Season 1 - Looking at Halbrand as Sauron – Episode 6 & 7

[SecretSpy97]

Welcome to the episode 6 & 7 Halbrand review! Why the 2 episodes in one? Well the Episode 7 post was going to be super short. Halbrand is missing for almost the entire episode (something to be discussed later). And when he does appear he only has a few lines. So rather than have a different (relatively short) post for Episode 7, I am just going to combine it with Episode 6! You will find Episode 7’s content right after episode 6’s!

Now, on to episode 6! There are few scenes with Halbrand in this episode, but this episode does contain the scene where Galadriel interrogates Adar, so I thought I would go into part of that interrogation since a portion of it is about Sauron. But I’m getting ahead of myself!

The first half of the episode involves the Numenoreans traveling to the Southlands and the Southlanders preparing for and then fighting in the battle against Adar and the Uruks. The Southlanders’ fight goes through the night and just after dawn the Numenoreans arrive and fight the Uruks.

During all the build up to the fight there are no scenes with Halbrand, but he is presumably there. Our first sight of Halbrand is in the battle. Elendil was knocked from his horse and an Uruk was about to kill him when a spear strikes the Uruk, saving Elendil. The camera cuts to reveal that it was Halbrand who threw the spear. Elendil and Halbrand exchange a look of acknowledgement and then Halbrand heads off back into the battle.

I believe this sequence shows that Halbrand is willing to save/help his allies. Or at the very least he is willing to save Elendil. If Halbrand saved Elendil for a reason outside of wanting to save an ally, then why did he save Elendil? Respect? Out of a debt (since Elendil pulled him from the sea)? Personally, I believe that Halbrand is just willing to save any ally when given the opportunity, but one can’t really know his motivations. From what I can tell, not much else can be discerned about Halbrand/Sauron from this moment beyond, possibly, the fact that Halbrand prefers to use a spear?

Our next Halbrand sighting is again in the battle. Halbrand is fighting off Uruks and notices Galadriel galloping away in pursuit of Adar. Halbrand goes and takes his spear (still skewered in the Uruk that had tried to kill Elendil) and gallops off. I find it intriguing that we see so little of Halbrand during the fight. Sure, Halbrand has never been enthusiastic about this venture, but considering he is ‘the king of the Southlands’ and these are ‘his people’ one would think he would be shown fighting a bit more? We know he is fighting from the small moments we see of him, but he isn’t much of a focus of this fight.

Since Halbrand charges after Galadriel almost immediately , I wonder what he was thinking? Did he think Galadriel must be doing something important for her to flee the battle like that? Did he see she was chasing Adar and saw this as a chance for revenge? Or he felt that Galadriel may not be able to handle Adar on her own? Does he just want to try to help her (maybe to make her think better of him)?

Galadriel is in pursuit of Adar in a forest. She is slowly gaining on Adar, but he still remains out of her grasp. Halbrand appears in front of Adar and uses his spear to knock over Adar’s horse, sending Adar tumbling to the ground. Adar tries to crawl toward the wrapped sword (which is actually a wrapped axe) but Halbrand stops him by piercing Adar’s hand with the spear, pinning Adar down.

I wonder how Halbrand was able to cut them off? During the chase we only see Galadriel and Adar, so we don’t know what route Halbrand took. Was he tailing them for a time but then cut away to head them off? Did he go an entirely different direction right off the bat? In either case I feel as though Halbrand would have needed to have known the trails/roads Adar & Galadriel were using to be able to head them off. If Halbrand had never been here before, how did he navigate beating them to that spot in the forest? Perhaps this is a more subtle proof that Halbrand/Sauron had some history in the Southlands after being betrayed by Adar and before ending up on the raft?

Halbrand’s actions here are interesting. First, he does not kill Adar’s horse. I don’t know if it is easier/more effective to down the horse as he did or skewer it (I would guess it would be easier to kill it, but I know absolutely nothing of horses or mounted combat so my opinion matters not), but he clearly chose the more humane (for the horse) option. He also doesn’t try to kill Adar. Maybe Halbrand thought he might miss trying to strike Adar and if Halbrand missed then Adar would be ahead of both Halbrand and Galadriel, so he opted not to risk it? Halbrand may have wanted to speak to Adar before killing him? Halbrand is about to exchange a few words with Adar, but whether that was because Halbrand wanted to from the start or if it was just a heat-of-the-moment decision to talk, I don’t know.

