabotage, his friend then chides, "The West?! The 'real' Númenor?!" Piecing these hints together, it would appear western Númenor holds a special significance to Isildur's ancestors and those known as "the Faithful," who remain loyal to the Valar and friendly to the Elves when much of the island's population has grown bitter. Isildur perhaps feels a longing to explore this aspect of his heritage - just like his brother - by venturing to his ancestral home (we already know Elendil hails from the west because Queen Regent Míriel itted so in The Rings of Power episode 3). Exactly what Isildur will find to the west remains unclear, but it's the closest point to Valinor, and also where Númenor once traded with the elves of Tol Eressëa, meaning plenty of potential links to the old days.
Whose Voice Does Isildur Hear & Why The Sunset Is Important
While The Rings of Power hasn't yet provided a concrete explanation for the woman's voice Isildur keeps hearing, some promising guesses can be made. The Rings of Power episode 4 sees the disgruntled Valandil insult Isildur about how he'd always "brood and blubber about [his] dead mother." Though the woman isn't named in J.R.R. Tolkien's mythology, The Rings of Power may be filling that gap by having Isildur's quest for answers sparked by the inner voice of his dead mother. Maybe Isildur merely hears her out of grief, or perhaps a late mother's words are permitted to reach her son's ears by the will of the Valar.
If not Mrs. Elendil, maybe the voice Isildur hears belongs to one of the Valar themselves. Nimloth's falling petals in the final moments of The Rings of Power episode 4 prove that Valinor is watching Númenor very closely, and Isildur is one of the few islanders still willing to honor them. Perhaps knowing what's to come, the Valar are preparing Isildur for the huge destiny ahead of him.
Another major clue is the sunset Isildur glimpses alongside the mystery voice in The Rings of Power episode 4. In the Elves' ancient Quenya language, sunset is translated as "Andúnië," and Andúnië is a city on the very western edge of Númenor ruled by Isildur's ancestors and the Faithful. This visual link is too great to be a coincidence - The Rings of Power is surely leading Isildur to Andúnië where he'll perhaps uncover some family secrets.
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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power continues Thursday/Friday on Prime Video.