The following contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Episode 1, “A Shadow of the Past,” and Episode 2, “Adrift,” which premiered Sept. 2, on Prime Video.

Although fans aren’t completely sold on The Rings of Power, the series did get a lot of things right. The tone was Tolkien-esque; the sweeping vistas characterized a Middle-earth setting and the characters had a lot of depth. For instance, Galadriel’s war-like character was conflicted for much of the first two episodes. She wanted to return to Valinor, but in the end chose to stay in Middle-earth and hunt Sauron. That might have painted her in too heroic a light, but it still gave her character some depth.

Another character that’s incredibly deep is Elrond. In The Lord of the Rings, he was a regal Elf Lord, and his wisdom and power were legendary. On The Rings of Power, however, he’s simply not there yet. In fact, Elrond was looked down upon by a lot of Elves. Here’s why he’s different from the other Elves.

The first time fans saw Elrond on The Rings of Power, he was sitting on a tree, writing a speech for High King Gil-galad. While he was working, some Elf maidens came up to him with news. They informed Elrond that the “Council” had determined that he would not be permitted to attend their next session — Elf Lords only. While that may seem like an odd scene to introduce one of the main characters on The Rings of Power, it kind of made sense.

Of course, Elrond ends being an important figure in Middle-earth’s history, but he was actually only half an Elf. While that didn’t matter per se, it did matter to the Elves in the Second Age. Because of their skills and their immortality, they thought that they were better than everyone else — including Elrond. Thus, the Council deciding to exclude Elrond wasn’t a question of rank. It was a question of status, and there was definitely some implicit disdain in the decision.

While it may sound outlandish, being half an Elf was not unheard of. In the First Age, Beren (a Man) and Lúthien (an Elf maiden) were wed. The same thing happened years later when Idril (an Elf maiden) married Tuor (a Man). Their son was named Eärendil, who was the father of Elrond and Elros.

All those half Elves were called Peredhil, and they always had to choose their fates. They could live as mortals, die and, thus, move on from the trials of life. Conversely, they could choose to become an Elf and be immortal. However, that meant that they would live on for untold ages, becoming weary of the world. Elrond chose to be an Elf, while his brother chose to be mortal and became the first king of Númenor.

While it’s not something that The Lord of the Rings explored, the idea that being half-Elven would make one lower class adds an interesting dynamic to Elven society. For Elves who thought highly of themselves, it certainly makes sense that they would look down on someone who wasn’t fully like them. Yet, it’s clear that Elrond’s status didn’t matter to everyone. Gil-galad himself clearly held Elrond in high regard and ends up giving him a ring of power. So, seeing how Elrond is treated going foreword is something to watch.

To see more of Elrond, watch The Rings of Power. New episodes premiere Fridays on Prime Video.