Halbrand’s treatment toward Adar is much more sinister compared to the horse. Halbrand didn’t even slash or pierce a part of the horse, he just knocked it down. But Adar, who is already on the ground (and likely hurt/stunned from the fall considering he crawls toward the wrapped object) If Halbrand needed/wanted to stop Adar from moving, he could have stepped on Adar’s back, pulled him away from the wrapped object, sat on him, or several other less violent options. But instead he pierces Adar’s hand to pin him. Pinning Adar’s hand is likely extremely painful and, overall, not the most effective (Adar could feasibly still move the entire rest of his body). This pinning of Adar seems almost sadistic, though Halbrand doesn’t appear to get any joy from it (at least his facial expression is not one of joy).

Adar turns up to look at his attacker, looking upon Halbrand. Halbrand asks “You remember me?” to which Adar, after a long pause where is face trembles, responds “No.” Halbrand reflects on that response for a moment with a neutral expression.

Halbrand’s question already tips off the audience to his vengeful intent (for as the scene unfolds his desire for vengeance becomes more apparent). I mean, why would Halbrand ask Adar if Adar remembers him unless he desired some catharsis from what he had suffered? If Halbrand didn’t desire vengeance but felt Adar should die, he would have just killed Adar right away. If Halbrand didn’t care either way, then why ask a question?

The long shot of Adar’s face intrigues me. Why? Does Adar recognize Halbrand but lies when he says “No”? Does he sense Halbrand’s fury or vengeful intent? Is Adar just overcome with pain (falling off a horse and then getting your hand stabbed would hurt, in my opinion)? Is Adar running through, in his mind, everyone he had ever wronged to try and remember Halbrand’s face? I genuinely don’t have an inkling, but Adar’s reaction fascinates me, as it feels heavy with meaning. Let me know what you think!

Upon being told “no”, Halbrand pauses for a moment. Was he hoping for “Yes”? Was he hoping that Adar’s eyes would be filled with fear or panic, having realized that he had failed to kill Sauron who now came for vengeance? Or was Halbrand considering telling Adar (but realized that would reveal himself to Galadriel)? Was Halbrand already planning on killing Adar or was he taking this moment to decide? Another interesting moment and reaction that I don’t really have a reading on, so let me know your thoughts!

Halbrand slowly (relishing in the pain? The tension? Wanting to draw it out? Something else) removes his spear from Adar’s hand and flips Adar onto his back so that he can step upon Adar’s chest (presumably to hold him down/still) and then, with a shout, begins to plunge his spear downward toward Adar’s throat. Halbrand only stops, just inches from Adar, when Galadriel shouts “Stop!”

Halbrand’s scream of anger hints at some of the feelings that are boiling inside of him. Is this anger solely because Adar betrayed him? Or had Adar inflicted further slights upon Sauron/Halbrand? But whatever Halbrand’s justification, his anger and desire for vengeance is not stronger than his value of Galadriel’s word. If Halbrand had really desired Adar’s death more than anything else, he could have ignored Galadriel and killed Adar there. So Halbrand must value Galadriel (be it her friendship, her use as a military leader, or something else) more than he desires revenge.

Halbrand doesn’t remove the spear from its position just above Adar’s throat, so he hasn’t decided not to kill Adar, but he has paused to give Galadriel a chance to speak. Galadriel expands further while walking closer to Halbrand and Adar. “We need him alive… I need him alive.”

Galadriel first says “we” but changes it to “I”. Is it because Halbrand doesn’t budge after hearing “we” and she realizes that Halbrand doesn’t feel like he needs Adar alive? Or is it because Galadriel realizes that she isn’t being wholly honest with her first statement. Galadriel has often phrased her needs and desires as being the same as others. But here she may realize that her needs may not align with Halbrand’s. Or perhaps she has grown as a person and is working on phrasing her desires with “I” statements?

