Elves (Galadriel) | Men | Enemies (Sauron) | Other Races
Galadriel
"Sometimes to find the light, we must first touch the darkness."
Portrayed by: Morfydd Clark (adult), Amelie Child-Villiers (child)
"The company I led mutinied against me, my closest friend conspired with the King to exile me… and each of them acted as they did because I believe they could no longer distinguish me from the evil I was fighting."
A legendary elven warrior who has made it her mission to hunt down and eradicate evil in Middle-earth. open/close all folders
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- 24-Hour Armour: Wears her armour all the way from Númenor to the Southlands, including a boat trip, until finally arriving to Eregion.
- '90s Anti-Hero: Galadriel embodies the Byronic Heroine archetype and barely has any of the heroic attributes of her book and movie counterparts. Clad in armor and wielding a sword, she's a proud, snarky and brooding Elven woman and arguably the best warrior in the setting, but none of those traits are good for her mental stability. As she confesses to Halbrand, she wears armor and wields a sword because fighting has become her only solace. She has a toxic and self destructive behavior resulted from her trauma of losing her brother and husband to the Orcs and witnessing devastating wars that lasted for eons. After channeling her anger and hatred towards Sauron for centuries, she's become dangerously close to being consumed by her obsession. In present, her unwavering pursuit of vengeance even leads her to the brink of threatening genocide, seemingly blind to the potential consequences.
- Action Girl: Galadriel is one of the most assertive elves. This is hinted at in her childhood when she launches herself at a bratty fellow Elf for ruining her paper boat, and is intensified when Sauron kills her brother — an event that hardens her further into a fierce and skilled warrior and drives her quest. Early on in the first episode, she establishes her combat credentials when she makes short work of a rampaging snow troll who was wiping the floor with her squad of elite elven soldiers.
- Actually Pretty Funny: She usually has very little to smile about, being on a deadly mission to take down evil in Middle-earth and all, but she’s very clearly amused when she witnesses her good friend Elrond mouthing along to the words of a speech he’d written for Gil-galad in the first episode.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: This version focuses much more on the sort of world-weary sorrow that a long-lived being such as Galadriel could have. The loss of her brother Finrod Felagund in particular weighs on her with much more emphasis than it ever did in the canon (or in Galadriel's case,
canons). - Adaptational Badass: While Galadriel was certainly no dainty Damsel in Distress in the source material (Tolkien even explicitly described her as being of amazon disposition in her youth in one of his letters and detailed her fighting on behalf of her Telerin kin at the Kinslaying at Alqualondë in The Silmarillion), she was never quite described as being the fierce, Action Girl legendary Warrior Princess that she is here, nor a hardened battle commander.
- Adaptational Dumbass: In the lore, Galadriel was suspicious of Annatar, who was Sauron in disguise, pretty much the second she met him. Here, she developed feelings for Halbrand, an identity forged by Sauron, and only found out who he was after finding evidence that he was lying about his identity. What's worse is that even after after finding this out, she decides to keep it a secret out of shame, even though Sauron knows that the Elves were going to forge the Rings of Power.
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: Up until episode 7 there was no indication that she is married to Celeborn like in the source material. While their precise history is a Continuity Snarl within the Legendarium, its generally agreed their relationship started in the First Age, while here he's noticeably absent. However, it is later revealed by Galadriel that she is married to Celeborn but that he disappeared after going to war many centuries ago and she has never seen him since. This trope is more straightforwardly applied to Sauron, as they were never anything more than enemies in the source material.
- Adaptational Job Change: Galadriel was never a commander of any Northern armies in the books, at least not in the Second Age. In Silmarillion, she was rather a political leader than a warlord, ruling Eregion in Gil-galad's name along with her husband, and later founded Lothlórien.
- Adaptational Villainy: Tolkien's Galadriel never advocates for a Final Solution to the orcish problem. In the series, she tells Adar she'll kill them to the last and save him for the end, so he can see the slaughter. She is aware of the darkness that the quest has created in her and seems extremely troubled by it, counselling Theo in the next episode not to take vengeance to heart and not to say that killing orcs is a good thing.
- Adaptational Wimp: While Galadriel's Action Girl qualities are played up, she does not as yet appear to have the powers that made her so formidable in the source material.
- All Girls Like Ponies: When Elendil mentions riding to the Hall of Lore, Galadriel gets excited. Next scene is a slow motion shot of her smiling and enjoying her riding.In the legendarium...
- Badass Boast: She gives one of these to Queen Regent Míriel, clearly displaying her fiery Noldorin pride, after the queen refuses to aid her mission to rid the Southlands of the orcs, promptly afterwards being thrown into jail for sedition.Galadriel: There is a tempest in me, one that has swept me to this island, and it will not be quelled by the likes of you, Regent!
- Be Careful What You Wish For: Galadriel, after centuries of searching finally found her enemy in the most unexpected way, and instead of this being a change for her take him down and finally find some peace, the things go in his favor instead.
