Breaking down those daddy issues on The Rings Of Power
Elrond and Galadriel are both struggling to step out of the massive shadows cast by their famous war-hero fathers
TV Features The Lord of the Rings
History is important in The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power. Whether we’re talking about Númenór and its relationship with the Elves, the residual trauma of the War of Wrath, or the heritage of the Southlands, the characters are constantly steeped in the legends of those who came before them. Nowhere is that more apparent than in the lives of the Elves of Middle-earth.
Because their race was born and lived for centuries in a time before the Sun ever rose, and because they’re immortal, the Elves have both long memories and interesting relationships with time. We see it in the way Elrond (Robert Aramayo) struggles to think of the passage of years in the same way that his Dwarf friends do, and in the way Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) struggles to let go of events that transpired millennia ago. We also see it in the reverent, sometimes even ominous way the Elves talk about parentage, and the great deeds their forebears achieved in days of old.
Throughout the first five episodes of the series, both Elrond and Galadriel mention their famous fathers, and other characters sometimes remind them of their parents’ great deeds. Suffice to say that family history is a key component for both of them. But why exactly are Elrond and Galadriel’s respective fathers so important to the history of the show, and what does their legacy say about the characters as The Rings Of Power portrays them? Let’s take a closer look.
Galadriel: choosing a much different path than Finarfin
Galadriel’s father, as she explains while held in Númenór, is Finarfin, one of those powerful and important Noldor (one of the three Elven clans) in early Tolkien history. A King of the Noldor in Valinor (the paradise-like home of the Elves to the West of Middle-earth), Finarfin resisted calls for the Noldor to sail to Middle-earth and attack Morgoth after the theft of the magnificent gems known as the Silmarils (long story, read The Silmarillion if you want all of it). Finarfin’s half-brother Fëanor (who has a long story of his own), who created the Silmarils, led this charge, and roped both his children and his nieces and nephews—including Galadriel—into the cause. For the sake of his children, Finarfin eventually agreed to join the fight, and sailed to Middle-earth. He was right to be reluctant, though. Fëanor’s wars over the Silmarils would eventually cost many lives, including those of Finarfin’s sons.
Still, Finarfin was wise enough to understand that the threat of Morgoth would not be extinguished easily. Though he left Middle-earth during the Wars of the Jewels and returned to rule in Valinor, he went back to fight in the War of Wrath, leading the Noldor of Valinor in the battle to defeat Morgoth. When the war ended he returned to Valinor, and as far as we know, in the world of the show that’s where he remains.
The royal house he founded, The House of Finarfin, still has an essential role to play in Middle-earth, though. Galadriel is obviously still around, but Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker), the current High-King of Middle-earth’s Elves, is also a member of this royal house; according to Tolkien’s genealogies, he’s Finarfin’s great-grandson and Galadriel’s grand-nephew. But perhaps more important is the thematic role Finarfin plays. He’s a great leader who resisted the violence of Middle-earth, fought at great personal cost, then returned to Valinor with his task seemingly accomplished. In the beginning of The Rings Of Power, we see his daughter reject this same trajectory, unable to let go of the personal tragedy of losing her brother and the feeling that evil still lurks in Middle-earth. It’s unlikely we’ll ever see Finarfin onscreen, but his deeds, reputation, and ability to let go of what Galadriel still clings to loom large in her background.
Elrond: trying to live up to the legacy of Eärendil
Then there’s Elrond’s father, a guy who could make even the most accomplished son feel like an underachiever. Eärendil was a mortal half-Elven man who became a legendary mariner, sailing the seas West of Middle-earth in search of his parents (his father was also a great mariner) while Morgoth was still in power. His wife, Elwing, stayed behind on the continent, guarding the only one of the three Silmarils Morgoth no longer possessed. When Fëanor’s sons—who swore an oath to go through anyone and anything to get the gems back—tried to kill Elwing and take the gem, she leaped into the sea. According to legend, she then appeared to Eärendil aboard his great ship, Vingilot, in the form of a giant bird, then transformed into human form and told him of the strife on Middle-earth that had turned even the mutual enemies of Morgoth against one another.
In an effort to save not just his people, but all people, Eärendil did the thing everyone brags to Elrond about on the show: He sailed to Valinor with his wife, and became the first mortal to ever set foot there, thanks in part to the power of the Silmaril. Though the journey was forbidden, the Valar were moved by Eärendil’s pleas, and granted his wish for aid. Eärendil returned to Middle-earth with a host of warriors from Valinor (including Galadriel’s father, who led the Noldor) and fought in the War of Wrath, imbued with a flying ship and the Silmaril blazing on his forehead. He defeated the greatest of Morgoth’s dragons, and the Valar themselves eventually bound and cast out Morgoth. His task accomplished, Eärendil returned to Valinor with his wife, where the Silmaril still blazes on his head as a great star in the Western sky. For his selflessness, the Valar also granted his Half-elven children (and their children) the ability to choose whether they would belong to Elves or Men, which helps explain why Elrond’s daughter Arwen was able to give up her immortality to be with Aragorn.