Or does she shift it because she desires to kill Sauron, similarly to how Halbrand appears to want to kill Adar? Galadriel may recognize that if she was stood over Sauron with a spear to his throat, she wouldn’t feel as though he needed to live. So she may empathize with Halbrand here and adjust her words accordingly.

 

[SecretSpy97]

Halbrand responds, angrily, with “You don’t know what he did.” Halbrand still hasn’t acted, but is still poised to kill. His words imply that if Galadriel knew of Adar’s crimes she may not want him to remain alive. Does Halbrand say this because Galadriel slowly convincing him and he is resisting? Or does a part of Halbrand not want to kill Adar and he says this to try and convince himself to kill him?

Adar says, “Did I cause someone you love pain? A woman? Perhaps a child?” Adar appears to either relish in Halbrand’s pain or wants to egg Halbrand on to killing him. Or, perhaps, Adar is now curious who Halbrand is and wants to know but doesn’t wish to directly ask? Could this be a ploy to try and pit Halbrand and Galadriel against each other? Galadriel has gotten close now, so if she sees Halbrand attempt to kill Adar, would Galadriel try to stop Halbrand and thus potentially give Adar a chance to escape?

Galadriel verbally intercedes “Eat your tongue… Halbrand, put it down. One cannot satisfy thirst by drinking sea water.”

Galadriel shows no kindness toward Adar and has no care for his behavior. She is kinder to Halbrand, though still holds a stern voice. Galadriel could have easily snapped at both, but I believe Galadriel recognizes that anger and desire for vengeance within Halbrand. I believe that is why she references the drinking sea water line from Episode 5, for that was spoken in regard to her own desire for vengeance. Here I believe that she is reminding Halbrand that she has reason to hate the Shadow but is not fighting them out of vengeance – Halbrand should act the same.

Halbrand looks pained and conflicted. It, again, makes me wonder if Adar had done more to Halbrand than just betraying him. But before seeing what Halbrand chooses to do we cut away to a time after the battle. Though it is quickly revealed that Adar was spared and is currently being tied up in a barn within the village.

Galadriel interrogates Adar, first talking about the origins of orcs (or Uruks, as Adar prefers they be called). But Galadriel quickly gets to the point of her interrogation by asking “Even Moriondor take orders from a master. And I seek yours. Where is he? Where is Sauron?”

Adar doesn’t respond so Galadriel threatens Adar by saying “Perhaps we should bring our prisoners into the sunlight.”

I find it interesting that Galadriel threatens Adar’s children. Making that threat recognizes the possibility/existence of a feeling of love/care between Adar and the Uruks. Despite painting the Uruks as vile slaves, even as mindless evil minions, Galadriel may be able to sense that they possess a heart (whether she consciously recognizes it or not). The threat elicits a response from Adar who offers a substantial monologue. But Adar doesn’t speak as if worried about the well being of his children. So does he not care about them? Or is the love of an Uruk merely shown differently than the love between other races? The fact he responds after the threat (and how he talks about his Uruks throughout the season) makes me believe he does love them in his own way.

“After Morgoth’s defeat, the one you call Sauron… devoted himself to healing Middle Earth, bringing its ruined lands together in perfect order. He sought to craft a power not of the flesh… But over flesh. A power of the Unseen World. He bid as many as he could to follow him far north. But try as he might… Something was missing. A shadow of dark knowledge that kept itself hidden, even from him. No matter how much blood he spilt in its pursuit. Mmm. For my part… I sacrificed enough of my children for his aspirations. I split him open. I killed Sauron.”

A lot to unpack here! First, Adar must know Sauron under a different name since he refers to Sauron as “the one you call Sauron”. A nice little touch since Sauron wouldn’t have been calling himself Sauron to his lackies!

Then Adar says (what I have been referring to a lot in previous episodes) that Sauron “devoted himself to healing Middle Earth”, seeking to bring Middle Earth into “perfect order”. Now, trying to undo the damage of Morgoth and his servants does sound like a noble quest if gone about in the right way. But Sauron intended to bring about perfect order, which (to me) implies that he would be establishing order over Middle Earth, which starts to sound more evil than good (even if Sauron claims his intentions are good).

