By all accounts the convention Morfydd Clark did this past weekend was overwhelmingly positive, in particular the room for her panel was packed and I've not heard any talk of backhanded compliment style questions being asked. It seems people wanted to praise her work so far and ask about the future for Galadriel in the show.
I really hope that signifies the tide might be tuning for all the actors in The Rings of Power. I know Ismael Cruz Cordova is pretty active on Instagram, so he posts some of the fan art and general positivity directed his way. I mention that because we all know it was overwhelmingly a combination of women and black actors who received unhinged and unnecessary hate before even a minute of the show aired, and it only got worse at the start of S1. I've said before the behaviour of so called "fans" put me off seeking the fandom until S2 was nearly over. It was that vile.
It just feels lovely for a change to see people talking on Discord and Bluesky (I don't really use Twitter anymore but some people have filled me in) about how much they love Morfydd's Galadriel and that she had a wonderful time yesterday meeting and greeting people who appreciate her work.
Women in the entertainment industry, like women in most careers tbh, have such a higher standard they're held to compared to (white) men and I still remember the early days of watching S1 in 2022 when I went to look for TROP on Twitter and was met with an avalanche of shitty terms like "Guyladriel" and claims she was spitting on Tolkien's grave etc. Just for doing a job. And of course some people tried to hide behind nonsense such as "oh but she's too short, she's meant to be over 6ft" and seriously who the fuck actually cares that much? Yeah, Galadriel is meant to be tall, but what would suck more is casting a height appropriate woman who can't act and/or has zero chemistry with the rest of the cast. I trust there was a reason Morfydd was chosen.
Yes, there are major changes I grumbled about back in 2022 but I'm more or less over it. The compressed timeline was done for a good TV-related reason even though trying to fit Tolkien's timeline around it often gives me a headache when I'm writing fic. We're told other canon characters not yet in it will show up. Maybe I'll hate how that's done, maybe I'll love it. I just don't know yet! I think it's pretty certain Anárion is coming given one of the new actors for S3 resembles Maxim, so the new guy is basically screaming Isildur's brother.
I just love the proof sometimes that the Internet isn't real life. A lot of people love that Morfydd is part of Middle Earth. I can't wait to see what she does with the rest of Second Age Galadriel and her journey toward being the Third Age figure more people are familiar with.
And y'know, because I always feel compelled to say it just in case: I was talking about a specific kind of ongoing tsunami of hate any time the official accounts post anything about the show and it's ok to not like an adaption. What isn't ok is harassing actors, writers, showrunners, even fans of the show. And I really do worry about the people on Facebook/Instagram/etc who STILL seem to have an obsessive need to seek out communities who enjoy the show, and official accounts, and actor accounts after three bloody years to spout their poison everywhere. Truly, aren't these people (mainly men let's be fair) tired? Can't they accept the show is a thing and get on with their lives? The books are still there (reading them right now and can confirm: watching and enjoying TROP doesn't make them disappear!) that video game I don't care for but some people seem to believe is actual Tolkien canon is still there, your headcanons are still there— it all still exists. I do think there comes a point where seeking out misery by going after things you don't like is weird behaviour.
Good on everyone who attended the con, hopefully the horrible comments are a distant memory for Morfydd and she can concentrate on the love from her fans.
