At San Diego Comic-Con, actor Benjamin Walker, who plays Gil-galad in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, offered the following popular assertion to Jamie Campbell Bower, who plays Celeborn in the series. Walker said, “You’ve been in the Middle-earth equivalent of sadistic Alcatraz for a thousand years. You’ve come out and realized Sauron has slid into your wife’s DMs…” And the crowd goes wild. Speaking to the cast and showrunner after the panel, I take these thoughts to the showrunners of The Rings of Power. Was Walker correct to frame the relationship between Celeborn, Galadriel, and Sauron as a complicated relationship tangle, indeed, I say, as “a little bit of a love triangle?” And to that, The Rings of Power‘s showrunners, J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, offer me. “Yes.” And then take a beat and confirm again, “The answer to your question is yes, absolutely.” And yes, folks, I did literally say, “Love Triangle.”
So there you have it; something is brewing between Sauron, Galadriel, and Celeborn this season on The Rings of Power. Celeborn and Galadriel, of course, are husband and wife, and the pair share a strong romantic bond tragically complicated by separation… Or is that tragically complicated by Sauron?
Meanwhile, the question of what kind of love Galadriel has for Sauron is a complicated one. But I think we can all agree that during her time spent with Halbrand, and into The Rings of Power season two, Galadriel felt an incredibly strong bond and intimacy with the Dark Lord. She trusted who she perceived him to be, let him into her heart and confidences, and admitted that “fighting at his side” was a feeling unlike any she had experienced before. In The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season two, Galadriel does tell Sauron that her mind is shut to him… But you can bet she hears Sauron knocking in season three, likely even after Celeborn comes back into Galadriel’s life. And that knocking probably won’t be so easy to ignore.
Charlie Vickers tells us that for his part, Sauron probably wasn’t really listening to Galadriel’s rejection all that closely. He offers with a grin, “I think in Sauron’s mind, maybe Galadriel didn’t reject him. I think he just tried to ignore that.” Next to him, Daniel Weyman, who plays Gandalf, chimes in, “Classic denial.” That seems right for us when it comes to the Dark Lord. Sauron offered Galadriel a crown and a kingdom. He wanted her to be his Queen, and his readiness to believe that she’d succumb to that temptation lost him her elven ring and let her get away. That’s seducing the seducer, everyone.
But a triangle has three legs. And it sounds like Celeborn and Sauron have their own fascinating relationship in play, in addition to their feelings about Galadriel. Vickers confirms that Celeborn and Sauron will meet in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season three. And when they do, it doesn’t seem like it will be for the first time. In fact, Vickers notes, “They have their own shared history.” And in full offers, “I mean, the thing with Celeborn is when Sauron meets Celeborn, if Sauron meets Celeborn, well, let’s face it, they’re going to meet at some point. They have their own shared history. They’ve both been around for hundreds of years. So they have their own kind of thing.” Vickers mimes two people meeting and recognizing one another, “Oh, it’s like, oh.” And laughs again, “And then there’s also this other added thing of, by the way, ‘I’ve been hanging out with your wife.” Hanging out with Galadriel will likely make Celeborn and Sauron’s reunion a bit awkward, alright.
Sold to Saurondrielborn? Or is it Celerondriel? Well, whichever it is, we cannot wait for whatever “love triangle” shenanigans ensure between Sauron, Galadriel, and Celeborn this season in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
The Rings of Power season three premieres on Prime Video on November 11. The full release schedule can be found here.