Galadriel’s Journey Thus Far in LOTR: The Rings of Power

Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power wrapped its second season with an action-packed, gripping finale, laying the groundwork for a potential season 3 (Fingers crossed!). Sauron finally has legions of Orcs at his disposal and has already exerted control over Eriador in his quest to bring all Middle-earth under his thumb.

The Elves, spearheaded by High King Gil-galad, Galadriel, Elrond, and Arondir, have chosen to fight back, even in the aftermath of overwhelming defeat.

A highlight of the finale is the one-on-one confrontation between Sauron and Galadriel. Sure, she’s essentially fighting a demigod, but Galadriel manages to, at least, ensure the Deceiver doesn’t get his hands on Nenya, her ring.

Galadriel’s big fight comes hot on the heels of some of her best character-centric beats in The Rings of Power. As our fearless lead and legendary Elf in J.R.R. Tolkien’s intricate lore, Galadriel is baked into the DNA of this series, so there’s no dearth of iconic moments for her.

While we wait impatiently for news of the show’s renewal, here’s a breakdown of Galadriel’s story in The Rings of Power thus far.

---

Valinor and The Hunt for Sauron

Galadriel’s arc starts near Tirion in Valinor, where, as a child, she bonds with her older brother, Finrod. Born in the Year of the Trees prior to the First Age, Galadriel recalls a time before Morgoth destroyed the Two Trees of Valinor. After she and the Elves flee their paradise for the shores of Middle-earth, her brother, Finrod, endeavors to kill Sauron, Morgoth’s second-in-command, himself. Unfortunately, he dies in the attempt.

Fast forward past the War of Wrath and Morgoth’s defeat: Galadriel takes up her late brother’s mission to root out Sauron for good. This takes us beyond the First Age and well into the Second Age. Galadriel, now Commander of the Northern Armies, arrives in Forodwaith with her team to find the same dark symbol Sauron left on Finrod’s body.

---

Lindon

Galadriel and her crew return to Lindon at the behest of High King Gil-galad. There, she reunites with Elrond Peredhel, herald of the High King. He warns her that Gil-galad isn’t happy with Galadriel’s prolonged search for Sauron. The Elves believe Sauron has been vanquished, so it’s time for Galadriel to lay down her sword. Gil-galad rewards her and her host the opportunity to return to Valinor. However, as her ship prepares to enter the Undying Lands via the Sundering Seas, Galadriel leaps into the water. She feels her work in Middle-earth is unfinished.

---

Meeting Halbrand

After spending days in the ocean, Galadriel encounters a raft of mariners adrift in the aftermath of a sea creature’s attack — one of whom is a man called Halbrand. The beast returns to finish the job, taking out the raft’s occupants, save Galadriel and Halbrand. Galadriel reveals her objective: return to Middle-earth to defeat the evil therein. At one point, Elendil, captain of Númenor’s Sea Guard, rescues them.

---

Númenor

Galadriel and Halbrand arrive in Armenelos, the capital of Númenor. Our fearsome commander conceals her Elf ears with her hair, aware of the polarizing opinions of Elves on the island. However, upon meeting Queen Regent Tar-Míriel and her chief advisor, Pharazôn, Galadriel’s Elf identity is now known. Galadriel asks the queen regent for passage back to Middle-earth, but Míriel is reluctant to grant her request.

Later, Galadriel explores the Hall of Lore courtesy of Elendil, who’s one of the Faithful. Meaning, he’s an Elf fan. There, she learns that Sauron’s sigil is a map of the Southlands. She believes the Dark Lord plans to transform that area into his new kingdom (which we know as Mordor).

---

King of the Southlands

Next, Galadriel finds Halbrand behind bars after he essentially gets into a bar fight. She tries to persuade him to accompany her to Middle-earth, which she plans to escape to regardless of whether Míriel provides assistance. Here, she discovers that Halbrand is the long-lost heir to the kingdom of the Southlands. That should incentivize him to save his people from Sauron’s nefarious actions.

Then, Galadriel joins the cell beside Halbrand when she speaks out against Míriel for refusing to uphold the ways of the Valar. When guards appear to escort Galadriel to a ship bound for Middle-earth, she overpowers them, making a break for the King’s Tower, where she sees Míriel’s bedridden father, Tar-Palantir.