So yes, Elrond has very big shoes to fill. We know from The Lord Of The Rings that he goes on to be a great leader in his own right, but as Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) points out in episode five, it’s not an easy road to get there. He has to consider making some decisions for the greater good, sometimes at the expense of his friends. But because we have the benefit of knowing how much worse the fight against darkness gets before it gets better, we also know that Elrond might not always make the right choice.
How much will Elrond and Galadriel lean toward, or away from, the legacy of their great fathers in the episodes to come? We’ll keep watching to find out.
31 Comments
The show is good, but I found Episode 5 to be utterly unnecessary. And – worse – boring. Do we need filler already?
It’s funny how differently people think of these episodes. I found this one to be a welcome change of pace after the ponderous, lore-heavy fourth episode. The fact is, most of this first season is destined to be buildup for the future. Adar was most likely invented that there could be some sort of overt conflict and satisfying climax after all the stuff that won’t have a meaningful conclusion before the second season at earliest.
If Adar ends up being Galadriel’s brother, I’m going to scream…
The only brother the show’s acknowledged Galadriel having is Finrod. She had two more in the books, but the show hasn’t said a peep about them, so there’s no way that Adar could be introduced as such without coming completely off the left field. But if his armour is anything to go by, then he’s presumably a Noldo, so he’s Galadriel’s kin in a more general, abstract sense.
Finrod, yes. The orcs call Adar… Adar, which means something like “lord father”. So it’s a title… So we don’t know his name. As I said, I really hope not, but I expect something as unimaginative as that from the show.
We’ve already seen Finrod in the prologue. He’s both played by a different actor and dead and buried by Galadriel herself. There’s no way that Adar can be the same person.
Didn’t remember, thanks. It’s a relief.
As I noted in a past episode discussion, the show is moving at a very deliberate sort of pace. It’s not a wild ride, though it’s not lingering just to linger. But I don’t know how you could call this episode filler, as it directly turns three storylines toward their final act of the season. Galadriel and Halbrand have come to terms, and the Nùmenoreans have left to fight. The Southrons have divided, with one half going to join the invading orc army and the other half finding their will to defend themselves. And Elrond faced an important choice between betraying an oath he just made with his friend and his people’s destruction, nevertheless managing to forge an alliance between the elves and the dwarves. Only the Harfoots are left out of sync, but even that had an interesting development with the Stranger. I find myself more and more engaged with the show every week. I can’t convince you to not be bored, but there’s no way you could describe this episode as unnecessary.
I am not trying to convince you to be bored 🙂 However:“Galadriel and Halbrand have come to terms, and the Nùmenoreans have left to fight”. After a long, long…. looo-ooong sequence of what exactly? Contriving Isildur sailing with the force, lots of staring down and stern expressions and bellyaching. Without any character development, without any lore, without even any interesting interactions. Then, the Numenorean fleet of… three (!) ships, leaves for Middle Earth. Very underwhelming.“And Elrond faced an important choice between betraying an oath he just made with his friend and his people’s destruction, nevertheless managing to forge an alliance between the elves and the dwarves”. I hate Elrond’s milquetoast portrayal of the actor (all elves’ really, but I guess that’s the direction), but the Elrond/Durin scenes are always enjoyable and deeper. We got 5 whole minutes this time.Same with the Harfoots. A nice song/montage and a glimmer of what Sauron can do when threatened. Still, got very little of it.“The Southrons have divided, with one half going to join the invading orc
army and the other half finding their will to defend themselves”.
The Southrons had been interesting and complex and suddenly they are caricatures. “Maybe we are made for the darkness”, I guess we’ll go bend the knee. Hardly any moral conundrum, stiff dialogue, long stares and shallow writing.
That’s the reason I called the episode filler. Nothing *really* happened. No characters got developed, no lore was revealed.
What do you think character development is, and in what way is it distinct from the guy who was very reluctant to be king talking to the girl who always wants to fight about how much she’s been struggling with her own darkness —especially in relation to her kin who all seem to have no struggles— and coming out the other end ready to take his place as king?What do you think lore is, and in what way is it distinct from an ancient tale about an elf doing battle with a balrog (coming soon) and leaving behind a mythical substance as a result of their conflict, which wouldn’t you know, might just be a key element to a conflict very much in the present?
Again, I’m not trying to argue here. Anyway. Your second paragraph is lore – 5 seconds of it.As for character development. Galadriel is the same she was in episode 1. We knew she was struggling with darkness, we knew she lost her brother. She comes off one-dimensional: the ever-alone-fighter. Which is fine, but Galadriel is an elf. She’s been alive since forever. She is wise, not just strong. She is thoughtful, not just impulsive. She can raise her voice in passion, but she can also bring arguments to the table. She has empathy, even if she can be haughty. Where are all those elements? Zero development, we stay with “not-listened-to-but-right-fighter”.
