For me, the journey with The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power began four years ago—one of the first properties I seriously covered at Nerdist. I don’t know exactly when it began for Ismael Cruz Córdova, though I’m willing to bet it was slightly longer than that. But I know that when I first spoke to Cruz Córdova, nearly half a decade ago now, it was clear to me that both of us had walked a lifelong path of loving J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, and more than that, of being drawn to the world of the elves, with all its whimsy, beauty, and deep reverence for the giants of nature. When people ask me what I want to be when I grow up, I always jokingly say a Lord of the Rings elf, and I could tell immediately that, for Cruz Córdova, it was much the same. And through the virtue of actually being a Lord of the Rings elf and sheer force of will, Córdova made this dream come true.
Now, as an actor, you’re not required to dive deep into the essence of your character. (Although it almost certainly makes for better interviews and performances if you do.) But after four years of conversation with Cruz Córdova, it’s clear that he not only embodies Arondir, but has truly thought through every part of him. In so many ways, he is him. And conversely, Arondir is Cruz Córdova, the manifestation of a dream long dreamt. And that’s why our most recent conversation, centered on Arondir’s death in The Rings of Power season three, was so incredibly poignant and painful. But as befits the elfiest elf in Elvendom, we talked also with joy about Arondir’s legacy, and what peace at long last would look like for the character. (As Arondir obviously treks his way through the Halls of Mandos and back to us.)
Before we got into the doom and gloom, I asked Cruz Córdova about Arondir’s orc-elf bromance with Marnûkh, arguably The Lord of the Rings‘ first “orc with an arc.” Uruk Nation has always been a favorite of mine, and there was no relationship I loved more in The Rings of Power season three than the one between Arondir and Marnûkh… A relationship that Cruz Córdova thinks could have been one for the many ages of Middle-earth had circumstances not parted them.
For Cruz Córdova, Arondir came to the relationship with animosity not for orcs, but for what the orcs had done. Unlike most in Middle-earth, Arondir naturally leans toward compassion and does not feel the orcs are evil simply for the fact of their ill-fated existence. He shares, “I think there was the most animosity for Marnûkh not just because he was an orc. He just represented the killing of the love of his life and a lot of strife that came from that. I don’t think that Arondir just hates orcs. I think he has respect for and curiosity for all of the people and beings that occupy Middle-earth, but it is what they did.”
But for Arondir and Marnûkh, in the end, there were more similarities than differences in The Rings of Power. Cruz Córdova muses, “I think given his compassion, when he begins to peel the layers back and see who this being is, he starts to see himself in Marnûkh. An outcast, a little rugged, a little rough, a little misunderstood, a little aggressive, but a poet nonetheless, a lover nonetheless.”
And that makes my heart ache with how much I would have loved to see the friendship between these two lover-boys develop. Especially when Cruz Córdova concludes with a wry smile, “I think they would’ve been great besties.” If dwarves and elves can have not ONE but TWO great friendships for the ages in Middle-earth, why not an orc and an elf? In our hearts, these two are besties forever and have opened an inn together far from the fighting. Cruz Córdova laughs and nods in agreement when I suggest this outcome.
But, of course, there’s no two ways about it; we have to talk about Arondir’s death on The Rings of Power. I ask Cruz Córdova what he thinks Arondir’s death reflects about the character and his journey. His response comes as Cruz Córdova’s answers so often do: thoughtful, vulnerable, and honest.
He shares, “I got to be honest, I’m starting to process it myself because I’ve known this for a year and eight months by this point. But I’ve kept this to myself. We’ve had maybe several chats and interviews by this point, and I have not given you a single thing about it. What I do know is that I wanted it to be epic, and I wanted it to be raw in its emotional landscape. And Sanaa Hamri, who was directing that episode, I knew that she wanted that as well, and to give him the moments that we needed. And not just him. By giving him the moments, we are giving them to the audience because we know that this is for the audience, and we wanted to make sure that they could leave with something that, even when the grief hits, they can go back and say, ‘Wow, that was cool. That was epic. That was this, that was that.’ I know people are going to be mad. I know that some people are already mad. I expected that, but that is a testament to the impact that he had.”
Epic and emotionally raw are two words I would certainly use to describe Arondir’s death. But I’m not sure the epicness of a death scene is a balm for the grief that comes with losing such an incredible character. What does help is the idea that although Arondir might have found death in The Rings of Power, the character lives forever in the hearts of the fans who love him. Although in Middle-earth, Arondir may have lost his great love and succumbed to the sword of someone he cared about, in our world he is loved by so many, remembered for the enormous impact he had, and celebrated for the wonderful depth Cruz Córdova brought to him. And that love, the purest love, the love that lives between fans and their favorite characters, is truly immortal. It’s a love that transcends. It lives on in fan art, fan fic, and analysis; in rewatches, late-night group chats, and good old flails—and through it, so does Arondir.
