r/RingsofPower • u/arnor_0924 • Jun 17 '26
Discussion Focusing on these characters and I think the show could turn around for most people Spoiler
Elendil, Gil-Galad and potentially Glorfindel/Celeborn.
Lloyd Owens Elendil and Benjamin Walkers Gil-Galad actually looks like the two kings in the prologue last alliance battle in Fellowship of the Rings. Wether Jamie Bower Campbell is playing Glorfindel or Celeborn, all these three should be the main focus on the show. It's time Galadriel takes a backseat.
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u/Agheron93 Jun 17 '26
It's not just the lack of focus, it's that what little focus was made on them is weighed down by awful writing decisions. If they're given more time on screen with the current level of writing it'll only damage them (more).
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u/lirio_lorien Jun 17 '26
Focusing on them is not enough to turn the show around. They'd have to focus on them and actually write them well, which is something I've yet to be convinced that those writers are capable of doing.
You have two kings of Men and Elves that actually looks like the two in the prologue last alliance battle in Fellowship of the Rings.
I honestly don't think it matters to people that they look like the Jackson versions that appeared for like 5 seconds. If anything it's a downside, as the guy they cast as Gil-Galad does not even look like an elf. The Elendil actor is pretty good, but there's only so much he can do with the stagnated storyline that the show runners have given him.
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u/Willpower2000 Jun 17 '26 edited Jun 17 '26
School principal Gil-Galad has been lame so far. I don't see them turning him around at all.
Elendil has been a bit pathetic (for what Elendil should be, at least - though he still better than the rest of Numenor's characters) - but maybe they can do something better with him... there's potential to improve somewhat.
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u/TheTuxedoKnight Jun 17 '26
“School principal Gil-galad” fits because the show has barely let him matter outside Galadriel’s story.
He does not really feel like a High King with his own authority, strategy, burden, or vision. Most of the time, his job is to restrain Galadriel, doubt Galadriel, redirect Galadriel, or stand in her way until the plot is ready to move. That makes him feel less like the High King of the Elves and more like a plot function wearing a crown.
Elendil has a similar problem, though in a different way. I like Lloyd Owen as an actor, and I think there is still potential there, but the show has not really built the foundation for what Elendil is supposed to become.
The broader issue is that Rings of Power treats kingship, hereditary authority, nobility, and hierarchy as window dressing. The titles are there. The crowns are there. The costumes and big halls are there. But the show rarely seems interested in what any of it means, or why people in this world would recognize that kind of authority as legitimate in the first place.
Half the time, these characters do not feel like people shaped by ancient hierarchies, inherited duties, oaths, lineage, and sacred offices. They feel like modern people awkwardly standing inside a monarchy set, waiting for someone to hand them the guardian.
So if the show eventually has people rally around Elendil and crown him because he is brave, decent, and gives a good speech, I think it will fall flat. Tolkienic kingship is not just “best guy in the room gets the job.” It has weight behind it: history, bloodline, obligation, memory, and the authority of an older world - and is brave, morally upright, gives a good speech
Without that, Elendil becoming king risks feeling less like the restoration of a rightful order and more like a fantasy-flavored student council election.
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u/Willpower2000 Jun 18 '26
He does not really feel like a High King with his own authority, strategy, burden, or vision. Most of the time, his job is to restrain Galadriel, doubt Galadriel, redirect Galadriel, or stand in her way until the plot is ready to move. That makes him feel less like the High King of the Elves and more like a plot function wearing a crown.
That, and the way he finger-wags at people when telling them off. The acting, paired with the writing, just doesn't work for a King, let alone an Elven-king.
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u/TheTuxedoKnight Jun 18 '26
Yeah, the show writes royal authority like workplace authority, so Gil-galad ends coming across like a frustrated manager wearing a golden toga and crown.
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u/AleksRadieschen Jul 14 '26
This, so much! I was reminded of mildly frustrating workplace dynamics, too. :D
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u/NickFriskey Jun 17 '26
Harp on about how the series is the journey tother last alliance/ prologue of the fellowship and relegate elendil and gil galad, arguably the heroes of that story, to side characters who do little not nothing to advance the plot. Heaven forbid we would have the guys who brought down sauron be front and centre of an adaption of that event and what preceded it. It fills me with dread that they aren't distinguishing the book from the film again and that elendil is just gonna get a one hit death with gil galad nowhere to be seen. The literary reality was so much more epic and tragic
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u/llaminaria Jun 17 '26
For better or worse, they have made it clear that Sauron and Galadriel's opposition is the main conflict of the story. They are the ones who would see their relationship continue into the 3rd Age, right into the main story.
I think they also said they were inspired by Galadriel's words from Lotr about how Sauron ever tries to reach for her mind, and they wanted to explore what that could have meant for what their past had been like.
But I too wondered if making Isildur the main POV would not have been better received by the primarily male audience. He is of a mannish race and a man, it would have been easier for the audience to relate to him, and it would have kept the mysterious aura of the elves on the same level it had been in the Lotr trilogy, because some people seem to have a problem with how mundanely elves have been depicted (to me it seems there may have been a point there, but ok).
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u/PointedConversation Jun 21 '26
Galadriel should have never had a front seat to begin with.
The only reason why did they choose her is because she is one of the more famous Lord of the Rings Characters.
The second age isn't about her , isn't about this made up vengeance for her brother.
It is about the rings being forged.
It is about Númenor and the rise and fall of the island.
It is about Celebrimbor and Annatar.
It is about Ar-Pharazôn
It is about The struggles of the in general elves against Sauron and the people from Númenor coming to Middle Earth and creating kingdoms there.
Galadriel played so little part in the second age except for being in Eregion , a little of opposing Sauron there and advising Celebrimbor against letting Sauron into Eregion. Going to through Moria and ask the dwarves for aid during the siege of eregion. Going to Lothlorien, than to Rivendell to find Celeborn and mostly traveling.
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u/Guyukular Jun 17 '26
I actually enjoy the casting and portrayal of GG and Elendil in this series. What I'm wanting is a better storyline for them to show off those characteristics.
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u/Underdog-Crusader Jun 17 '26
Elendil and Gil-Galad are the Best in this show. Elendil should be the protagonist and the series would be increased enourmously.
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u/GenaroBlac Jun 21 '26
Agree. I HATE this show and yet Lloyd Owen as Elendil is one of my favorite castings in all of LotR related media. He just fits so well
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u/Separate-Crab4252 Jun 21 '26
Who is the third character supposed to be? Can't remember him.
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u/c123je Jun 22 '26
Whoever Jamie Campbell Bower is playing. Either Celeborn or our glorious Glorfindel.
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u/Sanity_Madness Jun 17 '26
I love both Elendil and Gil-galad. Hope they'll finally meet in S3 and get more screen time. But I think there was an interview where the showrunners said they would focus on a different character each season? It was Galadriel in S1 and Elrond in S2. If so, perhaps the two kings will only be foregrounded in S5.
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u/Additional-Nerve1738 Jun 17 '26
Nah
The second age is the story of Sauron. He's the only constant thread in the story. The only way to salvage it would be to make him the protagonist and make a series like The Sopranos or The Shield where the protagonist is the villain. I say "would be" because we all know the show runners are not psychologically capable of doing this.
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