All the coy comments in the world couldn’t prepare us for this. Maybe you went into The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 hoping that Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Sauron (Charlie Vickers) would put aside their differences — or not — and give in to that simmering tension between them with a smooch, or perhaps you found yourself hoping the fragile alliance between Galadriel and Adar (Sam Hazeldine) might blossom into something more. Wherever audiences stood ship-wise, however, Season 2 Episode 7, “Doomed to Die,” pulled off the surprise of the season when Galadriel instead locked lips with her best friend — and future son-in-law for those in the know — Elrond (Robert Aramayo).

In an interview with Collider’s Carly Lane, Aramayo got the chance to weigh in on the surprising moment, when Elrond kisses Galadriel in order to slip her a cloak pin to use as a lockpick on her handcuffs. For Aramayo, though, the moment is more than just a diversion, as he explains:

“I think that’s how it begins, but then also it’s a goodbye as well. This is very, very likely the last time he’s going to see her, and she’s very dear to him. So, it’s a really emotional moment, and it’s a goodbye, I would say. We talked a lot about it and everyone had lots of ideas about how they wanted to do it and we went with this. The intimacy coordinator came up with the shape of it. But it was shocking when I read it, because if you’re a fan of the lore, it’s unexpected.”

Why the Elrond/Galadriel Kiss Is Unexpected

In Tolkien’s writings, Elrond eventually marries Galadriel’s daughter Celebrían — who has not been mentioned on the show thus far, so it’s safe to assume she hasn’t been born just yet — so those expecting Galadriel and Elrond to shift into a mother- and son-in-law relationship sooner rather than later were certainly in for a surprise with the latest Rings of Power episode.

For Aramayo, a fan of Tolkien lore, understanding the reasoning behind the kiss — freeing Galadriel, keeping the ring from Adar, and also getting the chance to say goodbye to his friend — made the moment less shocking, and more interesting from a character perspective. As he told Lane:

“It’s kind of an interesting move from Elrond, it’s the last thing you would expect him to do in that room, and I’m sure it’s the last thing that Adar expected him to do in that room, or the Orcs around them, or anything like that. So, in terms of what he wanted to achieve, it’s the perfect cover.”

The first seven episodes of The Rings of Power Season 2 are streaming now on Prime Video.