LOTR: What Would Happen If Galadriel Took The One Ring?

In The Lord of the Rings, one of the most iconic scenes after Gandalf’s “You shall not pass!” in the Mines of Moria is a scene in Lothlórien, a woodland Elven realm, where Galadriel, lady of the realm, and Frodo have a discussion about the One Ring. During their discussion, Frodo offers the One Ring to Galadriel to keep safe, after all she is said to be the most powerful Elf of the age. Who better to keep it safe?

However, what makes the scene so memorable is the almost scary change in Galadriel when she is tempted by the One Ring. When offered the ring, Galadriel speaks about how she would use it, telling Frodo instead of a dark lord, the ring would make her a queen. It would turn her goodness into a dark and evil power.

Luckily, Galadriel was able to resist the temptation of the ring and refused to take it from Frodo. But it makes fans of The Lord of the Rings wonder what would have happened if Galadriel instead had chosen to take the One Ring from Frodo, which he offered so willingly. Many speculate she would be more powerful than Sauron, but others say no being on Middle Earth could be more powerful than the evil Maia. So what would happen to Galadriel if she possessed the One Ring?

What Would Happen If Galadriel Took The One Ring From Frodo?

If things turned out a little differently in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, there’s a possibility that Galadriel could have accepted the One Ring from Frodo when he was passing through Lothlórien with the fellowship. If this had happened, there are a couple of ways things could have played out.

The first is assuming Galadriel could resist temptation for the entire time she had the ring. If this was the case, then not much would have happened. Galadriel would have likely kept the One Ring safe until the time came to destroy it. However, this is the more unlikely of the two possibilities.

On the other hand, even if Galadriel was able to resist the ring tempting her towards evil, the other possibility is that Galadriel uses the ring. Whether she uses it for good or evil, the ring would make Galadriel extremely powerful, even more so than she already is. Whether it would make her more powerful than Sauron or not is an entirely different question, but there’s no doubt that wielding the One Ring would make her one of the most powerful beings on Middle Earth.

How Would The One Ring Affect Galadriel?

However, even if Galdriel had good intentions with the ring, this doesn’t mean the One Ring wouldn’t affect and tempt her. It’s in the ring’s nature to do just this, especially to people who already hold a lot of power. No matter what Galadriel’s intentions are, there’s no doubt that the One Ring would do everything in its power to corrupt her. Galadriel even goes so far as to tell Frodo exactly what would happen if she were to accept the ring during the scene in Lothlórien.

In place of a Dark Lord you would have a Queen! Not dark but beautiful and terrible as the Dawn! Treacherous as the Seas! Stronger than the foundations of the Earth! All shall love me and despair!

It’s a scary thought that even the most pure and good natured of beings could be so tempted by the One Ring. But that is what the ring does. Take Smeagol and Deagol for example, two loving best friends. But when they come across the ring, they are both almost instantly corrupted by its power, so corrupted that it leads to one murdering the other. If two hobbits were capable of that, Galadriel would be capable of so much more under the corruption of the ring.

Could Galadriel Possess The One Ring Without Temptation?

Although Galadriel makes it clear in The Fellowship of the Ring that she would intend to use the ring if Frodo left it with her, this doesn’t necessarily mean she would succumb to temptation. Just because someone is capable of horrible, dark and evil deeds, doesn’t necessarily mean they will commit them.

It’s important to remember that when offered the ring by Frodo, Galadriel did resist the temptation from the One Ring. She rejected the ring. This is a good sign in that even if she did take the ring from him, this means there is a possibility that she wouldn’t be tempted or corrupted. Another important factor is that Galadriel is already a bearer of a ring, Nenya, an Elven ring of power. Although Nenya isn’t nearly as powerful as the One Ring, Galadriel has experience with using a ring of power with good intentions.

Knowing that Galadriel is in fact capable of resisting the ring’s temptation and that she had wielded a ring of power before shows that she might be able to carry the One Ring to Mount Doom to destroy it without becoming corrupted.

However, on the other hand, just because she is capable of it, doesn’t mean she wouldn’t encounter extreme temptation during the journey. Ultimately, if Galadriel were to succumb to the One Ring it would be due to her ambition and desire to be adorned by her people.