In Middle Earth, not everyone is what they claim to be. This can apply to radiant, angelic figures as well as to tough raft acquaintances – and in the case of Annatar from Season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is extremely dangerous.
The self-proclaimed Lord of Gifts is anything but a good-natured envoy from the heavenly continent of Valinor, who has come to share his extensive knowledge with the elf smith Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards).
Dangerous Lord of the Rings label fraud: Annatar is Sauron in seductive form
The cunning sorcerer Sauron can take many formsAs we see at the beginning of the second season of The Rings of Power, after the fall of the dark ruler Morgoth he took the form of an elf-like man (Jack Lowden) before he was killed and took on the face of the human-looking Halbrand (Charlie Vickers). In this form he even deceived the elf general Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) by posing as the heir to the throne of the Southlands, which later became Mordor.
The many forms of the Lord of the Rings villain Sauron:
After Halbrand revealed himself to Galadriel at the end of the first season, Celebrimbor told him not to trust his clever co-smith any longer. But Sauron needs more rings than just the three of the Elves for his diabolical plan to enslave them all and drive them into darknessFor this reason, in season 2 he claims to be Annatar, sent by the divine Valar, in an elf-like form with long blond hair. This is how he flatters the ambitious blacksmith in order to wrap him around his dark finger.
The Valar are the 14 sub-gods of the creation pantheon of the god of creation Eru Ilúvatar, according to fantasy author JRR Tolkien. Their messengers and representatives in Middle Earth include Maiar called beings, which also include the Istari named wizards like Gandalf. The dark lord Morgoth (originally Melkor) was a contrarian Valar who opposed the Harmony during the Song of Creation and thus created all evil such as Balrogs and giant spiders. Sauron was a Maiar in his service.
Amazon
Annatar and Celebrimbor
In the original texts of Tolkien’s legendarium, Sauron as Annatar was not involved in the forging of the three Elven rings. Did he nevertheless corrupt them in the series as Halbrand in order to subjugate them at the end with the One Ring? This question resonates in the new episodes and, in addition to Galadriel, mainly concerns Elrond (Robert Aramayo) and his mentor, the wise Elven shipbuilder Cirdan (Ben Daniels).
When will The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power continue on Amazon?
New episodes from the second season of The Rings of Power are now available every Thursday at AmazonThe fourth episode will go online on September 5th, the season finale (episode 8) on October 3rd. In total, there will be five seasons telling the story of the Second Age of Middle Earth.
The anime film The Lord of the Rings: The Battle of the Rohirrim, for which the trailer was only recently released, will be released in cinemas on December 12, 2024.
The Rings of Power is back: Is Season 2 of the Lord of the Rings series worth watching?
After a two-year break, Amazon’s big fantasy series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is back. We discuss what makes Season 2 different and whether the first three episodes are convincing.
At this point you will find external content that supplements the article. You can display it and hide it again with one click.
After the revelation of the villain Sauron, the cards in Middle Earth are reshuffled. Esther and Mario view the result of the second season with very different perspectives. A spoiler-free first podcast part is followed by a series review with a more in-depth Lord of the Rings analysis.