The first season of The Rings of Power came to a dramatic end. I know there are plenty of complaints about this show, but sometimes I think so many of those complaints are people who want this to be more like Game of Thrones OR people who are mad that the writers are taking liberties with the Tolkien lore. I have some quibbles about a few things. Yeah, it was a little slow to start, but I think the slowness helped build up the mystery and drama for the final few episodes. At the end of the day, I feel like the show captures the spirit of Tolkien. Yes it takes liberties with the timeline and there could be some things that contradict LOTR, but that has to be expected. The same thing happened with the Peter Jackson movies, there were plenty of changes made and yet people did not complain nearly as much as they do about some of these changes. There will be spoilers from here on out. So if you have not watched the full season, I would suggest skipping the rest of this post.
-There was one big mystery this season, who is Sauron? Is it Halbrand? Is it the Stranger? Is he a character we have not met yet? The finale finally answered that question and I loved the way it was done. The beginning of the finale has the Mystics catching up to the Stranger, they kneel to him and refer to him as Lord Sauron. But as the episode goes on, they battle with him and realize he is not Sauron. Meanwhile, Galadriel hears Celebrimbor say something that Adar claimed Sauron was doing, and she begins to question Halbrand’s identity. When she finally confronts him, it becomes clear that he is Sauron. I liked the way they did this, especially since having him show up as Annatar would have given it away to most of us fans.
-I loved his motivation. In the lore, Tolkien says that Sauron had a moment where he was almost repentant. I think this is building upon that idea. Halbrand tells Galadriel that he wants her to balance his power with light. I also like the idea of Sauron not seeing himself as the bad guy. He wants to fix Middle-Earth. It is like Thanos or Walter White. A villain who is doing bad things because they think they are necessary and for the greater good. Those make the best villains.
-The next big reveal is the Stranger. It seems that he is Gandalf. The Mystics call him Istari, which as he explains to Nori means wizard. He also says a line that is similar to what Gandalf said to Merry (when in doubt follow your nose). I think I know how they will reconcile the fact that he was not in Middle-Earth during the War of the Ring. He will die facing Sauron when they finally meet. This also explains why Gandalf was afraid to come to Middle-Earth when Manwe was sending the wizards, he says something about not being powerful enough to face Sauron. This would explain that fear.
-My guess is that next season will be Sauron gifting the nine rings to men and the seven to the dwarf lords. I would bet they work the story to be a race between Galadriel/Elrond and Sauron. Galadriel going to human kings, trying to warn them about someone giving them rings, while at the same time Sauron is hitting them up warning them about the elves coming to withhold power from them. Elrond will do the same with the dwarves.
-An idea I was toying with during the finale was that maybe the Stranger and Halbrand were both Sauron. Or at least an aspect of him. It could have been interesting.
-I am happy the show runners did not try to sexify the story. They did this with Wheel of Time, and it felt weird. It was jarring to see Egwene and Rand banging in the kitchen. We do not need Halbrand and Galadriel tearing each other’s clothes off after a battle. That is not LOTR.
It was a very good first season. I cannot wait for season two. I look forward to the fall of Numenor as well as Sauron’s rise to power in Mordor. I want to know what happens with Durin IV and Dissa. Will the Harfoots find a permanent home? What will the Stranger and Nori find in Rhûn? Let me know what you are excited for or what you hope to see…