- Beauty Is Never Tarnished: Galadriel wanders Middle-earth for centuries through various elements, swims across the ocean, fights in bloody battles, and is even enveloped in a volcanic pyroclastic flow
, yet her fair features are never weathered. The worst that’s happened to her by the time she returns to Eregion is that her hair is messy. - Big Brother Worship: She looked up to her older brother, Finrod, and his death drives all her actions in the present.
- Blade Enthusiast: Galadriel's most prized possession is a dagger that belonged to her brother.
- Blade Run: During the brief battle with the snow troll in the first episode, Thondir holds his sword pointed down to the ground and Galadriel runs up it, using it as leverage to launch herself at the troll and bring it down.
- Broken Bird: She's suffering from clear PTSD due to all her experiences and losses during the War of the Jewels, and believes that wiping out the last remains of evil from the face of the earth is the only way to feel at peace again.
- Braids of Action: She styles her hair in a long braid during battles.
- Byronic Hero: A rarer female example. This version of Galadriel is not the Big Good she usually is in the books; she is proud, arrogant, unyielding, and driven by her desire for revenge. She has a darker side, lapsing into She Who Fights Monsters territory, including desiring the extermination of all the Orcs, which she considers abominations, along with wanting to torture Adar by forcing him to watch, taking such pleasure in doing so that Adar considers her worthy of being Morgoth's successor. Despite this, in private with Halbrand she reveals a more emotionally vulnerable side when the pair open up to one another about their pasts and traumas.
- The Cassandra: At the start of the show Galadriel is completely insistent that Sauron and his evil isn’t gone from Middle-earth and asks Gil-galad to be given a fresh company and his permission to continue searching. She’s right, of course, but is roundly dismissed by both Gil-galad and Elrond, who then attempt to send her back to Valinor to stop her quest in its tracks.
- Composite Character: This version of Galadriel appears to have a number of similarities with her uncle Fëanor compared to her literature version. She is much more martial, Hot-Blooded, brash, arrogant and aggressive, less diplomatic about what she wants and prone to Didn't Think This Through. She is also steadily slipping into She Who Fights Monsters territory in her zealous hunt for Sauron, after he murdered her brother Finrod, as Fëanor did in his hunt for Morgoth and the stolen Silmarils, with it being It's Personal between them after Morgoth murdered his father.
- Commanding Coolness: She is the Commander of the Northern Armies. She is often addressed as commander by other characters.
- Cool Horse: When in Númenor, Galadriel is given a beautiful pure white Camarillo horse which remains her mount for the remainder of the first season, accompanying her into battle in the Southlands.
- Crusading Widow: In episode 7, Galadriel finally reveals the fate of her husband Celeborn: missing since the War of Wrath, presumed dead at the hands of Orcs. Consumed by grief for both Celeborn and her brother, she dedicates her life to hunting Orcs and finding Sauron after their deaths.
- Cynicism Catalyst: The murder of her older brother by Sauron's hand instigates her to descent into hardened cynicism and drives her obsessive quest to find Sauron and kill him, even at the cost of her own men.
- Dance Battler: Galadriel demonstrates her combat prowess when testing the Númenorean recruits with fluid, dance-like motions that let her run circles around her opponents effortlessly, even as they try attacking her all at once.
- A Darker Me: Throughout Season 1, Galadriel grapples with her own darkness. Her relentless pursuit of vengeance and obsessive need for control echo Sauron's own motivations, a fact brutally pointed out by an orc. In the season finale, Sauron exploits this vulnerability, presenting her with a vision. Clad in a wraith-like form, she stands beside Sauron's Black Knight figure – a chilling reflection of their potential partnership. Galadriel barely resists the seductive offer – a future as a queen "fair as the sea and the Sun, and stronger than the foundation of the Earth", but ultimately a tyrant at Sauron's side.
- Determinator: She's willing to push further in the Northern Waste than any other expedition at the risk of her own and her followers' lives in order to find a smallest clue of Sauron's whereabouts. Later she jumps ship heading to the Undying Lands in the middle of the ocean rather than leave her task undone, apparently intending to swim all the way back to Middle-earth.
- Detrimental Determination: Galadriel's relentless pursuit of Sauron borders on obsession. This singular focus becomes a double-edged sword. While it fuels her determination, it also leads her down a path of reckless endangerment. She ignores her own company of Elves when they beg her to return home to safety and it takes them mutinying against her for Galadriel to listen. She also refuses to take in account the wise counsel of Elrond and Gil-galad, and unwittingly sets in motion a chain of disastrous events. Her refusal to give her quest and seek healing in Valinor leads to a series of Disaster Dominoes in this perilous sequence, ultimately allowing Sauron a window to reassert his power. Galadriel is aware this is her Fatal Flaw, but after centuries of getting consumed by her quest, it's hard to stop suddenly and be at peace.
