‘Lord of the Rings’: Morfydd Clark and Charlie Vickers Break Down the Moment Galadriel and Halbrand Become Friends

In The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Episode 2, Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) finds herself relying on the help of a stranger to survive. Halbrand (Charlie Vickers), a mysterious new character created for Prime Video‘s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, is one of a few survivors of shipwreck that Galadriel stumbles upon. After a sea snake kills the rest of Halbrand’s fellow refugees, the elf and the man reluctantly join forces.

Much has been made of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power‘s intense stunt work, with both Morfydd Clark and Charlie Vickers sharing stories about learning how to free dive for Episode 2’s watery action sequences, but the scene is more than just about survival. It’s about two strangers deciding to be vulnerable with one another. Galadriel has just abandoned a ship bound for Valinor to continue her quest to avenge her brother Finrod (Will Fletcher), while all we know about Halbrand is he is a refugee from the Southlands. It’s a place notorious for its connection to the evil Morgoth in the First Age and its persistent distrust of elves.

Morfydd Clark told Decider that balancing the intense stunt work with the emotional beats of the scene were easier than you might think.

“Well, we auditioned with that scene for many months, which is quite nice because it means we’d workshopped it a lot,” Clark said. “So by the time we kind of got on the raft and had that other stuff to kind of deal with, we were very at home in that scene.”

“Yeah, and I think it’s interesting because at the start of the scene, I think it’s quite standoffish,” Charlie Vickers said. “Particularly when Galadriel first approaches the raft. And then I think once things happen, they realize that they’re each other’s means of surviving. So in order to connect and use each other in that way, I think they have to break a few walls down without giving too much away to each other.”

What are they trying not to give away to each other? Well, for Halbrand, we don’t yet know, though it’s clear there is some darkness related to his past in the Southlands — and a mysterious necklace that Vickers promised Decider we will learn more about over the course of the first season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

“I think there are certainly elements of his past, being where he’s from, where there is that connection through his ancestors. They fall on the wrong side at the end of the First Age,” Halbrand said. “As to where his character goes, as we watch the plot unfold, I think there are certainly questions that develop in his mind about both his past and his future. Questions through meeting different people, encountering different obstacles on his quest to start a new life away from the Southlands. And I think it’s best to leave the question of where it takes him specifically unanswered at this stage.”

As for Galadriel, we know that she is still traumatized by the grief of losing her beloved big brother to Sauron.

“Love and the loss of love is ultimately what drives her,” Clark said. “There’s a tragedy to it because grief will be never be sated. So you know, to a degree she’s fighting a losing battle, even if evil is defeated.”

We’ll have to tune into The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Episode 3 on September 9 to find out if Galadriel and Halbrand grow closer as the story goes on.