The Rings of Power season 1 ending dropped the bombshell of one of the season's main characters - Halbrand - actually being Sauron. This very character is exactly who the season's other main character, Galadriel, had been looking for the whole season. It was controversial for many reasons, creating complex flaws more evident on a rewatch than they may have been on the first watch.

The Rings of Power season 2 saw Sauron turn from his Halbrand persona, which was an original character, to his Annatar persona, which was fully canonical. First introduced in The Silmarillion, the 1977 compilation of Lord of the Rings myths and legends, Annatar led a remarkably faithful arc with the Elf Celebrimbor. Comparing this faithfulness to season 1 reveals some interesting and harsh realities about it, although some may argue against that. Through varying opinions, Rings of Power season 1 definitely made waves in The Lord of the Rings fandom and among new fans.

10 Season 1 Didn't Pay Enough Attention To Celeborn's Disappearance

The Rings Of Power Season 1 Erased Celeborn

Celeborn was absent from The Rings of Power season 1, which was frustrating. In the world of Lord of the Rings created by J.R.R. Tolkien in his landmark novel, Celeborn was married to Galadriel from some point in the First Age. And yet, Celeborn was mysteriously absent from Amazon's show, despite Galadriel being its main character. Instead of frolicking around with Celeborn, Galadriel was hanging out with Halbrand.

Galadriel revealed that Celeborn had gone to fight and had not been seen again.

The chemistry Galadriel had with Halbrand raised the question of whether LotR's Galadriel would love again if she lost Celeborn, considering that Celeborn was mysteriously missing after going to war in the show. In season 1, this was revealed during a conversation between Galadriel and Theo, whereby Galadriel revealed that Celeborn had gone to fight and had not been seen again. It felt like an afterthought, and long after season 2 ended, it still does.

9 The Rings Of Power Season 1 Ignored How Finrod Was Reborn

Finrod's Death In Rings Of Power Was A Little Confusing

The Rings of Power never addressed how Finrod was reborn, which could have changed the story completely. Finrod was Galadriel's brother in The Lord of the Rings, but he had a very limited role in The Rings of Power. Nonetheless, it was critical. That's why it was strange that his death wasn't followed up with its canonical rebirth in any way. Galadriel was motivated by his death in season 1.

Finrod was reborn in Valinor, and in the show, at least, travel from there to Middle-earth and back wasn't exactly commonplace.

It was what drove her to chase Rings of Power's Sauron up and down Middle-earth. So, if the show had brought him back, her motivation would have disappeared, or at least eased. It was fair enough, to a certain extent, given that Finrod was reborn in Valinor, and in the show, at least, travel from there to Middle-earth and back wasn't exactly commonplace. Regardless, it was a strange reality to have ignored in Rings of Power season 1.

8 Adar's Characterization Was Confusing At Times In Rings Of Power Season 1

Adar Was Inconsistent In Rings Of Power Season 1

Adar and his origins in Rings of Power were one of the best parts of the whole show, but his characterization was a little frustrating throughout season 1. One second, he was Adar by name and nature, representing the translation of his name into the word "father." But the father of the Orcs wasn't always so fatherly, and occasionally tortured his Uruk "children" just to make a point to them.

It seemed like Adar was being presented as a classic villain in The Rings of Power season 1, self-righteously seeking world domination with a supposedly just cause. Justifying the means of indiscriminate cruelty with the end of giving the Orcs a home seemed to be the direction that the show was taking Adar. But then, he showed signs of being some kind of heroic leader. The show definitely gave mixed messages about how the audience was meant to feel about this complex character.

7 It Wasn't Very Clear Why The Elves Decided To Make Three Rings

The Three Elven-Rings Were A Bit Of A Mystery In Rings Of Power Season 1

The three Elven-rings in Lord of the Rings were interestingly portrayed in The Rings of Power, bordering on terribly and brilliantly at the same time. They were beautifully made and gorgeously represented the rings as they seemed in lore. And it fit into the story well, somehow, that Galadriel had to give up her dagger to make them. The imagery of the Elves wearing their rings together was beautiful.

However, the Three were unfaithfully placed into The Lord of the Rings timeline. They were made last of all the rings in canon, but first in the show. While this didn't make too much of a difference, materially, it annoyed some fans. But more to the point, it seemed totally random how the Elves arrived at the conclusion of making three instead of one. Galadriel's only explanation was that it created balance, but this wasn't explained fully.

6 Elrond Sometimes Seemed A Bit Too Young

Robert Aramayo Was Good As Elrond, But Sometimes Seemed A Little Young

With audiences used to the inimitable Hugo Weaving as Elrond, Robert Aramayo sometimes seemed a little young in the role. The show was always going to face unfair comparisons to Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movies, and perhaps this was one of them. And, indeed, he did appear to fit the role of the young diplomat, not yet a warrior. Now he is becoming a warrior, it seems his innocence will fade.

