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?
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.
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.