Well folks we did it. After eight episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and poring over insinuations, teasing and almost literal winks at the camera, the Amazon Prime Lord of the Rings prequel has finally revealed that we were fine and that Sauron is, in fact, Halbrand (Charlie Vickers).
That’s a good thing, because it would be a missed opportunity if he wasn’t, something the Polygon crew thought during his very first scene – if it wasn’t just like that Interesting If the only human to survive besides Galadriel, who pulled her from the rifting seas, was Sauron, the great evil who had hunted her for years and the scourge of (future) Middle-earth?
It came to color every scene with him in it, although there were bigger mysterious characters that no one could explain. While not exactly consistent with the extended lore, what Galadriel was theoretically able to sense Sauron was there always a mood. Perhaps that charged moment between them with the dagger (forgive me) is a double-edged sword and indeed an indicator of his evil. It was either that or he was the most boring character alive, which says something The Rings of Power.
If Halbrand’s sudden heel turn came out of nowhere for you – well, what can you say; We’ve been updating this post for weeks, expending all of our red yarn on what turns out to be a completely accurate conspiracy theory. Here’s a refresher on the evidence from Season 1 pointing directly to Halbrand’s shenanigans:
- Here is a brief selection of quotes written by Halbrand in episode 5: “You don’t know what I did. You don’t know how I survived.’ ‘What do you know about the Darkness?’ He also claims that if his secret is revealed he will be ‘cast out’ and apologizes to Galadriel for the death of her brother (that of Sauron “was killed).
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Adar dropped out as Sauron in episode 6, but he shared a number of charged moments with Halbrand, who clearly feels personally hurt in some way by Adar’s anti-Sauron campaign. During their encounter, Halbrand cryptically states that Adar should know who he is (since Halbrand nearly kills him), and later leaves Adar the question, “Who are you?” when the two are briefly alone. There isn’t much about these interactions that could elevate more than making Halbrand a tragic hero of Middle-earth. But in connection with the rest of the show there is some there…
- He’s a brutal warrior, as shown in the alley scene from episode 3, and doesn’t seem to have much qualms about hurting those around him.
- Halbrand is an original character The Rings of Powerand it is clear from episode 3 that the production has some some sort of plan for him, and he’s not just a character for Galadriel to be exposed to. But we don’t think there’s much truth to this theory, although it’s pretty funny.
- It would be just nice, narrative, if everything Halbrand says wasn’t one lie, per se, was only half true. For example, if he says shit like “I’m not the hero you’re looking for” – come on!
- Oddly enough, however, his backstory is very specific and not affiliated with any canon. Even if the name sounds like “The Southlands”. the southerners, judging by their position on the map, they are not really in the south at all, but in the Far East, beyond Mordor. Tolkien never shed light on the cultures of any people in this area. (We know a few things about Rhûn, but as you can see this region is quite far northeast of Mordor.) We don’t know of any kings from this region, or even monarchies or systems of government. Hm.
- Subsequently, writing a scene where Galadriel unknowingly encourages Sauron to be Sauron would be prime prequel material. This kind of dramatic irony is always most delicious when done well. Especially when she’s scouring the world for him and he decides to just hide in plain sight. We know that the Sauron of this era was called “fair” (meaning pale but also handsome); While Halbrand may or may not be suitable for this case, at least he’s cunning and smart. Those are exactly the qualities someone would need to have to get a bunch of people to make rings for them.
- Wait, the very first thing he’s interested in, besides avoiding trouble, is getting a job as a blacksmith? And then, in the fifth episode, he crafts an exquisite blade that appears to stun a local guild worker.
- straight forward, The Rings of Power leans too much into obvious mystery boxes, and we think an escape that really feels like pulling someone’s rug out would be good.
- He persuades Galadriel to relax and stay in Númenor…
- When he gave Galadriel a dagger, it was a moment that bonded them, and it was something that could possibly save her neck in Númenor. On the other hand, it also only gives her the potential to wreak havoc. And even if it looks like he’s helping the situation, so far it seems Halbrand is at best on their own and in the worst case a kind of chaos agent.
- The only snag is that this would be a major departure from the way Tolkien is shaping Sauron’s post-war period with the reappearance of Morgoth, where he disguised himself as a Valar emissary named “Annatar”. And he would have to leave Númenor and go to Middle-earth so he can start working with Celebrimbor.
- The very first line of the show – “In the beginning there is no evil”, spoken by Galadriel – comes from Tolkien’s text about Sauron being corrupted by Morgoth. It could come back that Halbrand is just a normal guy who is also corrupted by the evils of the world. But it could also be a plant: With The Rings of Power It leans more towards the gray of the heroes of Middle-earth, maybe it will carry some of that over to its villains as well.
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If the Stranger is Gandalf and not a Balrog then that will disappoint me and I would very much like to see this show extend an olive branch.
