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Warning: The following contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power episode 7! Turn back now if you have not seen the latest installment in Amazon's epic series.
No, your ears do not deceive you: Galadriel name-checks her Elven husband Celeborn in The Rings of Power. The moment comes as Galadriel and Theo get some rest following the creation of Mount Doom and Mordor, as they hide from Orcs under a tree. Unfortunately, Galadriel's a little vague about what happened, saying that she has not seen Celeborn for a long time – there's longing and sadness in her voice, implying that she believes he is dead.
We sat down with Morfydd Clark, who plays Galadriel, to discuss the moment and her character's relationship with Celeborn. "At this point, I feel that she thinks he's gone," she says. "And so he's another part of her grief."
She points out that Galadriel's been unable to tell anyone else about her husband so far. "I really loved that scene because there is the wisdom of youth that Theo has to be able to make an elf talk about something nobody else knows," she says. "It's really interesting because the Celeborn and Galadriel story is a mystery – Tolkien wrote it quite a few different ways. They were apart for lots of it. It's really interesting in terms of, how do they view their relationship? It's not typical. I'm excited for the name Celeborn to drop."
Clark did not know beforehand that Theo and Galadriel would be teaming up in the series, the two characters having been so distant for the six previous episodes. "That was really cool, working with Tyroe [Muhafidin] who was brilliant. He's so enthusiastic. He's just so talented. And it did feel like, 'Ooh, we get to work together. who'd have thought?' But... going back to Celeborn. When you read about the Elves, because I didn't know about this, because I was just into The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and you read about them in Valinor, they are just having a laugh, and dancing and singing. I feel like Celeborn brings really good vibes, and that must be what he's got that Galadriel doesn't."
While it's seemingly clear Celeborn – the one-day co-ruler of Lothlorien alongside Galadriel – will appear in the series, showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay remain slightly more coy about what vibes he will bring. During a Q&A session following a screening of The Rings of Power's seventh episode, they say: "She says she never saw him again. We know there are things that the two of them do together, the progeny that they will issue, and realms they will found, so it's hard to say they will never see each other again."
There's still an episode of Rings of Power's first season to go – could Celeborn crop up? Most likely not: there are a few other storylines to wrap up first, including Sauron's true identity, The Stranger being given a name, and Adar's next plan. We will have to wait for the finale to drop on Amazon Prime Video to find out more (here is the full Rings of Power release schedule so you know when it's dropping).
