The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power showed how an Elf can fall. J.R.R. Tolkien originally intended the entire race of Orcs to be fallen Elves. The idea even made its way into his draft of The Silmarillion, which was published by his son Christopher after his death. "Yet this is held true by the wise of Eressëa," The Silmarillion reads, "that all those of the Quendi (Elves) that who came into the hands of Melkor, ere Utumno was broken, were put there in prison, and by slow arts of cruelty were corrupted and enslaved; and thus did Melkor breed the hideous race of the Orcs..." Tolkien subsequently dropped the idea, with Christopher suggesting he did so because he wanted to stress the inherent nobility of Elves.
The Rings of Power thus broke canon by introducing Adar, a fallen Elf who had indeed been broken by Sauron. Adar is an Elvish word that probably means "father," and the Amazon TV series did indeed portray Adar as the creator of the Orcs. In a surprising twist, it turned out Adar was operating independently of Sauron, operating under his own agenda for the sake of the Orcs he ruled. This, naturally, raises the disturbing question of just how an Elf can actually fall.
Galadriel Shows How An Elf Can Fall In The Rings Of Power
One striking scene in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power answers that question. Galadriel eventually learned she had been played for a fool by Sauron, who had wormed his way into her confidence under the alias of Halbrand. The Rings of Power season 1 ends with a confrontation between the two, and Halbrand attempts to tempt Galadriel to side with him. He offers Galadriel an alliance that will bring about her own more noble goals, the restoration of Middle-earth, if she will only agree to an alliance. Oddly enough, nothing Sauron says in this scene is a lie exactly; Tolkien's notes do indeed record that Sauron was obsessed with establishing order and peace on Middle-earth back in the Second Age, and that his desire ultimately morphed into a twisted longing for control and power. Sauron is tempting Galadriel to walk that same path with him.
Galadriel is sorely tempted in The Rings of Power. She seriously considers Sauron's words, which are carefully chosen to appeal to her own longing for peace and order. This, it seems, is how an Elf can fall; by appealing to, and thus perverting, the noble desires that lie within their hearts. Galadriel resists the temptation, fortunately, and Sauron places her in an enchanted sleep so she cannot interfere with his business and prevent the creation of the first ring.
The Rings Of Power Makes Sauron Even More Satanic
There are fascinating parallels between this portrayal of Sauron and that of the Devil in J.R.R. Tolkien's Catholic faith. Satan, or Lucifer, is a fallen angel; the Maiar are the equivalent of angels in Tolkien mythology, and Sauron is a fallen Maiar. The Sauron of The Rings of Power resorts to subtle temptation to sway others to his cause, just as Satan tempted Eve in the Garden of Eden. Galadriel is the Eve who did not fall, however, for she was able to resist Sauron's seductive words - however appealing they may have been. No doubt this sets her up as Sauron's greatest enemy as The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power continues.