I ask Cruz Córdova about what he thinks Arondir’s legacy will be and what he might want to say to fans who will miss him on their screens, and, of course, we both get emotional.
“What is Arondir’s legacy to me?” Cruz Córdova mulls it over and delivers quite possibly the most beautiful answer possible. “I think, I mean, it’s been on and off the show that Arondir has represented so much for so many people that he’s become the voice for a lot of the voiceless people in the fandom. He’s become that. And not just in terms of race or ethnicity. I’m always talking about being neurospicy. I got this crazy dyslexia; I have ADHD, the one that you actually do have to medicate. I represent a part of the community and my upbringing of not feeling… I’ve never been part of the norm. I was never picked first in this, that, or the other. Even though we’re here and dressing all flashy and all this, I was not really a popular kid growing up in that sense. So I know that people have latched onto that, and I’ve been their elf in all those ways. So I’m super proud of that.”
We both take a beat to tear up over the sentiment and the bittersweetness it carries. It’s no coincidence that Arondir is so loved in fan spaces. It’s those who feel the most othered who most often come to fandom to find community and kindred souls. And for Ismael Cruz Córdova to embrace being a weirdo with the rest of us, to be proud of not being one of the normals, and to bring that to Arondir, has been so felt and so necessary. An elf for all those who feel othered in their lives is a much-needed elf indeed. The elfiest elf of all.
In the end, Arondir’s legacy for Cruz Córdova is the idea that you can be different, you can be an outcast, you can be yourself, whoever that is, and you can still make it happen. And when you make it happen, you change the lives of everyone else who feels like you do. You can let them know they can make it happen too.
Córdova continues, “I’m super proud, and I hope people know how grateful I am. There was all the backlash and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. But what I really kept in my ear was all of y’all and all the fandom. It was like, ‘We’re rooting for you. You’re our guy. F them.’ So I want to celebrate that. Yeah, you can be different. Yeah, you can be an outcast. Yeah, you can be doubted. Yeah, you can be not really accounted for, and you can still make a whole lot of mess in the best of ways and have a big impact and take that with you and know that you’ve changed even a tiny bit of someone’s life or route. I take that with me.”
And I think so many of us will take that very thing with us as well, as Arondir lives on in our hearts… Although, of course, we still want him to live on our screens.
I thusly proceed to start the rumor I enjoyed starting with Adar, and I will continue to peddle it for any elf I love who dies. As we know, Tolkien elves don’t exactly ever die. Instead, upon death, they go to the Hall of Mandos to reflect and heal. Eventually, they are reincarnated in Valinor and can, yes, can, return to Middle-earth. Famously, we know this happens with Glorfindel. And now I ask you, is there an elf with a nobler spirit in all of Middle-earth than Arondir? Was his death not an act of pure self-sacrifice?
Cruz Córdova laughs and backs my play for a Mandos-Valinor return for Arondir. “Of course, there’s possibility.” But it’s a possibility above his pay grade. “You guys have to take it up with JD Payne and Patrick McKay.” Patrick, JD, if you’re reading… Cruz Córdova gets into the fantasy with me, though, and grins slyly, “Maybe he can reincarnate just exactly as I am, but just give the fans what they want and give them a looooong wig. Just give them a loooong wig and just do that. And like, a nose ring.” We are 10/10 in on this vision of Arondir. Fan artists, you know what to do!
But should Arondir not be able to return to us on The Rings of Power, I wanted to leave him not on a cold tower, alone and in shadow, but somewhere joyful, full of hope. I ask Cruz Córdova what Arondir’s ideal afterlife might be like, one where he could truly find peace. And he notes that his and Arondir’s afterlives would probably be very similar. In Cruz Córdova’s eyes, Arondir would “be surrounded by nature, surrounded by people that he loves, surrounded by a lot of beautiful dogs and a lot of horses. And to be able to still be of service, I don’t think I want to be, or he would want to be, for the rest of time just contemplating. I think there is a part of him, like myself, that I understand myself in relationship to what I can also provide to people’s lives. And I think that’ll be him. Maybe he goes back to being a grower and farming, but who knows? Listen, I know as much as you know.”
But that’s one bit of beauty in all of it: Arondir lives in our hearts now, and we can imagine for him only the most beautiful, most joyous endings. Arondir in a beautiful forest, surrounded by the ones he loves, growing new life in defiance of death. That sounds right to me.
Namárië, Arondir. Until we meet again.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season three is now airing on Prime Video.
The post Ismael Cruz Córdova on Arondir’s Transcendent Legacy & The Halls of Mandos (RINGS OF POWER) appeared first on Nerdist.
This articles is written by : Nermeen Nabil Khear Abdelmalak
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