Adapting big novel franchises into films and series is no laughing matter. It takes in-depth review and research of the original source material to delve in and understand the language its fans have grown to love and understand. However, in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power, fans have shared their thoughts and criticisms on Elven Warrior Galadriel being ‘too masculine.’
“I would love to see in Tolkien where it says Galadriel never went to Numenor – that doesn’t exist.” Showrunner J.D. Payne lists his responses to fans on The Hollywood Reporter, “Second, one of her nicknames is ‘Nerwen,’ which means ‘man-maiden.’ And third, she does not act masculine!”
Showrunner Patrick McKay backs this up with his own, “Also, the name ‘Galadriel’ is loosely translated in Elvish as a maiden with a crown of golden hair.” McKay says, “The reason she had a crown of golden hair is because when she would fight and do all sorts of sparring with other elves, she would braid her hair and put it up on top of her head [to stay out of the way]. So the etymology is the idea that Galadriel is a warrior.”
Fans have had mixed responses to the show since its debut, and clearly, their vision on how Galadriel would be portrayed on screen is different from how the showrunners and stars depicted its lore.
Tolkien describes Galadriel as ‘the mightiest and fairest of all the Elves that remained in Middle-earth’ and ‘the greatest of elven women’ so it is only natural to find a sense of balance of the character being the ‘mightiest and fairest’. The creators of the show had a different interpretation and intentions set, how they planned to execute the story and its characters in accordance with their vision that would best fit the show they created.
In fact, in an interview with Variety, Morfydd Clark broke silence on similar comments made about her character’s development.
“I would say that her serenity is hard-earned,” Clark explained, “I don’t think you get to that level of wisdom without going through things. She actually speaks about [how] with wisdom, there is a loss of innocence, which was a really good thing for me to find in the lore.”
Also Read: The Rings of Power: Where is Sauron?
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