Adar touches on the type of power that Sauron sought to craft up in Durnost (using verbiage that will come up again in episode 8), that the power is “not of the flesh but over flesh”. Adar goes on to say that Sauron had brought the Uruks up north (presumably to Durnost). There Sauron attempted to craft his work, but Sauron was unable to (whether it be because Sauron lacked the Mithril that Celembrimbor needed for the elven rings or if there was some other aspect that eluded Sauron, I do not know).

Then we get a tidbit that acts as another hint that Sauron (regardless of intentions) was still evil. For Adar says that Sauron kept trying, “no matter how much blood was spilt in its pursuit.” This is saying that, for Sauron, the good ends (of healing Middle Earth) justified the evil means (killing as many as needed to reach that goal). Pretty evil!

Adar says that he killed Sauron. That he split Sauron open in response to Sauron continuously sacrificing Uruks for Sauron’s quest. Now, Sauron is alive (since Halbrand is Sauron) but I don’t think Adar is lying. I think that Adar believes he killed Sauron. Now, I don’t know how Maiar work (I haven’t read the Silmarillion in a decade and haven’t partaken in any of the other supplementary Middle Earth material, other than the Children of Hurin). So, I don’t know whether, if Sauron was killed pre-One-Ring if he would be dead-dead or would persist as a spirit. I know that Sauron survived being “killed” by Isildur, but I feel like that was because the One Ring wasn’t destroyed. So if Sauron was killed now, would he be dead?

I ask this because either Sauron was actually killed by Adar (and “re-formed” later) or was just gravely wounded (enough to make Adar think he killed him) and survived.

Galadriel and Adar’s conversation changes course to talking more about the nature of Uruks and the philosophical debate around them. Near the tail end Galadriel threatens Uruk genocide and Adar responds by saying “It would seem I’m not the only Elf alive who has been transformed by darkness. Perhaps your search for Morgoth’s successor should have ended in your own mirror.”

I don’t believe Adar knows who Halbrand is (I mean, he is about to ask him that question) but I do find it as interesting/fun that Adar says Galadriel should look in the mirror to find Morgoth’s successor. In the past I’ve drawn connections between Galadriel and Halbrand and how they parallel each other. If that reading of their relationship were to be true, then Adar’s words are truer than he or Galadriel know!

Anyway, back to the conversation at hand! Galadriel pulls out her dagger and lunges at Adar saying, “Perhaps I shall begin by killing you, you slavering Orc.” I wonder, does Galadriel think she could be evil? Adar’s comment clearly hit a nerve. If Galadriel truly believed herself 100% good then I feel like Adar’s jab would have slid off of her. But if Galadriel fears that she didn’t just touch the darkness, but has been consumed by it, then Adar’s words would hurt a lot more. Just a little Galadriel analysis there!

Halbrand stops Galadriel from going too far by saying “Galadriel.” Interesting that all Galadriel needed was her name being said to pull her back (compared to Halbrand who had to be talked down).

Halbrand saying this means that he doesn’t want Adar to be killed (at least not right now). He could have easily remained silent and let Galadriel kill Adar. But instead, Halbrand intervened. Was it because Halbrand felt they could still get information out of Adar? Or is he watching out for Galadriel, knowing that she would regret killing Adar if she had? I like to think it is the latter but can’t say for sure!

Galadriel leaves and Adar whispers “Uruk” at her back (in response to her calling him an orc). Halbrand turns to go as well when Adar speaks to Halbrand. “Who are you?”

Why does Adar want to know? Because Halbrand is a human working with an elf and that is odd/intriguing? Because Halbrand seems to have some sort of history with Adar that Adar doesn’t recall? Does Adar recognize something about/within Halbrand that Adar can’t pin down?

Halbrand doesn’t answer the question and departs and Adar does nothing further. This is another moment where Halbrand could have sought vengeance if he wanted. I mean, he could have slowly walked up to the bound Adar, declared himself Sauron, watched as fear and panic settled into Adar’s eyes, then dispatched Adar. But Halbrand has left vengeance behind.

