Despite the complicated feuds within the text, the premise behind J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy was actually pretty down to earth. To ensure the survival of Middle-earth, Frodo had to destroy Sauron’s Ring in the Fires of Mount Doom. Otherwise, Sauron would have acquired his domineering piece of jewelry, and the Dark Lord would have covered all of Middle-earth in unending darkness.
Luckily, Frodo succeeded in his quest, with a little help from Sméagol, but as the history of the One Ring comes to the light, one can’t help but wonder if the entire thing could have been avoided thousands of years earlier. One of The Lord of the Rings‘ greatest “What Ifs?” could have ushered in an era of peace by destroying the Ring after the Battle of Dagorlad, but Elrond couldn’t bring himself to push Isildur into the Fires of Mount Doom when he had the chance.
Elrond Didn’t Push Isildur Because the Moment Never Happened
The scene in question happened in The Fellowship of the Ring, just before the Council of Elrond, when Elrond and Gandalf were discussing what would happen to the Ring. During that conversation, the great Elf had a flashback. He remembered how Isildur cut the Ring from Sauron’s finger and how he led the King of Gondor to the Sammath Naur. There, Elrond prompted Isildur to cast the Ring into the fire, but Isildur refused. However, Elrond could have pushed Isildur (and the One Ring) into Mount Doom, destroying Sauron and ensuring peace in the…