The Rings Of Power's Promised New Tolkien Character Can End A Controversial Story In Season 2

Summary The Rings of Power season 2 picks up where season 1 left off, with Sauron seeking to infiltrate Eregion under a new disguise.

The tension between Galadriel and Sauron will be a key focus in season 2, with more Sauron scenes and a mysterious encounter with Adar.

The return of Celeborn will definitively end any hopes of a romantic storyline between Galadriel and Sauron, providing closure to their troubled relationship.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has answered many questions in the lead-up to its second season, including the question of one key Tolkien character's inclusion, and its huge ramifications. In one of the most explosive trailer drops of SDCC, The Rings of Power season 2 trailer revealed the next steps in the journeys of Galadriel and company. Screen Rant attended the Rings of Power panel at San Diego Comic-Con, catching a first glimpse of the trailer, and cast and crew sharing their eye-opening insights, leading to exclusive news on the show's new character.

Events of The Rings of Power season 2 will start not long after season 1 finished, picking up where the last episode left off. Sauron descended to Mordor at the end of season 1, and according to Sauron actor Charlie Vickers, "you see it in the first episode... the first person he sees there is Adar." Whether by accident or design, Sauron's confrontation with Adar will preoccupy him as he seeks to infiltrate Eregion under a new disguise to make more rings with Celebrimbor. Sauron-Galadriel relations will be at an all-time low, opening the door to a certain missing character.

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More Galadriel & Sauron Tension Has Been Teased For The Rings Of Power Season 2

Galadriel & Sauron Will Get Their Moment

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Fans of Galadriel and Halbrand's fiery chemistry need not be disappointed after Vickers confirmed at the SDCC panel that "there is hope" for more Galadriel and Halbrand moments in the show. He confirmed beyond all doubt that the two will get scenes together, and didn't refute the romance angle that was posed to him. The Galadriel-Halbrand romance tease was a controversial storyline in season 1, and was disagreeable to many long-time Tolkien fans aware of the canonical unlikelihood of Galadriel and Sauron developing feelings for each other.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 will be available on August 29, 2024.

The Galadriel-Halbrand dynamic was never overtly romantic, allowing the option of their relationship being platonic. But the show unquestionably romantically coded them in subtle ways to emphasize the temptation element of Sauron’s work and appeal to a contemporary audience, some of whom weren’t familiar with Tolkien’s books. It looks like The Rings of Power will provide closure on this troubled relationship in season 2 by addressing it further, possibly via visions back and forth during the "extra-weird connection" caused by Galadriel's new Ring of Power (via Empire).

As Tolkien confirmed in The Silmarillion, "while [Sauron] wore the One Ring... he could see and govern the very thoughts of those that wore them."

Galadriel is screaming, bathed in red light in The Rings of Power season 2 teaser trailer in what could be a nightmarish vision triggered by Sauron through the connection between rings. Sauron is due to make the One Ring last of all the Rings of Power, and with Lindsey Weber promising "lots more rings" for season 2, Sauron and Galadriel could both be wearing rings soon (via Empire). As Tolkien confirmed in The Silmarillion, "while [Sauron] wore the One Ring... he could see and govern the very thoughts of those that wore them."

Celeborn's Confirmed Return Will Swiftly End Galadriel/Sauron Romance Hopes

Celeborn Is Confirmed To Return

Showrunners confirmed at SDCC that "Celeborn will be back," finally putting to bed speculation on whether Celeborn was dead in Rings of Power, the answer being no. Galadriel fell in love with Celeborn in the First Age, according to The Silmarillion, so she was married at the time of Rings of Power season 1, which is set in the Second Age. In Rings of Power, Celeborn went to war before the events of season 1 and Galadriel "never saw him again." This allowed the show to tease a romance between Galadriel and Halbrand, but Celeborn's return will see that off.

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The tension between Vickers and Galadriel actor Morfydd Clark had the dramatic purpose of making the reveal in The Rings of Power season 1 finale of Sauron's deception that much harder to stomach for Galadriel and viewers. Galadriel could be on an upward trajectory since outing Sauron, but her temptation clearly isn't over, with more Sauron scenes incoming and a mysterious encounter with Adar on the cards, judging from photos released by Amazon. Celeborn's introduction, whether in season 2 or beyond, could provide a suitable rudder for Galadriel to steer herself towards salvation.

Galadriel Would Never Entertain A Sauron Romance In Canon

Sauron Is Galadriel's Cosmic Lesson

In essays and stories published posthumously, Tolkien made his thoughts on Elf customs clear, and by this measure, Galadriel most likely wouldn't have entertained a romance with anyone other than Celeborn, let alone Sauron. Writing in the '50s, Tolkien's Catholicism helped develop his conception of Elves as his ideal species - "their spirits being masters of their bodies, they are seldom swayed by the desires of the body only, but are by nature continent and steadfast." The Rings of Power took Celeborn out of the picture, opening Galadriel's mind up to a kind of doubt described in Tolkien's writings:

Permanent marriage was in accordance with elvish nature, and they never had need of any law to teach this or to enforce it; but if a 'permanent' marriage was in fact broken, as when one of the partners was slain, then they did not know what should be done or thought.

Showrunner Patrick McKay said to Nerdist of Galadriel that "her pride and her PTSD were a crack that [Sauron] could get into and manipulate her to get everything he wanted." If at her lowest point, Galadriel felt attraction towards someone other than Celeborn, it would hardly have been the worst of her transgressions. Tolkien's high fantasy epic was painted in broad strokes, unlike the in-depth psychological portraits included in many contemporary works of fiction. Tolkien didn't go into much detail about the characters' inner conflict, but everyone experiences it.

Morgoth's Ring, the tenth volume of The History of Middle-earth (a series of posthumously published collected Tolkien works), contains Laws and Customs Among the Eldar, which elaborated on Elvish customs around sex and marriage.

Even bearing in mind what is inevitably The Rings of Power's rationale for even remotely entertaining a Galadriel-Sauron romance, even if completely implicit, the positioning of Galadriel and Sauron as either romantic or sexual is definitely gray territory, especially considering Galadriel's moral purity symbolism in much of the legendarium. Fortunately, Celeborn's return will eradicate all trace of it. Meanwhile, Sauron and Galadriel will remain a "cosmic connection" for each other, in the showrunners' words (via GamesRadar). They taught each other a lot about themselves and freed each other to be the completely opposing forces that they really are.

Sources: Empire, Nerdist, GamesRadar