Where is Celeborn in The Rings of Power?
Throughout most of The Rings of Power tv series, there was no reference to Celeborn, causing viewers to believe that Galadriel’s husband wasn’t going to be part of the show at all, or that he and Galadriel have not yet met. This would be a marked difference from Tolkien’s work whereby Galadriel and Celeborn were married since the First Age. Of course, such a change wouldn’t be the first one in The Rings of Power but one of the recent episodes finally addressed the issue, if enigmatically. While talking to Theo about her losses, Galadriel mentions that, aside from her brother, she also lost her husband Celeborn. Of course, anyone who had read and watched either The Lord of the Rings or any other work by Tolkien where Galadriel is mentioned will also know that Celeborn survives the events of not only the Second but also the Third Age and goes west alongside Galadriel and the other elves. So, what has happened to Celeborn?
Is Celeborn Alive in The Rings of Power?
The Rings of Power is currently vague about Celeborn’s whereabouts. Galadriel mentions him as one of the people she lost to the war with Sauron, alongside her brother, which, to the uninitiated, might well be a suggestion that Celeborn is dead. This, however, isn’t confirmed. Galadriel’s words likely indicate that she currently believes Celeborn to be dead. If that’s the case, and if the creators are going to stick to canon relationships, she will likely be surprised in future episodes.The last we hear about Celeborn is that Galadriel “never saw him again” after a certain encounter, which might suggest that they got separated for some reason and that Galadriel was never able to find him up to that point. This begs the question of whether Galadriel and Celeborn ever tried to locate each other - since, if Celeborn turns out to be alive she can’t have seen him dead - or if she consciously decided to move on with her fight against Sauron even if it meant never reuniting with her husband.
Will Celeborn Return in The Rings of Power?
While this is not confirmed, it would be likely for Celeborn to return in future Rings of Power episodes. He and Galadriel were married throughout the Second Age of Middle Earth - though they weren’t always in the same place - and they even had a daughter who went on to marry Elrond, making Galadriel Elrond’s mother-in-law. Celeborn’s absence has generated several memes among the fandom, mainly along the lines of “Where is Celeborn, for I much desire to see him,” drawing from Celeborn’s only line in The Fellowship of the Ring.
Even when Celeborn does appear, Galadriel clearly comes off as a more developed and interesting character, though many fans still hope for Celeborn to return, so that they can glimpse the (relatively) early days of his and Galadriel’s relationship.
