Summary
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerfaced controversy for its portrayal of its titular character, Sauron, and it looks likeThe Rings of Powerseason 2will be strengthening its position further.The Rings of Poweremerged in 2022 as the first on-screen adaptation of legendary fantasy pioneer J.R.R. Tolkien’s seminalThe Lord of the Ringslegendarium since Peter Jackson’s famous movies. The show has the rights to adaptThe Lord of the Ringsand its appendices andThe Hobbit, which focus on the Third Age, and its portrayal ofSauron was contradictory of source material for some Tolkien fans.
The Rings of Powerseason 1 ending explainedthat the original character introduced throughout season 1, Halbrand, was in fact Sauron in disguise over the course of all eight episodes. This mystery box writing revealed an invention on the show’s part - Tolkien never described Sauron taking a human form called Halbrand. However, Sauron did have a body at the time. Themystery box writing also deceived the audience as to Halbrand’s true identity along with Galadriel, necessitating a controversial ennoblement of Sauron so that he could appear as a sympathetic main character of the show. Season 2 is gearing up to expand this thread.
The Rings of Power’s Unseen Realm Explained
The Unseen realm and the powers drawn from it will play a huge part in Rings of Power Season 2 since the Stranger and Ringwraiths are tied to it.
Expect Sauron To Continue Justifying His Actions In The Rings Of Power Season 2
The Rings Of Power Is Sauron’s Origin Story
The Rings of Powerseason 1 showed Sauron sympatheticallyand explained his actions, and it looks like season 2 is doubling down on this divisive strategy.Audiences learned a lot about Sauron, and many came to like him in his undercover Halbrand form. However, the season 1 finale also intriguingly showed Sauron openly trying to sell in his agenda for world domination to Galadriel, after she discovered his identity. It was interesting to see what events looked like to Sauron, and audiences can expect more of this in season 2, with it being “an origin story for Sauron” (viaThe Hollywood Reporter).
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerseason 2 will come out on June 03, 2025.
Sauron was a remote force of evil in Tolkien’s work, with little insight given to his thoughts or feelings, which is why some Tolkien fans liked Peter Jackson’s portrayal of Sauron as a faceless, fiery eye, casting its controlling scrutiny over all of Middle-earth. Literally humanizing Sauron inThe Rings of Power, and showing him explaining his actions, could make him a less scary villain. But while Jackson’s Eye was unfounded canonically,Sauron’s fair formis, sothe show won’t be backing down from its physical incarnation of Sauron, or his voice, any time soon.
The Rings Of Power Season 2’s Trailer Shows How Sauron Will Justify Being Evil
The Rings Of Power Season 2 Dropped Its Full Trailer
Despite a teaser trailer, a behind-the-scenes trailer, and an SDCC trailer,The Rings of Powerseason 2 dropped a final and tantalizing full trailer showing more of Sauron’s villainous grandstanding.The Rings of Powerseason 2 trailer mentions Sauron’s Eyeand shows Sauron’s interactions with Celebrimbor, among other thought-provoking developments ofLord of the Ringslore. Sauron’s first physical form, Halbrand, appears in the trailer, as well as his new “fair form” ofSilmarillionfame, so clearly both will say their piece inThe Rings of Powerseason 2.
Celebrimbor has been deceived in the trailer by Sauron’s illusions, thinking himself clean and well-kept when he suddenly realizes he is a mess, looking in the mirror. He implores Sauron for answers, asking “what have you done to me” and “who are you, truly?” After this,Sauron says to Celebrimbor “I am the one keeping the storm at bay.” This marks a development from his response to Galadriel in the season 1 final, when she asked the same question (“I have been awake since before the breaking of the first silence”). Sauron’s rings prevent the Elves' fading, so perhaps his narcissism and self-importance have grown.
Did Sauron Justify His Actions In Tolkien’s Lord Of The Rings Books?
Tolkien Explained Sauron More Than Sauron
Sauron had little dialogue in Tolkien’s legendarium, discountingThe Lay of Leithianwhere he sang a whole epic poem, of course. Evidently, Tolkien’s work crossed formats in a delicious complication of genre and character expectations, butthere is not much evidence to suggest how Sauron would go about justifying his horrific actionsto his opponents. Sauron is an important villain in literature, so the show’s depiction of him matters, showing this story to a new generation of Tolkien fans and sharing an important message about the need to oppose tyranny. As such, creating original dialogue for Sauron has inevitable risk.
Sauron justifying his actions in season 1 will evidently develop in season 2, with an eventual reveal ofSauron’s full plan. Gone is the amoral, mysterious Sauron ofLord of the Rings,and here is the personified evil ofThe Silmarillionand, perhaps, even earlier work likeThe Lay of Leithian.Despite the lack of dialogue the show has to build on, it can riff off Sauron “bearing [Galadriel’s] scorn with outward patience and courtesy” in Eregion inUnfinished Talesand Sauron’s song of “piercing, opening, of treachery” inThe Lay of Leithian, and off Tolkien’s own descriptions of Sauron.
Sauron’s support of Morgoth’s mindless destruction of Middle-earth, his torture of Galadriel’s brother and his companions and sadistic cruelty toward Gorlim all point toward a man already well on his way to self-delusion.
Tolkien said thatSauron had “fair motives” at least at the start of the Second Age, seeking “the reorganising and rehabilitation of the ruin of Middle-earth, ‘neglected by the gods’.” Sauron’s support of Morgoth’s mindless destruction of Middle-earth, his torture of Galadriel’s brother and his companions and sadistic cruelty toward Gorlim all point toward a man already well on his way to self-delusion about his superiority and his end justifying his means. It will be hard forThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerto capture the complexity of Sauron’s psychology, but its attempt may just make for some very entertaining TV.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Cast
Set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power explores the forging of the iconic rings, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, and the epic events leading up to the stories in J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic novels. The series chronicles the creation of legendary characters and the historic alliances and rivalries that shape the fate of Middle-earth.
