In The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 1, Galadriel remembered some wise words from her brother Finrod, but his sentiments did not align with either his history nor Lord of the Rings lore. Finrod was widely known to be a good and just warrior, and after his death, Elves regarded him as a hero. However, Finrod's conversation with the young Galadriel in Valinor made it seem like he had a dark history no one knew about. Amazon's The Rings of Power has been criticized for its changes to Tolkien canon, but Finrod's speech about darkness hints that this will only continue in The Rings of Power season 2.

J.R.R. Tolkien spoke of Galadriel's brother Finrod in several of his written works, such as The Silmarillion and Beren and Lúthien. Finrod's adventures with Beren were legendary, and his ultimate sacrifice was the only reason his friend could retrieve one of the Silmarils stolen by Morgoth. Finrod did not survive, but since he was so good, he was brought back to life by the Valar and returned to Valinor. Of course, none of this seems to be true in The Rings of Power, where Finrod was killed while trying to get revenge on Sauron, but that is not all the Prime Video TV show changed about him.

Finrod’s Advice To Galadriel In Rings Of Power Contradicts LOTR Lore

As well as changing Finrod's death, The Rings of Power seems to have made significant alterations to the character's personality. This was easy enough, since there was not a great deal about Finrod's personality in Tolkien's work to set him apart from the other elves. Nevertheless, one thing that was always a constant of Tolkien's Finrod was his morality. This was not the case in The Rings of Power, where Finrod's comments to Galadriel about needing to "touch the darkness" to tell the difference between right and wrong implied some nefarious decisions in the elf's past.

Finrod's feelings about darkness were meant to set up Galadriel's arc, since a lot of The Rings of Power season 1 seemed to be playing off the character's One Ring temptation moment from The Lord of the Rings. The idea here is that Galadriel's arc is defined by her desire for power and leadership. This doesn't entirely divert from Tolkien canon, but the idea that Galadriel's own darkness started with Finrod is a little out of left field. This is especially true because, as children in Valinor, Galadriel and Finrod should have had nearly no opportunity to become acquainted with "darkness."

The Rings Of Power Season 1 Hints At More Changes For Finrod’s Character

The fact that the key points of Finrod's advice were kept a secret from audiences until near the end of Rings of Power season 1 implies that Galadriel and viewers alike still have a lot to learn about the character. It could be that Finrod himself had been tempted or tricked by Morgoth or Sauron in the past, which is why he was so dedicated to taking the Dark Lord down. This would be an interesting discovery for Galadriel, and one that would shatter her perception of Finrod. Galadriel idolized her brother, and learning that Sauron once swayed him could make it even harder for Galadriel to turn down the villain's offers of power.

This seems to be a direction Rings of Power could take, but risks being a significant disappointment for Lord of the Rings fans. Changes are often necessary for a book-to-screen adaptation, and this is especially true for tales from The Silmarillion, where a lot of character development details are left out. Still, changes to a character's morality can be difficult to swallow, especially such a fundamentally good character. It would be better if Finrod's advice to Galadriel holds no further significance in his story. Given the number of changes The Rings of Power has made already, however, this is far from guaranteed.