“There are powers beyond darkness at work in this world.”
Galadriel, 1×07
Galadriel’s Obsession Part 1: Chance-meeting
Before theorizing about anything else in the show, I believe the most important thing is to determine by what means Sauron and Galadriel were brought together.
“You don’t have the look of someone to whom things happen by accident. Which means you were running. Whether toward or from something, I haven’t yet decided” (Sauron, 1×02).
“You told me once that we were brought together for a purpose” (Sauron, 1×08).
This topic was not simple enough for a single post, so it might take several parts, or an on-going conversation.
In the official Rings of Power Podcast, Patrick McKay said, about the reveal of Sauron, “If our goal was to surprise you, there’s nothing to see in a second viewing.” In speaking about Sauron and Galadriel’s meeting, J.D. Payne said:
You could be asking yourself for years after you watch the show, “Did Galadriel do the right thing in jumping off the boat?” Did she jump off the boat because she sensed Halbrand nearby? Or […] was it the wrong thing to do because she ended up running into Halbrand, saving his life and empowering him?
Immediately, Patrick said something very odd about Galadriel, with peculiar emphasis. I had not considered this before, but when I heard it a couple of months ago, everything started coming together.
(edited for clarity)
Is her obsession, which character after character in the show tells her is not a good thing… Is he calling her to him? I think you could look at it through that prism.
This is an extremely intriguing suggestion, and it might reveal some things about Sauron’s past and motives, which would otherwise go unnoticed.
All of the things regarding the relationship between Sauron and Galadriel “spring from the text.”
First, what is Sauron famous for? J.D. compared Sauron’s manipulation and so-called sincerity to that of Gollum’s, before adding:
[Sauron’s] superpower is, he sees you. So, he sees Galadriel and knows that what she needs more than anything else is to find the evil that has plagued her for so long, and save Middle-earth. So, he self-styles himself as the person that she will trust, and part of him is doing that sincerely, but part of him is also knowing that by doing this, he’s pushing her closer to something that will get him what he wants.
How would Sauron “self-style” himself as the person Galadriel would trust (Halbrand) after he seesher, if he had not an inkling of her existence before the raft? How would “calling her to him” even be a possibility if he was not aware of her? Part of him was doing this sincerely; but what does sincerity mean in this context?
Galadriel assumed:
“Ours was no chance-meeting. Not fate, nor destiny, nor any of the words Men use to speak of the forces they lack the conviction to name. Ours was the work of something greater. You must see it” (1×03).
Was she correct, or did Halbrand put himself on the raft to meet her?
So I know this. But I think that question is best left unanswered. Because we find out that backstory [in season two]. That question will be answered in due time.
Elrond was one character who told Galadriel that her obsession was “not a good thing.” As a master of investigation, he always asked the right questions when something was amiss:
“The King of the Southlands? How is it your path crossed with his? How is it you are here?” (1×08).
Suddenly, Sauron’s response to Galadriel in prison sounds like a taunt or correction, rather than a simple jest.
Galadriel: “Ours was the work of something greater. You must see it.”
Sauron: “All I see is an Elf who won’t put down her sword” (1×03).
Remember what Patrick has said before: “It’s right there all along!” So, can we find some answers before the release of next season? We shall try.
If their meeting was no coincidence, and Galadriel’s obsession was a result of Sauron calling her to him, what would it entail? How would everything be affected? For one, it would place Sauron in a more sinister light. Secondly, it would create even greater stakes.
I know I am being vague, so let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Míriel asked Elendil if he believed that the falling petals of the White Tree were a sign of the tears of the Valar, to which Elendil replied:
“In my experience, it is unwise to live one’s life guessing after signs and portents” (1×03).
Similarly, Galadriel told Theo:
“What cannot be known hollows the mind. Fill it not with guesswork” (1×07).
Some of my hypotheses are more speculative than others, but we shall do our best not to guess, but rather use solid evidence from the show and the books. As Elrond investigated the whereabouts of Durin IV, as well as the truth of Halbrand’s identity, we will dive head first into the material to test said hypotheses.
Whatever Sauron’s design, this much is certain: He was not born yesterday, nor has he been living under a rock. He had been planning something for a very long time, no matter how many set-backs he had. Patrick’s suggestion introduced countless possibilities and tied things together that otherwise seemed completely unrelated. It answered questions about Sauron’s past, what his intentions were, and how he planned to carry out his designs. It put Halbrand in a light that is all the more sinister and (frankly) creepy. Suddenly, we can see how Sauron is “a cruel and cunning sorcerer.”
