8 Ways The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power Told You That Halbrand Was Really Sauron
5. No One Can Confirm He Is The King Of The Southlands
A big reveal in the final episode was that Halbrand is not actually the King of the Southlands. When watching the previous episodes, no one actually confirmed that he has a royal lineage. The hint that he is of loyal blood was the necklace he carried that holds the crest of the royal family in the Southlands. When Galadriel first met him, he said that he had stolen it from a dead man.
It was Galadriel that assumed Halbrand is the King of the Southlands based on the crest. Since the narrative fits too well with the reluctant king archetype, we believe that the information was true. After all, Halbrand reacted with guilt to Galadriel’s claim that he is a king. It turns out he just reacted to her insistence that he must return to the Southlands — the land where Sauron also came from.
When Halbrand introduced himself to the people of the Southlands, they were so happy to see a man carrying the royal crest; they wanted to believe their promised King had returned. They did not question that he might be an imposter.
Galadriel’s discovery that the royal bloodline died off ages ago was just the official confirmation. From the moment the series started, the return of the king was never on the cards. All hail the king. The man they never met.