- Did Not Think This Through: She has a tendency to take the direct approach to problems without fully considering the consequences. An example is when she requests resources from Númenor and, when she doesn't get them, proceeds to disrespect Queen Regent Míriel and demand to speak to the king. The end result of this is her being jailed for sedition.
- Dispense with the Pleasantries: Galadriel, in her own words full of wisdom, is not some courtier to be placated by idle flattery. Sweet-talking never works on someone as Brutally Honest as her.
- Early Personality Signs: As a child, Galadriel is shown to be quick to anger, jumping to beat up a kid for destroying her paper boat. As an adult, she is a revengeful Blood Knight who has hard times controlling her fiery temper.
- Elemental Eye Colors: Galadriel as a character is heavily associated with the concept of water (her Ring of Power is Nenya, the ring of water and she has a strong pull to the sea and water in general being half Teler) and her eyes are a clear, bright blue.
- Establishing Character Moment: The first time we meet Galadriel in the prologue, she’s only a young child but is already getting into a scuffle with another bratty elf child who deliberately sinks her paper boat, pushing him to the ground and moving as if to punch him before she’s stopped by Finrod. This seems to be a common occurrence as a clearly amused Finrod asks, "Did you lose your footing again, Galadriel?"
- The Exile: Gil-galad granting her the right to return to Valinor is presented to the court as a reward, and to most of her men it probably is, but in her case it comes across as a way of getting rid of her so that she'll stop pushing to continue the pursuit of Sauron.
- Face Death with Dignity: Galadriel closes her eyes and stands her ground as a pyroclastic flow engulfs Tirharad.
- Fatal Flaw:
- Entitlement, this behaviour of hers can land her in some serious troubles. While in Numenor, she acts entitled to queen Miriel, trying to impose her will on her by demanding to speak with her father, just because she is Galadriel, the Commander of the Northern Armies. Her 'There is a tempest in me! It swept me to this island for a reason. And it will not be quelled by you, Regent!' Badass Boast only infuriates Miriel and sends Galadriel directly in a cell with Halbrand. Galadriel may be an important person in Middle-earth, but no so much to the Númenorians, where she doesn't hold any authoritative power to make such demands.
- Her being so Hotblooded is a flaw Halbrand easily identifies in her and advises her to think and analize the situation before acting like a " a colt in full gallop".
- Four-Star Badass: Galadriel became known over centuries as the Scourge of the Orcs, Commander of the Northern Armies and Warrior of the Wastelands, for her martial abilities.
- General Ripper: Centuries of hatred have transformed Galadriel into a hardened Knight Templar, leading a small, elite Elf unit on a relentless pursuit of Sauron. She prioritizes her mission above all else and this ruthless focus manifests in harsh treatment towards her companions. When the dangers of Forodwaith escalate, their pleas to turn back fall on deaf ears, highlighting the potential for Galadriel's vengeance to consume not just her, but those who follow her too.
- Good Is Not Nice: Her interactions with allies and neutrals can be harsh. In the first episode, after being separated for a long time, a friendly Elrond asks her about her harrowing journey, to which she responds with belligerence to his small talk overtures, calls him derogatively a "politician", aggravatedly proclaims that she's not some courtier to be placated by idle flattery and demands to speak with the King directly.
- God Save Us from the Queen!: Galadriel fears she will become this if she accepts Sauron’s offer to rule by his side, telling him that he will make her a tyrant, no doubt recognising the darkness within herself created by her extremely bitter, centuries long quest for vengeance against Sauron. This also foreshadows her temptation speech in The Lord of the Rings where she echoes Sauron’s own words to her about being fair as the sea and the sun and stronger than the foundations of the earth and envisions herself becoming a great and terrible queen if she takes the One Ring for herself.
- God Was My Copilot: Sauron, under the disguise of Halbrand, accompanied Galadriel in her mission to stop to Orcs, from Numenor to the Southlands. When she finally catches up, is too late.
- Heartbroken Badass: Galadriel confesses to Theo that she once married, and misses her husband very much, but he disappeared centuries ago, or maybe even died. She recalls the happy times they lived together before begging him to not go at war.
- Helmets Are Hardly Heroic: Never wears a helmet to go along with her suit of armor, even while doing battle against Orcs in the Southlands.
- Heroic BSoD: She suffers a brief one after the reveal that her good friend and companion (not to mention possible Love Interest) Halbrand has been her mortal enemy Sauron in disguise all along, and is then subjected to a vicious Mind Rape by Sauron himself. When she's first rescued from the water by Elrond, she very nearly kills him with her dagger before he manages to convince her that he isn't also Sauron in disguise.
- Hide Your Otherness: While in Númenor, she is able to conceal her elf nature and pass off as human by covering her Pointy Ears.
- Hot-Blooded: Displays impatience and persistence in getting her way, usually forgoing restraint and diplomacy for a direct approach.
