‘Who Knows if That Will Happen’: The Rings of Power Star Reveals Hopes for Galadriel in Season 3

It’s no secret that Galadriel nearly met her demise at the hands of the Dark Lord, Sauron, in the Season 2 finale of Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. A third season was recently confirmed and Morfydd Clark, who plays the iconic Elf, Galadriel, spoke with The Direct about her character’s journey.

“I think it’ll be fun to see her be a bit swashbuckling and joyous,” Clark said of her character’s future. “Who knows if that will happen,” she said.

In Season 1, it was revealed that Halbrand, played by Charlie Vickers, was actually Sauron in disguise. Having tricked Galadriel, her hatred for him grew, and she set out to defeat him. The battle that closed out Season 2 saw Galadriel nearly losing her life at the hands of the shapeshifting Sauron. Clark said her character was ready to give her life at that moment. “I think that she felt it was a worthy time for her to die. Should she, it would be worth it if she did. But, I think she felt that also, his story wasn’t over,” Clark said.

Clark: “I Just Love Filming With the Orcs”

Prior to the battle, the Elf nearly formed an alliance with Adar (Sam Hazeldine), to kill Sauron, but ultimately Adar was murdered by his Orcs. Clark talked about nearly teaming up with Adar. “Yeah, I think it really illuminating for her because she realized that she does really know Sauron because Adar couldn’t tell he was being tricked, so it was quite confronting that she was like, ‘No, I know his mind, and I know that he’s doing this,’” Clark said of what was going through her mind as she nearly teamed up with Adar.

“It was really fun to film as well, because she had nothing to lose at that point, she’s in such terror of what’s about to happen, so she was really letting rip, and there was just loads of Orcs. And I just love filming with the Orcs,” Clark said.

Clark Was Not Prepared for How Fans Would React to Her Character

Prior to the Season 2 premiere, Clark said in a previous interview with Elle that she was “totally unprepared” for the fan reaction to Galadriel. “I’ve seen a really dark side of what it means to be someone who (anyone) can write a message on Instagram, and a really lovely side,” Clark said. However, she added that a lot of the criticism she got from some fans were for “the things making other people feel liberated while watching (Galadriel). What certain people didn’t necessarily enjoy about her, other people did.”

Galadriel is “Unapologetic”

She added her character “takes up space; she’s unapologetic. I didn’t want her to act like a human woman who’s been taught not to be abrasive.” Rings of Power co-showrunner J.D. Payne said that her portrayal is in line with J.R.R. Tolkien’s description of a younger version of Galadriel and said that a goal of the show is to flesh out her transition into the Third Age.

“Tolkien gives us hints that (Galadriel) was prideful, that she was a warrior at various times in her history,” Payne said previously. “We said, ‘How can we take her from being an impetuous, prideful young warrior to the wise Lady of the Wood?’” Payne said. Clark said she was glad she committed to portraying Galadriel without any of the baggage that may come from playing a human. “Every other character I’ve played, because they’re human women, there’s shame built in. (In Season 1), Galadriel doesn’t have that. I’m glad I committed to that,” she said.