The Rings of Power: A brief look on Sauron
... and why Amazon's The Lord of the Rings series just isn't working for me.
There is a lot to be said about badly written dialogue, missing character moments, shallow mysteries and illogical actions. But I want to shine a light on the issues of the show by focusing on the character of Sauron in the first season.
[spoiler warnings]
Sauron's introduction
We as the audience first hear of Sauron when Galadriel tells us about him in the prologue of episode 1. He is briefly shown in his dark-lord-look, and that's officially all we see of him for a while.
Without knowing (theoretically), we meet him again in episode 2 under the name of Halbrand, when Galadriel coincidentally comes across his path in the middle of the ocean. He saves Galadriel from drowning, the two get picked up by the Númenoréan ship, and eventually the reach Númenor. Halbrand gives the impression to be happy there, and he wants to stay and start a new life, leaving his dark past behind. Galadriel however convinces him that he should join her on her quest to Middle-earth. Halbrand eventually agrees, so they end up fighting against the Orcs in soon-to-be-renamed-into-Mordor, and witness the erruption of the Orodruin. In the aftermath, Halbrand is hurt and Galadriel takes him to Eregion for healing. There he assists Celebrimbor a bit with the issue of combining mithril with gold and silver in order to create powerful Rings. Galadriel then realises that he is Sauron, and when confronted about it he offers her to rule together with him over Middle-earth, but in a "good" way. She refuses, and Sauron threatens her and leaves.
In this story the showrunners have hidden two possible arcs for Sauron as a character, but both possible interpretations contradict each other. But because both appear at different times, they also hinder each other in consistency, and as a result the character of Sauron falls apart.
The Redemption Arc
"And I knew if ever I was to be forgiven... That I had to heal everything that I had helped ruin."
Sauron being haunted by his past – allegedly.
One version of Sauron's story goes like this: he truly regrets what he did in the past, and is now trying to get away from it. This is who Halbrand seems to be and what he presents to Galadriel: someone burdened by the past, with a real fear that he can never be forgiven for his crimes.
This version of Sauron truly hides who he is because he is an enemy to everyone. In this version he really wants to stay on Númenor because he believes in a new and simple beginning. His hesitance when Galadriel tells him to join her is real, as is the scene where he first puts the crest down on the table, before he changes his mind and grabs it.
And when Galadriel eventually tells him "Whatever it was he did to you, and whatever it was you did... Be free of it", it really means something to him. In this arc, her encouragement lets him believe he really has something to contribute to the world, to right his wrongs. It's why he offers Galadriel a place at his side.
Sauron hoping for redemption – allegedly.
And this Sauron, with his fragile ego, imediately falls back into old habits and turns dark again when Galadriel turns him down. With his repentance rejected, he starts to resent Galadriel, and the chance for redemption is lost.
In this version of Sauron's story, none of the events have been planned by Sauron. He is relucant and only gets involved because Galadriel involves him in this again and again. In this version what he says about himself and what he presents to everyone as Halbrand is honest.
The Master Manipulator Arc
"In an instance like this, it seems to me that you'd do well to identify what it is that your opponent most fears. [...] Give them a means of mastering it. So that you can master them."
Sauron having a good time.
The other version is a very different story: in this, there are no coincidences. In this version, Sauron manipulates everyone in a way that will eventually lead towards his goals, whatever they may be.
So it's not by chance then that Galadriel crosses his path in the middle of the ocean. Getting to Númenor is also part of the calculation, and on Númenor he gently directs Galadriel in a way that she can win the queen's favour. He pretends to regret things in his past and to stay on Númenor (and maybe at first he wants to in order to then corrupt the Númenóreans), but he will eventually agree to come with Galadriel to Middle-earth.
Adar may or may not be part of his plan, but he certainly doesn't mind his actions. The wound Halbrand-Sauron has after the erruption of the volcano could even be self-inflicted, to convince Galadriel that she has to take him to Eregion. How much is planned when it comes to Eregion is hard to say, because we have no real knowledge about the origin of the tree darkening. In any case, Sauron takes the opportunities as they present themselves, and uses them to his advantages – he gains influence over Celebrimbor, and has some part in the creation of his rings.
Sauron returning to the dark land that apparently came to be without his help.
In this version, Sauron's words are mostly manipulation, not honesty. If he is implementing his plans, he has to use the people around him and has to deceive them to get them to where he wants them to be.