 

[SecretSpy97]

Next we find Halbrand and Galadriel out in the forest sitting on a fallen log. Galadriel speaks first. “Thank you… For pulling me back.”

Halbrand responds by saying, “Was you pulled me back first.”

The two recognize each other’s hand in helping one another and keeping each other from going too far. Halbrand doesn’t say thanks himself, but his tone (in my opinion, though I could easily be wrong here) implies that he does appreciate what Galadriel did.

Galadriel says “Whatever it was he did to you, and whatever it was you did… Be free of it.”

Galadriel means to say that whatever Adar did and whatever regular-normal-human Halbrand did, Halbrand should not suffer from it anymore. Leave the pain and guilt and anger and shame behind. Be free of it. She is advising him to leave the past behind. Halbrand, being Sauron, would hear something even more though. Halbrand may hear this as meaning that what he did as Sauron can be forgotten and left to the past. The heavy weight and burden of guilt, he can be free of it. This is spoken by the sister of an elf that he killed. What better blessing could there be? It seems almost a declaration that he is on the right path, that his actions can earn him his peace.

Halbrand responds with “I never believed I could be… Until today. Fighting at your side, I… I felt… If I could just hold on to that feeling, keep it with me always, bind it to my very being, then I…”

And Galadriel fills in the momentary silence with “I felt it too.”

Halbrand says that he never believed he could be free of what he had done in his past. In my opinion that is what was plaguing Halbrand all season so far: Halbrand believed himself shackled by the sins of his past. When Morgoth was first defeated and Sauron recognized the horrible things he had done, he thought he could heal Middle Earth as penance. But when he failed, he may have lost hope of being free of his sins. He began to believe that no matter what he did or where he went, he would always be haunted by his atrocities. But Halbrand effectively says that on this day, while fighting the Uruks with Galadriel, he did feel freed from his dark past.

The fact that Halbrand says “If I could just hold on to that feeling” means that the feeling is now gone. He feels the weight of his past once more. But he tasted a freedom that he wishes to hold onto. He forgot his dark past for a time.

Galadriel saying she felt it too only continues to bind the two together. Another similarity to bind them. They are each haunted by their pasts and each felt freed from their darkness while fighting their common foe.

For both Halbrand and Galadriel I find it interesting that they felt it during the battle. Was it the killing of Uruks? Was it the feeling of accomplishing something? Of doing good (saving lives)? Was it the display of martial skill? Having a clear and plain goal (that goal being killing the Uruks)? Hard to say with what little we’ve been given, but I find it important to take note of.

At this point a soldier comes and tells Halbrand that Miriel wants to see him. Halbrand pauses for a moment, looks to Galadriel, then gets up and leaves. Galadriel wipes her dagger clean, sheathes it, and follows suit.

Back in the village Miriel meets with Bronwyn. The two discuss Bronwyn’s role in leading the Southlanders, culminating in Miriel saying, “But if you would like some relief in carrying it, I may be able to help.”

At that point Halbrand arrives and says “You called for me, Your Majesty?”

Miriel says “Bronwyn, this is Lord Halbrand.”

Bronwyn first looks up at Halbrand’s face, but quickly looks down. The camera closes in on the Southlands pouch that is hanging at Halbrand’s hip. The sigil must mean something to Bronwyn.

Halbrand bows his head to Bronwyn and recognizes her with “Bronwyn.”

Bronwyn says, “Is it true? Are you the king we were promised?” Given that Bronwyn says this after looking at the sigil (and the context of her conversation with Miriel) means that Bronwyn must recognize the sigil as being for the Southlands king.

Halbrand doesn’t respond right away. He glances to the side (a camera cut to show Galadriel and Arondir makes me think he was looking to Galadriel) then he looks back to Bronwyn and responds with “Yes.”

At that point Bronwyn kicks off the Southlanders chanting “All hail to the true King of the South lands!”

As they chant, Halbrand’s face breaks into a warm smile.

