There was a lot of evidence that Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) would turn out to be Sauron by the end of Season 1 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power – but there was also a lot to be said against it. For example, it seemed at first glance it makes no sense that such a mighty being, after all one of the Maiar (some sort of minor gods) from Valinor, floats helplessly on a raft in the sea. And much of what happened next seemed more like coincidence than some grand plan by Sauron.
One thing is clear: there is a story behind it. While much of the series certainly wasn’t told the way some fans would like, Halbrand didn’t accidentally float on a raft at sea when he met Galadriel (Morfydd Clark). And Charlie Vickers confirmed in an interview with that in season 2 we will learn how Sauron got there.
Because even when the true identity of Halbrand aka Sauron was revealed in the season finale, not all questions about the character were answered with a long shot – the one about the raft, for example, which must have floated one or the other to the end. After all, you have to save something for season 2. And then we learn not only what Sauron is up to in Mordor now that he’s there at the end of Episode 8, but also, perhaps more interestingly, something about Sauron’s backstory.
After the reason for his introduction to the Raft early, Vickers explained that he knows the answer but won’t reveal it now: “We get the backstory[in seizoen 2].[inStaffel2)erfahren[inStaffel2)erfahren That question will be answered at the right time.”
And co-showrunner JD Payne confirmed in an interview with the , that Season 2 will be the “Sauron Season”. “Season 1 started with Who is Galadriel? Where is she from? What has she been through? What drives her? We do the same with Sauron in Season 2. We will fill in all the missing puzzle pieces.”
Incidentally, when Charlie Vickers filmed the raft scene as Halbrand, he had no idea that his character would turn out to be Sauron – but he already knew, as the audition included interpreting Satan’s passages from John Milton’s “Paradise Lost.” In the meantime, however, the actor seems to know a lot more about the Sauron series than the public…
We’ll have to wait a little longer before we learn why Halbrand/Sauron ended up on that raft and how the “Rings of PowerThe authors explain why Morgoth’s henchman initially seemed uninterested in being evil. Pure deception? Or really a temporary change of heart?
We don’t expect “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” to hit Amazon Prime Video before 2024. Until then, though, enjoy our theories — like why the Stranger (Daniel Weyman) doesn’t necessarily have to be Gandalf, despite so much to suggest it is.
And who knows, maybe the meteorite man even has something to do with Sauron landing on the raft in less than best shape. Because the two were portrayed as antagonists in the finale, and fellow showrunner Patrick McKay has already confirmed that the alien’s fate is closely tied to Sauron’s. So maybe they’ve met before…?