- Hunter of His Own Kind: Galadriel is known as the "Scourge of the Orcs" all over Middle-earth. She dedicated centuries of her life to find Sauron and kill Orcs. When she finally captures their chieftain, in a chilling display of warped justice, she holds a speech about how his kind has no right to exist and starts to describe how she will keep him alive solely to witness her massacring his entire kind. What makes her speech even more bone-chilling is that the Orcs, she knows about her ancestral connection to these Orcs it and doesn't care. The Orcs she wants to condemn to oblivion are Elves captured by Morgoth and turned into Orcs.
- I Choose to Stay: The climax of the first episode features Galadriel turning away from the equivalent of Heaven and returning to Middle-earth to carry out The Promise she made to her dead brother: to find Sauron and vanquish him.
- Implied Love Interest: By the episode “Udûn”, Galadriel appears to have formed a very deep bond with Halbrand, the two even seeming to confess their feelings for each other following the Battle for the Southlands, though whether their sentiment is meant to be romantic or platonic is left up in the air as they are swiftly interrupted. The constant Ship Tease between the characters, held gazes and setup of the scene seem to strongly indicate the former though.Galadriel: Thank you… for pulling me back.Halbrand: It was you who pulled me back first.Galadriel: Whatever it was he did to you, and whatever it is that you did, be free of it.Halbrand: I never believed I could be… until today. Fighting at your side, I… I felt… If I could just hold on to that feeling, keep it with me always, bind it to my very being, then I…Galadriel: I felt it too.
- It's All My Fault: Galadriel believes that the eruption of Orodruin and the death and chaos that follows is all her fault, not taking into account that with Adar already in possession of the sword hilt, it would have happened anyway and the fact that she and the Númenoreons were there to help in the aftermath likely ended up saving many more lives than if they hadn’t been there at all.
- It's Personal: Her bitter, unending hunt for and quest for vengeance against Sauron started after he was directly responsible for the torture and murder of her older brother, Finrod, who she clearly idolised.
- Jacob Marley Warning: When Theo starts to blame himself for Orodruin's eruption by giving the Artifact of Doom in exchange for his people's life, Galadriel warns him to not burden himself with such such guilt because otherwise he will have to live with it for the rest of his life, something that Galadriel does already.
- Jeanne d'Archétype: As opposed to being a Madonna Archetype like in the books, this Galadriel carries herself like a seasoned military leader. Like most examples, maidenhood is a crucial characteristic of the archetype and Galadriel's name does mean "maiden crowned with a garland of bright radiance". She’s blonde, and wears Battle Ballgown type of armour, which takes a few cues from different popular paintings of Jeanne D'arc in armour, like the 1865 Joan of Arc work by Sir John Everett Millais, Joan of Arc by Charles-Amable Lenoir and the 1854 Joan of Arc at the Coronation of Charles VII by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. Though her youth Galadrien witnessed numerous wars like her inspiration, ut her brother's demise ignites a burning desire for vengeance, rather than the selfless heroism of Joan of Arc. This distinction underscores the crucial element that drives her – not divine purpose, but a deeply personal quest for retribution. However, despite her resemblance to the legendary warrior maiden, Galadriel's susceptibility to Sauron's deception, mirroring Joan of Arc's fate, adds a layer of tragic complexity to her character.
- Knight in Sour Armor: Galadriel might wear a shining armour, but she is as far as possible from an Ideal Hero. She's a jaded Broken Bird who lived things that deeply traumatized her. She tries to do good, but she is slowly consumed by her desire for revenge.
- Knight Templar: She is called out several times on how the actions of her anti-Sauron crusade makes her no different from a villain.
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- Lady of War: Galadriel often appears in full armor, still looking as elegant and regal as you would expect from a future Queen of the Elves. When battling the snow-troll, she flips around it with graceful precision, taking it down with a series of perfectly timed strikes.
- "Leave Your Quest" Test: She’s faced with two of these in the first season alone. Firstly when Gil-galad 'rewards' her with the gift of putting up her sword and being able to sail home to Valinor, secondly when Sauron offers to make her his queen so that she can rule Middle-earth by his side. She refuses both.
- Light Is Not Good: She is heavily associated with the concept of light being the future Lady of Light herself, it’s that very aspect of her that Sauron wants to bind to himself for eternity. However, Galadriel is not a pure and incorruptible person by any means and displays many almost villainous qualities due to how jaded, cynical and Hot-Blooded the long quest for vengeance has made her.
- Like Brother and Sister: Galadriel and Elrond have a very close platonic bond as friends, having known each other for centuries since Elrond was a young orphan half-elf boy and Galadriel took pity on him and gave him water.
- Living Legend: She's already well-known by the events of the series due to her deeds during the war against Morgoth. Even in the Elf-hating Númenor, Isildur recognises her name as that of the "scourge of the orcs".
- The Lost Lenore: After being conspicuously unmentioned in relevant situations for several episodes, she reveals in episode 7 that her husband Celeborn went missing after going to war many centuries ago and he hasn't been seen since.
