The love (?) of Halbrand and Galadriel



One of the biggest phenomena in Rings of Power is the Halbrand and Galadriel storyline. Loved and shipped by most of the fandom, hated by the rest. Liked or not, it is certainly an interesting storyline, very character-driven and providing conflict, motivation, and character development for both sides of the ship, and of course, providing the shippers of the fandom with entertainment. Those who dislike the pairing usually bring Celeborn as a reason or say that Halbrand, or Sauron, as a Maia is incapable of love. I have a different thought, about why, I believe they were never truly in love in its purest form.

I do not believe that just because he's a Maia, Halbrand cannot feel love. It is a notion blatantly disproven by Melian. I believe that Halbrand loves Galadriel. But his love doesn't seem as simple as just romantic affection. To me, Halbrand seems more in love with the idea of what Galadriel can do for him, than Galadriel herself. He always seemed to like her, but the affection that resembled love really started when he accepted the identity of Halbrand as the lost king of the Southlands. The earliest scene I can pinpoint where he seems to love her and not just see her as a friend/companion is the Sailing into the Dawn scene at the end of episode 5. By accepting the role of Halbrand, she then provided her with something: a title. As the King of the Southlands, he would have had power, allies, resources, etc. She gave that to him. Then with episode six, as he himself said, he grew to believe that Galadriel could sort of redeem him, she could bind him to the light. In short, throughout season one, Halbrand’s love seemed conditional. It seemed less about Galadriel and more about what she could give him.

With season two, that is of course gone. Galadriel made it clear she would not be at his side and they are yet to meet again. But what we do see from Halbrand, now Annatar, is that he still craves Galadriel. This time, it seems to take the form of obsession rather than love. He's pining for a woman he cannot have. In love with the idea of being with her, rather than Galadriel herself.

Shippers will likely disagree with this, but I do not believe Galadriel was in love with Halbrand. I believe she saw him as a friend. She saw an ally, a being scorned by orcs and by Sauron as much as she, causing her to develop a subconscious need to help him. In this, she felt a sort of kinship with Halbrand. As I stated in a previous essay, when she constructed the lost king of the Southlands fantasy, it provided her with a sense of purpose; something to fight for rather than against. Which is why she was drawn to him. This feeling of kinship and sense of purpose he provided her. She wanted to stay by his side. But it was never in a romantic sense. Not until episode six. We cannot know for sure, but in that scene where after the fight for the Southlands Galadriel and Halbrand are talking, Halbrand saying all that he is saying about how she made him feel he could let go of his past, is the first scene where I would say Galadriel seems romantically attracted to him.

One thing that is very much relevant to mention in this conversation is that whatever feelings Galadriel did or did not have for Halbrand, she would not have acted on it. As anyone who knows anything about the lore knows, marriage is a big thing for Elves, only one was ever permitted to remarry, which needed to be discussed by the Valar, and the explicit statement of the first wife that she would not take a physical form again. To break a marriage is unthinkable to elves, their bond living even after death. Galadriel is married as of the first age, and though she believes her husband to be dead, she would not make a move towards another. She is not the kind of person that would do that. It's worth noting, I believe that Galadriel has a sort of pained, almost guilty look in her eyes in that previously mentioned scene with Halbrand. His words were a sort of love confession, without being a love confession, and Galadriel admitting that she shared his feelings was an intimate thing. Yet she never at any point seems to want to act on that feeling, whatever it is. Not to mention, only days later he loses all her trust.

Whatever bond there was between Halbrand and Galadriel, she clearly wants to exist still. In this season, she is processing having lost his friendship. Every time she thinks back to Halbrand, she is fighting tears. I believe, by the end, she will truly and ultimately cast off Halbrand, accepting that everything she believed him to be was a fantasy. With it, whatever feelings she had for him, romantic or platonic, will be cast away as well.

But these are really just my observations and of course, shippers will be shippers. But I will say that I do not believe Galadriel and Halbrand truly loved each other. Not truly.

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