The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Episode 8 Explained – Sauron, Timelines and More Twists – IGN

Isn’t that the big question! While the finale answers the question of Sauron’s identity – we’ll get to that in a moment – it also seems to open up a whole new mystery. A long time ago in our first major collapse of the Rings of Power We suggested that the Stranger appeared to be similar to Gandalf. But there’s a big problem with this theory: In the Tolkien timeline, the Istari (wizards) didn’t fall from the sky 1000 years ago in the Third Age. The show is set in the Second Age between 1500 and 1701, so we’ve put that to bed. But in the final episode of Season 1, The Rings of Power throws oil back into that particular fire. When the stranger protects the Harfoots from the resident and her evil companions, the trio realize he is not Sauron. They then say that “he is the other” and one of them whispers “Istari”. What does it all mean?

Well, at least it means The Rings of Power is moving things up and apparently introducing a wizard early on. As we mentioned above, there are some serious discrepancies with the timeline as we know it. Not only are the wizards not supposed to show up for millennia, but Sauron is a little late as we meet him this week. In the books he is said to have shown himself to the elves in 1075 of the Second Age, but he appears to them here instead. The show played fast and loose with canon and timing, but this is definitely the biggest change from what we know so far, and it leads to the Stranger’s identity.

While they never say the word Gandalf, it becomes clearer as we get further into the episode that this is the snack they want us to have. When the Stranger goes in search of Rhûn with his new Harfoot girlfriend, he even tells her: “When in doubt, Elanor Brandyfoot, always follow your nose.” This is word for word what Gandalf says in The Fellowship of the Ring Merry says. So at this point we’re pretty sure they want us to believe that’s him.

So is Halbrand Sauron?

Remember our very funny ranking from the last episode? Well it turns out we were right. Number one on this list was none other than Halbrand, a character we were told was newly created for the show but was actually just another Dark Lord Sauron figure. Although this is not confirmed until halfway through the episode, there are some important clues that emerge when Halbrand and Galadriel arrive back at the elven kingdom of Lindon. After being healed, the very perky Halbrand seeks out Celebrimbor and charms him with flattery. He also persuades the older elf to tell him about mithril and soon “gifts” him with advice on how to forge it. Yes, it seems Halbrand is a reinterpretation of Annatar the Giver of Gifts. In a very short time, he teaches Celebrimbor how to forge the rings and gains his deep trust. Here book readers have probably understood what Galadriel took so long to understand: Halbrand is Sauron.

He confirms this to his traveling companion when he proposes something shocking: let Galadriel rule at his side. Together, the two can balance the darkness and the light. Galadriel obviously has none of this, but she is also reluctant to tell anyone that she brought Sauron into the heart of the Elven homeland and kingdom. So she doesn’t. This seems to end badly.

Wait a minute, the Rings of Power were forged in this episode?

Well, there were three. The mighty elven rings, which – in book canon – were never touched or damaged by Sauron, were forged by good old Celebrimbor after Halbrand/Sauron’s departure. It was Galadriel who suggested making three so they couldn’t be pitted against each other, and Celebrimbor and Elrond agreed, claiming it would create some balance. This seems like a big change from what we know from the books as the elves’ rings were the last to be forged there. Given that Halbrand and Celebrimbor chilled for only a very short time, it seems unlikely that the other rings that would eventually be given to the dwarves and men were even forged. Maybe we’ll see that in later seasons. As we leave Halbrand and arrive in Mordor, we can assume he is about to forge the one ring to rule them all once he returns to his smoggy homeland. Wonder how Adar will feel about this?

Here we leave the cast of The Rings of Power as Season 1 comes to a close. We’ll have to wait until next season to catch up with Bronwyn, Arondir, Theo and the Southlanders. As for what happened to Isildur, your guess is as good as ours. But with him still having to chop off Sauron’s ring finger for ages to come, we’re assuming he’ll be at it again next time. However, since the second season has just gone into production, that may be a long time coming!

Rosie Knight is a contributing freelancer for IGN, covering everything from anime to comics to kaiju, children’s films and horror films. She has over half a decade of entertainment journalism experience with bylines at Nerdist, Den of Geek, Polygon and others. Rosie is a published comics writer who has written such titles as Godzilla Rivals vs. Battra and The Haunted High-Tops. She is the co-host of Crooked Media’s weekly pop culture podcast X-Ray Vision.