- Made of Iron: This appears to be the case as in the episode "Udûn", she stands directly in the path of a pyroclastic flow after the eruption of Orodruin (Mount Doom) and yet manages to come out of it seemingly unscathed, without even a scratch on her.
- Master Swordswoman: She is an incredible sword fighter, being able to take on numerous Numernorean army recruits in one go without even breaking a sweat, dancing nimbly around them and easily dodging their hits, even Dual Wielding two swords at one point.
- Mayfly–December Romance: Played With. This would have been the case with her and Halbrand if he was a real person and romance had blossomed, with Galadriel being an immortal elf who is over 3000 years old and Halbrand being a short-lived mortal human. With Halbrand revealed to be Sauron in disguise, this is then flipped with he, as a maia, being vastly older than even her, having existed since the creation of the universe itself.
- Meaningful Name: The name Galadriel means "maiden crowned by a radiant garland" or "maiden crowned in bright radiance" which is a reference to her infamously beautiful long silver-golden hair which, according to Tolkien, she would often bind up on the top of her head like a crown when taking part in athletic feats.
- Mind Rape: Sauron submits her to this in the season one finale, taking her through a traumatising vision sequence, firstly posing as her beloved older brother Finrod (while looking at her like no brother should ever look at his sister), then proposing marriage to her in the most manipulative way possible while showing her a reflected image of them together as the king and queen of Middle-earth. When she rejects him, he finishes up by showing his terrifying true colors, screaming at her in Voice of the Legion and then making her believe that she's drowning in the ocean — just like the first time she met Halbrand — and she may have actually drowned if it wasn’t for Elrond pulling her out of the water.
- Mirror Character: Galadriel and Sauron stand as thematic opposites, embodying light and darkness, water and fire, respectively. However, beneath the surface, both possess similar qualities. They are driven and unwavering figures, willing to utilize others with ruthless pragmatism when necessary, and share a powerful desire to exert influence over Middle-earth. This shared ambition is what compels Sauron to see Galadriel as a potential partner. He perceives qualities in her that her fellow Elves failed to recognize and uses this to ease a potential positive answer from Galadriel. Sauron seems to truly believe Galadriel to be someone who can understand his vision and stand by his side, overlooking the fundamental differences in their values and approaches.Adar: It would seem I'm not the only Elf alive who has been transformed by darkness. Perhaps your search for Morgoth's successor should have ended in you own mirror.
- Misery Poker: In the pilot, Elrond tries to convince Galadriel to give up her quest that turned her into a Knight Templar, and sail to Valinor to heal her spirit. He reasons that is only natural to feel conflicted after all she endured for centuries, to which Galadriel responds with how grateful she is that he and never witnessed evil the way she did. Elrond tries to argue that he has seen his share, but Galadriel cuts him short insisting that is still not the same thing.
- Motifs: Mirror and reflections for Galadriel, reflecting her struggle with her own darkness while trying to stay a good person.
- In the first episode while searching the frozen fortress, she comes across a wall of ice reflecting not just her physical form, but the darkness that consumes her. After a few second she punches the ice with her reflection because she doesn't want to face what she has become. At the end of the episode as she is about to enter in Valinor Galadriel grapples with a different reflection. Her brother's dagger, a physical reminder of her past and the burden of her vengeance. She chooses to plunge into the water, refusing to just accept giving up her quest in Middle-Earth no matter the cost.
- In episode 6, Adar suggests to Galadriel that her search for Morgoth's successor should've ended in her own mirror.
- And in episode 8, after trapping her into an illusion with him, Sauron shows Galadriel her own a possible future where she stays at his side.
- Morality Chain: She and Halbrand appear to share this role for one another, with Halbrand stopping her from executing Adar when she flies into a rage while interrogating him, drawing her back from She Who Fights Monsters territory. She has no interest in being the morality chain for Sauron, however.
- Moral Myopia:
- Adar notes that Galadriel's drive for vengeance makes her just as bad as Sauron, as both are willing to slaughter the entire orc race to fulfill their ambitions.
- Galadriel wants revenge on Sauron for killing her brother long ago. She also tells Halbrand not to let his Dark and Troubled Past define his worth as a person. He points out her inconsistency once she figures out he's Sauron in human form.
- The Mutiny: Right in the pilot, Galadriel's small company of Elves decide to rebel against her orders to continue the search for Sauron's whereabouts, after finally getting fed up with Galadriel's willingness to constantly risk their lives. After getting attacked and almost killed by a snow-troll, they all put down their swords in front of her to communicate their unwillingness to continue her restless quest. Several episodes later, Galadriel recounts to Halbrand how deeply betrayed she felt when her company mutinied against her.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: It turns out that Gil-Galad was right in his fears about Galadriel. By doggedly pursuing her revenge against Sauron, she first saved him from dying at sea, then she convinced Númenor to send him back to the Southlands with an army so he could be its king, and finally brought him into proximity with Celebrimbor, whose crafting skills he needed to create rings. She also proceeds with the creation of the Three as weapons to counter him, but these themselves will be a double-edged sword.note It's also unclear if she's going to tell anyone that she personally delivered Sauron back.
