The following contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 1, Episode 6, "Udûn," now streaming on Prime Video.

For the most part, The Rings of Power has operated on a relatively small scale. So far, its major conflict has been between a few villages' worth of Southlanders and Adar's motley following of Orcs. Even when Galadriel arrived with the Númenórean reinforcements, she only brought a few hundred soldiers. That makes sense because Adar kept his endgame quiet to prevent a larger resistance. The small scale also makes sense from a storytelling stance because it allows future seasons to expand.

With that said, it's only a matter of time before The Rings of Power takes things to the next level. After Adar's defeat and the incredibly real eruption of Mount Doom, the series has to be nearing the official emergence of Sauron. The thing is, Sauron is known for his shapeshifting abilities and may have already covertly appeared. Several characters could fit the bill as an undercover Sauron, but after Episode 6, "Udûn," fans are pretty convinced that Halbrand is the Dark Lord.

RELATED: The Rings of Power Finally Gives Its Version of Galadriel a Purpose

Meteor Man Could Be Sauron

Rings of Power Meteor Man Header

Before The Rings of Power came out, most fans believed that a shady-looking figure from the trailers was Sauron. However, that theory quickly fell apart, when the series revealed that the character in white was a priest in the Cult of Melkor. After that, most fans latched onto a new theory.

Early in the series, Galadriel talked about evil being so cold that fire could not touch it. So, when Meteor Man's meteor fire wasn't hot, a lot of fans jumped on the Meteor Man is Sauron bandwagon. To be sure, that theory is still possible because Meteor Man definitely has an evil vibe about him. Yet, it's also possible that Meteor Man is Gandalf or another wizard.

Why Halbrand Is Sauron

Halbrand Rings of Power

Even though the arguments for Meteor Man being Sauron are strong, a lot of fans have started to believe that Halbrand is Sauron. As an original character, some fans initially predicted that he could be a form of Sauron -- and it didn't take long for those theories to find some backing. For the longest time, Halbrand conspicuously kept his identity (which could still be a lie) a secret. And the idea that Galadriel couldn't find Sauron because she was talking to his undercover self would have made Sauron into an absolute troll. More concretely, Halbrand showed that he was a master smith in Númenor, which was one of Sauron's calling cards.

RELATED: Will The Rings of Power's Halbrand Be the King of Rohan?

Then, in "Udûn," the evidence started to pile up. When Halbrand confronted Adar, he was very upset about what Adar had done to him. Thus, if Halbrand ends up being a reincarnated Sauron, it would track with Adar's claim that he killed the Dark Lord. On top of that, Halbrand's refusal to tell Adar his identity was noticeably conspicuous. That would make sense because Halbrand would want to keep his identity a secret from Adar just in case the fallen Elf would go and tell Galadriel out of spite.

Finally, it seems odd that Adar would be the one to activate Mount Doom when the volcano was Sauron's lair. Yet, the whole thing would line up if Halbrand was Sauron. It would mean that he had been pulling the strings all along. For instance, he was the one that pointed the Númenóreans toward the Tower of Ostirith in the first place. Additionally, as Reddit user RealDFaceG pointed out, Halbrand was just "declared king of the Southlands/Mordor, and now that Mt. Doom exists he can use its flame to make his ring… And no one will question him because he’s in charge as far as they’re concerned." Maybe it's all a ruse, and someone else will be Sauron -- but the evidence is compelling. Halbrand could very well be Sauron.

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power streams Fridays on Prime Video.