"I think he’s not defying [Elendil], he’s also trying, at the beginning of the season, to do what he’s expected, you know? Like, his father is kind of paving his career choice and he is a sailor, he’s a sea cadet, and he’s trying to fulfill his father’s dream, but there’s just this sort of dissonance to him. This sort of unsettled restlessness. There’s a scene where he’s just looking out when he’s on this boat. And he’s just looking out to the ocean, to the horizon. He’s like, ‘There’s something else out there. Maybe it’s off this island.’ In that way I think he honors his father. He’s saying, ‘I’m trying to do this, but let me explore myself. Let me grow.’"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMpEVURY948