The new Lord of the Rings TV show on Amazon Prime Video, The Rings of Power, has been quietly building toward all-out war. Various members of humanity and elvenkind have been worrying about a dark, looming threat. Galadriel herself has mentioned Sauron by name, but thus far, nobody has seen him. At least, they don’t think so. In JRR Tolkien’s epic source stories, the dark lord is known by many names. But one of his most famous is Sauron the Deceiver. This is because, after the end of the First Age and the defeat of his master Morgoth, Sauron hid in plain sight in Middle-Earth.

Before that, however, Sauron was greatly weakened and lay dormant after suffering the loss of his master, Morgoth. He actually remained hidden and unseen for five centuries as he secretly built up his power and armies in Mordor, along the fringes of Middle-Earth. Most believed he was vanquished forever.

By the coming of the Second Age, though, Sauron once again stepped back out into the world to begin a terrible long game that would eventually bring down the greatest of the dwarven and human kings and their realms, while the elves watched in despair. Especially because they themselves had unwittingly had a hand in the dark lord’s schemes, culminating in the forging of the rings of power.

Sauron emerged from his isolation with a new, “fair” visage. Nobody recognised him, so he took on a new name: Annatar, The Lord of Gifts.

Using this new identity, Annatar infiltrated the world of the elves and befriended the greatest craftsmen and blacksmiths of the age, including Eregion and Celebrimbor. He began tutoring them in the arts of magic and crafting.

The naive smiths grew close to Annatar, devouring the beguiling knowledge he shared, unaware they were pawns in his greater game. Armed with Annatar’s knowledge, they built fantastic forges and groundbreaking smithies that would allow them to craft wondrous items and imbue them with magical abilities. 

Not every elf struck up a friendship with Annatar, however. Galadriel was always staunchly suspicious of the newcomer to their land. So, too, was Elrond, whose instincts warned him to be wary of Annatar.

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The question is, however, whether or not Sauron has already reared his ugly head during the events of Rings of Power thus far.

A number of characters certainly have mysterious backgrounds or have taken some suspicious actions. And at the top of the list, at the moment, is Halbrand.

Galadriel found Halbrand floating in the ocean after his company was attacked by a gigantic sea snake. The elven warrior has now figured out that Halbrand hails from a place of royalty, but there is something unusual about him.

On top of fighting the town’s guard in the street and generally acting suspicious, his backstory doesn’t quite add up. Could he eventually reveal his name is, in fact, Annatar?

Alternatively, there is the Stranger. The large bearded fellow landed on Middle-Earth in a meteor and has since joined up with the Harfoots (The Hobbits). Fans have quickly dismissed him as an amnesia-ridden Gandalf – but that may not be the case.

On top of landing in a literal blaze of glory, the Stranger has been killing fireflies at every turn. He also recently demonstrated a unique forceful power when attacked by a wolf. Will he end up being revealed as the great deceiver?

Of course, another potential Sauron in hiding is Addar, the elven warrior working with the orcs. Although it would be very obvious for the very evil character to be the even more evil guy, there is still a chance.

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power continues Friday on Amazon Prime Video.