Why Lord of the Rings fans are confused by the kiss between [SPOILER] and [SPOILER]

In the latest episode of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, "Doomed to Die," there's a scene where the elf Elrond meets with the orc leader Adar, who has captured Elrond's friend Galadriel. There's a real chance that Galadriel might not survive the coming battle between these two sides, and Elrond asks Adar's leave to say goodbye. He grants it, and Elrond does something fans weren't expecting: he kisses Galadriel.

Later, we find out that Elrond actually slipped Galadriel a lockpick during this move, so it wasn't necessarily a romantic gesture so much as cover for a plan he was hatching. Still, it was a kiss between two people who aren't related, which is almost universally interpreted around the world as romantic. That confused some Lord of the Rings fans in the audience, since in J.R.R. Tolkien's books, Elrond eventually goes on to marry Galadriel's daughter Celebrían. Elrond and Celebrían have a daughter named Arwen, played by Liv Tyler in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movies.

"Um, Elrond… what are you doing with that kiss… that’s your future mother in law bro…" one fan wrote on Reddit. "AAAAAAHHH! Why did Elrond kiss Galadriel I’m gonna be sick," opined another. There was a fair amount of that sort of thing.

To be fair, it doesn't look like Celebrían has been borne yet at this point in the history of Middle-earth, or at least not in the history of Middle-earth as refigured by The Rings of Power. In Tolkien's books, Celebrían is borne early in the Second Age, long before the Siege of Eregion, which is the subject of this episode. Also, although the show has mentioned it in passing, Galadriel does have a husband named Celeborn, but he hasn't shown up and isn't much talked about; apparently he's disappeared to parts unknown, perhaps never to return, whereas in the books he and Galadriel are firmly together.

The Rings of Power writers have arranged things to make Galadriel seem more romantically available than she is in the books. Why? Well, we can only guess, but I think it's so they can tease romantic tension with characters like Elrond, which they think will be more exciting for viewers than a depiction of a marriage that's literally thousands of years old.

Basically, I suspect the writers looked at the source material, said "not sexy enough," and changed it so we could get this kind of scene. I'm not a fan, but also: whatever. The Rings of Power has strayed very far from J.R.R. Tolkien's source material, so I'm trying to take it as its own beast. So sure, make out with your mom.

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h/t Tech Radar