Maxim Baldry Explains How 'The Rings Of Power' Sets Up Tragedy For Isildur
Amazon is gearing up to release its first dive into the world of Tolkien with The Rings Of Power on September 2nd. So far we've seen a trailer, a first look at the main characters, and they recently had a panel at San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC) where we got a bit more detail about the series. At SDCC, Maxim Baldry, who will be playing Isildur, gave a little bit more context to where his character will be in the series.
Isildur, the son of Elendil, is mostly known to fans as the one who took up his father's sword after Elendil was struck down in the War of the Last Alliance and then cut the Ring from Sauron's finger. Unfortunately, when given the chance to destroy it, he was tempted by the ring and chose to keep it, leading to The Lord of the Rings saga.
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In an interview with Screen Rant he had this to say:
"[Isildur] is grieving in season 1; he's lost his mother. I actually didn't realize that he was quite vulnerable. I think his relationship to his father is strained, because there's things unsaid between them. I don't think there's good communication; comms are down.
But there's a deep-rooted connection to himself that he knows he wants to find out there. He doesn't quite know what it is, but he's trying to do the right thing to fulfill his father's dream. He's also understanding that maybe there's something else out there for him.”
It seems as though The Rings Of Power will be looking to flesh out the character of Isildur and give a glimpse into the history leading up to his fateful decision. From what Baldry has said so far, his character arc is set up to be centered on his relationship with his father and the tension between wanting to be his own person and wanting to please his father as well. In another interview he described Isildur as someone "who is trying to find himself, trying to find his voice, he doesn't want to become his father, in a way, but also has a deep love for him." With where we know his story is eventually headed, it also puts an interesting lens on the relationship with his father. If they can overcome their differences, there will be added pain when he loses him from being so close and how far they've come. On the flip side, if there are things left unsaid, it could be just as damaging.
It will be interesting to see how they handle his path to decide to keep the ring of power as well as if they will follow any of his storylines in The Silmarillion. In any case, we have just under a month to wait and see.
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