Who Is Isildur’s Mother & What Happened to Her?

While a good part of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power focuses on the storyline of Galadriel and her quest for Sauron, the family of Elendil also has a huge role to play in the storyline as we do know that Elendil will be the first king of Gondor on Middle-Earth. But one of the mysteries surrounding Elendil’s family is Isildur’s mother, who has been mentioned a few times in the series but was clearly influential in the lives of Elendil and Isildur and his siblings. So, who is Isildur’s mother, & what happened to her?

JRR Tolkien never named Isildur’s mother, but it is clear that she was influential in his life in The Rings of Power. It is possible that she was one of the Faithful of Númenor and was influential to the faith of her children. However, she died some time ago, as Elendil never expounded on her death.

While we don’t know much about Isildur’s mother, The Rings of Power sure has made her somewhat important to the lives of the people she left behind upon her death. In a sense, she still casts a shadow over Isildur and his family, as even Elendil was affected by his wife’s death. So, with that said, let’s talk about what we know regarding Isildur’s mother.

Who Is Isildur’s Mother?

There are a lot of different side stories in the entire narrative of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power but what we all know is that these stories are all interconnected and are eventually going to give rise to the storyline of the Third Age and the main The Lord of the Rings story. Of course, we got to meet both Elendil and Isildur in The Rings of Power, as we do know that they are going to be the two most important kings that helped establish the line of Númenorean kings on Middle-Earth when Gondor and Arnor were established.

But one side story regarding Elendil and Isildur is that of Isildur’s mother, who seems to have cast a looming shadow over the entire family. Every time Isildur brought the topic up, Elendil seemed affected by it. His best friend even brought up the topic of how Isildur often brooded about his mother, and he took offense to that insult. And during episode 6, Elendil was the one that brought the topic up when he said that he learned how to talk to horses and sense what they were feeling with the help of Isildur’s mother.

In that regard, it is clear that Isildur’s mother had an impact on the lives of the family members that she left behind. That’s because Isildur, Eärien, and Elendil all have their own way of coping with her death, as they all have different lives and different perspectives regarding what they should do with their lives. So, who was Isildur’s mother?

We don’t know much about Isildur’s mother because the source material, which is Tolkien’s Legendarium, never talked about her. But based on what we know about Tolkien’s writings, it is possible that Isildur’s mother may have also been a Númenorean noble that also shared the same faith as Elendil did in the sense that she was also one of the Faithful. And that is probably where her importance in the series lies.

What Happened To Isildur’s Mother?

At this point, the only thing we know about Isildur’s mother is that she is already dead. But exactly what happened to her is something that hasn’t been revealed to us by the series. The only thing that Elendil told Galadriel was that “she drowned,” as this was probably something that’s either metaphorical or not entirely truthful.

It is possible that this was a metaphorical drowning that Elendil was talking about. That’s because it is possible that she was also one of those who remained faithful to the Elves, and that means that she must have “drowned” in her faith in the Elves during the time when there was a civil war going on regarding Tar-Palantír and his devotion to the Elves. We all know that the Númenoreans have grown to be quite resentful of the Elves, and that was the reason why they ousted Tar-Palantír from power and allowed Míriel to reign as the queen regent. 

As such, it is possible that Isildur’s mother’s beliefs were what led her to her death, as it is clear that not everyone in Elendil’s family shared her beliefs. In a way, Eärien herself wanted to swim with the times and follow the new direction that Númenor was headed. Anárion, the other sibling we haven’t seen, is said to have stayed on the western shores of Númenor because of his faith and devotion to the Elves. Meanwhile, Isildur himself is still trying to find his place in the world, all while Elendil was also finding a way for his children to live with the changing times, even though he himself was still devoted to the Elves in one way or another.

Why Is Isildur’s Mother Important In The Rings Of Power?

The fact that Isildur’s mother was brought up a few times in scenes involving Elendil and his family means that she is still somewhat important to the overall narrative of The Rings of Power. It can be seen in the emotional chasm that almost tore the entire family apart, as there is a good chance that she was the most influential member of the family when she was still alive.

Again, her importance may be somewhat related to the fact that she has always been quite faithful to the Elves and that some of her family members share the same devotion but not to the extent that they were willing to go against the new direction Númenor was headed. 

In Tolkien’s Legendarium, Númenor was destroyed because Ar-Pharazôn decided that the Númenoreans should also be immortal, just like the Elves. That was the reason why he mustered up a huge armada that invaded Valinor, only to be destroyed by the Valar. Meanwhile, Númenor sank back into the ocean where it originally belonged before it was raised by the Valar as a reward to the Men that fought by their side during the First Age.

On the other hand, the Faithful, who were still devoted to the Elves and the Valar, did not take part in Ar-Pharazôn’s doomed invasion of Valinor. Instead, led by Elendil and Isildur, they took some of the innocents and the survivors to Middle-Earth, where the kingdoms of Gondor and Arnor were established.

If The Rings of Power were to adapt this very same storyline, the possibility is that Isildur’s mother’s influence on her family will manifest itself in the moments when Elendil and her children are forced to choose which side they should take. Of course, we know that Elendil, Isildur, and Anárion all went to Middle-Earth because of their faith in the Elves. And leads us to wonder what Eärien’s fate will be.

From what we’ve seen from Eärien, she has shown to have some level of trust and respect for Ar-Pharazôn, as it is possible that she no longer believes in the Elves as much as the other members of the family do. This is probably due to the fact that she saw what her mother’s faith in the Elves did to her, and that’s why Eärien decided never to follow in her mother’s footsteps. And this could lead to her inevitable demise, as we know for a fact that Eärien was never mentioned in Tolkien’s writings as one of the children of Elendil that went to Middle-Earth.