Rings of Powers Sauron is actually just Halbrand

Publish date: 2024-04-23

Well, folks, we did it. After eight episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and tirelessly poring over hints, teases, and near-literal winks to the camera, the Amazon Prime Lord of the Rings prequel has finally revealed that we were all right, and that Sauron is in fact Halbrand (Charlie Vickers).

That’s a good thing, since it would be a missed opportunity if he wasn’t, something the Polygon crew thought during his very first scene — wouldn’t it just be interesting if the sole human to survive alongside Galadriel, who pulled her from the Sundering Seas, was Sauron, the big bad she’s been hunting for years and the scourge of (future) Middle-earth?

It came to color every scene with him in it, even though there were bigger mystery characters no one could explain. Even when it didn’t exactly align with the extended lore, what with Galadriel theoretically being able to sense Sauron, there was always a vibe. Maybe that charged moment between them with the dagger is (forgive me) a double-edged sword, and actually an indicator of his evilness. It was either that or he was the most boring character alive, which is saying something for The Rings of Power.

If Halbrand’s sudden heel turn came out of nowhere for you — well, what’s there to say; we’ve been updating this post for weeks now, using up all our red yarn on what turned out to be a totally accurate conspiracy theory. Here’s a refresher on the evidence laced across the first season pointing directly to Halbrand’s shenanigans:

Sauron’s not-so-grand reveal was only the beginning of his latest journey in Middle-earth. The first season ends with his arrival to Mordor, the land he’s chosen for his new base of evil-operations, which should set up his rise to power in season 2.

According to The Rings of Power showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, the first season serves as a kind of Sauron origin story. But the pair also explain that they have big plans for Sauron in season 2. Rather than set up him up as purely a villain, the duo want to create a more sympathetic version Tolkien’s most famous and clear-cut manifestation of evil.

“Sauron can now just be Sauron,” McKay told The Hollywood Reporter. “Like Tony Soprano or Walter White. He’s evil, but complexly evil. We felt like if we did that in season one, he’d overshadow everything else. So the first season is like Batman Begins, and The Dark Knight is the next movie, with Sauron maneuvering out in the open.”

It’s not exactly clear how a character that’s also known as The Dark Lord will be a sympathetic figure, like the protagonists of Breaking Bad or The Sopranos, but it seems like that the showrunners will be trying their best to make him into an antihero going forward in season 2.

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