---

The Great Wave

Míriel shows Galadriel her palantír, wherein she saw the vision of a massive wave consuming Númenor. The following day, Míriel decides to depart for Middle-earth with Galadriel after leaves begin falling from Nimloth the Fair, the island’s white tree, which the Númenóreans view as a sign from the Valar. The queen regent is accompanied by Elendil, his son, Isildur, and Númenor’s army. Galadriel also persuades Halbrand to tag along.

---

Udûn

Finally, Galadriel, Halbrand, and the Númenóreans arrive in the Southlands as Adar, the Lord-Father of the Orcs, battles the Southlanders, led by Silvan Elf Arondir and human healer Bronwyn. Galadriel helps the Southlanders successfully overpower Adar and his Orcs. She and Halbrand even capture Adar. While interrogating him, Galadriel learns he killed Sauron. So, it’s safe to say that Adar doesn’t believe the Dark Lord has returned.

Suddenly, Orodruin erupts, covering the area in ash and fire — this is the creation of Mordor. Galadriel helps find survivors after the eruption. In a conversation with Bronwyn’s son, Theo, we learn that Galadriel believes her husband, Celeborn, is long dead.
Later, Galadriel sees Halbrand was mortally wounded. Before she takes him to Eregion to heal, a realm of the Ñoldorin Elves, Bronwyn and the surviving Southlanders declare him their king.

---

Three Rings for the Elven Kings

In Eregion, Halbrand convalesces quite quickly. Galadriel reunites with Elrond and Celebrimbor, the Lord of Eregion and famed Elven smith. Celebrimbor finally works on his passion project, which consists of creating three rings of immense power to save the Elves and ensure they don’t have to leave Middle-earth. After all, the Great Tree of Lindon is dying, and should the last leaf fall before the Elves depart, they’ll die, too.

Halbrand befriends Celebrimbor and provides insight regarding how to craft the rings. He’s a smith by hobby. Galadriel grows suspicious of Halbrand and his motives. He’s still shrouded in mystery to her, even after fighting side by side in the Southlands.

---

Sauron Is Back

Eventually, Halbrand reveals himself as Sauron. He offers to make Galadriel his queen. They can rule Middle-earth together. Naturally, she vehemently rejects him. Elrond eventually discovers Halbrand’s true identity. After Celebrimbor forges the three Elven rings (Nenya, Vilya, and Narya) Elrond steals them, hastening back to Lindon to inform Gil-galad of Sauron’s return and his potential influence over the rings.

Later, Gil-galad learns that Galadriel fell prey to Sauron’s manipulations. He orders Elrond to hand over the rings. However, Elrond leaps off the cliff with the rings in hand. Surviving the fall, he makes his way to the Grey Havens, where ship master Círdan dwells.

---

Saving the Elves

The Elves prepare to depart for Valinor. Círdan, who Elrond asked to destroy the rings, brings them to Lindon. We see he’s wearing Narya. Galadriel slips on Nenya, and Gil-galad takes Vilya.

Suddenly, the Great Tree blossoms once more, and the Elvish lands flourish via the power of the rings. Galadriel and the Elves celebrate this success. They can remain in Middle-earth now.

---

To Eregion or Mordor

Galadriel has a vision courtesy of her ring of Celebrimbor being impaled by tree roots as he becomes part of said tree. “Are these not the seeds you planted?” he asks her. Realizing Sauron will undoubtedly return to Eregion to manipulate Celebrimbor, Galadriel urges Gil-galad to consider sending a host there to protect the Elven smith.

Galadriel ventures to the Grey Havens to persuade Elrond to accompany her to Eregion to save Celebrimbor. Elrond doesn’t trust his best friend, believing she’s still under Sauron’s influence. Also, the rings are probably tainted by the Dark Lord.
Later, Gil-galad promotes Elrond to command the Eregion team, not Galadriel. She serves as his lieutenant. The High King also considers sending a host to Mordor to tackle the Adar threat since that’s where the Lord-Father of the Orcs now resides.

---

En Route

Galadriel and Elrond assemble their crew. Then, they depart for Eregion. On the way, they encounter their fair share of obstacles, including a bevy of Barrow-wights in the Barrow-downs. Galadriel and Elrond also incessantly butt heads, with Elrond insisting they don’t need Galadriel’s counsel since she’s been corrupted by her ring.

After narrowly escaping the Barrow-wights confrontation, the Elf party arrives on the outskirts of Eregion. They see Adar’s Orcs camped there. It’s clear that Adar plans to attack Eregion and kill Sauron, who, at this point, is pretending to be Annatar, the Lord of Gifts. Annatar has convinced Celebrimbor to forge more rings, including seven rings for the Dwarves and nine rings for Men.

