In season one of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, the elf Galadriel inadvertently fell prey to the Dark Lord Sauron and his deceptions. While seeking to destroy Sauron, Galadriel, in her stubborn single-mindedness, helped him return to his full power instead. Despite this, Galadriel followed through with Sauron’s plan and helped to forge the Elven Rings of Power at the end of the season. But all of that has left its mark. In celebration of season two of The Rings of Power, Nerdist sat down with Morfydd Clark, who plays Galadriel on the show, to discuss where Galadriel’s journey will take her in the wake of her season one revelations. In our conversation, Clark dives deep with us to discuss Galadriel’s still-present pull toward Halbrand, the potential for fireworks with Sauron, a complicated relationship with Adar, and where the elf finds herself heading this season.
You can check out our full The Rings of Power season two Galadrien interview with Morfydd Clark below.
Nerdist: The loss of a friendship is never easy, and in season one, Galadriel lets Halbrand into parts of herself that she walled off from almost everyone else. Does Galadriel miss Halbrand, and how does she deal with the loss of him in The Rings of Power season two?
Morfydd Clark: I feel she definitely misses Halbrand, and I think she also misses herself before she was betrayed. I think there’s a loss of innocence once that’s happened to you. And yeah, and I think also something big that has happened is that she’s seeing herself as corruptible and that’s a tough thing to come to terms with.
Do you think that Galadriel believes anything Sauron told her as Halbrand, for instance, being sorry for killing her brother, not really wanting to go back to Middle-earth, things like that?
Clark: Yes. I feel there are parts of her that want to that she doesn’t allow herself to feel. It’s taking fierce control from her to, first of all, not kind of give into him and then also to kind of move on from this entanglement that she was in. But I also think that whether she thinks what he said is true or not, he’s changed her, and that’s so annoying.
What do you imagine a The Rings of Power reunion between Sauron and Galadriel would be like at this point?
Clark: I mean, I’m really excited about them eventually, say, coming face to face again because there’ll be fireworks for sure. And I mean, it just was interesting comprehending that as an actor, thinking in this world, there is the most evil thing, and he’s kind of obsessed with you. And you know now that it’s so real and what it would mean to join him. What I love about Tolkien is that there are loads of shades of gray within his world, but then also there’s kind of Galadriel and Sauron are just stark opposites. And so the idea of them coming together is just always going to be exciting because it’s like they shouldn’t exist in the same universe, but they do.
In season one, Galadriel was so singularly self-assured in her past, but then that assurance did lead her astray. Does her guilt over her mistakes drive her or make her doubt herself? And what roads does that lead Galadriel down in The Rings of Power season two?
Clark: I think that they make her healthily doubt herself, but also she knows that there’s no time for her to be in a slump. And so she’s kind of like a wounded animal who’s having to keep running and try and lick their wounds, but there’s no time for it. And that’s tough.
Have her own black-and-white visions of the world softened or hardened in the wake of Halbrand’s betrayal?
Clark: So this is what I think is beautiful about elves: they continue to see kind of light and beauty no matter what happens. And ultimately, even though she was kind of almost as individualistic and unconnected to her elfness last season as she could be, she is an elf. And so, even though the darkness is so much more frightening and so much more real, she still can see it. She knows that light is there and has to be thoughtful.
Something that struck me as I was rewatching season one and beginning season two are the i nteresting parallels between Galadriel and Adar on The Rings of Power. They both have this complicated love-hate relationship with Sauron, and they kind of want to kill him but also crave him. Adar pointed this out a little bit in season one. Do you think that’s something Galadriel could ever consider in a kind of “enemy of my enemy as my friend” way? Or could she just never see something like that?
Clark: Yeah, it’s an interesting thought. I mean, Adar is so interesting because he was an elf, and I think that will always be something that she can’t forget. And he also was an elf who was abandoned. And so this is something that’s so interesting about elves as well, is they’re complicit in everything that’s ever happened because they were there. So I think seeing Adar’s existence is extremely confronting and will never be something that she’ll be able to get any easy answers from or know what’s the right thing to do necessarily. I think he’s much more confusing to her than Sauron.
Do we see them have any more interactions this season?
Clark: Maybe.
Although the Elven Rings of Power were not touched by Sauron, they do have this hypnotic pull to them. Does Galadriel’s ring control her, or does she control her ring on The Rings of Power season two?
Clark: Well, the thing is, they don’t know. This is what is the big thing. They’re taking a massive risk because the situation is so dire, and they don’t know what’s going to happen from that. And that’s going to be really interesting seeing whether they’ve made the right decision, whether they’ll ever feel whether they have, and I like to think that the rings influence the people, but also, or the elves, but the wearer influences the ring as well. So it’s going to be forever changing.
Galadriel confirmed the existence of Celeborn in season one of The Rings of Power. Is that a facet of her life that’s explored in season two?
Clark: Well, I find it really emotional that she thinks that Celeborn is dead. And I like to feel that there’s this part of her that isn’t awake; the softest part of her has been closed. And one day, hopefully, Celeborn will be there to make her safe again.
Are there any new characters that Galadriel interacts with this season of The Rings of Power that you particularly enjoyed seeing her meet?
Clark: Yes. Her and Elrond have a little band of elves, which was so much fun. And yeah, that was great. And it’s also exciting whenever a new elf is cast, like what’s their special thing? What are they going to be particularly amazing at? And we had some great, great actors. So yeah, we see her in very different situations to season one, where she was alone amongst men.
Speaking of Elrond, their bond begins in a complicated place in season two. How do you think the pair might begin to mend that relationship?
Clark: Yeah, I think it’s really tough for Elrond to forgive what she did, and I think all she can do is wait and hope.
And finally, are there any parts of Tolkien’s lore that you’re especially excited to see brought to life this season of The Rings of Power?
Clark: My desire to spoil right now is very strong, but I can’t, so I’ll just say there are things I’m very excited about.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is now streaming on Prime Video.