This article was originally published on SFFGazette.com - be sure to keep checking that site for the latest on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power!
We first met The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powers' Halbrand at sea after Galadriel encountered him and fellow survivors on a raft in the Sundering Seas. It's since become clear that there was more to him than meets the eye, with the latest episode culminating with the soldier being introduced to the villagers of Tirharad as the rightful King of the Southlands.
Galadriel hopes he will be the one to rally the Southlands behind her cause to find and destroy every last trace of Sauron. Halbrand is clearly reluctant but did prove himself a hero last week, only to have any celebrations cut short when Orodruin erupted, transforming that mountain, and his home, into Mount Doom and Mordor.
Seeing as Halbrand was created specifically for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, there's been a lot of speculation about who he might really be.
Sauron is one popular theory, but an eagle-eyed fan may have figured out what's really in store for him after watching that latest episode. In The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the King of the Dead originally served and worshipped Sauron before swearing allegiance to the realm of Gondor and its then King, Isildur.
After making an oath to fight on Isildur's side when needed, he failed to appear during the War of the Last Alliance and was cursed, resulting in him and his followers not being allowed to rest until their oath had been fulfilled. Years later, Aragorn found and freed them, but what leads us to believe the King of the Dead is Halbrand?
Well, as you can see in the video below, his armour matches what the King of the Dead is adorned in, and this does make sense based on how the story is playing out. Halbrand is clearly an unwilling participant in this war - with a dark past - so him ultimately turning his back on Isildur and being cursed would be a fitting, albeit tragic, end to his story.
Let us know your thoughts on this theory in the comments section, and stay tuned for more on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.