Halbrand/Sauron: the Fisher King symbology and meaning in the show

I was wondering why Halbrand's 'King of the Southlands' emblem is a kingfisher of all things. I've looked for some symbolism or meaning but nothing seemed to fit the narrative.

But when Celebrimbor mentioned the kingfishers just before his death, I knew that it must have a meaning, it must be important.

And then I had an epiphany, the meaning is not a kingfisher, it is the Fisher King! This meaning fits Sauron's narrative in the series perfectly.

Sauron is a Maia, a powerful spirit tasked with implementing Eru Iluvatar's will and protecting the world.

The King Fisher's wound is Morgoth's corruption. Because of his terrible life choices, Sauron has been corrupted by Morgoth, and is incapable of fulfilling his sacred purpose as a Maia: creating order and peace in Middle-earth. In the show, this is represented by his inability to create the rings and take the leadership role.

Forodwaith, and later Mordor, are wastelands - both are affected by Morgoth, the source of Sauron's wound/curse/corruption

After regaining his human form, Sauron wanders the Middle-earth aimlessly and ends up on a raft. He seemed content with staying in Numenor and working as a smith. The "chosen one" is Galadriel of course.

The imagery is all here - Galadriel first sees Sauron on a raft.

And if you think that it is too subtle, behold the wounded king of the Southlands laying under the kingfisher sigil, watched over by a noble knight on a quest to find him:

Galadriel unknowingly offers Sauron forgiveness and redemption through fighting at her side. But we know the outcome of this story - Sauron is not healed.

This could mean that it's a reverse Fisher King story - Galadriel, the noble knight, helps Sauron to take back his power as Morgoth's successor.

But that does not fit with dying words of Celbrimbor. He says that it's a pity how Sauron has silenced the kingfishers - therefore I think that Halbrand, the king of the Southlands with a kingfisher sigil, represents a repentant Sauron who wants to redeem himself.

When Celebrimbor says that Sauron has silenced the kingfishers, it symbolises the fact that Sauron has destroyed his chance at redemption with his actions.

And Sauron knows this at some level, even if he's still deceiving himself that he's committing all the atrocities for a higher good. That's why Celebrimbor's words of him never being able to reach the Undying Lands cut him so deep that he looses control.

And how could have Galadriel healed the Fisher King's wound? That's just my speculation, but returning to Arthurian legends, a knight on a quest for the Holy Grail has to ask the right question. And the right question in this case would be asking Sauron why didn't he come to repent to Valinor?

The only way to heal Sauron from Morgoth's corruption would be to persuade him to return to Valinor, because Sauron is a demigod corrupted by a god, and no one in the Middle-earth can heal him.

And we see this in the show - Sauron tries to repent and fails:

"...and he fell back into evil, for the bonds that Morgoth had laid upon him were very strong"

I'm wondering if we will get the exact moment when Sauron has embraced Morgoth again in the flashbacks in future seasons.

If the showrunners would like to make it very literal, he might have returned to Morgoth's service after Mount Doom's eruption - which could have been a magical event (the eruption was a part of Morgoth's plan in case of defeat). It would tie in nicely with Halbrand's actual would representing Morgoth's corruption.

Or coming back to Morgoth could have been a more gradual process starting with Galadriel's rejection.

(I was also speculating about Morgoth's role in the show here if you would like to read more about it)

(And here's something on ambiguity of Sauron's motives in the show)

"Will you then pass over Sea?" Celebrimbor asked.

"Nay," Galadriel said. "Angrod is gone, and Aegnor is gone, and Felagund is no more. Of Finarfin’s children I am the last. But my heart is still proud. What wrong did the golden house of Finarfin do that I should ask the pardon of the Valar, or be content with an isle in the sea whose native land was Aman the Blessed? Here I am mightier.”

Unfinished Tales, The History of Galadriel and Celeborn

Thinking about the gradual corruption of the Lay of Leithian in late-age Númenor.

The King's Men tell the story of a Beren who is "bewitched" by Lúthien's dancing. He is enamoured not by Lúthien's singing, but by her Elven beauty. They speak of a Beren who rescues Lúthien from her treehouse, stealing her away from Doriath. To the King's Men, Lúthien is a damsel in distress, oppressed by the ways of the evil Elves, and Beren is just a mortal man who "liberates" her. The King's Men erase Beren's genuine love and respect for Lúthien. They get rid of Beren's oath to Thingol. And most of all, they erase Lúthien's agency in the tale; they erase her own brave deeds like fighting Sauron and singing Morgoth to sleep. Instead, they give the credit to Beren alone. At this period, Elves aren't yet completely hated, but they are exoticized and fetishized by the King's Men. And they exoticize Lúthien so much until she is just a submissive Elven princess who is nothing more than a prize for Beren to "win".

The King's Men erase the sacrifice of Finrod Felagund and the ten brave Elves of Nargothrond. They ignore the hunting of Carcharoth, Beren protecting Thingol at the cost of his own life, and Lúthien's pleading song to Námo. To the King's Men, the Quest for the Silmaril ends when Beren takes the Silmaril from Morgoth, then brings it to Thingol and Melian. To the King's Men, Lúthien's immortality was stripped from her by her cruel parents, and she was banished from Doriath for daring to love a mortal man. They erase Lúthien's own choice, they ignore how Thingol and Melian accepted Beren in the end. And fundamentally, the King's Men misunderstand the lesson of the Leithian, that Lúthien chose mortality of her own free will for love.

Under the King's Men, the Lay of Leithian is stripped of everything that made it so beautiful and poignant. It's no longer a story of love and hope, but a story about a submissive Elven princess who runs away with a strong mortal man to escape the tyranny of the Eldar.

But thankfully, the true Lay of Leithian was well-preserved by the Faithful Númenóreans.

@sauron-kraut

"Will you then pass over Sea?" Celebrimbor asked.

"Nay," Galadriel said. "Angrod is gone, and Aegnor is gone, and Felagund is no more. Of Finarfin’s children I am the last. But my heart is still proud. What wrong did the golden house of Finarfin do that I should ask the pardon of the Valar, or be content with an isle in the sea whose native land was Aman the Blessed? Here I am mightier.”

Unfinished Tales, The History of Galadriel and Celeborn

It wasn't a great day at the office for him

Celebrían💔

The house of Finarfin.

Here's a wip of my current painting... My back is killing me 🥲🥲

Annatar: *hums an upbeat tune of enchantment to put her at ease*

Galadriel: Shut up, you cheerful bastard.

Sauron burning through Middle Earth in the Second Age, inspired by medieval millefleur tapestries and Tolkien's watercolor painting of Sauron

Galadriel

I’m back with my fantasy hair shenanigans with the lady of light herself ^^ hope you all enjoy ☺️

Lady Galadriel

'I do not foretell, for all foretelling is now vain: on the one hand lies darkness, and on the other only hope.’

Farwell at end of the War of Wrath.