The Rings of Power: Sauron is Winking at Us

It was the final revelation of the first season. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power cultivated the mystery for as long as possible, multiplying the false leads. Adar, The Stranger… The narration of the series dangled a revelation concerning Sauron for nearly eight episodes before making his double identity official through a confrontation with Galadriel. Halbrand, who presented himself as the King of the South Lands, was in fact the disciple of Morgoth that the elf had been tracking for millennia. Charlie Vickers can finally truly rub shoulders with the emblematic antagonist. The shadow that hovers over Middle-earth in Jackson's trilogy, having only a few minutes to illustrate itself in the history of pop culture, will now be flesh and blood on Prime Video.

Without his armor and his eye, Sauron will evolve among humans, elves and orcs. For the creators of the series as well as the actor, this second season is so an unparalleled challenge. The trio will have to honor Tolkien's imagination, to give body to this evil being while delivering a show that lives up to the promise. No longer a question of being satisfied with just a few sequences here and there, the series takes hold of the character head on.

The epicenter of season 2

For the creators, this season is more than ever about the character's personality. Patrick McKay and John D. Payne promise that this salvo of episodes “will be his”that there will be many sequences concerning him. The two creators add:

“He has no army, no allies, and no rings. The only thing he has is his cunning. We're really going to start to understand how he goes about opposing his enemies. He's going to set the Orcs in motion here, and the Elves there. As the title of the series suggests, his goal is to forge rings of power. And for that, he needs only one person: Celebrimbor.”

They admit that this attention paid to his journey somewhat changes the tone of the story, this season is much darker than the previous one. It is also a major challenge for the series which must immortalize his rise to power to better prepare his fall.

A matter of nuances

His brief appearances on screen have made Sauron a character as mysterious as he is captivating. While Tolkien's works are not short on information about his past and motivations, viewers should finally have a chance to discover more. For Charlie Vickersthis season is an opportunity to confront a new score and show his character in a new light. At a press conference, the British actor explained his motivations:

“He’s trying to do good, or what he thinks is good. I admit he’s not a good guy, but he has the intention to heal, reorganize and rehabilitate Middle Earth. That’s where his evil comes from. I’m simply playing his intention, and all the evil traits that emerge are a consequence of that intention. He wants, with these rings, to make everyone live and work in harmony, the condition is that it has to be done under his control. Any tyrant will always have a good reason to be one.”

Charlie Vickers clarifies that The Rings of Power exploits the dark parts left by Tolkien's story. This is particularly true concerning his attempt at redemption after the fall of Morgoth. In The Silmarillonthe author maintains the mystery as to his true intentions. “Some argue that it was not a feint, at least not at first.”. The series will have to make a choice, present it in all its evil or opt for a less Manichean approach. The fact remains that the Prime Video series must not fall into the explanation of the text, take care of its writing to echo Tolkien's writings.

The story will also draw parallels between the paths of Sauron and Galadriel. After the confrontation in episode 8 of the first season, the two characters will continue to evolve at a moderate distance. “They represent good and evil in this story, they will always be intrinsically linked because of the events of the first season. I think rejection is Sauron's driving force in the same way that humiliation is Galadriel's.”

See you from August 29 on Prime Video to discover the first three episodes of this season 2. Then, the series will adopt the rhythm of one episode per week until its conclusion five weeks later. The platform has no right to make a mistake, many viewers have not finished the first batch of episodes.

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