The Rings Of Power Season 3 Is Giving Us Lord Of The Rings' Very Own Odysseus

"The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" is ramping up the excitement for Season 3. We already got a look at Sauron during his pivotal crafting of the One Ring moment, and now Empire has another treat for fans in the form of a highly anticipated character reveal.

So far, "The Rings of Power" has done a great job of incorporating the big players of the Second Age of Middle-earth in a way that doesn't feel like just ticking boxes. Even when the show finally introduced Gandalf, it happened after two seasons' worth of building up his relationship to hobbits and his love of Middle-earth in a way that made his actual reveal mean something more than just a Marvel-like cameo. But now that Season 3 is entering the heat of the war between the Elves and Sauron, "The Rings of Power" is finally going to give us the "Lord of the Rings" equivalent of Odysseus: Galadiel's husband, Celeborn.

Jamie Campbell Bower's casting has been shrouded in secrecy, but Empire confirms he is playing none other than Celeborn, once and future Lord of Lothlórien, Prince of Doriath, and husband of Galadriel. You might remember him from Peter Jackson's adaptation of "The Lord of the Rings," where he asks, "Tell me, where is Gandalf? For I much desire to speak with him."  

Celeborn hasn't appeared in "The Rings of Power" yet, despite Galadriel mentioning she is married way back in Season 1. At this point, the two have been apart for centuries — much, much longer than Matt Damon's Odysseus was apart from his wife. That means that when Celeborn finally shows up, he will have a lot of explaining to do.

So far we've met virtually every important person in the life of Morfydd Clark's Galadriel: her brother, Finrod (Will Fletcher), her friend and son-in-law, Elrond (Robert Aramayo), and also Sauron (Charlie Vickers) — but not her husband.

The source material isn't really very helpful in answering what "The Rings of Power" could be doing with Celeborn's absence, because he is with Galadriel throughout his entire time in Middle-earth. The two met during the First Age and fell in love, with Celeborn participating in some of the biggest battles of that age. During the time "The Rings of Power" is set, Celeborn and Galadriel are canonically meant to be in Eregion. He only separates from Galadriel when she goes through Khazad-dûm to Lothlórien, while Celeborn stays behind and goes with Elrond to the spot that eventually becomes Rivendell.

The only explanation we have of Celeborn's absence comes in "The Rings of Power" Season 1, when Galadriel talks of him going to war with an armor that didn't fit properly and her calling him "a silver clam." After that? Nothing. It seems Celeborn is missing in action, and has been for centuries, if not outright millennia. At this point, Celeborn has missed some pretty big world events for the elves in the timeline of the show — events he is supposed to be there for, like the battle of Eregion and the forming of the Three Rings. There'll be some awkward conversations to be had when Galadriel and Celeborn finally reunite, especially about Galadriel's sort-of fling with Sauron.

And yet, based on comments from the actors, it seems "The Rings of Power" has some fascinating plans for Celeborn that pay homage to "The Professor" himself, J.R.R. Tolkien.

Speaking with Empire, Jamie Campbell Bower talked about how "The Rings of Power" is taking inspiration from J.R.R. Tolkien himself for its portrayal of Celeborn. "This idea of longing and yearning is so pervasive in Tolkien's relationship with Edith for the time that they were apart," Bower said. "I really feasted on that idea. Celeborn has had to find a way to survive whilst longing for something that he so dearly loved and so dearly missed as well."

Now, this is very interesting, enough to forgive the awkward waiting for Celeborn to show up after 16 episodes across two seasons. Tolkien and his wife Edith's relationship is at the core of every relationship in the Legendarium. She served as the inspiration for Arwen Undómiel (Aragorn's wife) and also Lúthien Tinúviel, whose romance to the mortal man Beren is arguably the single greatest story Tolkien ever told — and is one of the best stories Peter Jackson could tell with "The Silmarillion." Most importantly, Beren and Lúthien's relationship is based on Tolkien's own romance with Edith.

The two fell in love at a boarding house when they were teenagers, but Tolkien was forbidden from contacting Edith by his Anglican-hating guardian, up until he became a legal adult at 21. Despite being separated for years by school and even Edith getting engaged to another man, the two reunited and married soon after Tolkien's 21st birthday, and were together until her death.

Separating Celeborn and Galadriel for so long, and exploring that sense of longing in a way that pays homage to Tolkien himself, is a simple yet amazing approach that shows how the "Rings of Power" writers' room understands the source material deeply, while still doing their own take on it.