It’s not looking good for Isildur

Isildur in The Rings of Power

(Image credit: Prime Video)

The Rings of Power season 2 episode 3 has a creepy bit of foreshadowing that you might have missed – and we cannot stop thinking about it.

In episode 3, there’s a quick scene where Isildur comes across a lake or river of some kind and reaches down to get a drink. He stops, however, because there’s a dead body staring back at him.

If we know one thing about Isildur, it’s that he’s the man destined to cut the ring from Sauron’s finger. However, he’s also the man who ultimately decides not to destroy the ring and in turn becomes corrupted by its power which leads to his eventual death. Some fans, however, thought this was foreshadowing for the Dead Marshes that Frodo, Sam, and Gollum come across in The Two Towers… but it’s a bit early for that yet (and the coordinates are slightly off).

One fan quickly cleared up why it would be impossible to see the Dead Marshes show up so early on The Rings of Power, and why this is most likely just foreshadowing Isildur’s fate: “The Dead Marshes are a result of the Battle of Dagorlad, which doesn’t happen until the War of the Last Alliance, which we won’t see until S5 of this show.”

Plus, we’re pretty sure that what Elanor Brandyfoot walks through in episode 5 is known as the Grey Marshes – and is actually the land that will become the Dead Marshes after the Battle of Dagorlad. Even still, the showrunners love an Easter egg – and it’s quite possible that the body in the water was meant to evoke The Two Towers as a treat for eagle-eyed Tolkien nerds (like myself).

The Rings of Power season 2 is streaming now on Max. Check out our guide to The Rings of Power season 2 release schedule and our The Rings of Power season 2 review.