This version of the story is more difficult to see, because the manipulation – by nature – cannot be as obvious as what he pretends to be. But we see it in the advice he gives Galadriel in the cell about mastering the fears of others. And it's most prominent in his reaction to Galadriel figuring out who he is – he is not scared of being "cast out" as he seemed in Númenor. And although he still gets angry when Galadriel rejects his offer, in this story the reason is rather because she rejects his vision, not his chance for redemption.
The Atoner vs The Liar
These two character arcs are different interpretations of the same story. Both are possible, and at first this sounds like a fascinating situation: a character that could go either way, presenting many different options on how the story could continue.
And they truly can't be mixed: the whole point of Sauron's atoner arc is that he is honest, and for the liar arc the opposite is the case. Atoner-Sauron cannot plan anything in advance, because he has to go through an emotional journey – only slowly and thanks to Galadriel he develops the belief that he can do good in Middle-earth by ruling it. Liar-Sauron already has the aim to rule Middle-earth, he just has to move forward slowly and carefully to get what he wants.
For now the season doesn't give a definite answer on what version the correct one is, but most likely it will be revealed in a later season.
Sauron simply walking into Mordor.
So, what's the problem with either of these versions? I feel like they try to aim for both versions at the same time, and this just doesn't work.
Sauron as The Atoner fails to be a calculating, powerful villain. This Sauron has just been hiding, and hasn't really done anything and so far hasn't been much of a threat.
The creation of Mordor happened because of Adar and the Orcs, and Sauron had no hand in it.
The creation of the first Rings of Power wasn't part of his plan either, and anything he later does with the One Ring in regards to them is purely coincidence – it couldn't have been planned, because Sauron never intended for the Elves to create the rings.
His reaction on seeing Adar – if it's an honest reation – makes it seem like Adar was indeed able to hurt Sauron in a serious way. This weakens Sauron even further.
Sauron's attempt at redemption is given up too quickly. His change back to the dark side after this only seems to come from the rejection of a woman, which is a weak motive for the Dark Lord in Middle-earth.
Another important point to consider is the reduced timeline: if Sauron has been honest and "harmless" so far, his rise and fall as a Dark Lord won't last long – anyone who has read the books or seen Peter Jackson's movies knows that the players to end his reign are already in place.
And of course, this honest Sauron would not be the deceiver as the showrunners have described him in their interviews.
Furthermore, in the case of Sauron as The Atoner, Galadriel is indeed the one who has rejected his plea for redemption. This is not a storytelling-issue in itself, but has huge implications for her character and everything that follows in this Age and the following one. It irrevocably sorts her into a group with the likes of Túrin Turambar, and not a group with people like Gandalf, Faramir, Aragorn or Frodo.
Sauron as The Liar creates a character that doesn't exist. While Halbrand would be a character that Sauron has made up in order to fool everybody, her also told a story to the audience that wouldn't actually matter. The man lost at sea, the man with the dark past regretting his crimes, the man hoping for redemption – in this version there is no origin story here, not as the showrunners intended.
If we are supposed to believe that he has planned many things in advance, and has deceived everyone to further his own goals, then his strategy still depends on many many coincidences and contrivances:
Meeting Galadriel: he coldn't have known that Galadriel would jump from her ship.
Galadriel's demands in Númenor: he couldn't have planned for Galadriel to realise what the mark means and where it's located
Galadriel declaring him King of the Southlands: he also couldn't have planned for Galadriel to decide that his sigil meant he was King of the Southland, and that she wanted him to come back to Middle-earth.
While he could have had his hands in the erruption of Orodruin and could have faked his wound, he couldn't be certain that Galadriel would take him to Eregion on a ride that should have killed every actual mortal being.
Sauron hardly could have forseen the Elves getting mithril from the Dwarves to forge Rings. What happened in Eregion would have been mostly luck on Sauron's part.
In addition, any second attempt to get back to Númenor later on would hardly be an accomplishment – he had been there before after all, and hasn't used that chance.
Conclusion
Real of fake emotion? Was Adar part of Sauron's plan or not? Was he really able to hurt Sauron?
By trying to present Sauron mostly as the Atoner, the show failed to build up the foundations of Sauron as a threat. He hasn't created Mordor, nor were the Rings of Power his idea.
With the lack of focus on a manipulation arc for Sauron, any interpretation of this season in the light of Sauron the Liar struggles to be convincing because too many events in this plotline are purely coincidence. The fact that Sauron had been to Númenor already and that the rings can't have been part of his plan will most likely be a weakness in the storytelling of later seasons.
As so often with this show they may have had some good intentions here – but the execution was not convincing.














