Rings of Power's Galadriel and Fellowship of the Ring's Celeborn

One Middle-earth character has undoubtedly been missing from The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Galadriel’s husband, Celeborn. Notably absent since day one, Morfydd Clark, who plays the Elf Galadriel on the show, is addressing her character’s missing spouse in a new interview with The Direct.

In The Lord of the Rings, Galadriel was married to Celeborn during the Second Age. However, in Season 1 of The Rings of Power, Galadriel tells Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) that he had been killed.

When asked if she thought Celeborn may appear in the show, Clark said, “I mean, I would love him to pop up because I think it would be nice for her… (A victory) and (to) have an ally who – and I like to think that also, there’s this part of her we don’t know yet because we haven’t seen her with her beloved…”

Was Galadriel Wrong?

In a previous CBR article on the subject, fans assumed Galadriel had to be wrong about her husband being killed because there seemed to be no way that Celeborn could be dead because he was essential to the story of Middle-earth. For instance, Celeborn and Galadriel’s daughter, Celebrían was to go on to marry Elrond.

But, there was an alternative situation where Celeborn could be dead if he was sent back to Middle-earth like Glorfindel. In that case, he and Galadriel could still have Celebrían and things would go back to normal. However, being that the timeline of The Rings of Power can be a bit convoluted, depending on when Celeborn died, Celebrían, who was born near the beginning of the Second Age, could still have been born before his death.

Clark said not having Celeborn there proved to be a plus. “It’s been really fun for me as an actor to not have him there because there’s this extra layer of his absence. And what that does for her, and I feel there’s this part of her that she’s forgotten as well that will be exciting for her to rediscover,” Clark said.

Galadriel stands with her knife in front of an image of elves in The Rings of Power A sea-serpent hunts behind Galadriel in LOTR The Rings of Power Celeborn TLDR Elrond, Celeborn Galadriel stand in front of a ship at the Grey Havens in The Return of the King Galadriel stands with her knife in front of an image of elves in The Rings of Power A sea-serpent hunts behind Galadriel in LOTR The Rings of Power Celeborn TLDR Elrond, Celeborn Galadriel stand in front of a ship at the Grey Havens in The Return of the King

The Rings of Power Has Taken a Different Path in the Past

Omitting Celeborn from The Rings of Power isn’t the first time that the show has deviated from the classic J.R.R. Tolkien books that inspired the series. Another major change was to the order in which Sauron forged the Rings.

The source material for the show, including The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, have Sauron forging the Dwarven rings first, then the Elven rings, and finally the One Ring, which was made after the Siege of Eregion. However, the series changed that with the Elven and Dwarven rings being forged even though Eregion had already fallen, leaving the One Ring yet to be crafted.

A “Technicality” In the Lore

Co-showrunner Patrick McKay said previously to The Direct that there is a “technicality” in the lore that the One Ring was made before Eregion fell. McKay said that for that to happen in Season 2, “Sauron would have had to have left his storyline, gone off on his own to Mordor, and made the One Ring, and then come back, and we just deemed it a bridge too far.”

So far, the showrunners have been tight-lipped about the newly-confirmed Season 3 of The Rings of Power. with McKay offering this tidbit in a previous interview: “We have a story we think is really strong, and we’re hoping to turn it around as fast as possible.”

The Rings of Power is streaming on Prime Video.