Elrondriel kiss

Look at me addressing something as it’s happening. Cause it’s still happening. People are still freaking out about the kiss between Elrond and Galadriel. Or at least they were yesterday, when I wrote this entry before the airing of the finale. This freak-out has pissed me off because while I’ll be the last to judge a person for not liking something, people have been way more dramatic and judgemental about it than just “I didn’t like it”.

Opinions, of course, said that it was completely unnecessary. Critisismwise it has been put forward that Elrond could have just hugged her or something and sneaked the pin to her then, while trying to justify it, people say things like he wanted to go big to avoid the risk of getting caught. The reality is that there really was no other way. First of all, Galadriel’s hands were bound before her body, thus Elrond needed something where it wouldn’t look suspicious that his hand is before her. Second, they were surrounded by Adar and several orcs, any of which looks even a little downward can spot Elrond sneaking the pin. He needed something that was big, that would make the orcs uncomfortable or distracted enough that their eyes are nowhere near his and Galadriel’s hands. And given that the fandom was so caught up in the kiss happening that they needed explaining as to why it was happening, really just means it worked. And no other action would have been as effective a distraction as the kiss.

Of course, there are people who bring up that the execution, despite being told it wasn’t romantic, suggests it was of a romantic vain. To everyone who has mentioned the music, the music is literally just the Galadriel soundtrack. I have listened to that soundtrack enough to recognize it in my sleep, and in that moment, the soundtrack that plays is the Galadriel soundtrack. It may be bombastic, but it is not romantic. And honestly, it needed to be bombastic and the execution needed to be dramatic. We’re talking about a big, emotional moment that carries weight and holds oh-so-much meaning. It needed to be executed that way to convey all the meaning it holds.

Because that scene, that moment, holds meaning. Galadriel and Elrond are friends and have been for ages. They share a deep bond not easily matched. A lot of people have put forward that they are like brother and sister, creating an even deeper bond, especially when you remember that they also both lost siblings. In that moment, Galadriel is not only captured, but threatened with death. They have no reason to believe Adar would back down and Elrond can’t save her life without giving the enemy exactly what he wants. Both sides have accepted that Galadriel will likely die. On Elrond’s side, he gave her the pin, but she still needed to use it and then get out of the orc camp, something she’s not only not guaranteed to do, but if it weren’t for Arondir, she would not have succeeded in doing. Galadriel has also made it clear that she cares about victory over her own life (could she learn to value her life please, thanks). Adding to the depth of the moment, for God knows how long, they have been at odds. Elrond felt betrayed and was mad at Galadriel and was petty about it. And she was being petty in return and mad at Elrond being mad, also probably mad at herself. They had not had a single interaction this season that wasn’t filled with anger. Suddenly, Galadriel is about to die and the both of them just realized that they do not want things to end this way. Who would? They still care about each other. For all these reasons, that moment, that final goodbye, is big, it’s heavy, it’s emotional. So the scene needed to be big and emotional. So obviously, it would be executed in a more dramatic way. But the execution being dramatic doesn’t necessarily mean it’s romantic.

I did not see it as a romantic moment, maybe a bit, but it quickly became clear that it was a distraction mixed with an emotional goodbye. And it does not make sense to me that people would say it seemed romantic. Now admittedly, this isn’t the only time Galadriel and Elrond’s interactions were interpreted as that of a romantic vane, as “Why do they have this romantic tension?” is an argument that came up several times. And this has to do I think with society’s collective inability to comprehend female-male friendships without underlying intentions. To most people, they see a man and a woman as friends, they’ll assume that they’re together or that at least one person has feelings for the other. If not, the only reason for this to them is they’re either family or one or both is homosexual, handily explaining why this male-female duo would be friends without romantic intentions. Of course, this probably isn’t true to all that said their interactions seemed romantic. Especially with the kiss, an action usually done between romantic partners. But I do think that this is a major player. Galadriel and Elrond are friends of the opposite gender without any (for now) explicit family connections and both straight, and I do believe that a lot of people are incapable of understanding that a pairing like this could exist without romantic intentions, so they make themselves believe those romantic intentions are there.

One thing I cannot, and will not comprehend, is why is the kiss such a big problem to such a big part of the fandom. Explained or not, romantic or platonic, nearly everyone is freaking out about it, and I just do not see why. Especially since it was explained. It was addressed by the actors and explained that it was an emotional goodbye between such strong friends who truly believe they will never see each other again. And if it were simply that they don’t like it, I’d be fine with that, but it goes far beyond that. Not to mention, it just feels hypocritical. I am not sorry. If you have spent any time in this fandom, you will know that they are responsible for some of the weirdest, craziest, least-book-canon ships in all of Tolkien fandom and that same fandom is now freaking out over a deliberately platonic kiss, meant as a goodbye and distraction, for the sole reason of Celebrían. You cannot bring up Celebrían and talk about the books only to then turn around and talk about something like Elrond/Adar. If we took canonity seriously, so many of this fandom’s genuine ships would not exist. And as I’ve said, this kiss was deliberately not even romantic. So what gives?

Anyway, that kiss I believe was a great addition with perfect execution and I don’t understand why so many people are freaking so unreasonably out.