Ever since the season one finale of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power made its debut fans have been reeling from its big reveal, even if they all saw it coming a mile away. Confirmation that Charlie Vickers’ character Halbrand was actually, secretly, the wicked Sauron this entire time was something many had successfully predicted as early as episode 2, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t devastating, or that his allure wasn’t tempting. To make matters even more complicated for everyone, Galadriel included, Halbrand gave her the chance to take his hand and rule by her side, planting the idea in many audience members’ head about a world ruled by Sauron and Galadriel together.
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This new piece of fan art for the series, which fails from Twitter user @uzuriartonline, is one that embodies Halbrand’s ongoing plans for dominance in Middle-earth. Featuring Halbrand in front of hte image of Sauron as fans have come to know him, it’s a compelling piece that definitely has us hyped for season two (which may not be for a while sadly). Check it out for yourself below.
About midway through the finale of season one, Galadriel puts the pieces together about Halbrand’s Sauron-sized secret, resulting in his final attempt to convince her into joining him. This temptation takes the form of a vision, one where they can rule Middle-earth together side-by-side, but doing so on his very evil terms.
“That scene was, we were very much thinking of and drawing on the temptation scene in Fellowship,” executive producer and writer Gennifer Hutchison revealed to ComicBook.com about the Sauron/Galadriel scene. “And really thinking about, she’s so relieved when she passes that test, but she really shows this side of herself that is surprising at the time. And so really wanting to build into that idea of, what had she been through? Where had she come from? And really, in a way, trying to maybe build even more of a backstory for that moment. So when you look at that moment now, maybe you’re thinking of that like, ‘Oh, gosh. This is even more of a significant test for her,’ because it’s almost like closing a final door to this thing that we started here. We talked about that scene all the time.”
The first season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is streaming now on Prime Video. Its second season is now in production.
