Sauron may have forged the One Ring to rule all of Middle Earth, but will he reign supreme in the Rings of Power? Amazon’s Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is set to featured dozens of characters, some from Tolkien’s works and some from the minds of J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, but my question is who will end up being the best? And why will it end up being Galadriel?
Okay, like I said, I think Galadriel will end up being the best character to come out of this show.
Is this a controversial pick? Probably as there has been thousands of Tolkien purists and tens of thousands of Amazon/Rings of Power critics (some with valid criticisms, others that just hate the show for some political/cultural/I don’t know even know message) who have railed against the portrayal of Galadriel as a warrior, rather than her well-known mythical adaptation in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies and Tolkien’s novels.
(Amazon-Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power-Main Teaser)
Yet, I think that this change is what is going to make Galadriel such an interesting character, who will wind up becoming the greatest character to come out of this show.
In my opinion, what makes a great character is the profound change they undergo by learning different perspectives/lessons/ideas/etc. across their journey (i.e.: character arc), while also meeting new, interesting people that will also impact the way they look at the world. Judging from the little bits of story revealed in the trailer (still not happy with Amazon over that), Galadriel is destined to undergo a dramatic character arc.
Evidently, the version of Galadriel we see in Rings of Power Season 1 will be one that is angry, vengeful, and determined to hunt down the evils that killed her brother in that huge, world-shattering battle (the red battle scene from the trailer) we saw in the trailer. Obviously, that evil is probably Sauron as Morgoth, the original dark lord, has already been defeated by the powers of the Elves, Man, Dwarves, and the Valar.
This obsession over hunting down Sauron and bringing him and his minions to justice will lead her on that all-important epic journey that will introduce her to new places (Numenor, new areas of Middle Earth, etc.) and new people (Queen tar Miriel, Halbrand, etc.), which should change her from a vengeful, hateful Elven Warrior Princess to the wise, calm, mystical Elven Queen we see in the Lord of the Rings.
Is this a change from the Lord of the Rings cannon? From what I’ve gathered, yes. But, is it show-breaking? No, absolutely not.
This show is taking place thousands of years before the events of Lord of the Rings. Is it really realistic to think that a Galadriel, even though she’s immortal, would not experience some event that would change her personality at all?
I actually find it more lore breaking to think that Galadriel wouldn’t experience some character change in a thousand years, especially considering the devastation her Elven kin face in the years prior to the Lord of the Rings (which we’ll see in this show).
(Amazon-Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power-Main Teaser)
Anyways, I’m not a Tolkien lore expert, so maybe Tolkien wrote some little-known piece of lore that specifically dictates that Galadriel had the same personality from her birth to the moment she boards the ships to leave Middle Earth at the end of LOTR.
But, I don’t think he did. That’s why, with Morfydd Clark more than capable of portraying a complex, interesting character that Galadriel is shaping up to be, I have high hopes for the future Elven Queen becoming the best character to come out from the show.
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