'The Rings of Power's Ismael Cruz Córdova Reacts to Arondir's "Emotional" Season 3 Arc

Editor's note: The below interview contains major spoilers for The Rings of Power Season 3 Episode 4. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is finally back for its third season, and the first four episodes are already emphasizing that the story has returned to an even more dangerous world than it last left off with. After a five-year time jump, Sauron's (Charlie Vickers) evil is slowly creeping across Middle-earth, and there are only a few regions still standing strong against it. Yet the Dark Lord's influence — and some newly crafted rings of power up for grabs — looks to have wormed its way into a character who's been struggling with darkness from the very beginning of his journey onscreen. Episode 4, "Gundabad," brings the young human Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) and the Elf Arondir (Ismael Cruz Córdova) back into each other's orbit after the two parted ways in Season 2, their dynamic buckling under the strain of their shared grief over the death of Theo's mother and Arondir's lover, Bronwyn (Nazanin Boniadi). However, Theo, who is now being corrupted by one of Sauron's rings, has been tasked with capturing Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) for the Dark Lord. When Arondir attempts to interfere, leading to a confrontation between the two on Mount Gundabad, Sauron appears, ultimately ordering Theo to kill his former mentor and friend. It's a shocking twist that brings Arondir's story to a heartbreaking end, and wraps up the arc of the season's first four episodes on a devastating note. Below, Córdova speaks with Collider about when he learned what his character's ultimate fate would be, the personal grief he was navigating while preparing to say goodbye to The Rings of Power, why he's waiting for the right time to watch his final episode, and more. COLLIDER: Can you talk about the conversation you had with JD [Payne] and Patrick [McKay] about how Arondir’s storyline was going to play out this season? ISMAEL CRUZ CÓRDOVA: Well, I think it was March 2025, so it's been a long time by this point. Something in me had a little bit of a feeling that the conversations they wanted to have were going to be something intense. I remember going upstairs to do a Zoom, and I told my mom — my mom was downstairs — I said, “They're either going to turn me into a villain, or they're going to kill me off.” At that point, my dad was going through a cancer diagnosis — I’d just found out that same morning. So when we had that conversation, and Patrick was like, “And this is going to happen, and this is going to happen, and this is going to happen. Then Episode 3 and then Episode 4, and then you die.” I remember just keeping a straight face, but under the table, I was just clutching onto my trousers — just trying to stay cool, calm, and collected. It was tough. It was tough. You have a thousand feelings. I bring up the thing with my dad because I was just very grateful for everything. I was just grateful for life. I'm just grateful to be able to have time, to have the opportunity to play a character like this in a show like this, and have the impact that it had. So that was the overwhelming feeling. The rest, I knew, would take care of itself, which is what's happening now and what's going to happen as it goes on, which is talking about it. Actually, in the press junkets, like, “Let's go, let's go, let's go!” I've had to take a bunch of breaks because it's actually becoming a little rough to talk about it so much — because I'm getting all of these feelings that I've held onto for almost two years. 'The Rings of Power's Ismael Cruz Córdova Explains Arondir's Feelings for Theo "Sauron's influence is very powerful. It's not something that you can minimize." Image via Prime Video It's an emotional conclusion with Theo and Tyroe [Muhafidin], an actor you've spent so long forging that relationship with on the show. I spoke with Tyroe last week, and he mentioned that he's still feeling his character's guilt about Arondir's death. What are your thoughts on that moment playing out specifically between these two characters who do have such a long history? CÓRDOVA: It was tough. It was tough when we were on set. I remember how he was feeling. He was feeling very poorly about it. He felt guilty. It was really affecting him. And for me, in a certain way, that helped me get it off my own mind — because I wanted him to feel okay, to know that this was not his fault, in no shape or form, and that nobody was going to hate him, that nobody was going to really guilt him for this. Just as an actor, I felt quite lucky to be having that moment with him. Arondir’s final moments are looking at this person that he loves so much, looking at the son of the love of his life — a treasure. Regardless, I don't think [Arondir] ever hates him or guilts him for anything. Sauron's influence is very powerful. It's not something that you can minimize. So I don't think Arondir’s like, “What are you doing?! How did you…?” No. It was tough. I saw him for the first time yesterday, actually. I haven’t seen him since we wrapped. We just hugged outside of the hotel, and I could feel that he still feels how he feels about it. But I'm very grateful that I got to be surrounded by some of the OGs. I had Sauron, Charlie Vickers; I had Galadriel, Morfydd Clark; my boy, Tyroe Muhafidin; and then I had Celeborn, Jamie [Campbell Bower]; and Adam [Young], as well, as Marnûkh — and Sanaa [Hamri] directing. So, it's a nice little grouping to go out with. We've already been talking about the headspace that you've been in in terms of grappling with the character's fate and bringing this chapter to a close. Was the weight of that apparent when you were on set? Did you have to do anything to get yourself ready to film the scene? CÓRDOVA: None. Zero. Nothing needed to be done. I was, if anything, trying to hold myself back. I've said this, and I don't like to use personal tragedy in any way for an interview or anything like that, but it is relevant: I lost somebody very dear to me just the day before we started shooting the sequence that was about five days long. I was in a grief state, deep grief, and I was being held up by this incredible crew and this incredible cast. My mom was there. I had her flown in, as well, because I needed her support. The scene itself was insanely difficult, and I knew it would carry me through. It was very emotional. But because of this grief, yet again, I felt it put me in a mindset of, I'm just grateful to be alive. I'm just grateful to be breathing. I'm just grateful to be on this set, surrounded by so many incredible people, and that I get to be the guy who played just a badass, cool character over three seasons that had so much of an impact on people, and was so beautiful that, if I were watching him, he would have been my favorite, too. I'm very proud of it. I'm very proud of it. Now I'm feeling a little bit overwhelmed by the thought of having to process this openly every day in the street for the months and months to come, you know? So, I’ll let you know how that goes. [Laughs] 'The Rings of Power's Ismael Cruz Córdova Still Hasn't Watched His Final Episode "I don’t like to watch the show in a small format." Image via Prime Video You mentioned Sanaa's direction, and the final shot of the episode is that slow zoom-in on Arondir's face, with the snow falling. Were there conversations about whether that shot should exist — that moment that firmly confirms that he's gone? Was that the last scene that you filmed for The Rings of Power? CÓRDOVA: No, it was not the last, because I remember what the last scene was, and I remember that I was able to make a beautiful speech for the crew. But it was one of the last things that we did shoot in that setup, one of the closer things to the end. Sanaa was very clear about wanting it, and they storyboarded it, so they told me about it as soon as we started working. It meant a lot to her, and I was on board with it. I trust her very much, and we have a great relationship, so I trusted that she was going to do what needed to be done to honor the character. She loves the character as much as I do, and she loves me very much, and I love her. We have a beautiful friendship, so I felt completely trusting that she would honor what needed to be honored. I haven't seen it. Do you think you're going to watch it any time soon, or are you going to wait until you get to a point where you feel like you can? CÓRDOVA: Eventually, I will. I just want to make sure that I watch it in the right format. I don’t like to watch the show in a small format. So when I have everything to watch it, I will. But I hear that it’s pretty. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 3 is now streaming on Prime Video, with new episodes releasing Wednesdays.