The biggest twist of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power didn't disappoint in of turning the entire story on its head, confirming that Sauron deceived everyone in his disguise as Halbrand. But as fans looked more and more closely at the story in hindsights, and have tried to fit Sauron's new timeline into the Tolkien canon, the question has divided much of the audience: does the Halbrand/Sauron twist actually work? And ScreenRant's The Rings of Power Podcast has many thoughts on what it suggests, what it changes, and what it promises for the show's future.

Where Galadriel spent the first season of The Rings of Power questioning whether or not Sauron was still alive, audiences had the benefit of knowing the answer. What they couldn't know was the disguise, if any, Sauron was wearing through the first part of the story. That mystery was revealed in grand fashion, as King Halbrand of the Southlands confessed to be Sauron, and credited Galadriel with restoring him in the first season finale. And immediately, detractors called 'plot hole' and flawed logic, citing Tolkien's own writing or a broken timeline.

But does the twist work perfectly? Does it fit alongside Tolkien's existing lore? And most importantly, why was Sauron even on that boat at all? These answers are found in the latest episode of The Rings of Power Podcast: "Halbrand is Sauron: Does The Twist Make Sense, or a Plot Hole?" embedded below:

Hosts Andrew Dyce and Stephen Colbert dive deep into the existing lore, ideas and potential stories scribbled or discussed by J.R.R. Tolkien across his life, and where the Rings of Power writers have room to fill in their own fiction. But the one unanswered question about Sauron's story remains: how did Halbrand end up on that raft with Galadriel? Does the story actually make sense? What missing pieces will the show hopefully answer?

Sauron Was Killed Long Before Many Viewers Seem To Think

The place of Sauron's death is abandoned for centuries when the show begins

Viewers are certain to have their own issues with any given storyline in The Rings of Power, whether based on the tale's own merits, or how it contributes to the existing Tolkien lore. But one of the biggest pieces of Sauron's puzzle is easy to misunderstand on a first watch. Especially when the show's opening narration seems to suggest that Galadriel and her Elves are anywhere close to 'pursuing' Sauron, or retracing steps in his master plan. When Adar finally claims he killed Sauron himself, viewers may not fully grasp what's being revealed.

Since both Sauron and Adar describe only the immediate events following his master's defeat, it's possible that Sauron's death took place years, months, or even just days or weeks following the fall of Morgoth. Presuming the northern fortress where Sauron gathered the surviving Orcs was the scene of the crime, the area has been totally abandoned for centuries by the time Galadriel finds it. So what was Sauron up to all that time? That's a question Tolkien fails to even hint at, let alone describe in full.

How Did Sauron Spend The 1,000 Years Before The Raft?

How Sauron ended up on the boat, and the raft, remains a story for the show to tell

As Tolkien fans know, The Rings of Power's events are covering those of the Second Age, spanning the millennia between Morgoth's defeat and Sauron's own (in which the One Ring is cut from his hand). While the major events of Sauron's journey in the Second Age are known, and sure to be covered in the TV series, the intervening centuries are wide open for the writers to fill. Tolkien established the things Sauron did, sure. But he didn't say those were the only things the Dark Lord got up to.

To those audience pointing to Sauron's presence on the raft (or the wrecked boat which preceded it) as too much of a coincidence, and therefore part of his plan, we're sad to say that clairvoyance or foresight is not one of Sauron's gifts. If it really was coincidence or chance, then viewers should be less concerned with how he crossed paths with Galadriel, and focus on how Sauron spent the previous centuries following his death at Adar's hands.

For the full conversation and debate on this and all other topics related to the TV show, be sure to follow The Rings of Power Podcast in your favorite podcast app, and stay tuned to ScreenRant for all coverage of season two and beyond.

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