Every character inThe Lord of the Ringshas an origin story. From Galadriel to Elrond, Gandalf to Treebeard. Thanks to the richness of the Tolkien universe, fans have the luxury of combing through their favorite character’s history to find out what makes them tick, what motivates them, where they’re from, and where the allegiances lie.The same can be said for Sauron(a.k.a. the Dark Lord, Gorthaur the Cruel)who didn’t start out as an eyeball in a tower. He even once took physical form (an attractive one at that) and used his talents for manipulation and seduction to usher in some of the most devastating events on Middle Earth.
In Amazon’s new series,The Rings of Power, showrunners Patrick McKay and JD Payne have revealed that the new plotlines will feature “the rise of Sauron himself when he was a physical villain.” They’ve also teased that fans may not know Sauron when they see him right away. This could mean a couple of things, especially when considering that Sauron in the Second Age still has the ability to alter his appearance at will; the first being that Sauron will be introduced as he is inThe Simarillion. In the book, Sauron appears at the elven city of Lindon as a Maiar by the name of Anatar, the Lord of Gifts, taking the appearance of a handsome high elf. This is the most likely scenario, however, the writer may have decided to also have Sauron take on another unknown appearance, which will likely be revealed later in the series.
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Regardless of how Sauron is revealed inThe Rings of Power, Tolkien’s works detail many events in the Second Age that not only include Sauron but often center him as the primary antagonist. By looking through this material, fans can gain a greater understanding of Sauron, his motivations, allegiances, strengths, and weaknesses.
When analyzing such a crucial character, it is best to start at the beginning. Sauron is a being as old as the world itself, a Maiar who was corrupted by Melkor and became his primary servant and Lieutenant. After Melkor’s defeat, all his servants, including Sauron, are summoned back to Valinor. Sauron however, stays in the East, amassing his strength with a strong hatred towards the Valar and the Elves. This hatred is the motivation behind many of his manipulations in the Second Age, some of which we will likely see inThe Rings of Power.
After raising massive armies in the East for his conquest of Middle Earth, Sauron befriended the elves of Eregion and showed them how to craft the Rings of Power, alongside other skills in art and magic. These rings included 3 for the elves, 7 for the dwarves, and 9 for men alongside the One Ring,which he forged in secret. Fortunately for the elves, and thanks largely to the wisdom of Galadriel, Elrond, and Gil-galad, they remained uncorrupted once Sauron started using the One Ring and hid the 3 rings of power from Sauron. The bears of the other 16 however, weren’t so lucky.
Sauron was angered that he was unable to claim the 3 elvish rings and came against them in open war, adopted the name of the Dark Lord of Mordor, and completed construction of Barad-dûr. However, even Sauron was unable to compete with the armies of the Númenóreans, who defeated him and took him as a hostage back to Númenór.
Unbeknownst to the Númenóreans, this is exactly what Sauron wanted. He took a form that was appealing to Ar-Pharazôn, the King of Númenór, and went from prisoner to advisor of the King in a matter of years. Sauron was also able toset up a Temple of Melkor, using religion to tempt Númenóreans to worship Melkor with the promise of saving them from their own mortality.
Through his position of influence and years of manipulation, Sauron was finally able to convince the Númenóreans to attack the Valinor. This, however, was a terrible idea for, when faced with an assault on their homeland, the Valar appealed to Eru Ilúvatar who promptly destroyed the armada, and reshaped the world so that only Elven ships could reach the far West. This conflict also destroyed Sauron’s ability to take an appealing physical form. Weakened, but not dead, he fled into the East with the One Ring to regain his strength.
From here, the story is familiar, as much of it is portrayed in Peter Jackson’sThe Lord of the Ringstrilogy. During the Last Alliance of Elves and Men, Isildur, a descendant of Númenór through his father, Elendil, cuts the One Ring from Sauron’s hand, once again destroying his body and causing him to flee. This is when Sauron becomes the famous eyeball in the towerand is eventually destroyedwhen Frodo and Sam cast the One Ring into the pits of Mount Doom.
Sauron’s life, from beginning to end, is onefraught with conflict, seduction, and manipulation. This, along with his epic machinations in the Second Age, makes him one of the most exciting and anticipated characters to be revealed inThe Rings of Power. Fans who know his history will be looking for his underlying manipulations in events like the Fall of Númenór and the Last Alliance of Elves and Men. That said, Sauron’s talent for manipulation and subtlety, along with his ability to shapeshift will make his character keep viewers guessing from episode to episode.