- No Mere Windmill: The series opens with Galadriel's powerful monologue, revealing that over time, Sauron’s existence has faded into myth for most Elves. In present, she is the only one actively searching for him, until Gil-galad decides to have her sent back to Valinor. Turns out, Sauron did try to restore his power until he got killed temporary by Ada, validating Galadriel's pursuit. After that, he became a Retired Monster, but decides again he wants power and control over Middle-earth by the end of Season 1.
- No Place for a Warrior: Centuries of relentless pursuit in faraway lands to bring an end to the evil that took Finrod away from her have transformed Galadriel into a Knight Templar. Her singular focus on revenge supersedes everything else. When Elrond urges her to lay down her sword and seek healing in Valinor, she she quickly states that she is nothing without her sword and she will never find any peace there as long as Sauron is still free. This highlights the tragic consequence of her relentless pursuit – she views herself solely as a warrior defined by vengeance, believing there's "no place for a warrior" in a peaceful existence.
- Opening Monologue: Just like in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Galadriel gives the opening monologue of the series, detailing her idyllic childhood in Valinor, Morgoth destroying the Two Trees of Valinor, the elves going to Middle-earth to hunt down the fled Morgoth, the War of Wrath, Morgoth’s defeat and finally the hunt for his second in command, Sauron.
- Perpetual Frowner: Galadriel is very economical with her facial expressions, and almost always sports a terminally serious and angsty expression on her face, rarely cracking a smile.
- Pimped-Out Dress: As elven royalty, Galadriel has many of these. In the first episode she wears a beautiful gold dress in Lindon that (along with her golden leaf crown) is dripping with pearls and other jewels. Then in the season one finale in Eregion she wears a dark green gown that has very intricate golden patterns and detailed stitching all over it, as well as golden chains around the waist and jewels all around the neckline.
- Princess Protagonist: Galadriel is a Noldorin Princess, as a daughter of King Finarfin, and the driving force of the plot.
- Red Baron: Galadriel has the moniker of "The Scourge of the Orcs".
- Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Halbrand's blue. She is much more direct, overtly emotional, brash and passionate in her personality and about how she approaches problems and matters, forgoing subtlety and diplomacy more often than not.
- Refusing Paradise: As the Elven ship carrying her and her companions approaches Valinor, a vast cloud bank pulls back, the Elves are flooded with golden light, and they begin to pass over into what is essentially Heaven. Despite Thondir's pleading, Galadriel pulls away, diving overboard before she ascends, her mission not yet complete.
- Revenge Before Reason: Galadriel dresses up her desire for revenge and fighting as simply continuing Finrod's mission. However, Elrond sees through this facade. He recognizes the consuming desire for vengeance masked by duty and urges her to prioritize healing. He suggests laying down her sword and sailing to Valinor, where she could heal her wounded soul instead of leading even more Elves to die in far-off lands.
- Roof Hopping: As a show of her elvish agility, Galadriel uses a little Le Parkour after she escapes from the palace grounds in Númenor and hops nimbly from roof to roof to evade the guards that are looking for her.
- Royal Blood: She is true elven royalty, being descended from the kings of not just one, but three different elven clans. Her paternal grandfather was Finwë, the King of the Noldorin Elves in Valinor, her maternal grandfather was Olwë, the King of the Telerin Elves in Valinor, and her paternal grandmother, Indis, is the kin of Ingwë, not just the King of the Vanyarin Elves, but the High King of all the Elves.
- Rule of Three: Galadriel tells Celebrimbor that they should forge three rings of power instead of two, stating that three rings would keep hold a greater balance of power than just two.
- Saved by Canon: We know she will survive this series because of her appearance in The Lord of the Rings.
- Secret-Keeper: She keeps Halbrand's schemes to herself and doesn't reveal to anybody the identity of Sauron or that he has returned and was among the Elves, which is by far the most serious event since the fall of Morgoth. Sauron mentions the repercussions of having being deceived into aiding and abetting the dark lord could be harsh for her if the Elves find out.
- Secretly Selfish: Several characters accuse her of pursuing the enemy not out of duty, but her own pride and vengeance.
- Sexy Soaked Shirt: Galadriel wears a white diaphanous gown when she jumps into the ocean to swim back to Middle-earth. The scene becomes prolonged as she swims and treads water, interspersed with underwater shots. A very brief glimpse of the wet gown clinging against her buttocks is shown when she is pulled onto the raft. Then she is shoved back into the ocean, pulled back up by Halbrand, who is treated to a scene with the sunlight shining through her damp gown revealing her silhouette.
- She-Fu: Galadriel exhibits Legolas levels of agility while fighting the snow troll and sneaking around the city of Armenelos in Númenor.
