LotR: The Rings of Power is a Prime Example of a Very Disturbing Trend
The Rings of Power is not the first to use this trope, but it does not seem to make sense in the context of the series.
Halbrand was suspicious since the beginning. He spoke of past atrocities, was strangely angry with the orc leader Adar, and was overly interested in the forge.
On the other hand, everyone noticed his feelings for Galadriel and hoped that Halbrand's arc would develop that branch.
In the final episode, Halbrand helps Celebrimbor forge the rings that will save the elves. But Galadriel notices something strange about the ally.
She checks the genealogy of the kings of the South Land – it turns out that they died a thousand years ago, leaving no heir. After a frank conversation, the elf discovers that it is Sauron who's hiding behind the name Halbrand.
The RoP's Sauron seems sincere. He renounces the atrocities and promises to heal Middle-earth. He even offers to rule with Galadriel because she will help him not to go astray.
In the season finale, the elves create three rings and Sauron goes to Mount Doom. There he will forge the Ring of Power.
The creators intention was to show that evil can have a different face, but it seems that Halbrand's face turned out to be too attractive.
For most of the season, he was a true friend to Galadriel, and the chemistry between the actors was so strong that viewers hoped Halbrand would one day come out of the friend zone.
The writers have shown Halbrand to be so noble, brave, and sympathetic that many have compared him to Aragorn, and such a comparison has to be earned.
And all this for what? So that in the end it turns out that this is all a big deception and Halbrand is going to become the main antagonist of Middle-earth.
But there is no way back. Sauron will no longer be perceived by the audience as a one-hundred-percent villain, as in The Lord of the Rings.
The image of a caring and sympathetic friend will be constantly in front of the viewers' eyes when Sauron starts committing atrocities, and the internet is already filled with hundreds of Galadriel/Halbrand fan fiction, developing a relationship that obviously will not happen on screen.
Such a trope is not new in cinema and has been used for decades. All to make the audience feel shocked, devastated, and in some cases even betrayed when they learn the truth.
A recent example is the Darkling from the series Shadow and Bone, who was impossible not to fall in love with from his first appearance in the show.
The character turned out to be so villainously attractive that even when it became clear that he had no hint of heroism, the audience continued to care about him, and some even rooted not for the main character (who was clearly inferior in charisma to the villain), but for the Darkling.
But when the Darkling and other attractive villains have even a glimmer of hope for redemption, the story of Sauron has been long known.
And he will not be on his best behavior.