Warning: This article contains spoilers for the Rings of Power season 1 finale.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power star Morfydd Clark shares when she first learned about the major Sauron reveal in the season 1 finale. The Prime Video series, which is a prequel to the Lord of the Rings trilogy set thousands of years earlier, began airing its eight-episode season 1 on September 1. One of the leads of the series is also one of the only featured characters who was alive during the events of Lord of the Rings, the elf warrior Galadriel (Clark). Galadriel's brother Finrod died battling the dark lords Morgoth and Sauron, so she has the indefatigable task to track the villain down and defeat him. Audiences have long been speculating which character in the series will turn out to be Sauron, with most suspecting The Stranger (Daniel Weyman), who arrived in episode 1 in a ball of flame.
The Rings of Power season 1 finale, which aired today, October 14, saw fit to answer this major question in the most devastating way possible. While The Stranger's unparalleled and uncontrolled magical power led several of the characters in the finale to believe he was Sauron and even worship him under that name, it turns out that this was a red herring. Instead, it was revealed that Sauron has been operating in the shadows this season disguised as Halbrand (Charlie Vickers), a Southlander human who has been allied with Galadriel since episode 1 and with whom she even sparked a possible romance.
Collider had the opportunity to sit down with Clark to discuss the Rings of Power finale. She reveals that she was told quite a bit before she received the actual script for episode 8, while they "were kind of filming our Numenor bits." She says that it was "kind of painful" to play the character while knowing the terrible secret that was eventually going to rise up and shake her foundation. Read her full quote below:
So, I found out, Charlie found out that he was playing Sauron and I was told as when we were kind of filming our Númenor bits, but we weren't given episode eight till really late on. So we didn't know how she was going to find out and that was kind of frustrating and exciting. We also didn't know how close they would become as well. When I found out that Halbrand was Sauron, we didn't know how they'd feel after the battle in the Southlands and stuff. So it was kind of painful knowing more than Galadriel did, being like, "Oh no, you're going to be sad."
What Halbrand Being Sauron Means For Galadriel
Clark put Galadriel's future rather simply when she said she's "going to be sad." While that will certainly be part of the character's arc in the upcoming Rings of Power season 2, things will likely become even more complicated. Galadriel's shock and sadness over her betrayal will have to quickly give way to an all-consuming warrior's fury in order to help defeat the dark lord, and shifting those gears will likely cause a lot of damage to the heroine who has already been struggling to overcome her own self-loathing and the consequences of her past decisions.
It is currently unknown for how many seasons The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power will eventually run, but the idea of five has been suggested as Amazon has committed to 50 hours which roughly translates to that amount. However, it may take every single one of them, or possibly even more time, for Galadriel to stop feeling like every wicked thing Sauron does is her fault. While this will torture her internally, it will likely also light the fire that will lead to the villain's eventual destruction.
Source: Collider