- Self-Fulfilling Prophecy: High King Gil-galad decides to send Galadriel home in Valinor out of fear that she "might have inadvertently kept alive the very evil she thought to defeat" and that "the same wind that seeks to blow out a fire may also cause its spread". He is proven right when Galadriel refuses to go in Valinor and finds in the middle of the ocean the very evil she seeks to destroy. She has no idea at first that Halbrand is Sauron at his lowest point, and tries to install him as the king of the Southlands believing he is some lost heir. Of course that Sauron being Sauron, decides in the end to play along, and regains all of his strength and confidence back. His words to Galadriel mirror in a way what Gal-galad believes: "I'd all but given up. But you, you believed in me. You saw strength in me. You pushed me to height that no one else could have."
- Shell-Shocked Veteran: She cannot see the world as anything other than a battlefield anymore. Unfortunately, she's also right, but she becomes more and more aware that it has done her a great deal of emotional damage. While traveling alone with Theo after Orodruin erupts, Galadriel's conversations with him all add up to "do not become like me."
- She Who Fights Monsters: At Halbrand's questioning, she tearfully reveals that she fears this aspect of her personality, in her zeal to pursue the forces of darkness and Sauron, and that she believes the rest of her people think this of her. Further demonstrated when she makes it clear to Adar, during his interrogation, that she looks forward to committing genocide against the Orcs while he is Forced to Watch those he considers to be his children die by her hands. Adar is unphased, and suggests that she herself is a worthy candidate as Morgoth's successor, with the darkness taking a hold of her as well.
- Ship Tease: One is implied and seems to be forming between her and Halbrand, between him coming back for her in the ocean after leaving the rest of his companions for dead, saving her life when she nearly drowns, their frequent bickering, him retrieving her beloved dead brother's dagger for her when it is taken from her, their Held Gaze moments, quiet conversations and her evident determination to redeem him alongside herself by working together to retake the Southlands from Sauron's Orc forces and reclaim his kingdom, believing they are bound together by something greater than destiny. This quickly falls apart once he reveals himself to be Sauron.
- Smug Smiler: Her superlative combat skill is underscored with a smirk of superiority whenever she soundly beats adversaries, from several inexperienced recruits at once to a mighty troll.
- Spirited Young Lady: Young Galadriel has all the refinement expected from an elvish woman, but she is also bold and impulsive. She defies Gil-galad's orders to return to Valinor.
- Super-Senses: Like all elves, Galadriel has almost superhuman eyesight, something that is highlighted during a conversation with Isildur during their voyage to Middle-earth. She tells him he'll soon be able to see the shore and, to his delight, confirms she's been able to see it for an hour already.
- Super Swimming Skills: Zig-zagged. Upon reaching Valinor, Galadriel changes her mind and decides to jump ship and start to swim all the way back to Middle-earth crossing the Sundering Seas, analogous to the Atlantic Ocean. She begins to fail halfway and is saved by chance from certain death, but it's still physically impressive.
- Super Window Jump: After escaping from jail in Númenor, she not only manages to easily scale one of the tallest towers in the city of Armenelos (in a dress no less), but then also manages to break through the window from the outside and jump through it, with glass and metal bars falling inward.
- Symbolically Broken Object: In the season one finale she finally has to let go of Finrod's dagger, her Tragic Keepsake, as the pure Valinorean gold and silver in the dagger is melted down to be alloyed with the mined mithril to create the three elven Rings of Power.
- There Are No Coincidences: After discovering that Halbrand has kingly blood, Galadriel is convinced that her meeting Halbrand in the open sea was not the product of a mere coincidence.Galadriel: Ours was not chance meeting. Not fate, nor destiny, nor any other words Men use to speak of the forces they lack the conviction to name. Ours was the work of something greater.
- Later, her own conviction comes back and bite her in the ass when it turns out that Halbrand is Sauron, who did take her words to his heart and wants her to be by his side to reshape Middle-earth together.
- Tomboy Princess: As Elrond puts it, he expected the commander of the Northern Armies and warrior of the Wastelands to arrive in Lindon covered in grime and mud.
- Tragic Bigot: Galadriel has almost an irational hatred for the Orcs. Not only she sees them as this irredeemable Always Chaotic Evil race, but also thinks they are unworthy of existing and vows to eradicate all of them. Even worse, the Orcs she hates were formerly Elves themselves and got turned into Orcs by Morgoth against their own will. She indeed lost many of her kin and family members to Orcs, leaving her completely traumatized.
- Tragic Keepsake: The aforementioned dagger that used to belong to Finrod. She eventually gives it up so the metals can be used to forge the rings of power, one of which Galadriel will claim.
- Troubled Backstory Flashback: The opening consists of Galadriel narrating her memories of her once idyllic childhood in Valinor during the Years of the Trees, before morphing to the original Dark Lord Morgoth beginning the war for Middle-earth and ending with the death of her brother at the hands of Sauron.
- Try to Fit That on a Business Card: Galadriel’s full title is ‘Galadriel of the Noldor, Daughter of the Golden House of Finarfin, Commander of the Northern Armies of High King Gil-galad’.
