The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (TV Series)

A Shadow of the Past (2022)

Morfydd Clark: Galadriel

Photos 

Quotes 

• Galadriel : [narrating]  Nothing is evil in the beginning. And there was a time when the world was so young, there had not yet been a sunrise. But even then there was light. We had no word for death. For we thought our joys would be unending. We thought our light would never dim. So when the Great Foe, Morgoth, destroyed the very light of our home... we resisted. And a legion of Elves went to war. We left Valinor, our home, and journeyed to a distant realm. One filled with untold perils and strange creatures beyond count. A place known as Middle-earth. They said it would be over quickly, but the war left Middle-earth in ruin. And would last centuries. Now, we learned many words for death. In the end, Morgoth would be defeated. But not before much sorrow. For his Orcs had spread to every corner of Middle-earth, multiplying ever greater under the command of his most devoted servant, a cruel and cunning sorcerer. They called him Sauron. My brother vowed to seek him out and destroy him. But Sauron found him first and marked his flesh with a symbol. One whose meaning even our wisest could not discern. And there, in the darkness, his vow became mine. And so, we hunted. To the ends of the earth we hunted Sauron. But the trail grew thin. Year gave way to year. Century gave way to century. And for many Elves, the pain of those days passed out of thought and mind. More and more of our kind began to believe that Sauron was but a memory. And the threat, at last, was ended. I wish I could be one of them.

• Elrond : Let us say that all is as you fear, and this enemy is out there somewhere, lying in wait. Do you truly believe seeking him out will satisfy you? That one more Orc upon the point of your blade will bring you peace? If you are wrong...

  Galadriel : I'm not wrong.

  Elrond : If you are wrong, will you lead more Elves to die in far-off lands? To convince yourself you have done enough, how many more statues would you add to this path? No one in history has ever refused the call. Do so now, it may never come again. You will linger here, an outcast, poisoned in dark whispers and dreams.

  Galadriel : And in the West, do you think my fate would be better? Where song would mock the cries of battle in my ears? You say I have won victory over all the horrors of Middle-earth. Yet you would leave them alive in me? To take with me? Undying, unchanging, unbreaking, into the land of winterless spring?

  Elrond : Only in the Blessed Realm can that which is broken in you be healed. Go there. Go, and I promise you, if but a whisper of a rumor of the threat you perceive proves true, I will not rest until it is put right. You have fought long enough, Galadriel. Put up your sword.

  Galadriel : Without it, what am I to be?

  Elrond : What you have always been. My friend.

• Galadriel : Are you just going to stand there, breathing like an Orc?

  Elrond : It is said the wine of victory is sweetest for those in whose bitter trials it has fermented.

  Galadriel : I do not feel victorious.

  Elrond : You deserve the honors of this day. Your brother would be proud.

  Galadriel : [looking around at wooden statues]  I remember when the first of these were carved. The likeness of one fallen, preserved upon a living thing. I suppose some part of me always believed my rest would be here, with them. But instead, I am to leave them.

  Elrond : This is the gift of your king.

  Galadriel : A gift I have decided to refuse.

• Galadriel : I am grateful you have not known evil as I have. But you have not seen what I have seen.

  Elrond : I have seen my share.

  Galadriel : You have not seen what I have seen. Evil does not sleep, Elrond. It waits. And in the moment of our complacency, it blinds us.

• Galadriel : [finding Barad-dûr]  This is it. This is where the Orcs gathered after Morgoth's defeat. Far more must have escaped than we ever imagined.

  Thondir : My hand is past feeling.

  Galadriel : No. This place is so evil, our torches give off no warmth. This way.

  Thondir : How can you be certain?

  Galadriel : It's colder than the rest.

• Thondir : What devilry is this?

  Galadriel : These Orcs were meddling with the powers of the Unseen World. Some dark sorcery of old. But what was their purpose?

  Thondir : Surely, it is lost to the ages now. Whatever happened here was long ago.

  Galadriel : [watching a wisp of dust evaporate on a frozen stone slab]  Water.

  [Thondir hands over a flask, and she pours the contents on the stone] 

  Galadriel : [watching the ice melt]  Even stone cannot hide the mark of one whose very hand is flame unquenched. He was here. Sauron was here. Tell the others to rest while they can. At sunrise, we move on. We'll take the search further north.

  Thondir : Further north?

  Galadriel : This mark was left as a trail for Orcs to follow. The last time I saw it was on my brother. We must follow it.

  Thondir : The mark is centuries old. Whoever left it could be long dead.

  Galadriel : Or lying in wait, gathering strength, perfecting whatever dark art eluded him here.

  Thondir : We exceeded our orders months ago. Surely we must first return home to take counsel with the High King.

  Galadriel : I promise you there is not a soul amongst our company who yearns for home more than I. I can still feel the light of the trees on my face. I can still see it. And until we are certain every trace of our enemy is vanquished... I can never return.

• Thondir : [Galadriel slays a snow-troll]  We should never have come in here.

  Galadriel : We leave soon enough. The order is given. We march at first light.

  Thondir : Then you shall do so alone.

• Elrond : Lindon receives you with grace.

  Galadriel : With grace, I am received.

  Elrond : [she glances at a panting of a sailing ship]  I hear it's said that when you cross over, you hear a song. One whose memory we all carry. And you immersed in a light more intoxicating than any sensation in all of Middle-earth.

  Galadriel : When I was a child, it was the only feeling I knew.

  Elrond : And look at you now. Commander of the Northern Armies. Warrior of the Wastelands. I half expected you to arrive caked in grime and mud.

  Galadriel : This time, frostbite and troll blood. And no army.

  Elrond : Tell me everything.

• Galadriel : This mark's very existence proves Sauron escaped. He's still out there. The question now is, where? I intend to ask of the King a fresh company. If he supplies enough to...

  Elrond : You have only just arrived. Must you speak of leaving again so soon?

  Galadriel : You know very well why I must.

  Elrond : There will be ample time later to discuss official matters. I want to hear about you. Your harrowing journey.

  Galadriel : Why, Elrond. You really have become a politician.

  Elrond : You make it sound so grim.

  Galadriel : I am not some courtier to be placated by idle flattery. I demand to speak with the King directly.

  Elrond : You have made that plain. So I will be equally plain. It was not your company who defied you out there, but rather you who defied the High King, by refusing to heed any limit placed upon you. In an act of magnanimity, he has chosen to honor your accomplishments... rather than dwell upon your insolence. Test him again and you may find him less receptive than you might have hoped.

  Galadriel : Are you going to arrange an audience or not?

  Elrond : If after the ceremony that is still your wish, you shall have it.

• Galadriel : My brother gave his life hunting Sauron. His task is now mine. I go to seek the enemy that escaped us in the north. Alone, if I must.

  Elrond : Ah, yes. Your mystery sigil. I shared it with the High King.

  Galadriel : Then why would...

  Elrond : Because seeing a sigil does not mean you're any closer to finding Sauron. It is over. The evil is gone.

  Galadriel : [touching her chest]  Then why is it not gone from in here?

  Elrond : After all you have endured, it is only natural to feel conflicted.