How That Scene With Adar Changed Galadriel Forever in ‘The Rings of Power’ Season 2 [Exclusive]
Fans of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power might have spent the season anticipating the reunion between Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Sauron (Charlie Vickers), but as we know now, that particular moment didn’t come until the season finale. Understandable, as Sauron was a tad busy breaking Celebrimbor’s (Charles Edwards) mind and spirit in Eregion, and Galadriel spent the first half of the season tracking him down. The second half of the season for Galadriel, however, was spent with Adar (Sam Hazeldine), the leader of the Orcs, as his prisoner. Their interactions during that time are interesting, to say the least, and in a recent interview with Collider’s Carly Lane, Clark says that one moment in particular will change Galadriel “forever.”
“I love the character of Adar because he contradicts so many of our ideas of Middle-earth and good and evil,” Clark said, referencing Adar’s true moral ambiguity. After all, ultimately what he wants is to live free with his children, but it quickly turns into a question of the ends justifying the means. But the final moment between Adar and Galadriel is the one that Clark says will change her character forever, as it gives her a new perspective on someone she had previously underestimated:
“Galadriel particularly has such little regard for him and writes him off in a way that is unhelpful to her and Middle-earth, really. And seeing that their final interaction is her seeing him do something that barely any beings on Middle-earth could do, which is to reject the power of a ring, I think will change her forever.”
Clark went on to add that she loved what this change in perspective meant for Galadriel in the long run, for instance, when a certain group of Hobbits show up in Lothlorien:
“I love this idea that the Elves know so much, but as we see later on, Galadriel is moved by the hobbits, that, despite all this wisdom, they can’t know the future exactly. Even with the gift of foresight, they will continue to be surprised. It was really nice to have her truly being blindsided by what he did.”
Adar Looks a Little Different in ‘Rings of Power’ Season 2
It was very widely publicized ahead of the second season of Rings of Power that Hazeldine would take over the role of Adar from Joseph Mawle, which gave both Clarke and Vickers the chance to reacquaint themselves with the character, in a manner of speaking. Vickers had nothing but the highest praise for his co-star and the dimension — not to mention the sex appeal — he brought to the role:
“The character is so interesting, and Sam is so nice, as well. He’s the opposite, and I always think that’s amazing to see him do that. I got to work with him really early on because we had those sequences in the cell, and he does that monologue when he was corrupted, and I just remember the first days of working with him, actually, and just thinking, “This is going to be a real joy, and he’s going to do such an amazing thing with this character.” At that time, I don’t think I knew the whole bit about the ring. You get to see him being quite sexy for a while, as well.”
The first two seasons of Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power are streaming on Prime Video now.
