![]() Sauron masquerading as Halbrand/Annatar among the elves feels like something The Rings of Power should have gotten a lot more storytelling mileage out of, either earlier in season 1 or by carrying over into season 2. Notably, the amount of screen time devoted to wrongfooting audiences over the previous seven episodes means that there’s precious little time left to dramatize key events, leading to a rushed finale. The Rings of Power’s narrative sleight of hand has other drawbacks, too. This brings a sense of inevitability to proceedings when we should be feeling surprised, which sure is disappointing. ![]() While the Stranger’s true identity is still up for debate - who knows what might change between the release of season 1 and the development of future seasons, based on the conversation - the possibilities have narrowed. If anything, Payne and McKay overplayed their hand in this department, given how many people figured out what the deal was surrounding the supposed Southlands king. ![]() At one point, Halbrand literally ticks off all the ways in which he’s been hiding in plain sight over the past seven episodes. Couched in these terms, the Halbrand and Stranger payoffs fare much better, although neither is quite as satisfying as it should be.Ĭertainly, all the clues add up (not always a given with game-changing end-of-season plot twists). For everyone else, what matters is how well they work within the context of the show itself. If you’re in the market for an ultra-faithful Lord of the Rings adaptation, both reveals will probably be the straw that breaks the mûmak’s back, and The Rings of Power episode 8 will be your last. Gandalf’s entrance was also markedly less dramatic than the Stranger’s and took place well after the elven rings were forged - yet another example of The Rings of Power’s heavily compressed Middle-earth timeline compared to that of the books. The show implies that the Stranger is the first wizard to arrive in Middle-earth Tolkien wrote Gandalf was the last. That’s where the overlap between the two istari ends, though, as everything else about the Stranger’s arc in The Rings of Power is pure invention on the part of Payne, McKay, and their team of writers. The same is true of the Stranger, who also displays Gandalf’s penchant for olfactory-based navigation. In Tolkien’s writings, the angelic being who became known as Gandalf was sent to Middle-earth in assuming form to counter the rise of Sauron. The Stranger reveal as an istar takes The Rings of Power’s loose approach to existing canon even further. This rapid-fire chain of events, coupled with the willingness of Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker) and Elrond (Robert Aramayo) to keep Halbrand around at all, runs counter to Tolkien. Halbrand spends, like, an afternoon schooling Celebrimbor the elven smith on Magic Ringcraft 101 before he’s forced to flee. Where Middle-earth continuity and The Rings of Power quickly diverge - and the operative word here is “quickly” - is in the timescales involved. And while the “Halbrand” alias itself is an invention of Payne and McKay, a line of dialogue in “Alloyed” references the name Sauron adopted in the books, Annatar (or “Lord of Gifts”). He also manifested a “fair-seeming” appearance, which arguably applies here too, depending on how highly you rate Vickers’ sex appeal. Tolkien’s writings describe Sauron as a supremely talented smith who gave Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) pointers on crafting magic rings while disguised and was ultimately exposed - all of which applies to Halbrand in the show. ![]() Of these two developments, Halbrand’s heel turn is more continuity friendly. How well does this fit with established Middle-earth lore? In keeping with The Rings of Power’s approach to the canon thus far, the broad strokes of both plot twists are more or less fine it’s the specifics that will have Tolkien purists hyperventilating. “Alloyed” sees Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) outed as Sauron and the identity of the Stranger (Daniel Weyman) confirmed as an istar (or wizard), which means he’s likely to become the one and only Gandalf the Grey. While satisfaction may vary as far as payoffs go, the implications of the reveals are welcome promises for season 2 and beyond. Payne and Patrick McKay and directed by Wayne Che Yip, the Prime Video series’ eighth episode, “Alloyed,” provides long-awaited resolutions to two big mysteries set up in the premiere and challenges J.R.R. Written by Gennifer Hutchison ( Breaking Bad) and showrunners J.D. We come to it at last: the great season finale of our time… or of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 1, at any rate.
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