The Rings of Power Outrageous Kiss Scene Was Show's Biggest Fail, Fans Say
You can write your own story, but you can't violate the canon.
In 2022, the ratings for the first season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power broke all records.
Despite the skepticism of fans around the Amazon project, people were eager to return to Middle-earth and relive the feelings they had when reading the books or watching Peter Jackson's films.
Unfortunately, many of the fears of Tolkien fans were not in vain. The show did not live up to expectations. Along with high ratings, the first season received a barrage of criticism from them. The ratings of the second season dropped significantly compared to the first.
The Rings of Power Season 2 Episode 7 Features the Most Outrageous Scene of the Whole Show
Galadriel remained one of the most annoying characters of the show, but fortunately she was no longer the focus of the story.
In the second season, Elrond is forced to interact with Galadriel most of the time, but their duet lacks synergy, and there are some moments we just want to erase from our memory. For example, the kiss between Elrond and Galadriel.
Though the seventh episode of Season 2 in which the scene takes place aired in September 2024, the writing decision is still causing outrage among viewers. Reddit user Nknk- wrote:
“Lack of writing skill means they go down the soap opera route and think they're very clever for it.
Lack of respect for the audience and the source material means they don't care how much they mangle things, they'll expect you to swallow it down without complaint.”
And it's hard to argue with that, given the canonical relationship between Elrond and Galadriel.
That Kiss Was the Worst Way to Justify Elrond Saving Galadriel
In Episode 7, Galadriel is held captive by Adar. When Elrond arrives to negotiate, he approaches the imprisoned Galadriel to bid her farewell. The elf pretends to leave everything as it is and let her die.
But suddenly Elrond leans down and kisses Galadriel. He uses the kiss to give the woman a pin, which she uses to escape.
There seems to be no hidden romantic feelings here, but the moment is still surprising – why couldn't the writers have found another way to give the pin to Galadriel and not put these two characters in a weird situation?
The Kiss Scene Is a Gross Violation of Tolkien's Canon
In Tolkien's works, Elrond eventually marries Galadriel's daughter Celebrían, who has not been mentioned in the series, so it is safe to assume that she has not yet been born.
Thus, those who expected Galadriel and Elrond relationship to eventually develop into a mother-son in-law relationship were surprised and even offended by their kiss.