Anyway, Galadriel gives Elrond her ring and urges him and the others to return to Lindon. They must warn Gil-galad of Adar’s plan to lay waste to Eregion. Galadriel battles the Orcs to distract them. Unfortunately, Adar takes her captive.

---

The Enemy of My Enemy

After this, Galadriel arrives at Adar’s camp. He reassures her that she’s not a prisoner. In fact, he wants them to join forces to take down Sauron. Later, they have dinner and discuss what Sauron promised them. Sauron vowed to give Adar children (the Orcs) while Galadriel reveals that Sauron pledged to bestow her with an army.

Adar tries to persuade Galadriel to ally with him. They can defeat Sauron, and he’ll return to Mordor with his Orcs. Galadriel reveals the Elves’ plan to root out the Dark Lord. Adar shows her his legions of Orcs and how they’re poised to invade Eregion at any moment. Galadriel realizes this is what Sauron wanted — for Adar to raze Eregion. However, Adar refuses to see reason.

---

The Siege

The Siege of Eregion starts. Thankfully, the Elf army, led by Elrond and Gil-galad, arrives in time to battle the Orcs. Elrond sees that Adar has Galadriel, so he treats with the Lord-Father. Adar orders Elrond to give him Nenya, Galadriel’s ring. If Elrond refuses, he’ll kill Galadriel. Recalling his promise to Galadriel to stamp out the evil in Middle-earth at all costs, Elrond doesn’t submit to Adar’s wishes. He asks for a moment with Galadriel to say goodbye.

Elrond asks Galadriel for forgiveness in Quenya, one of the Elves’ languages. She urges him to “win.” Then, he kisses her. While they kiss, Elrond slips Galadriel a pin from his cloak, which she can use to unlock her wrist shackles and escape.

---

Escape

Galadriel flees Adar’s camp, where she reunites with Arondir. He’s on the warpath, hoping to kill Adar to avenge Bronwyn, who died of her wounds after the Southlands battle. Galadriel persuades Arondir to help the Elves save Eregion instead. Once she infiltrates the city, Galadriel encounters a bloody and battered Celebrimbor. He hands her the nine rings for Men, urging her to keep them from Sauron at all costs.

Later, we see Galadriel helping survivors escape Eregion. She fends off the Orcs to protect said survivors. After getting one group outside Eregion’s now-breached walls, a cluster of Orcs discover her. She surrenders herself to them, offering to give Adar what she wants.

When she reunites with Adar, she notices he’s wearing her ring. In the previous episode, Adar faced Elrond on the battlefield (after their meeting) and stole the ring from him. Adar, who looks like his fair Elf form with Nenya on his finger, returns the ring to Galadriel. He believes peace is possible in Middle-earth thanks to the three Elven rings. After they crush Sauron, Adar vows to return to Mordor with his Orcs.

---

Galadriel versus Sauron

Unfortunately, Adar’s redemption arc is cut short. Sauron manipulates the Orcs to kill Adar, stabbing them as they did to Sauron at the end of the First Age. Revenge is a dish best served after thousands of years. Galadriel and Sauron battle it out one-on-one. Sauron is armed with Morgoth’s crown and Adar’s sword.

Throughout their fight, Sauron tries to deceive Galadriel, transforming into Halbrand and other forms to throw her off. He stabs her in the chest with Morgoth’s crown before stealing the nine rings for Men from her. Then, Sauron demands that Galadriel hand over her ring. She pretends to submit to his will before leaping off a cliff.

---

After the Fall

Gil-galad and Arondir witness Galadriel’s leap from the cliff. The High King tries to use his ring to heal Galadriel’s chest wound from Morgoth’s crown, but it’s literally draining her immortal spirit. Elrond slips on Nenya and helps Gil-galad heal her.

Later, Galadriel wakes up in a valley that looks an awful lot like what will become Rivendell. Elrond reassures her they’re safe — the Elven rings offer protection. She provides counsel regarding what they should do next. Should they retreat and regroup or attack Sauron, whose Orc legions now invade Eriador?

Galadriel, Gil-galad, Arondir, and Elrond address the group of Eregion survivors. Gil-galad unsheathes his sword, meaning the plan is to fight back. Everyone cheers.

---

What Galadriel-specific lore do you hope to see adapted in future seasons of The Rings of Power? Join the conversation with other LOTR fans over at Sideshow Social Network or in side.show/geekgroup, and don’t forget to Let Your Geek Sideshow!