There is only one episode left from Season 1 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. And that’s where we’ll probably learn who Sauron is in the Amazon series – a mystery the showrunners have kept us guessing all season so far. One of the strongest theories: After all, Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) has already been Sauron several references to his dark character scattered.
Some fans are sure: It’s clear that Halbrand will turn out to be Sauron. Others – including the author of these lines – find it too obvious. But in episode 7 of “The Rings of Power” titled “The Eye” there is actually… the strongest clue yet that there could be something to the semi-random Sauron theory.
For in addition to mentions of Halbrand’s mysterious and violent past, ominous hints about his dubious character, his apparent conflict with Adar, and his statements of “appearances are deceiving”, In fact, in one of the final scenes, Halbrand is literally taken on the path Sauron walks in JRR Tolkien’s books…
Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) takes the injured Halbrand to the elves. This is not obvious, Galadriel first wants to ride alone to King Gil-Galad (Benjamin Walker) – but Halbrand’s wound requires Elven care. And because the road to far Lindon is too far, Halbrand will now probably end up right where Sauron will be in the Second Age story: namely with the Elves in Eregionwho are looking for an antidote to their disappearance and who have exactly a piece of Silmaril-soaked mithril at their disposal…
Then the experienced blacksmith (!) Halbrand comes in handy, who could give his colleague Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) the tip: Make it a ring! King Gil-galad will be skeptical if the series closely follows Tolkien’s template and doesn’t trust the guy who proposes ringsmiths. But Celebrimbor will listen to him – and for good reason, because Halbrand has already worked his way into Galadriel’s trust, and she should vouch for him, which makes the whole story all the more tragic for the Eleven.
And why isn’t Halbrand called Annatar now? In Tolkien it is Sauron in the guise of a handsome man named Annatar who insinuates himself among the Elves and there forged the rings of strength. Halbrand is beautiful – only it’s not called Annatar. But that isn’t necessarily a problem. Because “Annatar” is not just a name, but has a meaning in the Elvish language Sindarin: Lord of Gifts.
So it’s entirely possible that Annatar just becomes a nickname of Halbrand given to him by the Elves. because he gives them a gift – whether it will be ringsmiths or something else for which the elves will be grateful (only in the beginning, of course…) remains to be seen.
Whether all this fits with the passage of time in the Second Age of Middle-earth is of course another question. But we already know that the showrunners have extremely condensed the events and are probably juggling the order a bit. The mere fact that Mordor isn’t directly home to Sauron, but belongs first to Adar (Joseph Mawle) and his orcs, is a change that can mess up other temporal processes as well.
The fact that Halbrand now has the trust of Elf Galadriel and is actually brought to the other Elves towards the season finale is the strongest indication yet that Halbrand turns out to be Sauron…
…which, however, would be a shame for the author of these lines and her colleague Julius Vietzen, a fantasy expert. in the MOVIESTARTS Spoiler Talk On YouTube For Episodes 5 And 6 Of “The Rings Of Power” we have already discussed this extensively: The more exciting story would be to have Halbrand be the king of the southern lands first and later make him a ringwraith, a Nazgûl.
This would also explain why a dark side was teased in Halbrand. And the “fall of a hero”, when Halbrand would later be seduced by Sauron with one of the rings of power, would be a strong story that could also greatly aid Galadriel’s character development if she loses a friend to the evil forces.
Here would also be one of the gaps that the creators could use to tell their own stories outside Tolkien’s canon: the origin story of most Nazgûl is unknown.
Not only would making Halbrand Sauron be some kind of cheap reveal and a missed opportunity for a new story, the creators would have to explain a lot afterwards too. For example, why the mighty Sauron as a semirim could put himself in such a predicament that he floated on a raft in the middle of the sea, and the meeting with Elf Galadriel that eventually led him all this path to Middle-earth and the Elves, this was a random one.
We’ll find out more about Halbrand and then maybe Sauron in the season finale of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” Experienced. Episode 8 comes to Amazon Prime Video on October 14, 2022 at 6:00 AM.