Same with our reluctant king, really. “Oh, I just want to be a blacksmith”. Fine. The struggle with the darkness is told, not shown. Is he struggling with his tradition, or did he bend the knee himself? Was it his father? And beyond all that, who is he?I understand that character development comes slowly. I am just saying that this episode could have been 15 minutes long and we wouldn’t have missed anything. The rest was just filler. Galadriel fighting 4 newbies with swords (instead of teaching them). The queen regent holding innumerable councils in order to decide whether to send 0.2% of the Numenorean fleet to Middle Earth, etc. etc.
Did you miss the lore behind the Mithrail and that the effing Elf King definitely now knows its in the dwarf mine because he eavesdropped on the Durin and Elrond’s conversation and it’s gonna be on, and also he’s up to something else shady having sent away Galadriel when he definitely knew that the darkness was back?
This is why I subscribe to that theory about his identity. If it’s true, then that second scene between him and Galadriel was a genuinely momentous one, and their emotional conflict much richer.
What theory? Remind me, if you would.
That he’s a not-exactly-repentant, but ambivalent Sauron, expanding on a bit of trivia from some of Tolkein’s versions of the Second Age:Sauron was ashamed, and he was unwilling to return in humiliation and to receive from the Valar a sentence, it might be, of long servitude in proof of his good faith; for under Morgoth his power had been great. Therefore when Eönwë departed he hid himself in Middle-earth; and he fell back into evil, for the bonds that Morgoth had laid upon him were very strongSo the notion that Galadriel’s crusade would bring Sauron back comes to pass—just not in the way anyone thinks. And the dialogue between he and Galadriel is a major turning point in his second fall.
Good catch! Makes for a good story I think. Thanks.
It did appear to seesaw from the very last episode, but I do think it’s essential to build the doubts that everybody (the characters) have for the inevitable turns that are clearly about to go down so they don’t appear to come out of absolutely nowhere. You still don’t really know where anybody stands securely and its kinda interesting that outside of Galadriel and maybe our boy Adar, every other character is holding some sort of doubts about where their loyalties should really lie and whether their choices are going to mess absolutely everything up for their particular tribe, so the stakes are kinda interesting in that vein even though it feels flip floppy.
Yeah, I was kind of surprised that after the end of episode 4, when Miriel’s like “nevermind, we’re going to Disneyland Middle Earth!” that everyone’s… still in Numenor for an entire additional episode. Gotta get their set budget’s money’s worth, I guess.
I did always think it was a weird magical decision for Elwing to change into a plank, but I suppose if there was a ship wreck of some kind, having that ability would come in handy. I still don’t think changing in a giant board is as useful as, say, becoming a bird or something, but what can you do?
Methinks the author of the article had a typo on the “board” part, and done messed up (in multiple spots). Elwing was transformed into a bird.
Dang, Amazon must be paying y’all a bunch of money for all this coverage.
Yup, it’s so blatent, this site is a joke.
Haven’t watched the show yet but why does the guy in the top image look like he’s wearing a stillsuit
Just the lighting. He’s wearing a nice but a bit plain travelling garb of mundane materials.
I just now realized that the emblazoning on Elrond’s armor is the same as Adar’s.
It was a real mistake to have this show run at the same time Game of Thrones is on to as after an episode of the latter The Rings of Power just can’t keep my interest. I end up just seeing it as an another excuse for a girl empowerment racial diversity showcase that now plagues so many shows. They do it on GOT too but for some reason it isn’t so in your face.
I always thought it was interesting that Earendil wanted to be a human and only chose to be an elf because Elwing wanted to be an elf. It makes me think Elrond would feel even more distant from his father since he also wanted to be an elf.
What if Elwing said “Can I be a Maiar? I’m part Maiar, I wanna do that.”
Sadly, not an option she was given. The Valar were pretty explicit. But, if I nerd out, I assume it wasn’t an option because all of Melian’s descendants were children of illuvatar. What I wonder is what happened to Dior, Elured, and Eluren? Were they given choices posthumously?
Im pretty sure Finarfin only comes to Middle Earth during the War of Wrath, Matthew. He foesakes the march, etc and goes back to Tirion after the kinslaying and after Eonwe (herald of Manwe) declares the Doom of Mandos to the Noldor. He returns, begs forgiveness and then is declared high king, because he is the highest ranking Noldor left in Valinor.
“Still, Finarfin was wise enough to understand that the threat of Morgoth would not be extinguished easily. Though he left Middle-earth during the Wars of the Jewels and returned to rule in Valinor.”Nope; Finarfin left Middle Earth for Valinor during the Great Journey, well before the War of the Jewels. He then stayed in Valinor during the entire War of the Jewels, and only returned to Middle Earth after he got permission from the Valar after the plea of Earendil. Galadriel’s most important emotional relationship is with her BROTHER, Finrod Felagund, who was tortured to death and killed in the pits of Sauron while helping Beren in his quest for the Silmaril.