In The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Galadriel briefly mentions her husband while speaking with Theo after the eruption of Mount Doom. Although he has a small role in The Fellowship of the Ring film, Celeborn is seen in the movie when the fellowship arrives in Lothlórien. This is the reason many people have questioned why he hasn’t appeared in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series yet.
While it’s known that The Rings of Power does break canon, it was still very surprising to learn what Galadriel had to say about Celeborn. During her conversation with Theo, Galadriel reveals that Celeborn is dead. This is a huge misstep for several reasons. As previously mentioned, Celeborn is alive and well in The Fellowship of the Ring film. This creates a very confusing situation for fans of The Rings of Power.
Another reason being that Elrond marries Celebrían, the mother of Arwen and the daughter of Galadriel and Celeborn. Of course, it’s possible that Celebrían was already born in The Rings of Power, just never mentioned. But if that’s the case, then why wouldn’t have Galadriel mentioned her daughter when also speaking of her husband?
Why Does Galadriel Think Celeborn Is Dead In The Rings Of Power?
Before jumping into whether or not Celeborn is alive, why does Galadriel believe that Celeborn is dead in The Rings of Power?
Although Galadriel doesn’t give viewers too much information on the topic, in the TV series, she briefly mentions to Theo that many centuries ago she married Celeborn. However, Galadriel doesn’t actually say the words “Celeborn is dead,” instead what she recounts to Theo shows it is simply what she believes. She mentions that her husband left to fight Morgoth during the Elves’ war with the evil being. But he never returned. Given this information, it’s not certain whether Celeborn is alive or not.
Of course, logically speaking when someone leaves to fight in a war and never returns, it is a safe assumption to make that they died during that war. So it’s completely understandable why Galadriel thinks her husband is deceased in The Rings of Power.
Is Celeborn Alive?
It’s impossible to say for certain what direction The Rings of Power is taking Celeborn’s storyline, especially since the series has creative liberties. The only thing that can be said for certain are the facts that Galadriel has revealed: Celeborn left to fight Morgoth and has not returned.
Although Galadriel believes Celeborn to be dead, this can’t be confirmed, at least not yet. As far as viewers are aware, Celeborn could be alive. But that still doesn’t answer whether he is or not. There are plenty of possibilities surrounding where Celeborn could be, but here are two of the most likely options.
The first option is that Galadriel is correct, and Celeborn died while fighting Morgoth. This is probably the more unlikely of the two options, because it does go against canon and will create a serious plothole.
If Celeborn is never mentioned again and viewers are to assume he’s dead, it would be rather hard to explain how Celeborn’s magically alive and reunited with Galadriel in The Fellowship of the Ring movie. Of course, The Rings of Power does have liberties and doesn’t have to follow canon, but this would still be a huge plothole if it’s ignored.
The second option, assuming The Rings of Power takes into account The Lord of the Rings, is that Celeborn is alive. Assuming he’s alive, that begs the question: why hasn’t he returned to Galadriel? There are even several ways Celeborn’s absence could be explained in The Rings of Power, most of which would revolve around him being a prisoner of war. This would explain both why he hasn’t returned and why Galadriel assumes him to be dead.
Why Hasn’t Galadriel Searched For Celeborn?
Assuming Galadriel’s husband is alive, it’s rather surprising that she isn’t searching for Celeborn. And if there’s anything that’s been shown about Galadriel in The Rings of Power, it’s that she doesn’t give up that easily.
In fact, in The Rings of Power, Galadriel is so driven to avenge her brother, Finrod, that she rejects her opportunity to return to Valinor. If Galadriel is so passionate about justice for her brother, it would make sense that she would also try to avenge her husband’s death.
What’s even more perplexing is that Sauron is believed dead by many, Elves included, yet Galadriel refuses to believe he is. If there’s no body, it’s hard to confirm someone is dead. So it makes sense why she believed, and rightfully so, that Sauron was still alive. But given this same logic, why hasn’t she searched for Celeborn?
The most important note to point out is that Galadriel never said she didn’t search for Celeborn. Her conversation with Theo about Celeborn is brief and lacks many details. For all viewers know, Galadriel could have searched for Celeborn after he didn’t return home to her. It’s possible she spent a long time searching for him, but came up with nothing, and afterwards decided to turn her attention towards avenging Finrod.
However, assuming she didn’t search for her husband, she could just be afraid of what she will find. Instead of searching for Celebron, she turns her attention towards her anger and her need to hunt down Sauron. Losing her husband and brother, and holding in the anger she has for Sauron is a large part of who Galadriel is in The Rings of Power. Galadriel’s character centers around her anger and need for vengeance. The show needs her to be angry in order for her storyline to make sense, otherwise she would have no reason to search for Sauron.
