Summary

• Galadriel and Adar may team up against Sauron in season 2, posing trust issues among the Elves.
• Galadriel's flawed decisions in season 1 need redemption in Rings of Power season 2.
• Adar's survival in season 3 is unlikely due to his pawn status to Sauron, leading to a potential betrayal.

The new trailer for The Rings of Power season 2 as they fight the rising tide of darkness brought about by Sauron, and Galadriel in particular will have to contend with some serious obstacles.

Whereas Galadriel's position in The Rings of Power season 1's ending was hardly one of power, she had at least successfully managed to out Halbrand as Sauron. According to the at SDCC, Galadriel's Rings of Power season 2 arc will observe her continuing struggle to destroy Sauron, and her advancement via her new Ring of Power, Nenya. The Ring of Adamant will start granting Galadriel the magical abilities that she used throughout The Lord of the Rings movies, but it may not be enough to protect her from her worst enemy.

Galadriel & Adar Will Almost Definitely Team Up Against Sauron In The Rings Of Power Season 2

Adar May Be Negotiating With Galadriel In The Rings Of Power Season 2

The trailer shows what may be Galadriel forming an alliance with Adar in Rings of Power season 2, which could help the two beat Sauron, their mutual enemy. But this would make it harder for Galadriel to win back the Elves' already dwindling trust. The trailer contains a clip of the villain Adar sitting at a table, saying "Leave Sauron to me." This table is in Orc territory, displaying the roughly-hewn carpentry and interiors that were common to Orcs in The Rings of Power season 1. However, there are some clues regarding what's happening here.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 premiers August 29, 2024.

A previously released season 2 image sees Galadriel and Adar having a candlelit dinner at what looks to be the same table that Adar is sitting at in the new trailer. Galadriel looks embattled in the still from Rings of Power season 2, with her face and hair a mess, but she is neither bound nor trying to leave. Putting two and two together implies that Galadriel is at least pretending to form some kind of deal with the villainous Adar, one of Rings of Power's original characters. Galadriel may be her own worst enemy in Rings of Power so far.

Galadriel Making Another Bad Decision After Sauron In Season 1 Hurts Her Character

Galadriel Must Redeem Herself

The young, feisty Galadriel of season 1 made plenty of mistakes that contributed to the ascendance of Sauron, and season 2 should redeem her, rather than muddy her morals further. The writing of Galadriel's character in Rings of Power season 1 faced criticism, and was also contending with the expectations of those who loved the movies and were disappointed by the show's starkly different Galadriel. Galadriel is canonically the flawed warrior that she is in the show, but her flirtation with evil in the series is dubiously faithful to the texts.

Galadriel's flaws led her to be associated with some disastrous events in Middle-earth in author J.R.R. Tolkien's books. Galadriel was one of the leaders of the exodus of Valinor to Middle-earth in The Silmarillion. While she didn't explicitly condone the bloodshed this involved, "she did not turn back," as stated in The Nature of Middle-earth. Despite Elvish in-fighting, Galadriel was always staunchly anti-Sauron, so an alliance with Orcs, even if feigned, will have to be navigated carefully by Rings of Power season 2.

J.R.R. Tolkien's The Nature of Middle-earth was published in 2021, posthumously, containing a collection of his stories and essays.

Don't Expect Adar To Survive Until The Rings Of Power Season 3

Adar Is Sauron's Pawn In Lord Of The Rings

Adar must contend with Sauron in Rings of Power season 2 after trying to kill him before the events of season 1, so he may not survive the season. Season 1 left Adar in the newly-formed Mordor after all had gone to plan with the eruption of Mount Doom. Sauron was on his way there at the end of season 1 and will be put in the difficult position of taking his revenge on Adar for his earlier betrayal or bearing his company to access his army of loyal Orcs in the coming war.

Showrunners confirmed to Total Film, in a print feature, that Sauron will set "armies of Elves" against an "army of Orcs" in a grand-scale battle in Rings of Power season 2. Sauron has to get the Orcs from somewhere, after being in hiding for years, so it looks like Sauron will form a troubled partnership with Adar. Meanwhile, Adar might attempt to double-cross Sauron with Galadriel. Unfortunately for Adar and Galadriel, this would inevitably teach them that however smart they think they are, Sauron is smarter.

If Adar is on a downward trajectory, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power should ensure that he doesn't drag Galadriel down with him.

It is unlikely that any scheming on Adar's part, even if ed by Galadriel, would succeed in supplanting the Dark Lord. Adar tricked Sauron once, in a betrayal which the Sauron's full plan is sure to be revealed by the end of season 2, and by then it may be too late for Adar. If Adar is on a downward trajectory, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power should ensure that he doesn't drag Galadriel down with him - at least for long.

Sources: Total Film