ThisLord of the Ringsarticle contains spoilers forThe Rings of Power.
For some of us, this was a bit unexpected.
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I learned a lot in that you might really play two things at once.
Tolkienhimself also informed the subconscious stuff that went into the performance, according to the actor.
Weve seen the end of that period over this first season.
I think in his mind, hes like, Shit, yeah, Im back.
But somewhat surprisingly, Halbrands story contradicts quite a lot of the little that there is.
The name Halbrand is not a known alias of Sauron, though he has lots of others.
Sauron, after all, does become ruler of Mordor.
Halbrands journey to Numenor and his relationship withGaladrielare new inventions for the series.
The changes certainly add something to Galadriels story.
Sauron and Celebrimbor
The changes do take something away from Celebrimbors own story, though.
It lacks the drama between them that a closer adaptation of Tolkiens text would have provided.
In other Tolkien texts, there is more detail about this relationship between Celebrimbor and Sauron.
Sauron befriends Celebrimbor while disguised as a beautiful Elf called Annatar, the Lord of Gifts.
The Rings of Powerincludes no mention at all of the name Annatar.
This may be because of the complicated situation aroundthe legal rights to Tolkiens works.
The name Annatar does not appear inThe Lord of the Rings, its fromThe Silmarillion.
Basically, if its not mentioned inThe Lord of the Rings, Amazon cant use it.
So what does this mean for Sauron and Celebrimbor going forward?
Who is going to forge the other 16 Rings of Power, and when?
Only time will tell.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Poweris streaming now on Amazon Prime Video.