Halbrand doesn’t say much here. Really, he says the bare minimum. But this is another moment where fate was in his hands. The people of the Southlands were saved, the Uruks beaten. I said before that Halbrand choosing to come to the Southlands (if he was a Repentant Sauron) was a major moment that likely set him on the path to evil. But this is another moment that he could have stopped.

Halbrand knows he isn’t the heir to the Southland throne. He could say “No” or even “I am not, but I can help you rebuild”. Instead he says yes. He says yes after looking to Galadriel, perhaps remembering all that she has said about him leaving his past behind and how he is destined to be more than a common man.

Now a big question. Is Halbrand’s “Yes” a lie here? This seems blatantly a lie, and I would consider it fitting for Halbrand’s first major lie to be at the start of his path toward evil. But I am stilling challenging myself to really pick at Halbrand’s words to see if they are actually carefully worded truths.

Bronwyn specifically asked, “Are you the king we were promised?” She does not ask if Halbrand is the heir to the Southlands throne or whether he was the king of the Southlands (saying yes to those would be a blatant lie).

With the question phrased as it is, if Halbrand says yes and is telling the truth, then that means he believes that he is the king that the Southlanders were promised. Now, if we believe that he is now Evil Sauron (though his intentions may be good) then it may make sense in an egotistically evil way. If Halbrand believes that he can/should conquer all of Middle Earth and rule it as its king to ensure an eternity of peace and prosperity, then he may see himself as ‘the promised king’.

Another way it could be the truth is if Halbrand means it as Sauron is the promised king. The presence of Waldreg (who we know to be devoted to the Shadow) means that there are likely many Southlanders who yearn for the return of Sauron. I mean, in an earlier episode Waldreg talks about Sauron to Theo and kneels to Adar believing that Adar was Sauron. In this way it is possible that the Southlands had been promised two kings: one being the human heir to the Southlands throne and another being Sauron. In this way Halbrand is one of the kings who was promised.

Personally, if I had to pick an interpretation I would go with the first one (that Halbrand believes himself to be the promised king) but I’m not fully convinced. I’m probably 50/50 at the moment between him lying and telling the truth. I may be convinced one way or another depending on Halbrand’s words in future episodes. If he starts to lie/lie more frequently then I will likely believe this “yes” is a lie. But if I cannot find lies going forward, then I may consider this a truth (For it would be weird to have this one major lie and no others). Please let me know of your thoughts! Do you think this is a lie? Could there be another interpretation for how Halbrand could be telling the truth?

Now there is one final little Halbrand moment. Orodruin erupts and everything falls into chaos. We see a couple moments of Halbrand watching the eruption begin. As all our protagonists are reacting to the explosion (helping people, staring in shock, etc.), we see one small moment of Halbrand ushering people away and shouting “Over the wall!”

This shows that Halbrand cares for the Southlanders. Whether he cares because of his responsibility as their “king”, out of empathy, or because he sees them as useful tools (not to be wasted) I do not know. But he works to save their lives, guiding them to (presumably) someplace safe(r). So, he isn’t selfish. He kept himself in harm’s way to help. He may be on the path of evil, but he isn’t totally evil right now. Or, rather, his line of evil is not a selfish one.

And that wraps up episode 6! I feel like there is surprisingly little Halbrand in this episode, but his moments are still impactful and important! Now, on to episode 7!

 

[SecretSpy97]

Halbrand only appears at the tail end of the episode, after Galadriel has met with Miriel. Bronwyn mentions Halbrand and Galadriel asks after him, whereupon Galadriel is taken to Halbrand. We find him wounded and looking quite ill.

Galadriel begins by saying, “Halbrand. I thought you died.”

Halbrand responds saying “Better for me if I had done.” This is either him saying he was/is in so much pain that he wished/wishes he was dead or he is joking about that. Given his tone I feel like he is saying the latter (Halbrand has often joked) though with hints of truth in there (he probably is/was in extreme pain).

Arondir jumps in to say “Southlanders found him on the road like this, yester-eve.”

Why was Halbrand on the road? What happened to him after the eruption? We can’t know unless there is a flashback in a future season, but I find it interesting that he was seemingly all alone until the Southlanders found him. Had he gone after Adar? Was he just trying to get out of the Southlands but couldn’t?

