‘Rings of Power’ Star Morfydd Clark Was “Totally Unprepared” for Fan Hate Toward Galadriel

The Rings of Power star Morfydd Clark has addressed the backlash she received for her portrayal of young Galadriel.

“I was just totally unprepared when season 1 came out,” admitted Clark in a profile for Elle. “I’ve seen a really dark side of what it means to be someone who [anyone] can write a message to on Instagram, and a really lovely side.”

Clark shared that the negativity has come “primarily from men.” Analyzing what about her character caused so much outrage from men watching the Amazon Prime Video series, the actress noted that “lots of the criticism I got from some [fans] were for the things making other people feel liberated while watching [Galadriel].

“What certain people didn’t necessarily enjoy about her, other people did,” Clark continued. “She takes up space; she’s unapologetic. I didn’t want her to act like a human woman who’s been taught not to be abrasive.” She added that while every other character she’s played has “shame built in,” Galadriel “doesn’t have that.”

Showrunner J.D. Payne defended the decision to show this side of Galadriel, explaining that J.R.R. Tolkien “gives us hints that [Galadriel] was prideful, that she was a warrior at various times in her history.” In Peter Jackson’s adaptation of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings series, the character is portrayed by Cate Blanchett as one of the most powerful elves in Middle-earth. While creating the show, the showrunners wanted to see how they could take Galadriel “from being an impetuous, prideful young warrior to the wise Lady of the Wood.’”

Executive producer Lindsey Webber also said that Galadriel needed to be a polarizing character during the first season, as her decisions lead to discovering that her new seemingly human friend Hallbrand is actually Sauron in disguise.

“It’s fun to think about what Galadriel’s ‘unlikable’ decisions led to — would Sauron have found his way to power so quickly if she didn’t help him?” Weber pointed out. “Or will it turn out, in the end, that she might be able to defeat him one day because she helped him and got to know him in the process? These are the kinds of delightful dramatic questions that come from having an imperfect character.”

The upcoming second season, however, will feature a more humbled, mature version of Galadriel, who is “trying to find her way back into the light,” according to showrunner Patrick McKay. Clark also shared that Galadriel has to accept “that she’s part of something more than herself, and she can’t do this alone. She’s open; she’s painfully open. She’d like to be closed, but she knows she can’t be.”

Season two of The Rings of Power premieres on Amazon Prime Video on Thursday.