A fascinating wrinkle going into Rings of Power season 2 is the story of Arondir. The Lord of the Rings character is an elf, but he’s settled down with Bronwyn, a human, who has a son, Theo. Their relationship is great now, but he’s inevitably going to outlive her, creating some palpable emotional stakes for the fantasy series.
“We’re always talking about elves and human relationships and humans as babies in the eyes of elves, but I think it’s reversed with him entering a more human dynamic,” Ismael Cruz Córdova, the actor behind Arondir, told TV Line. “He is a baby in terms of knowing how to be domestic and how to be a dad or a boyfriend.”
While Arondir is working on all that, there’s the aging difference that’s going to come up someday. “That’s the meat of the conflict of this guy. At the end of the day, he’s an eternal being,” Córdova states. “He’s going to outlive humans in one way or another. He’s chosen to go with the humans right now, but if he gets called upon, will he choose his family or his people?”
A tricky question with no easy answer. None of Tolkien’s existing work covers what’ll happen, because Arondir was invented for the TV series, giving the showrunners full freedom to explore what happens.
In their last appearance in the first season, Arondir and Bronwyn were off to Pelargir. Presumably the drama series will pick them up either there or en-route, though how prominent they’ll be is another question, given the revelations surrounding Sauron.
We’ll keep you posted. There’s no premiere date for Rings of Power’s return just yet, but have a look at our guide to the Lord of the Rings movies and the best fantasy movies for more mythical lands.