With new Amazon Prime Rings of Power episodes coming out weekly, more and more of the lore and history of some of the franchises most beloved characters are getting revealed. The show is slowly feeding information and backstory to audiences. So far, Elrond's relationship with his father Earendil has been hinted at, as well as his deep emotional connection with the Dwarves of Khazad-dum. However, one pivotal character is missing: Celeborn.
As the series continues, Galadriel's husband becomes more and more shrouded in mystery. In the show, he is believed to be dead despite his appearance in The Lord of the Rings. This apparent incontinuity raises the question: can elves in Tolkien's world be brought back from the dead?
It’s still unclear what Rings of Power is planning to do with Celeborn. His death (or supposed death) is never mentioned in the books, and he is a fairly active character and husband to Galadriel through later ages of the world. The show's writers may have felt that his presence undermined what they were trying to do with her character. Galadriel is a lone warrior princess who is out for vengeance, having lost many who she loved to the enemy. It had been assumed, up until the latest episode, that Celeborn was just written out of the show, or that his introduction would come much later. But when talking to Theo, it is revealed he and Galadriel are already married. His absence is because he is a supposed victim of Morgoth and the Great War. The she-elf tells the young Southlander:
‘The war seemed so very far away then. When he went to it, I chided him. His armor didn’t fit properly. I called him a silver clam. I never saw him again after that.’
It seems most likely that the show is doing a classic ‘dead off-screen = not really dead’ situation. Celeborn may return during the second season somehow, and the show will focus more on their relationship then. While Tolkien is not afraid to resurrect characters from the dead, it seems unlikely for Celeborn. This resurrection only seems to happen under very specific circumstances, and with a lot of influence from the Valar gods of Middle Earth. Gandalf the Gray fell from fighting the Balrog, only to come back as Gandalf the White, because the Valar believed that he still had some purpose to achieve in the world before his time ended. The Maiar are beings of extraordinary power, as shown in how Sauron’s evil essence comes back ‘from the dead’ multiple times. But elves don’t seem to be as lucky.
Normally, when an elf dies, their soul leaves their bodies and is summoned to a place called Halls of Mandos. They reside there for a while, but after a time (dependent on their actions while alive) they are reincarnated in Valinor. They are immortal, but only in soul. Elves are bound to Arda and are destined to exist, at least in a non-corporeal form, for as long as Middle Earth exists. Elves are technically able to one day return from Valinor to Middle Earth reincarnated. Despite this, only one elf ever returns after his death.
This exception is Glorfindel, a mighty elf and once lord of the Golden Flower in Gondolin. He met his death at the fall of Gondolin in the first age at the hands of a Balrog. His body was later recovered, confirming the death of his physical form, and buried on the mountains around Gondolin. However, his soul — his ‘Ea’ — like all the elves of Middle Earth that have perished, traveled to the Halls of Mandos. Because Glorfindel's heroic actions, his soul only resided in Mandos for a short time, and was quickly sent to dwell in Valinor. He stayed there for a long time, doing all the things that carefree elves do in heaven, until the Valar Manwe sent him back to Middle Earth as an emissary of the Valar. He returned with almost Maiar-like powers, just as Gandalf did during the Lord of the Rings.
While Tolkien never talked much about the specifics of the process, it seems to be something that can be done by any elf, returning to Middle Earth after their death. However, the fact that only one has done so, suggests that something stops them. Glorfindel only returned at the behest of the Valar, without which he might have stayed like the rest of his fallen kind. Fans have speculated that, since Valinor is a representation of heaven, there must be something that makes those who reside there want to stay. It would explain why Celeborn, if he really is dead, had not chosen to return to reunite with his wife, or why Finrod her brother’s death feels so permanent. It also makes Galadriel's decision to jump ship and stay in Middle Earth much sadder. She is giving up the chance to be reunited with not only her brother who gave his life, but also her husband, whom she believes died in the war, and will be waiting for her in the Undying Lands.