Spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power episodes 1 & 2 to follow
Something sinister is happening in Middle-earth. At least, based on the first two episodes of The Rings of Power, it certainly seems that way. Along with orcs attacking humans, the mysterious man falling from the sky and an overly ambitious elf wanting to build a big scary forge (wonder what will happen there…), Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) also finds herself in a sticky situation involving a large expanse of water, a flimsy raft and a handsome stranger called Halbrand, played by Charlie Vickers.
While stranded in the ocean after opting out of a glorious return to the Undying lands, Galadriel comes across a group of men and women sailing on a makeshift ship and is pulled aboard. They then get attacked by a giant sea worm and she ends up on an even smaller raft with one of the men, Halbrand. He reveals that left his home in the Southlands after it was destroyed by orcs, which certainly piques Galadriel’s interest, as where there be orcs there’s a chance that Sauron might appear.
Halbrand offers his own mysteries, though. The character doesn’t appear in Tolkien’s extensive writings, leaving his role in the forging of the Rings of Power up in the air. Could he be the very evil that Galadriel is searching for?
While we know Sauron as a metal-clad dom daddy from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies, he is actually a shapeshifter, known as an agent of deception. According to Tolkien’s lore, during the Second Age, the period when The Rings of Power is set, he even disguised himself as Annatar, a fair-looking being who deceives the elves in order to facilitate the forging of the Rings of Power.
It's very possible the Halbrand could trick Galadrriel with his dashing good looks and encourage her to take him with her when she returns to the elves in Middle-earth – he even says to her, “Appearances can be deceptive.” He also mentions that he comes from a land with no king (Morgoth was, essentially, the king of all things evil). And then there is the strange necklace he wears, which he remains tight-lipped about.
There are other possibilities, though. Halbrand’s character was described by Vanity Fair as “running from the past” and from what we know about race of men in The Rings of Power, they were the weak link in the fight against Morgoth, often throwing their support behind the great evil. Halbrand, filled with shame, might be trying to escape the role he, or his family, played during that period. It would be interesting to see how men were able to rehabilitate themselves during the Second Age.
It would also provide an opportunity to see how the hearts of men were corrupted by Sauron and the nine Rings of Power, which ultimately led to their transformation into the Nazgûl or ringwraiths. Given what we know about The Rings of Power and the show’s accelerated timeline of events from the Second Age, it’s plausible that Halbrand could be seduced by power and become one of the wraiths himself.
Another option is that he’s simply there to romance Galadriel. But really, while there was definitely chemistry between the pair, relationships between elves and men are not commonplace in Tolkien’s world. Also, the show is already exploring that with the healer Bronwyn and the elf Arondir.
It’s a shame that Galadriel hasn’t come into possession of her magic mirror yet, as a little knowledge of “some things that have not yet come to pass” would prevent a whole lot of strife. But then we wouldn’t have five seasons of The Rings of Power to enjoy, would we?
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is streaming now on Amazon Prime Video