Bronwyn adds “The wound soured overnight. I thought to try and treat him on the road, but…”

Galadriel jumps in with “This wound needs elvish medicine. Can he ride?”

Bronwyn replies with “I’ll have the healers gather what provisions they can.” Here Bronwyn doesn’t really answer Galadriel questions, but it can be implied that Halbrand can ride. Perhaps he can only ride if his wound continues to be treated, hence why the healers will prepare supplies? Or perhaps he cannot/shouldn’t ride but there is no other option?

Galadriel looks to Halbrand and speaks softly (compared to how she was talking to Bronwyn and Arondir moments earlier) “Well, my friend. It seems fate has in store for us one more raft.”

I wonder what Galadriel means by this comment? Is it just that the two will be traveling alone together? That they may perish (only Halbrand is wounded though)? That their fates are in each other’s hands? I would love to hear your thoughts on what Galadriel may mean here, as I don’t really have a good idea!

Halbrand responds by saying. “This is not over. I will not abandon these lands and condemn them to burn. Nor will you.” Halbrand appears to speak with real determination here. He is intent on ‘saving’ the Southlands. And he links himself to Galadriel. Both will not allow this evil (of Adar and the Uruks) to stand.

Halbrand is able to walk to his horse and mount it. That is a surprising feat considering he is dying from a grievous wound. Was he actually fine enough to walk around without aid or did he have to exert immense effort to make a show of strength for his people?

The Southlanders take up a chant for the king and the Southlands, Galadriel and Theo have a moment, and then Galadriel and Halbrand take off riding.

And that’s it for Episode 7! Super short! Halbrand doesn’t say or do much, but there is the mystery of his disappearance and wound. At the start of the next episode Galadriel will say the wound was caused by an enemy lance. So it wasn’t shrapnel from an explosion that wounded him. If that is the case, how did he get the wound? Last we saw of Halbrand was him ushering Southlanders to safety, the next is him wounded in bed.

In my mind there are two options. One is that Halbrand had just been trying to escape and was ambushed/attacked by Uruks. The idea that I like more is that Halbrand went out seeking Uruks, be it to gather intelligence or hunt down Adar or just to try and rid the Southlands of Uruks on his own.

Let me know what you think about everything! Any alternate takes or insights? There was a lot this episode that I couldn’t come to my own conclusion on, so I would love to hear what others think!

 

[Karen Howard]

I love this whole thread and am looking forward to your analysis of episode 8. Thanks so much for writing this.

I’ve still been getting my brain around Halbrand being Sauron at all, never mind trying to decide if he’s evil or repentant at the beginning of season 1. I think you’re right that he starts out repentant.

Also, in episode 1, doesn’t Gilgalad tell Elrond that the reason he sent Galadriel to Valinor was that he was afraid that, in her zeal to destroy Sauron, she would bring about the very evil that she was trying to prevent?

 

[Ilana Mushin]

I love this whole thread and am looking forward to your analysis of episode 8. Thanks so much for writing this.

I’ve still been getting my brain around Halbrand being Sauron at all, never mind trying to decide if he’s evil or repentant at the beginning of season 1. I think you’re right that he starts out repentant.

Also, in episode 1, doesn’t Gilgalad tell Elrond that the reason he sent Galadriel to Valinor was that he was afraid that, in her zeal to destroy Sauron, she would bring about the very evil that she was trying to prevent?

He does indeed (just rewatched that episode). Galadriel also tells Elrond in Ep1 that 'Evil does not sleep it waits for (something about complaciency) and then blinds us. But I see Galadriel as being blinded without help from Sauron - she's so convinced she is right that Sauron is behind the mobilisation of orcs in the Southlands, and also that she has read the providential signs correctly that chance-meeting Halbrand at sea provided her with the human leader needed to mobilise resistance to Sauron. Both Galadriel and Halbrand I think see each other as a means to redeem themselves.

I'm really looking forward to finding out just how rock-bottom Halbrand felt he was, sitting on that raft at the time that Galadriel showed up.