The Rings of Power season 2 makes mention of a promise Galadriel has made, which The Lord of the Rings already proved she will break eventually. In the continuation of the hit Prime Video show, the story picks up immediately from where The Rings of Power season 1’s ending left off. Galadriel and Elrond are left to reckon with the three elven rings, deducing whether they can be trusted or whether they fold into Sauron’s Rings of Power plan.

In the three-episode premiere of The Rings of Power season 2, tensions are notably higher between Galadriel and Elrond than they were in season 1. The latter believes the dark lord is using the rings as a means of deception – not entirely untrue given Sauron’s Annatar form in Rings of Power season 2 – while the former insists the rings are free of his corruption. These tensions lead to Galadriel and Elrond talking about prior promises they have made, one of which the timeline beyond The Rings of Power has confirmed Galadriel will break.

Galadriel Will Break Her Promise To Elrond (The Lord Of The Rings Confirms It)

Galadriel’s Quest For Vengeance Slowly Dissipates

In The Rings of Power season 2, Galadriel mentions the promise Elrond made to her in season 1. This promise was that if Elrond caught wind of Sauron’s return, he would stop at nothing to defeat him. Galadriel made a similar promise, first to her brother Finrod, and then to Elrond himself. Despite so much of The Rings of Power‘s story centering on Galadriel’s obsession with defeating Sauron, The Lord of the Rings already confirmed this promise will not be fulfilled.

While Galadriel is shown to aid the Fellowship by providing them with shelter and valuable tools that allow them to combat Sauron and his forces, she is content to remain in Lothlórien…

By the time of The Lord of the Rings, thousands of years after The Rings of Power, Galadriel takes a much less active role in the war against Sauron. While Galadriel is shown to aid the Fellowship by providing them with shelter and valuable tools that allow them to combat Sauron and his forces, she is content to remain in Lothlórien. Instead of remembering her promise to Finrod and Elrond from millennia ago, Galadriel’s agency against Sauron extends to helping Frodo by the time of The Lord of the Rings, thousands of years after The Rings of Power‘s Second Age.

The Rings Of Power Must Explain Why Galadriel Gives Up Trying To Defeat Sauron

Galadriel’s Arc Will Likely Explain Her Role In The Lord Of The Rings

Custom image by Debanjana Chowdhury

With the confirmation already being given that Galadriel eventually lets go of her anger toward Sauron, The Rings of Power is expected to explain how this comes to pass. The first season of The Rings of Power saw Galadriel acting rather impulsively; not only was she ignoring orders from her elven High King Gil-galad but she was blindly throwing herself into dangerous situations in order to find and kill Sauron. This headstrong warrior is a far cry from the serene, calm warden of Lothlórien from The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

As such, The Rings of Power‘s five-season story must explore why Galadriel gives up her vendetta. One element that could explain this is the elven Ring of Power she now possesses. In the three-episode premiere of The Rings of Power season 2 alone, Galadriel seems calmer and less rash, likely driven by the ring’s power. After centuries of wielding such a ring – and others like Isildur, Elendil, Elrond, and Gil-galad taking up the fight as seen in The Lord of the Rings’ prologue – The Rings of Power could explain that Galadriel simply lets go of her burning anger toward Sauron.