Warning ! Spoilers for Rings of Power season 2 , sequence 3 forrader !

The Lord of the Rings : The Rings of Poweris endeavor to pose up Isildur ’s eventual decisiveness not to demolish the One Ring , but I ’m not buy it . The Prime Video serial presents a version of this character never before seen on silver screen , portray him as a sympathetic , eager , and kindly succeeding king . There is , of course , nothing wrong with this since Isildur was undoubtedly a good adult male before Sauron ’s One Ring subvert him . The whole point ofLord of the Ringswas that no one was safe from Sauron ’s influence . However , I ’m not entirely thrilled with howRings of Poweris angling Isildur ’s downfall .

BeforeRings of Power , Isildur was most known for the character ’s brief appearance in Peter Jackson’sThe Lord of the Rings , when he cut the One Ring off Sauron ’s hand with his father ’s soften sword . He then took the Ring for himself , and rather than redact it into the Fires of Mount Doom as Elrond root on , Isildur accept the weapon back to Gondor and essay to use it for the betterment of his kingdom . This has always been a frustrative detail of the story sinceit was because of this decision that misfortune befell Gondor ( and Middle - earth)for century to come . Now , Rings of Poweris attempting to justify that choice .

Harry Sinclair as Isildur in Lord of the Rings and Maxim Baldry in Rings of Power

Rings of Power season 2 is a suitable follow up to the first ledger entry , though it follows a distressful design jell forth by time of year 1 .

How The Rings Of Power Tries To Explain Why Isildur Doesn’t Destroy The One Ring

Isildur’s Past Makes Him Want To Prove Himself

InThe Rings of Powerseason 2 , episode 3,Isildur reveals that his mother give her life to save him from drowning when he was a child . It was a tragedy that have him to feel extreme guilt for his total life and , in his own words , made him palpate " bound to test and do something singular , something special … to try and earn what she did . " Of course , we , the audience , know that Isildur is doomed to go down in infamy — not a reputation his mother would be exalt with .

It seems as ifRings of Poweris trying to say thatIsildur chooses to keep the One Ring as a way to attain that " singular"something that would earn his mother ’s sacrifice . Tolkien ’s workplace were full of tragic irony , so this would for certain lean into the sorts of themes the writer was known for . Additionally , it ’s fair thatRings of Powerwould look to add some nuance to Isildur ’s motivations since his story was only ever told from an outside linear perspective . Still , I have a tough time buying what Prime Video is trying to sell here .

New episode ofRings of Powerrelease weekly on Prime Video .

Sauron as Annatar standing in front of windows drenched in sunlight in Rings of Power season 2.

Set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power explores the forging of the iconic rings, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, and the epic events leading up to the stories in J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic novels. The series chronicles the creation of legendary characters and the historic alliances and rivalries that shape the fate of Middle-earth.

Why Isildur’s Reason For Keeping The One Ring Doesn’t Work

Isildur’s “Good” Reason Only Makes Things Worse

IfIsildur keeps the One Ringbecause he hop to use it to earn his mother ’s sacrifice , then it is a pretty horrible decision . After all , he takes the Ring just after single - handedly destroy the Dark Lord Sauron . Cutting off the Dark Lord ’s finger’s breadth as a individual would have been quite a exploit , and Isildur is still considered a hero for this even after essentially driving Gondor into the ground . for certain , this would count as something curious . After all , if Isildur ’s female parent had n’t sacrificed her life history for her Logos , the Last Alliance of Elves and Men might have ended much differently .

After all , he takes the Ring just after single - handedly destroying the Dark Lord Sauron … Surely , this would count as something odd .

It just does n’t make sense to me that Isilsur would still feel the want to take things further after such a marvelous enactment of valor . at long last , there does n’t want to be too elaborated of a grounds that he would keep the One Ring . The arm would have immediately begun to function on Isildur from the bit he touch it , andwe know that no one could willingly throw the matter into the attack of Mount Doom anyway . In all , this summate motivation for Isildur is just a bit gratuitous . As an icebreaker with Estrid , Isildur ’s anecdote about his mother inRings of Powerseason 2 was effective — but the implication here just does n’t make .

Isildur in The Rings of Power and in The Lord of the Rings

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Set in the Second Age of Middle - earth , The Lord of the Rings : The Rings of Power explore the forging of the iconic ring , the climb of the Dark Lord Sauron , and the epical consequence run up to the stories in J.R.R. Tolkien ’s classical novel . The serial publication chronicles the creation of legendary characters and the historic alliance and rivalries that determine the destiny of in-between - ground .

Maxim Baldry as Isildur looking worried in The Rings of Power

Lord of the Rings The Rings of Power Season 2 Poster Showing Charlie Vickers as Sauron

Set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power explores the forging of the iconic rings, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, and the epic events leading up to the stories in J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic novels. The series chronicles the creation of legendary characters and the historic alliances and rivalries that shape the fate of Middle-earth.

Headshot Of Morfydd Clark In The V&A Summer Party 2024

Headshot Of Charlie Vickers

The Rings of Power