Summary
- The absence of Galadriel’s husband, Celeborn, and their daughter, Celebrian, in The Rings of Power raises concerns and creates a major plot hole for the show.
- Fans speculate that Celeborn may return in the future to explain his absence, but it would be harder to justify Celebrian’s absence without mentioning her name.
- The show should retcon Celebrian’s character to simplify Galadriel’s storyline and maintain the focus on the central conflict with Sauron, even if it means erasing Arwen from the show’s canon.
There is one major plot hole that arose in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power that viewers are concerned might grow even larger in season 2. The show, which serves as a prequel to J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings novels, follows the character of Galadriel as she travels Middle-earth in search of Sauron in order to restore peace to the realm. The Rings of Power season 1 ended with the dramatic reveal that Sauron had been under Galadriel’s nose the entire time, disguised as one of her closest friends.
The Rings of Power used several Tolkien characters that hadn’t previously been adapted for the screen, but it also excluded several important features from the source material that culminated in one major plot hole. While this issue doesn’t pose too much of a problem for now, dedicated fans of the Lord of the Rings universe are concerned that it could have a much larger effect on Galadriel’s journey as the story progresses. But The Rings of Power never claimed to be sticking too closely to Tolkien’s works, so there might be a way the show can write itself out of the problem.
Galadriel Mentioning Celebrian Would Be Weird After Rings Of Power Season 1
The plot hole concerns Galadriel’s past before the events of The Rings of Power, specifically her relationship with an Elf named Celeborn. In the novels, Galadriel and Celeborn are married at a young age and spend the rest of their lives together, as seen in Peter Jackson’s movie The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. But the character is completely absent from the Prime Video series. He’s finally mentioned in the last episode of season 1 when Galadriel reveals that he’s presumed dead or missing, and she’s continued without him. However, this doesn’t explain the absence of another important character: the couple’s daughter, Celebrian.
It’s definitely unusual that The Rings of Power has decided to rewrite Galadriel’s relationship, but fans have a theory that Celeborn is alive and will return in the future, which would explain the choice. It would be much harder to explain Celebrian’s absence, particularly since Galadriel didn’t mention her name when opening up to Halbrand in the season one finale. It wouldn’t make sense for The Rings of Power to completely ignore Galadriel’s daughter for an entire season just to mention her in the future, which only leaves one logical option for the writers.
Rings Of Power Should Retcon Galadriel’s Daughter (Despite Her Being Arwen’s Mother)
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has already made several changes from Tolkien lore, so it wouldn’t be too difficult for the show to retcon Celebrian’s character too. Her inclusion would complicate Galadriel’s storyline too much, particularly if Celeborn is coming back, as it would distract from the central conflict with Sauron. Although this would also erase Arwen, who is Celebrian’s daughter, from the canon of the show, it’s unlikely she was going to play a major role anyway, and this universe is clearly separate from Peter Jackson’s cinematic trilogy already.