Thread by @AtheistjLiz

Sauron's proposition to Galadriel in #TheRingsOfPower was an excellent scene. But here's a thread on how I think it could have been pulled off even better. 🧵

Sauron and Galadriel are alike. Tolkien deliberately parallels their characters. They're both immensely proud and have a desire to rule.

Galadriel left Valinor in part because she wanted to rule a piece of Middle Earth. Not so different from Sauron's motives.

The show took pains to parallel Galadriel and Halbrand. Both castaways with short fuses.

In episode 6 this is most clear when both of them stop each other from killing Adar. The bloodlust in both is apparent.

Where I think the show may have stumbled was focusing too much on Galadriel's desire for vengeance for her brother and her bloodlust. This is perfectly fine to show, and it's supported by the text, but for Sauron's offer to be tempting, I think we needed more.

I think the show needed to lean on Galadriel's desire for power, which is a canonical trait of hers. She wants to have a kingdom of her own in Middle Earth.

This would have played right into Sauron's offer for her to rule Middle Earth with him.

The show addresses Galadriel's problems with authority. We see that with Gil-Galad and Miriel, but that doesn't necessarily convey that she has a desire to rule herself. Just that she clashes with authority.

Had the show leaned harder on Galadriel's desire to rule, and how that is a trait she shares with Sauron, I think Sauron's offer would have come across as far more tempting.

"I would make you a queen." And we've seen that that's what she WANTS.

Those of us who are fans of the movies and the books know that Galadriel has ambitions to rule, and I think the writers were too reliant on us just knowing that about her. It should have been a major part of her arc.