I am an extremely forgiving viewer. Give me a story that is internally consistent, throw in some well-designed sets and costumes, and most importantly some compelling characters, and I’m sold. It’s little wonder that I’ve been all in on Prime Video’s Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power since the beginning. It ticks all of the above boxes, and puts a fresh spin on a world and story I have enjoyed since I was 11. A lot has been made of whether the story is accurate to Tolkien’s writings, and as far as I’m concerned, The Rings of Power has got it where it counts, that is to say, in the heart and the spirit. That said, Season 2 did have one glaring issue, and it was an issue specific to the show, made more obvious by the fact that this was something Season 1 had in spades, and it is simply: Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Sauron (Charlie Vickers) don’t spend nearly enough time together on-screen.

Simply put, Vickers and Clark have electric chemistry. Their dynamic, and the way they play off each other, is so good it gave rise to the Haladriel ship — that is to say Halbrand/Galadriel, pulling its name from Sauron’s Season 1 alter ego — and the one scene they do share in Season 2 is one of the most exciting of the season. Their season finale confrontation just outside of Eregion is stunning for its choreography and for the way the two actors manage to do so much with minimal dialogue and a few key looks shared between them. But the power of this scene highlights my biggest frustration with the season overall. This is the only scene the two of them share, and that was a massively missed opportunity.

What Happened Between Sauron and Galadriel in Season 2 — and How They Could Have Had More Scenes Together

Rings of Power Season 2 saw Sauron headed for Eregion to forge more Rings of Power with Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) under the guise of Annatar, while Galadriel regrouped with Elrond (Robert Aramayo) and High King Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker), as the Elves tried to figure out how to stop the impending threat posed by Sauron. The problem for Elrond and Gil-galad, however, is that in accepting Nenya, the Ring of Power forged for her, and given her history with Halbrand, the pair feel Galadriel is susceptible to undue influence from Sauron, given that he was already “in her mind” once. Galadriel insists this is untrue, and insists her instincts and drive are unchanged, and for the most part that is true. She’s guided by Nenya, yes, but without the corruption Elrond and Gil-galad feared. Really, the only hint we get that Sauron is in her mind at all is the brief glimpse she gets of him in Eregion, a shot in Episode 2 where he turns around and almost seems to notice her seeing him. ‘

My first thought was that Sauron had forged a connection between their minds, intentionally or unintentionally. Unintentional is the more interesting choice, as it removes both of their abilities to manipulate that connection and forces them to engage with it at face value. If you know me at all, you know the comparison I’m about to make, and that is to the Star Wars sequel trilogy and the Force connection between Rey (Daisy Ridley) and Kylo Ren (Adam Driver). They speak to one another in their minds, barely able to interact physically, which forces them actually to have a conversation, and this inevitably makes their face-to-face meetings more charged as they try to puzzle out how much of those conversations will carry over into real life.

Had Rings of Power taken a similar approach with Galadriel and Sauron and allowed them to speak with one another mind-to-mind before their confrontation in Eregion, it would make that already fantastic fight on the cliff that much stronger, not to mention give the actors a chance to play off one another more. It would make Sauron feel like he perhaps still has a chance at wooing her to his side, and it would make Galadriel’s hurt and anger feel that much more personal. Given that they were kept apart for so much of the season, it removes the personal sting of Galadriel’s anger with Sauron, and makes it feel more like the vague, moral anger that Elrond and Gil-galad feel.

None of this is to say that the scenes between Annatar/Sauron and Celebrimbor should have been sacrificed for the sake of him running after Galadriel. Given that those scenes in the Eregion forge were also exquisitely done and truly showcased the horror of Sauron’s powers, I would not give them up for anything. But a little goes a long way in Rings of Power. The season was full of character moments — Arondir and Isildur (Maxim Baldry), Durin (Owain Arthur) and Disa (Sophia Nomvete), Elendil (Lloyd Owen) and Miriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) — that may not have lasted long individually but they really played up the chemistry that the actors share to drive the story forward. With Galadriel and Sauron as one of the series’ cornerstone duos, it’s a shame that Season 2 didn’t take the opportunity for them to play off one another more.