I suspect they would have asked permission and ponied up some money if required. It's the sort of thing production companies do regularly. Sometimes it's useful to have your IP advertised in this way provided it's not being denigrated.
Think Halbrand may be a red herring. Either he or Theo will end up as the Witch King of Angmar. Sauron, i guess will be either Meteor Man or Waldreg. What speaks for Waldreg is that he's a very manipulative guy, apparently at least very loyal to Sauron's side. And the way his voice changed, when he said Sauron's name.
Nah, Waldreg is just a servant. Besides, why would Sauron pretend to be a bartender in some backwater?
He let himself taken in chains as a captive to Numenor to corrupt Ar-Pharazon and the entire kingdom, in the Silmarillion. So i doubt it would be beneath him to take on the form of a simple bartender/ butcher. And the voice change implied imho that he isn't really a mortal man but a more powerful entity in disguise...
If Halbrand is Sauron and he stays on Númenor to corrupt Pharazôn, that would go against canon as @Unimatrix Q states. Sauron had the One Ring to aid him in that endeavour and he was not in disguise at that point. I'd prefer that the show retained the order of some events, even if it compresses the timeline. I very much doubt Waldreg is Sauron as he knew perfectly well where the broken Morgul blade was hidden. Why would he be so careless as to let a village youth steal it? What does he gain by hiding out with a bunch of helpless humans anyway? Shouldn't he be looking for a way to increase his strength by forging the Rings of Power - say, by chasing down smithing facilities?
I very much expect to see a pissed off Halbrand being dragged back to the Southlands by Galadriel next week.
Could imagine that he wanted Theo to become eventually be corrupted by the Morgul Blade, before going on his quest to forge the rings. Perhaps he will be captured during the intervention of Galadriel and the Numenoreans in the following episode(s)...
Yes, but that's for Númenor. Waldreg is in some backwater of little to no importance. Yes, the Southlands are destined to be Mordor but he would be better suited to begin that transformation as Adar than as Waldreg. But why? Theo is just some boy.
Adar is way too friendly to the Orcs to be Sauron. Especially as he wouldn't have a need to play nice to those he has already enslaved. As for Theo, it might have something to do with his bloodline. If Halbrand is his father or related to him, he may not know that he's still alive.
Ehhh...lots of unnecessary supposition to make any kind of narrative of sense. Too much bending over backwards to make it work and only for the sole purpose of a Big Surprise. Waldreg is just as likely as being Sauron as my mad Adar, Halbrand, and The Stranger are all different aspects of Sauron theory being right.
I wonder now, if it's possible for Sauron as a Maiar to split himself into more than one form. In this case, Meteor Man as well as Waldreg, Halbrand and Adar are all aspects of Sauron. Maybe it's one of the abilities he'll lose when Numenor drowns...
Maia - the plural form is Maiar. Splitting into multiple entities isn't a bad idea but I know of no precedent in Tolkien's writings - plenty by other writers and in other media, of course.
Yep, of course it's Maia. By the way, it could possibly help to explain Gandalf's cryptic remarks, when he returned in The Two Towers, that he as Gandalf The White is not the exactly the same person as Gandalf The Grey.
Gandalf's cryptic remark is about he being reborn and therefore literally not the same person as before.
I assume Gandalf's spirit passed through the Halls of Mandos, where he was given a powerup by the Valar. I think his body remained the same. Of course, he was originally the Maia named Olórin, a servant of Eru's secret fire.
"Secret fire"? Well, lah-di-dah...isn't he Mr. Hoity-Toity? Most of us mere mortals have to make do with plain ole' BIC lighters and charcoal briquettes.
Ever since the Witcher S1 I always keep in the back of mind until explicitly proven otherwise the possibility that separate stories and areas may be taking place in different times
Well, the falling meteor at the end of episode 1 was seen by a lot of characters from different plotlines, so I think it's pretty safe to say they're all supposed to happen relatively simultaneously.
Or that's what they want you to think and then we find out the other meteors were sent at different times...