Galadriel’s bravest act in ‘The Rings of Power’ Season 2 isn’t on the battlefield
Middle-earth’s most stubborn warrior elf is eating humble pie. Speaking with The Mary Sue, co-creator Patrick McKay and producer Lindsay Weber discussed how The Rings of Power Season 2 puts Galadriel to a new test and challenges established character dynamics.
The second season immediately delivers on the premise’s promise: Middle-earth has rings of power now, and that changes everything. At the end of Season 1, Sauron (then known only as Halbrand) manipulates the elven blacksmith Celebrimbor into making magic rings for the elves. Galadriel comes up with the idea to make three, the better to balance their power. It’s kind of the least she can do, given … well, we’ll get to that. In Season 2, those rings find their bearers in the High King Gil-Galad, Círdan the Shipwright, and Galadriel herself. But not after a debate. Should the elves destroy their rings knowing that Sauron may have tampered with them, even if it means that magic leaves Middle-earth and the Age of the Elves ends? Or should they use the rings to restore magic, even if it means Sauron can influence them?
Right now “these rings are new,” says McKay. “Nobody knows exactly what they’re gonna do, or exactly how they’re gonna affect the world and the people who carry [them, a.k.a.] ring bearers.” He notes that every story in The Lord of the Rings as a larger franchise is ultimately about that. The magical rings, be it the three elven rings in The Rings of Power or Sauron’s One Ring to rule them all in The Hobbit and the trilogy, enter the world and shake things up.
“[The relationship between] Galadriel and Elrond is certainly at the core of that,” McKay says. “Elrond is ring skeptical, Galadriel is ring pro. And in some ways, as is often with them, they’re both right. And exploring that becomes a great tool for drama and a great source of conflict.”
Anyone who has ever done a Gollum impression knows that the rings in The Lord of the Rings affect those who wear them. They give you power and they have power over you. As you may remember from The Lord of the Rings, Elrond eventually becomes a ring bearer too. “The rings are good,” McKay says, stressing that both Elrond and Galadriel have a point, “or can be used for good. Put it that way.”
Unfortunately, there is a complicated and personal reason that Galadriel is so pro-ring which puts her at odds with her fellow elven elders. She’s on thin ice after accidentally befriending the literal Dark Lord who helped forge them. In season 1, Sauron disguised himself as a man named Halbrand. When Galadriel jumped to the conclusion that he was the long-lost heir to the Southlands throne he didn’t exactly discourage her. She led him right to Eregion and Celebrimbor. He deceived her and saw right through her. She might not admit it but I think she misses him. They are still connected. It’s devastating. Galadriel was resolute in her mission to find and defeat Sauron in Season 1 to avenge her brother’s death. She let her biggest adversary get closest to her heart. Her faith in the rings and their power doesn’t help her beat those allegations either, so to speak.
In Season 2, Galadriel has to admit that she made a huge mistake.
Given her stubborn nature, that’s not an easy thing for her to do. Galadriel’s characterization in this adaptation, with all her complexities and flaws, is a gift. Gl-Galad does not banish Galadriel or put her on trial for her part in facilitating Sauron’s rise in Middle-earth. But the elves lecture her a lot. They punish her in other ways. Elrond no longer trusts her. Gil-Galad takes her council, but no longer allows her to lead her own party into battle. He promotes Elrond to be her commander. The worst thing is that Galadriel knows they’re right. Sauron could deceive her again. As a fan of Galadriel’s journey in the first season, it hurt me to see her have to own up to her own failings and weaknesses. It sucks to watch someone you’re rooting for get chastised, especially when they deserve it.
“I really feel that,” says Weber, “and I feel that she does maybe the hardest thing any hero has to do–which is not fight a battle or slay a troll, but admit she was wrong and figure out what to do about it. And if she can figure out how to make it right, and if she can make it right, and if she can trust herself? I think it’s a really interesting journey that she takes. Morfydd Clark, who can do anything, delivers an incredible performance this season.”
In Season 1, McKay adds, Galadriel “does a lot of big and cool things and has to, you know, solve a lot of tricky problems and fight battles and fight monsters. Season 2, she’s sort of grappling with herself, which in some ways is, is, you know, even harder.”
Ultimately, that’s another thing that stories set in Middle-earth are known for. We marvel at the big battles, and especially the agile abilities of the elves in those epic fights. But heroism comes in all shapes and sizes. The way Sauron is able to corrupt Middle-earth is by praying on weaknesses like pride and greed. If Galadriel can put aside that pride, she can prevail. Hopefully, that ring on her finger doesn’t, uh, mess with that in any way.
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