It was the most highly anticipated reunion in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2: the confrontation between Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Sauron (Charlie Vickers). After an entire season where Galadriel was haunted by her past actions where Sauron was concerned, with her friends also worried that he was still exerting undue influence on her through her ring Nenya, the two finally come face to face outside the burning city of Eregion in the Season 2 finale. But was there ever a plan for them to meet up sooner?

In a new interview with Collider’s Carly Lane, showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne weighed in on whether they’d considered bringing the two together ahead of the season finale. Payne said they had debated it, explaining “There was one moment earlier on in the story process where Sauron was going to come to Adar’s camp when Galadriel was a prisoner there.” McKay then chimed in, drawing a comparison to another well-loved, long-running franchise to explain why they chose to leave it for the finale:

“In the early writing stages, we wondered if there was another… But I think very quickly it felt like, “No, no, no.” We looked at sequels we admire. That’s what you do. And one of the things we really thought about tonally is Empire Strikes Back, and that whole movie is about Luke and Vader coming back together on a collision course. But if they collided early, it would rob some of the power of that final meeting. So, I think in the end we felt like, for that and many other reasons having to do character and proximity, they were going to be ready only then.”

Morfydd Clark and Charlie Vickers Are Also Glad There Wasn’t an Earlier Scene Between Them

In a separate interview with Clark and Vickers, Lane revealed what the showrunners had told her about a possible earlier moment between Galadriel and Sauron, something Vickers hadn’t even known about. When asked if they had hoped for an earlier reunion, Clark agreed with the showrunner’s decision to delay it, saying:

“No, I liked that it was teased out because for Galadriel, there was a time when she wouldn’t have been able to face him, and by the time she actually does, she has been empowered by seeing how dreadful he is. So, I feel quite grateful that she didn’t see him before then because she was much more ready. It was really exciting because they’ve just been obsessing over each other this whole time, and so it means that when they do fight and meet each other, they are weirdly aligned in the desire for this confrontation.”

Vickers agreed with his co-star, adding that he felt this made their final fight weightier:

“Each with their own intention. I agree with that. I think it adds more weight to the ending. If they were just hanging out all the time, it removes the epicness of the final confrontation.”

The first two seasons of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power are streaming now on Prime Video. Stay tuned at Collider for more from Lane’s conversations with the cast and crew.