Rings of Power’s Sauron Revealed?
After the most recent episode of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, a lot of fans believe that Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) is secretly Sauron.
Since the beginning of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, a lot of fans have been asking the same question as Morfydd Clark’s Galadriel: “Where is Sauron?” After the release of “Udûn,” the most recent episode to stream on Amazon Prime Video, many are convinced the Dark Lord of Mordor is the character currently known as Halbrand, played by Charlie Vickers. In particular, Halbrand’s exchange with the corrupted Elf Adar (Joseph Mawle) utterly seals the deal for a lot of watchers.
As ScreenRant points out, the newest Rings of Power episode features a conspicuously cryptic exchange between Halbrand and Adar. Halbrand angrily asks the Elf if he remembers him–Adar doesn’t, and by the end of the episode the human doesn’t bother to reveal his connection to the Elf. Adar also claims to have been the one to kill Sauron and while we know the Dark Lord isn’t dead for good, whatever the Elf did to Sauron could very well be why Halbrand is so angry with him.
Nor is this the first sign that Halbrand could be Rings of Power‘s version of Sauron. One of the most well-known social media Tolkien experts, going by the tag knewbettadobetta on TikTok and other platforms, is convinced Halbrand is Sauron and he laid out his reasons in a recent post, which you can watch below.
@knewbettadobetta #LordOfTheRings #tolkientok #lotr #foryoupage ♬ original sound – Knewbettadobetta
According to knewbettadobetta, the proof has been staring at us in the face for all of Rings of Power. He points to Halbrand’s expertise at–and passion for–smithing, one of Sauron’s hallmarks. He reminds us that Sauron is a shapeshifter–meaning he could easily make himself look like a human or anyone else he chose–and that he’s known as being a “slick talker” and “deceiver,” which could be why Halbrand is able to talk himself and Galadriel out of trouble when they first arrive in Numenor.
Throughout his time in Rings of Power, knewbettadobetta argues, Halbrand has seemed focused on finding penance for some unknown crime, and penance is exactly what Sauron is searching for after the War of Wrath–the conflict the Elves, humans, and Valar fought against Morgoth in the First Age of Middle-earth. We also see different characters such as Galadriel surprised at some unexpected skill Halbrand abruptly displays. Galadriel, the influencer says, isn’t making the connections because she has “tunnel vision.”
Considering Galadriel and Halbrand have been partnered up for much of their time in Rings of Power so far, it could work as an effective and powerful irony to reveal he’s exactly the villain she’s been hunting for centuries.
But Halbrand isn’t the only contender for the dark throne on the series. Plenty of Rings of Power fans are still thinking the most likely candidate for Sauron is Daniel Weyman’s The Stranger who last we saw was accompanying the Harfoots while being hunted by white-robed and not particularly nice looking folk. Who knows, maybe all the hints pointing toward Halbrand are red herrings to take attention away from The Stranger?
