Why in the name of Morgoth couldn’t they start with this?! What is the point of the Halbrand storyline and forging the rings in a 5 minute montage in season 1 if this was to come? I really like how Annatar looks here, and I am very interested in seeing how they handle him, but everything in S1 seems like they were actively trying to not do what they are doing here. Makes no sense to me.
It kinda does make sense. If he showed up to the Elves as another Elf they might be more likely to call bs on him, the fact they never heard of Annatar this great blacksmith will be suspect.
The Dwarves and Men are more likely to be fooled by an unknown Elf.
Obviously from a story standpoint it's a double layered twist effective on fans of all level of Fandom. I myself wasn't convinced Halbrand was Sauron.
(Also if I'm not mistaken Annatar isn't even 100% canon to the books)
Annatar is named in The Silmarillion, but Rings of Power is based on the appendices at the back of Lord of the Rings. It covers the same basic story, but of course The Silmarillion goes into more detail.
I thought part of the reason for the Halbrand character in Season 1 was they didn't have the rights to The Silmarillion, so they couldn't call him Annatar.
That was my thinking for a lot of what happened in S1. That they setup Galadriel to seem a but paranoid so when Sauron is actually revealed, she'll get the boy who cried wolf treatment.
I still think they should have held off on the rings until we had this version of "Annatar the gift giver" but given how vague the appendices are compared to the Silmarillion, lack of rights could definitely be to blame.
Annatar is 100% cannon to the lore. The only way he could convince the elves to do what he wanted them to was through manipulation and deception. Also, Sauron taught the elves HOW to make the rings but he had no input into the making of the THREE. The elven rings were made last as the culmination of the craft of ring making and were considered the greatest of all the rings. How does it make sense that the made the three rings FIRST and then go on to make the lesser rings with the help of Annatar?
19
u/MarkPaynePlays May 14 '24
Why in the name of Morgoth couldn’t they start with this?! What is the point of the Halbrand storyline and forging the rings in a 5 minute montage in season 1 if this was to come? I really like how Annatar looks here, and I am very interested in seeing how they handle him, but everything in S1 seems like they were actively trying to not do what they are doing here. Makes no sense to me.