Warning, the following are spoilers for the finale of The Rings of Power: Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series revealed Sauron’s true identity on Prime Video* in Episode 8 of Season 1: Disguised as Halbrand, her enemy has been at Galadriel’s side all along. So was he a master manipulator from the start? Not necessarily. The Dark Lord’s actor, Charlie Vickers, has now revealed that it is 2 different readings for Sauron’s story are.
1.) The Rings of Power declares Sauron the master of manipulation
The first way to understand Sauron’s appearance in Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series is also the simplest, as Sauron actor Charlie Vickers explains to the New York Times:
If we see Sauron’s Repentance as drama, will [seine Geschichte in der Serie] more to one illusion. The misleading power Galadriel to his instrumentto get where he wants to be. […] She knows the right people. She takes him to the right places.
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The Rings of Power: Sauron is Evil
According to this interpretation, all the little hints that Halbrand Sauron is just breadcrumbs of his wickedness: he made his return to Middle-earth planned from the start and all arranged in such a way that the “King of the Southlands” emerges from Season 1 with Númenor friends and ring-forging Elven allies. But there is a second interpretation to understand Sauron’s actions.
2.) Lord of the Rings villain Sauron as a remorseful, backsliding power junkie
In a more complex interpretation of his motives, Sauron’s attempt to dem heir to his fallen evil tutor Morgothnot a mere lie to win Galadriel’s pity.
The Rings of Power showrunners John D. Payne and Patrick McKay spoke about the fact that they Sauron as “power addict” for whom control of Middle-earth was like a drug he might be trying to get off. In this case, according to Charlie Vickers, Galadriel becomes Sauron’s snare:
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The Lord of the Rings: Halbrand as a Remorseful Sauron?
If we Sauron as honestly remorseful read, who wants to escape his dark path and live modestly, Galadriel draws him unintentionally back to power. In the forge [auf Númenor] she tells him: “There is no peace here” and this scene solidifies in him the thought that for him as a normal person there really can be no peace. His peace is power.
Besides that Sauron does not see himself as a villain. After all, he wants to bring order to Middle-earth. Even if he doesn’t differentiate between “healing” and “control” as long as he can enforce his ideas and rule in the end.
The Big Lord of the Rings Question: Which Sauron Reading is Correct?
In fact, Lord of the Rings author JRR Tolkiens never makes it absolutely clear whether Sauron’s motives were “good” in the meantime. In the chapter The Rings of Power in The Silmarillion*, the fantasy writer stops Sauron’s improvement deliberately ambivalent:
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Like all Dark Side Maiar (including the Balrogs), Sauron was good from the start and was tempted into evil by Melkor (aka Morgoth). He became his most faithful servant, but after the fall of his master he surrendered to the good: “Some believethat the renunciation of evil was not in deceit, but that Sauron was truly repentant, if only out of fear […].”
To truly prove his good intentions, Sauron would have had to come before the Valar in Valinor and would likely have been humiliated and stripped of his power as punishment. So instead he hid in Middle-earth and “turned back to evil”. But because Tolkien is inconclusive on the credibility of this lore, we’ll have to wait for Season 2 to see more of the backstory of Amazon’s film adaptation Sauron as a complex villain to experience.
The Power Rings: Lord of the Rings Series Finale Podcast with Season 2 Outlook
In the grand finale of Episodes 7 and 8, Amazon’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power solves the greatest mysteries of Season 1. We discuss the revelations and take a look ahead at what promises the show is already making for Season 2.
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From hidden Lord of the Rings references to promised new characters joining Galadriel and Sauron, we take a close look at the season ending, covering the best and worst moments alike.
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How did you read Sauron as Lord of the Rings villain after The Rings of Power season finale?