- Twitchy Eye: Galadriel's left eye tends to twitch when she's experiencing extreme emotions.
- Unkempt Beauty: She spends a large portion of her screen time in the first season either dressed in armor and covered in grime or soaking wet, yet her beauty is still very apparent and she looks every bit the regal and elegant elven lady she will later become known as when she cleans herself up.
- Unresolved Sexual Tension: Halbrand and Galadriel bickered Like an Old Married Couple from the moment they met, but also shared a lot of vulnerable moments. Their sexual tension will stay forever unresolved, because Halbrand is Sauron in disguise and Galadriel has a husband that she loves very much.
- Unwitting Instigator of Doom: Galadriel is a tragic example. Between trying to obtain military aid through Halbrand from Miriel, and developing a genuine affection for the only person in the world that understand what she feels, she ends up reawakening Sauron's desire for order and world-domination and bringing him in Eregion like he wanted. She realizes this in the finale of Season 1, and feels so heartbroken and ashamed of herself that she doesn't dare to tell anyone that the man she brought with her in Eregion is Sauron himself.
- Used to Be a Sweet Kid: As a young girl, Galadriel was shown to be a sweet innocent girl, if a bit too assertive. As an adult, she is a Knight Templar worthy of being Morgoth's next successor.
- Warhawk: Galadriel's insistence on hunting down Sauron and even waging war against him pisses off a lot of factions as the season goes on. She is betrayed by her own company, and Gil-galad tries to have her sent back to Valinor to make sure she is stopped. She doesn't go, and unwittingly finds Sauron in human form in the middle of the ocean. Both are saved by Elendil and received as guests in Numenor, where she rudely insists again to be given an army to go in the Southlands once she learns Halbrand is the supposed heir to a lost line of kings. Even Sauron snaps at her several times for trying to manipulate and force him to do something he doesn't want only to fulfill her personal desire for revenge. After Orodruin's eruption, along with the reveal Halbrand is Sauron, she has a Heel Realization about how her restless quest created so many collateral victims.
- Warrior Princess: Galadriel is true Elven royalty as her father, Finarfin, was the son of the High King of the Noldor, the second great clan of Elves who journeyed westwards to Valinor. Despite her status, like most Elves, she’s highly proficient in combat when required.
- What Beautiful Eyes!: There are a lot of close ups of Galadriel's blue eyes. This is especially notable in the Mind Rape scene between Galadriel and Sauron in the season one finale where her eyes are given particular focus and appear almost inhumanly blue. This may be because we’re actually seeing Galadriel from Sauron’s point of view, as a being of pure light in contrast to his own darkness.
- What the Hell, Hero?: She is called out by Sauron of all people, and rightfully so. Galadriel, being The Determinator that she is, couldn't just let go of the chance of Halbrand being the Southlands's so-called lost king and using it to her advantage in order to convince Miriel to give her an army to hunt down Sauron in the Southlands. She puts Halbrand in a vulnerable position by lying to Miriel that he was the one asking for an army from Numenor to unite his people. Sauron/Halbrand seems to get genuinely angry with Galadriel and accuses her of using him even though he begged her to just let him have a quiet, peaceful existence in Numenor, and suggesting she find peace for herself too.
- White Stallion: In Numenor, Galadriel receives a beautiful white horse. She possibly became the owner of the horse because she brought the creature with her back to Middle-earth.
- The Worf Effect: Her combat skill is established when she effortlessly dispatches a snow-troll, a creature that was trouncing her party and the kind of foe that gives more than pause to the Fellowship, a group composed of some the best combatants of the Third Age. She's also on the other end of this trope when confronting Sauron, although she remains defiant towards him, she isn't able to deal him any physical damage.
- Xenafication: Book Galadriel, while still an Action Girl, relied more on her potent magical powers. In the series, she begins the story without a ring of power and she Fights Like a Normal, wielding a sword and wearing armour.
- You Are What You Hate: As much as Galadriel hates Sauron, she has many things in common with him, same desires to control, same disregard for the Orcs' lives, and very susceptible to being blinded by her own ambition. No wonder she almost killed Adar in anger for suggesting she is the mirror image of Sauron.
- Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: Galadriel, increasingly suspicious that Halbrand is Sauron, can't keep the pain off her face when he thanks her for renewing his motivation when he was at his low point.
- You Keep Telling Yourself That: She is on the receiving end from both Elrond and Halbrand.
- When she returns to Lindon, Elrond asks her if she truly believes that seeking Sauron out will satisfy her thirst for revenge. He doesn't even let her give him an answer before questioning her willingness to sacrifice even more Elvish lives before she finally convinces herself that she had done enough.
- Halbrand asks of Galadriel to stop denying that her quest for revenge is heroism.
- You Killed My Father: Galadriel's entire goal in a nutshell. She wants revenge on Sauron, who caused the death of her beloved brother, Finrod, and spent centuries continuing his mission of preventing the evil but that's only a pretext to exact her revenge.
