Thread by @whitecachalot

Hello - ahead of this week's TROP episode 'The Eye', I want to organise and 'bind' all Halbrand = Sauron arguments I had in one thread.

I won't use screenshots but I'll refer to the show moments as well as the lore, not necessarily implying that they are in line. 0/10

1) The binding. Galadriel says to Halbrand "bind yourself to me" on the raft: A lightning of Manwë strikes. Halbrand wants to "bind" himself to Galadriel. A volcano of Morgoth erupts.

This story's about a power to rule them all & "in the darkness bind them" - yet it won't.

2) The ocean encounter. Encounters like characters meeting in the middle of a massive ocean happen in Tolkien stories only to serve the greatest purpose. Galadriel's importance in the story is equivalent to that of Sauron since according to Tolkien she is his greatest foe

3) Galadriel's temptation to replace Sauron. In FotR, we witness her feelings about ruling Middle-earth as a terrifying queen. TROP season 1 portrays Galadriel as someone who is becoming more and more violent and confessing this ONLY to Halbrand who feels sympath for her

4) Halbrand accepting to follow Galadriel in her quest after Galadriel speaks of the shadow in her heart that made everyone betray her. Sauron was betrayed by Adar for the very same cruelty Adar saw in him. That's the moment Sauron sees Galadriel as a partner

5) Galadriel's test. She will be forgiven when she refuses all that she desired comes to her hands, which is as Tolkien says, "the dominion of the Middle-earth". Sauron wanted the same. Halbrand and Galadriel bonded over sympathy in the first season.

6) Halbrand is a manipulative, good looking smith with fighting skills and a dark history. He hates Adar, is afraid of going back to Middle-earth where he failed at something we don't know.

7) "Tides of fate are flowing". First thing Halbrand said to Galadriel in the show are the words of Galadriel after she refused to take the ring from Frodo hence why passing the test for not becoming the new Sauron of Middle-earth.

8) Galadriel would not feel such a strong connection to a character like the Witch King or the King of the Dead, or any other human. She has one equivalent only and that is Sauron per Tolkien implies. Her story makes the most sense when it's directly tied to that of Sauron.

9) Halbrand's reveal as Sauron would serve as a breaking point Galadriel needs to start diverting from the shadow. This would serve as a story element that will make her realise that unknowingly she did not become Sauron-like only but also his companion and turn to light

10) Númenor & Mordor. According to Tolkien, Sauron chooses to make Mordor his kingdom ONLY after he figures how strong Númenor has become - as a means of countering their impact over the southern ME. Halbrand has just witnessed the glory of Númenor.

11) The grey Sauron. After Morgoth's defeat, there was a period when Sauron wanted to recover ME from the damages it endured. His obsession with this effort slowly, once more, outgrew his love for the ME. Halbrand could represent a Sauron in transition, who is seeking a purpose

12) A song of ice and fire, a tale of water and flame, black and white, Vader and Luke, Harry and Voldemort, myths, religions, stories of temptation...

The story of Galadriel and Sauron is a story of temptation and diversion. They were together this season.

I started with 10 tweets but it ended up being 12... Forgot to edit the first tweet before tweeting, sorry!

I have many more thoughts on this but I'll stop here for now.

@threadreaderapp unroll please, for those who need! :)