Rings of Power Episode 5: Was that Sauron?

Rings of Power episode 5 gave us plenty of villains to look at, but one sinister figure that briefly appeared could be Sauron himself.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has been taking the world by storm, and its fifth episode just came out. You can actually read our review of Episode 5 here.

Now, the fifth episode continues to build the mystery surrounding the series’ supposed big bad – that being Sauron. There’s been no official sightings of him thus far, with many in Middle-earth believing him to be dead.

But there’s been a mysterious figure featured in this episode, which may lead fans to wonder… is this Sauron?

Either Sauron’s had a makeover, or that’s not Sauron

In Episode 5, we travel back to where the meteor – and the man on it – hit Middle-Earth, and we see three figures in white cloaks loom above it.

One figure in particular, who has pale skin, almost white hair, and icy blue eyes, takes great interest in the impact site. They remain silent the whole time, but ominous whispers and music grows increasingly significant when the camera focuses on this camera.

Therefore, could this be Sauron?

Amazon Prime Video

Now, there are some signs that this may not be Sauron. For one, the iconic armor isn’t there, and the episode establishes with a mountain statue that the armor is signifier of the character.

However, if we look at The Silmarillion, the book that this series is based on, we see just how Sauron built his power, which was through disguise. Taking the name Annatar, he claimed to be an emissary of the gods and asked the elf Celebrimbor to teach him ringcraft, and he eventually placed his powers on the rings.

If this isn’t Ring of Power’s Sauron, then who are they?

Adar, who was previously a contender for being Sauron, has shown to have a somewhat rocky relationship with the franchise’s big bad, in a scene which we won’t spoil here. Therefore, this new cloaked figure seems to be the only possibility when it comes to the villain’s reveal.

However, it’s very possible that this could just be another villain, or a servant of Sauron like many other bad guys in the franchise have been.

Sauron could even be an already established character that we would never suspect, who will be revealed later on in some form of grand twist. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Episode 4 premieres on Amazon Prime Video on September 16.