Also, The Lord of the Rings is obviously full of Christian themes (e.g., a magical bearded dude gets resurrected), and Sauron is, arguably, a Satanic figure, while The Shire is an “unspoiled paradise” like Eden – making it potentially ominous that Halbrand refers to Numenor as a “Paradise ripe with opportunity,” since, in Tolkien’s writings, Sauron eventually corrupts and destroys the island.
Amazon
Amazon
Halbrand’s mysterious identity is called out at the end of episode three by Galadriel – but not because she believes that he’s Sauron, but rather, she accuses him of being a rightful King, slumming it as a commoner just like Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings.
Amazon
Which could, on its surface, set up a very familiar dynamic; a secret human King who’s too afraid to lead his people, with an elvish romance on the side no less. But if the Sauron theory holds any weight, the show might be using the trappings of reboot culture to trick audiences, making us think that the show is wallowing in its own nostalgia by repeating boilerplate plot points from The Lord of the Rings – all while slyly laying the groundwork for a killer twist.
Such a reveal would also finally infuse a live-action version of Sauron with some actual personality since, up until now, he’s only been represented as either a faceless dude in wacky armor who looks like he could be fronting a Danish black metal band or as a giant flaming eye with about as much character as the “before” graphic in a Visine commercial.
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Related: Did ‘The Lord Of The Rings’ Rip-Off … ‘The Lord Of The Rings’?
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