The Rings Of Power: Missing Character Resurfaces In New Season 2 BTS Photo

Isildur is one of just a few characters cast in both Peter Jackson's iconic "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy and in JD Payne and Patrick McKay's "The Rings of Power" series. While the older version of Isildur (Harry Sinclair) in Jackson's films dies a few minutes into the first movie, Payne and McKay's iteration of the character (Maxim Baldry) is poised to soak up plenty of screen time as a primary protagonist over the show's five-season story arc.

That said, it came as a bit of a shock that a canon character this important just disappeared toward the end of Season 1. After the eruption of Mount Doom, Baldry's Isildur evaporated in the overheated chaos of the newly minted Mordor, never to be seen again. Or, at least, not to be seen again in that season. The character is essential to J.R.R. Tolkien's original story, though. He's one of the most important patriarchs of Aragorn's family tree and the man who (spoiler alert) ultimately cuts the One Ring from Sauron's hand, only to lose it in a river shortly afterward.

In other words, from the moment he disappeared, fans who knew the story knew Isildur would be back. What most didn't expect, though, is that we'd see him before Season 2 even has a release date. Nevertheless, on April 20, a behind-the-scenes photo was released by the fantasy fansite Redanian Intelligence, showing actor Maxim Baldry along with newcomer to the show, Nia Towle, standing in a thicket gazing at something with serious looks on their faces. They're cleaned up and dressed in simple clothes, too. (I.e., this appears to be some time after the ash-covered events of Orodruin's eruption.) So, it appears that (gasp!) Isildur is alive, after all.

While there is very little information about the BTS photo, the obvious side-by-side pairing of the two actors immediately sparked speculation from the fanbase about whether or not Towle could be playing Isildur's future wife. This is an open question and one that the show is free to answer. In Tolkien's otherwise hyper-detailed world, Isildur's wife remains a question mark. The author gave us a decent bit of details about Isildur's brother, father, and the long line of kings that followed him. But strangely enough, we never get the name of a spouse.

Perhaps Towle is going to fill that spot. If that's the case, though, it opens a series of additional questions. Is she a Númenórean, too? Could she be one of the Faithful, perhaps from the nearby port town of Pelargir? Is she a Southlander? Where are these two located in the picture?

These are all questions we'll have to wait for Season 2 to explain. Perhaps the intimate connection between the two is yet another red herring cooked up by an imaginative fan base. All we know at this point is that Isildur is still alive and well (albeit still healing from some cuts and bruises, based on the photo). He has a new companion in his adventure, too, who, just like his wife in the source material, remains nameless at this point.