The arrival of a new character in season 3 of Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series has The Rings of Power already prepared in the season 2 finale. It’s about time we finally saw Anárion again.
After the end of season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the Amazon series is already looking ahead to season 3 with a (Sauron) eye. In particular, Tolkien fans are eagerly awaiting a new character here, after being kept waiting for him for over two seasons. You probably know the character as a larger-than-life statue from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship.
Season 3 of The Rings of Power will introduce Anárion
The Lord of the Rings series has already laid numerous clues in season 2 that predict the forging of the One Ring in season 3, as well as the arrival of the 9 Nazgûl. The next season will also most certainly introduce a family member that many had expected as early as season 1: Isildur’s younger brother and Elendil’s second son – Anárion.
Anárion was already mentioned in episode 3 of season 1 as a seafarer who remained absent. The next name drop followed in the season 2 finale: Elendil (Lloyd Owen), who had fled, set out in episode 8 to find his second son and wanted to find refuge with him in the west of the island of Númenor. Isildur’s (Maxim Baldry) family, which also includes Eärien (Ema Horvath), who was invented for the series, will continue to grow in season 3: “[Anárion] will definitely be part of the story,” Baldry confirmed in the Moviepilot interview.
For Tolkien fans, Anárion has been one of the most eagerly awaited Lord of the Rings characters not yet introduced since season 1. However, a cast has not yet been announced for Lord of the Rings newcomer Anárion: It is still unclear who will play him. Before casting can begin, Amazon must first officially announce season 3, after the “good news” of the series extension has already been teased.
As a statue on the Anduin River: Who is Anárion?
Even Lord of the Rings movie fans who are not that familiar with J.R.R. Tolkien’s extensive literary work on Middle-earth have seen Anárion’s legacy before: When Frodo, Aragorn and the rest of the fellowship paddle down the Anduin river centuries after the events of The Rings of Power, they pass the King Statues of Argonath. And these two larger-than-life rock figures are, according to Tolkien, Isildur and his brother Anárion.
In the Middle-earth history of the Second Age, Isildur and Anárion grew up on the east coast of Númenor. Like their father Elendil, they were among the loyal supporters (aka Elven supporters) who eventually fled the island. With nine ships and the Palantír, they left their homeland shortly before the catastrophic loss of Númenor. Unlike Phârazon (Trystan Gravelle), they had not previously fallen prey to Sauron’s whispers.
As outcasts, the family sailed to Middle-earth and created their kingdoms there. Elendil founded Arnor in the north, while Isildur and Anárion founded Gondor in the south. Although Elendil was king of both realms, he left the rule of Gondor to his sons. While Anárion resided in Minas Anor (later: Minas Tirith), Isildur lived on the eastern side of the Anduin in Minas Ithil (later: Minas Morgul). Osgiliath, in the middle, was the shared capital of the brothers.
When Sauron attacked Gondor from Mordor, Isildur and Anárion fled north to join their father. Anárion was able to reclaim his homeland, however. Like the rest of his family, Anárion fought against Sauron in the Battle of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. During the siege of Sauron’s fortress Barad-dûr, Isildur’s brother was finally killed – slain by a boulder, either thrown as debris or by a catapult from a tower. A short time later, Sauron also killed Elendil, and Isildur knocked the One Ring off the Dark Lord’s finger.
In memory of his deceased brother, Isildur replanted the previously destroyed White Tree in Gondor. The statues of the kings at Gondor’s northern border were not erected until the Third Age. However, since the Argonath statue to the right of Isildur’s effigy in Peter Jackson’s film carries a sword instead of an axe, some argue that, unlike in Tolkien’s original, it does not show Anárion at all, but Elendil. Whether this is true or not, The Rings of Power should finally bring the lost son back in season 3.
