[Boromir88]

Well, my friends who don't know the lore are still enjoying the series more than I have. It seems more like a world-building season for new fans, and not a season for folks like us.

But even they have said they don't get the purpose of teasing Isildur's death. Because they are at least familiar with the movies, and know he's not going to be dead. It was a poor choice of character to try to tease being dead. That is one of the essential problems of "prequel" movies and shows. In Kenobi, we all know Obi-wan, Leia, and Vader aren't going to die, so it's kind of difficult to have drama built around convincing the fans those characters are going to die. The Kenobi characters managed to navigate around those difficulties and make a fantastic Season 1. It left me wanting a Season 2, even though I know now it will probably be disappointing, because where does the show go from there? It was already a perfect conclusion to the Obi-wan/Vader tension. Rings of Power is not making good decisions by trying to fake us with Isildur's death and Celeborn's death. Celeborn is a little more niche, but Isildur has an iconic moment that even the non-hardcore fans remember. It's just silly to try to convince us he's dead.

That's all I have time for at the moment. As a Tolkien fan, Season 1 is rather dull. Episodes 3 and 4 were the strongest, but it's been regressing. I'm enjoying more my non-Tolkien friends think it's interesting and answering their questions than actually watching the series.