Galadriel and Elrond were two powerful Elves who had seen the ages pass and played a huge role in formative events throughout Middle-earth. Having been friends, confidants, and allies for thousands of years seemed like a great justifier for these two to have shared a relationship closer than friendship. In The Rings of Power, Galadriel and Elrond’s relationship is displayed with some ambiguous hints of a romantic connection. But was it ever meant to be?

Although The Silmarillion, The Lord of the Rings books, and The Rings of Power series never committed to a romance between them, they did have another connection. Their goal to use the Rings of Power to defeat Sauron harnessed a strong connection between them that carried over long after the events of The Silmarillion. However, there was also a plethora of familial connections between them as well.

Updated on August 29, 2024, by Robert Vaux: J.R.R. Tolkien was famous for developing a huge amount of detail for his characters’ backstories. As a result, dedicated fans can find all manner of information about favorite characters from the saga’s core storyline that they might not learn from the movies alone. That’s especially true for Elves like Galadriel and Elrond, whose origins predate the history of Middle-earth, and stretch to its de facto end after The Return of the King. The article has been expanded to include new details about Galadriel and Elrond, and the formatting has been adjusted to meet CBR’s current guidelines. 

Family Ties of Galadriel and Elrond

Elves had an unlimited lifespan, as most of them began life in the Undying Lands, where time doesn’t pass the same way as it does in the rest of Middle-earth. That muddies family ties considerably, especially for the oldest Elves. It’s also a testament to how grievously they suffered during the various wars they fought, for while Elves cannot die, they can be killed. The losses incurred in their wars with Sauron and others leave a lasting impact on the species, making their lineage all the more important for those who survive.

Accordingly, family ties were quite complex, and Galadriel and Elrond were no exception. First off, Galadriel was the first cousin of Turgon, who was Elrond’s great-grandfather, which made them first cousins thrice removed. Furthermore, Elrond was the great-great-grandson of Galadriel’s uncle, Fingolfin. If that wasn’t dizzying enough, there was a more direct relation that was fused later in the Third Age with marriage. Around the Second Age, Galadriel and Celeborn had a child named Celebrían. In the Third Age, Elrond and Celebrían met when Celeborn and Galadriel traveled to Rivendell when flee from Sauron’s Sacking of Eregion. This is when Elrond and Celebrían met and fell in love, but said nothing. Eighteen hundred years later, Elrond and Celebrían opened up about their feelings, and they married. They had twin sons and Arwen. This now made Galadriel Elrond’s mother-in-law.

The implications are more than just familial. Both Galadriel and Elrond are major political players among the Elves. The Lord of the Rings finds them more or less ruling entire kingdoms, and standing at the forefront of resistance to Sauron. They have played such roles from time immemorial, and the alliances between their various families have helped maintain that strength. Unlike human politicians, their long lifespans mean that influential Elves are apt to hold their positions for lengthy periods of time — perhaps thousands of years — which imparts grave responsibilities upon both Galadriel and Elrond as part of their heritage. Accordingly, they spend a great deal of time together and collaborate on vital work, which can make them feel like they have a deeper connection. Ironically, Sauron was able to twist that connection to his own ends.

Sauron vs. Galadriel and Elrond

In The Rings of Power, it was revealed that Halbrand had weaseled his way into the good graces of Galadriel and Elrond to help them produce the three Elven Rings of Power just before his identity as Sauron was revealed. This condensed timeline, which revealed Sauron’s identity, has accelerated the events of the Second Age in The Rings of Power‘s second season and further binds Galadriel and Elrond’s resolve to thwart Sauron’s reign of terror in the swelling war. That lends the impression that they are or possibly were a couple, and with a lifespan of thousands of years, it’s certainly possible that the two could have embarked upon, and then ended, a relationship in the past. In truth, their family lineage is too close.

That said, the two have a unique bond that suggests something more than respect and camaraderie between them. Both of them were deceived by Sauron at a terrible cost to Middle-earth. That goes beyond simply accounting for the damage he did and the lives he destroyed. Thanks to his schemes, he learned the secret of Ring making, and while the Three Rings of Elvenkind remained out of his hands, they must be kept safe from discovery by him. Both of them take on this burden with the requisite commitment and gravitas, and their shared responsibilities concerning Sauron and the Ring give them a platonic intimacy that few others could share. As family members, they both would have had that impressed upon them early. The Rings of Power reflects this in Galadriel’s boundless devotion to her late brother and his sacrifice.

Galadriel and Elrond Are Foreseers of Doom but Create Hope

In many ways, the pair serve as Cassandra figures to the Elves, able to perceive coming danger without being able to prevent it. That weighs them down with a sense of gravitas and tragedy that both Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving bring out in their performances in The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy and The Hobbit movie trilogy. It infuses their characters with a common history and girds their motivation with an unspoken purpose. It also makes them of a kind with Gandalf, the third bearer of the Elven Rings, who himself was killed in his attempts to destroy the One Ring, and who also could not see the danger of Sauron until it was almost too late.

That helps them stay true to their quest, despite the tragedy of their failure. They carry on, and with their revered backgrounds and alliances in the Elven and Dwarven cultures — as well as their possession of Rings of Power — both Galadriel and Elrond served as a formidable pair against the might and temptation of Sauron. They valiantly hold the line against Sauron’s dark powers to give the realms of Men, Elves, and Dwarves a fighting chance to survive and retaliate. It’s no coincidence that they stay focused on Sauron even when the rest of the Elves prepare to return to the Undying Lands at the beginning of the War of the Ring. Their sense of loss leads to an unwillingness to simply abandon Middle-earth to its fate, even though it means going against their people and even risking loved ones like Arwn. That tempers their tragedy with genuine heroics, albeit of a somewhat quieter variety than Frodo and the Fellowship. Despite their ominous gifts of foresight, which frightened and encouraged them to work quickly against Sauron, their combined effectiveness to rally the peoples of Middle-earth has been a clutch ability in the overarching narrative of Middle-earth’s history of conflicts against Sauron.

Although their love for one another never became romantic, it is their stalwart camaraderie and kinship that holds the hopes of Middle-earth. There were no forlorn stares and kisses in glowing woodlands between Galadriel and Elrond, but instead, there was urgent resourcefulness for harnessing powerful magic and the mettle of the masses against Sauron. That lends them a palpable connection that has lasted their whole lives (thousands of years) and informs their interactions with both the world and each other. Humans in the real world don’t have centuries to foster such a relationship. Marriage is the closest context, and so their connection often feels that way even though it isn’t. Even so, this platonic pair stood the test of time throughout Middle-earth’s history and fought the good fight against the darkest evil. After millennia of seemingly endless struggle, they’re finally able to see the One Ring destroyed and return to the Undying Lands for a well-earned happily ever after.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit trilogy are currently streaming on Max. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.