Yes, fellow Middle-Earthers and Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power episode 8 just did two major, huge revelations. Both, as well, were both, in part, somewhat obvious (more one than the other).
While the second reveal was not hyped by the series itself Rings of Power, people asked "is Sauron here?" and "if he is, who is he?" it''s the kind of forehead-slapping moment that at least one TG employee felt like he saw coming a mile away.
Both of these revelations are quite substantial enough where I''ll not spoil them all above the spoiler warning below, as you''ll probably want to watch the Rings of Power finale before diving in. If you do, then it''s time to admit that Rings of Power is just fan fiction, and I''m wondering if he''ll even finish season one, and just read the explanations instead.
Regardless, the following portion of this article contains spoilers for episode 8 of Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power!
Rings of Power episode 8 unmasked Sauron
Galadriel asked the same question Adar asked: Who exactly is Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) during the episode 8 finale? However, unlike the fallen Orc, Galadriel didn''t get the answer.
"This is all happening because Halbrand is probably Sauron," said my colleague Malcolm McMillan. Galadriel discovered something was wrong when she discovered that there is no King of the Southlands, something we now know she should have looked up before.
The message here is simple: do not trust tragic people just because you feel sorry for them. Later, Halbrand/Sauron tried to insert self-doubt into Galadriel''s mind, declaring that she told him that he is not bound to his past. That they can rule Middle-earth for the better of all, together.
Galadriel, in many other words, said "not today, Satan," which forced her into a series of mind-melting moments, where she was first indulged by a vision of her dead brother who was alive and then drowning underwater. By the end of everything, we see Halbrand in Mordor, smiling, and I thought to myself, "of course they made him attractive. Stupid sexy Sauron."
Now that Halbrand and Sauron injected self-doubt and shame into Galadriel''s mind and heart she was his partner she challenged that Celebrimbor made not two, but three rings of power. This way, power would be more evenly distributed, and less likely to all fall into Sauron''s clutches.
Season 8 of Rings of Power mocked a big LOTR character, but don''t bet on it.
And since The Stranger (Daniel Weyman) is now confirmed to be Sauron, we have got a new name for him: Istar. But that''s not his name, but his name. An Istar, is one of the Istari: the five wizards who have been sent to Middle-earth.
During the opening, we received this name from witches who yelled: "Hes the other one!" and named him "Istar." And later The Stranger, in a lovely voice, says that "Istar" means "wizard."
The Stranger isn''t necessarily Gandalf, because it''s possible that you associate a great and kind wizard with Gandalf. There are still four Istar wizards: Saruman, Radagast, and two Blue Wizards.
On top of that, the canon of Lord of the Rings claims that Gandalf would not be back on Middle-earth yet. Both he and Saruman arrived later on in Middle-earth in the third age. Power Rings in the Second Age
Outlook: How will the Season 2 trailer for Rings of Power comeback with a canon?
While lore states that Gandalf and Saruman should not be in Rings of Power, there''s no reason to believe that this show will follow the scripts.
I''d love it if Amazon would actually give us a sneak peek at some of the other wizards. The less it has to play a game of "What can we actually do without annoying the lore-first crowd," the more Rings of Power has a potential to be unique and interesting.