This could be a great look for Aramayo as Elrond, his youthful cheer soon set to fade from existence in Rings of Power season 3, with all his responsibilities. However, one still wonders if a more warrior-looking type would have fit the bill better. In the battles of season 2, a bigger, older, gruffer-looking man might have seemed more dangerous and fit the knightly medieval role better.

5 Sauron Could Have Been Annatar From The Start

Halbrand's Inclusion Was A Debatable Necessity In Rings Of Power

Halbrand was one of the most important parts of The Rings of Power season 1, without a doubt, but he may have been unnecessarily unfaithful to the source material. Although he provided good television, ultimately, audiences tuned into The Rings of Power to watch an adaptation of Lord of the Rings' Second Age. This character obviously turned out to be the main character of the whole show - Sauron himself.

However, why he had to parade around using the persona of a human man called Halbrand wasn't clear to many. It seemed he had been introduced to tempt Galadriel to the dark side with his romantic charm, providing the dramatic tension of having been under her nose all along. While this offered brilliant drama, Halbrand could have easily been replaced with Annatar in this storyline, while Galadriel could have been replaced with Celebrimbor. It would have been more faithful and more radical at the same time.

4 Adapting Content From The Silmarillion Requires Inventing Lots Of Dialogue

Silmarillion Adaptations Are Destined To Be Misunderstood

The Silmarillion provided a backing set of myths to The Lord of the Rings novel, published in three parts between 1954 and 1955, but it didn't provide a lot of dialogue for adaptations to go off. Nor did it provide a lot of vivid or graphic descriptions of character appearances or psychological states. It gave, basically, a historical timeline of events across various millennia that zoomed into specific stories.

This made it very hard for The Rings of Power to adapt it to a degree of faithfulness that sat well with most people. Unfaithfulness to the source material was one of the most controversial aspects of the series. There were indeed some elements of the show's diversion from canon that didn't seem to serve the story, but much of the show's original material fit it quite well. However, given the source material, the show, along with any other media adapting The Silmarillion, was always going to have an uphill battle.

3 Tolkien Would Have Hated The Sauron & Galadriel Romance Tease

Galadriel Wouldn't Have Contemplated Sauron Romantically In The Books

God threw Sauron and Galadriel together in Rings of Power, which was pretty much wholly conflictive of these two characters, the way that J.R.R. Tolkien wrote them. Sauron hated Elves and saw Galadriel as his greatest adversary, in many ways. Galadriel was bent on hunting Sauron and symbolized light and purity, carrying a lot of Christian symbology around the Virgin Mary.

Therefore, it was quite out of character to have Sauron and Galadriel fall for each other in Rings of Power season 1, even if Galadriel didn't know it was him she was falling for. To the show's credit, its romance tease was not unfounded - Lord of the Rings implied a hidden history between the two in how Sauron had been reaching for her mind for a long time, and how they met in Eregion, and Galadriel suspected his true identity but let him stay. This intriguing mystery gives the show's outlandish romance tease some , but it remains controversial for good reason.

2 Rings Of Power Season 1 Would Have Been Better With More Rights To Tolkien's Work

The Rings Of Power Would Have Benefited From Full Rights To The Silmarillion

The Rings of Power had full rights to The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, but would have been better off with full rights to The Silmarillion as well. The show has the rights to adapt these two books into a TV series, while Peter Jackson and Warner Bros. have movie rights to the same two books. Only the Tolkien Estate has the rights to The Silmarillion, but they are reluctant to give them away.

The Rings of Power got one-off rights to certain parts of the legendarium as needed, including parts of The Silmarillion.

This is understandable, considering that it wasn't edited and published while Tolkien was alive. Tolkien left his son, Christopher, to do this, so Tolkien wasn't able to decide on the final cut himself. To Christopher Tolkien's credit, not only was he, by far, the greatest expert on his father's work alive, probably, but he also transparently published all the regrets he had about his final cut in another book series. Regardless, the book's infamously elusive rights would have benefited the show.

1 Choosing Galadriel As The Main Character Was Partially Commercially Motivated

Galadriel Was A Curious Main Character Choice For Rings Of Power

Considering that the Second Age material laid out by J.R.R. Tolkien mostly happened in The Silmarillion, Galadriel was a strange choice for a main character. Although the show didn't have the rights to The Silmarillion, it evidently set out to tell its stories, relying on the outlines of them offered in The Lord of the Rings' appendices and one-off rights to certain parts of it. But Galadriel wasn't a huge part of The Silmarillion.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power probably knew the value of using a well-known character as its lead - it would draw numbers.

She featured, without a doubt, but her main role in the legendarium was in The Lord of the Rings. She had a fascinating cameo in Unfinished Tales. But many of the starring roles of The Silmarillion still popped up in The Lord of the Rings' appendices and could have been used in the show. Celebrimbor would have been a great focus from the start. But The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power probably knew the value of using a well-known character as its lead - it would draw numbers.