We don’t do it to the fans, who had seen it coming that Sauron, the main antagonist of the “Rings of Power”, was hiding in a character who was there, in front of our eyes, from the start.
SPOILERS – “Warning, the article below contains potential spoilers. If you do not wish to know the content, please do not read the following…”
This is THE big revelation of the final episode of the first season of the Rings of Power: Sauron is none other than Halbrand, who until then presented himself as the king of the Southern Lands. Suffice to say that it was all a lie, as many fans had seen happen.
Questioned by Galadriel about her identity, “Halbrand” tries to corrupt her and drag her a little more towards darkness to make her his queen and reign with her on Middle-earth. The Elf finds in her the strength to refuse this temptation of Evil and rejects Sauron’s proposal.
Prime Video Halbrand
The latter (played by Charlie Vickers) was far too precise in the design of the forging of the crowns, then the Rings of power. Above all, he has clearly started to manipulate Celebrimbor, in charge of the project, and who makes tendentious remarks which have tipped off the Elf warrior.
Clues had been laid by the series as to Halbrand’s identity, including:
- In episode 5, he declares to Galadriel: “You don’t know what I did, or how I survived” or in essence “you don’t know anything about darkness”, as if he knew what he talked.
- He announces to a blacksmith of Númenor (renowned for their skill) that he is the best of all. While he has plans to have rings forged, here we have a big wink.
- When he explains to Galadriel that you have to recognize an enemy’s weakness and take control of them to defeat them, it echoes what Sauron will do with the Elves, pressing down on their fear of longevity loss and power to make them forge the Rings of Power and control them.
- We also discover in Númenor a much more manipulative Halbrand, especially when he intervenes in the dispute between the queen and Galadriel before the court of the city.
- He is a good fighter, who alone manages to put down several thugs in the streets of Númenor.
Fans had added to this list other more “meta” clues by looking for the meaning of the word halbrand in the languages invented by Tolkien (“hidden” in Sindarin) or in the mythology established by the books. All this meant that the surprise could have been swept away before the episode aired.