The Rings of Power's Galadriel is a One-Note Character, According to Reddit
The Rings of Power has certainly received much criticism of its first season, especially concerning one of its main characters, Galadriel, played by Morfydd Clark.
Although the character is one of the few of the series who also appears in the books, Clark's version is a younger, more aggressive depiction of the Elven princess. This has of course displeased fans of the original novels, who state the show overly alters the premise of the character under the guise of creative license. This, however, is not the only criticism of the character by the show's audience. Who have noted the character is not only inaccurate and unlikeable but uninteresting and one-dimensional.
These criticisms come from users of the r/LOTR_on_Prime community on Reddit. One thread in particular, among many it seems, discusses how the writing for Galadriel is 'all over the place'. It is here that many viewers shared their frustrations with the character. Pointing out that not only is Galadriel vastly different from her original representation, but she is a character without much substance. One user refers to her directly as a 'one-note character with a single trait: anger'; and they're not wrong.
Since the beginning of the series, Galadriel has been a central character within the story. The season starts with the backstory of her brother's death and her motivation to find and defeat Sauron as revenge. As this first season almost comes to an end, her character has seen almost no shift from that direction over the entirety of the episodes. A lack of development and growth from her perspective has instead caused the character to appear flat and 'empty'; as another Redditor states.
How can Galadriel turn it around? Fortunately, according to an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Clark has promised that her character will see some development over the series' arc. Although not making any specific references to how, when, or in what form this development may take place, Clark believes that humility will be a big part of Galadriel's evolution within the show. This certainly would be a significant character progression for her, considering only recently within episode six did she threaten to eradicate the entirety of all orcs. Not yet expressing much humility over others. Although there have already been hints of the humane and serene persona she may become (again); her discussion with lsildur for example.
We are eagerly awaiting to see Galadriel adopt a more fully formed personality than what we have seen so far from the show. Many of the characters in both The Rings of Power and the Tolkienverse as a whole are recognised for being relatably emotional with appropriate depth. If only the series now can write such personality into one of its most promising characters, it may save itself a lot of general criticism overall.