“This fanfiction is disgusting”: Why ‘The Rings of Power’ Fans’ Honest Feelings About Elrond and Galadriel Scene Make Total Sense
- Galadriel and Elrond's kiss in season two is not appreciated by the fans.
- Galadriel is Elrond's future mother-in-law, which makes the entire scene unacceptable.
- The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is streaming on Amazon Prime.
Developed by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay for Amazon Prime Video, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is a fantasy show. The show is based on J. R. R. Tolkien’s history of Middle-earth, primarily material from the appendices of the novel The Lord of the Rings. The epic drama is set a thousand years before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings and depicts the major events of Middle-earth’s Second Age.
Upon release, the first season of The Rings of Power was named as the most watched of any Prime Video original series. The series received a positive response for visuals and designs but was criticized for writing and pacing. The second season, released in August 2024, compared to the first, received lower viewership with the same criticism about writing and pacing. One particular scene in the series has been brutally slammed by the fans for the right reasons.
Galadriel and Elrond had a different connection than depicted in The Rings of Power
Actress Morfydd Clark plays Galadriel, while Robert Aramayo plays Elrond in The Rings of Power. The two characters are known to be best friends, allies, and confidants for years and are regarded as extremely powerful Elves. The two share the same goal, i.e., to use the Rings of Power to defeat Sauron after they were deceived.
Galadriel and Elrond shared an intense kiss in season two of The Rings of Power, implying a romance between the two. Reports have suggested that the two best friends have been through a lot together over the two seasons, and this intense moment between them is not the first time the viewers have been confused with their dynamics. But their kiss, which apparently comes as Elrond’s final goodbye to Galadriel, has unfortunately not cleared up anything.
CBR notes that The Silmarillion, The Lord of the Rings books, and the show never committed to the two characters being romantically involved. Apart from their goal of defeating Sauron, the two of them are connected through a family tree. Galadriel in the Second Age had a child with Celebron; Celebrían, and in the Third Age, when Celebrían and Elrond meet and fall in love. The two of them took eighteen hundred years to confess to each other how they felt, resulting in marriage.
Celebrían and Elrond have twins Elladan and Elrohir, along with sister Arwen. By this connection, Galadriel is Elrond’s mother-in-law. They are also first cousins thrice removed along with being second cousins twice removed, as Galadriel’s grandfather and Elrond’s -great- great-grand father were brothers. However, the publication mentioned there is a possibility that because the two of them spent a lot of time together, they might have embarked upon a romantic relationship, but ended it. They do have a unique bond, but their love for one another never took a romantic turn in the books.
In fact, the kiss shown in the second season is purely a distraction technique used by Elrond, and he slips off his cloak pin, which Galadriel uses to escape Adar and the Uruk-hai. But it did not sit right with fans who know the story of the characters.
Fans seemed upset with Galadriel and Elrond’s kiss in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
As it has been established that Galadriel and Elrond are not romantically involved in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, their unexpected kiss in The Rings of Power has upset the ardent fans. Fans took to their social media to express how disappointed they were with the entire sequence.
A user wrote on their X account,
I don’t care how the writers contrived Elrond kissing Galadriel. This fanfiction is disgusting. The writers and fans are weird.
Witnessing Elrond being so affectionate and fond of his future mother-in-law irks fans despite knowing that it was just to distract the orcs. Another user mentioned that it won’t be difficult to witness the love blooming for Celebrían and Elrond because Galadriel and Elrond did not enjoy the kiss. A lot of fans agreed with the fact that it’s just bad and lazy writing on the writer’s part, calling the scene ‘disgusting’. Some even went ahead and compared it with Game of Thrones.
For now, the kiss between Galadriel and Elrond is not that big of a deal but could create problems in the future. A conversation like adults would put the idea of romance to rest, and they can continue with their respective journeys. Till now, in The Rings of Power, there has been no mention of Celeborn and Galadriel’s marriage.
The Rings of Power is streaming on Amazon Prime.
