Why Does Sauron Look Different in The Rings of Power Season 2?

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has been the center of a lot of debate among fans of Middle-Earth over the last few years. Following its debut season in 2022, many fans were divided over the show and the approach that it takes to adapt the work of author J.R.R. Tolkien. Notably, this new Prime Video series was not connected to the previous six Lord of the Rings and Hobbit films that had been directed by Peter Jackson. Instead, this series is set in an entirely disconnected continuity, and its story takes place during the Second Age, thousands of years before the adventures of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins.

Now that the second season of The Rings of Power has been confirmed to debut at the end of this summer, fans are gearing up to enter Middle-Earth once again. The first trailer is very Sauron-heavy, but the villain takes on a different look this time, as his appearance is much more akin to that of an Elf. While this may initially confuse anyone unfamiliar with the character’s history, this change indicates that The Rings of Power may shift toward a much more faithful adaptation of Tolkien’s writings.

Halbrand and The Rings of Power Season One

One of the biggest points of contention among fans regarding the first season of The Rings of Power was its depiction of the franchise’s most iconic villain, Sauron. Much of the story revolved around the mystery of Sauron’s return, as major characters like Galadriel believed his evil was at work in Middle-Earth again, though there was no explicit proof of this as of yet. This encouraged viewers of the series to speculate and theorize how the Dark Lord would finally unveil himself. Eventually, the season finale confirmed that Halbrand, the mysterious (supposedly royal) man traveling with Galadriel, was secretly Sauron.

Halbrand had been an entirely original character created for The Rings of Power. Played by Charlie Vickers, the character was largely seen as the show’s version of an Aragorn-like character, as he was a rough-around-the-edges kind of protagonist who was apprehensive to ascend to the throne he supposedly inherited. He and Galadriel were brought together by the sea, as she found him adrift after she abandoned her journey to Valinor. Together, they were picked up by the seafaring men of Númenor and subsequently spent much of the season together on the island kingdom of men, learning about its culture and views on the world. Eventually, they returned to Middle-Earth with a fleet of Númenorean ships to fight the growing evils found in the Southlands.

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The end-season revelation that Halbrand was Sauron in disguise wasn’t the biggest surprise. That idea was already a prominent theory floating around, though it was far from the only one. The season ends with Halbrand assisting Celebrimbor in forging the first three Rings of Power, which would go on to belong to the Elves. After Galadriel deciphers Halbrand’s real identity, they have a climactic confrontation before Sauron leaves Eregion and returns to Mordor. While this story from Season 1 strayed from the outline provided in Tolkien’s books a fair amount, it did still stay true to much of the spirit of the original writing.

The Rings of Power and Annatar in Eregion

Although Sauron returned to Mordor at the end of the first season of The Rings of Power, the trailer for Season 2 shows him in Eregion once again. This time, he is not there in the form of the man Halbrand, instead existing in the much fairer form of an Elf, complete with long blonde hair and pointed ears. Charlie Vickers reprises the role, looking wholly transformed from his more grizzled appearance as Halbrand in Season 1. While this has resulted in more than a small number of wig jokes online, it also brings to life one of the most famous appearances of Sauron in Tolkien’s books.

If you followed any of the major theories surrounding the first season of The Rings of Power, you likely heard (or read) the name Annatar more than a couple of times. In Tolkien’s original text, Annatar is the name Sauron took when he disguised himself as an Elf living in Eregion. Under this name, Sauron gained the trust of many of the most crucial and powerful Elves living at the time, including Celebrimbor. It was Annatar that convinced Celebrimbor and the Elves to forge all 19 of the Great Rings – three for the Elves, seven for the Dwarves, and nine for Men. After this, Sauron forged the One Ring to take control over all the others.

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While we have already seen the forging of the three Elven rings at the end of the first season of The Rings of Power, many more are still yet to be made. It’s possible that Sauron will consider his work in Eregion to be unfinished in Season 2, as Galadriel perceived him before he could fully enact his plan. This would explain why he returns to Eregion under a different and more trustworthy name. As an Elf by the name of Annatar, Sauron can stoke Celebrimbor’s vanity and encourage him to forge the rest of the Rings of Power.

The Rings of Power Could Be Shifting Its Approach to Tolkien

The lack of Annatar in the first season of The Rings of Power was a major sticking point for a lot of Tolkien fans. Many viewed Sauron’s new visage of Halbrand as a half-baked replacement for the idea. In turn, they wrote off the show as one that needlessly changes the story originally laid out by the Lord of the Rings author. While The Rings of Power certainly has some substantial departures from the source material, we don’t view this as a particularly bad thing. Any adaptation of a story from one medium to another will necessitate some degree of change, and the changes seen in the first season of The Rings of Power almost all benefited the material as it was presented in the Prime Video series.

The outcry from fans regarding these changes was pretty widespread, though, and it would not be a surprise if the showrunners (J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay) shifted their approach to Season 2 as a result. It is clear that the creative team is looking to win back some of the Lord of the Rings fans that they may have lost with Season 1. By leading off the marketing for this second season with this intensive focus on Sauron and Annatar, they are making a transparent declaration that they are still dedicated to telling Tolkien’s story with respect to how it originally unfolded.

Whether they should or not, the creatives behind The Rings of Power appear to cater to the demands of hardcore Lord of the Rings fans with Season 2 of The Rings of Power. Given the divided reaction to the debut season, we can’t blame them too harshly for shifting their approach. It’s a smart move, especially as WB Discovery is gearing up to relaunch its own Lord of the Rings film franchise to compete directly with what Amazon is doing with The Rings of Power.

Regardless, after a long break following the release of the Hobbit trilogy, fans of The Lord of the Rings are at least receiving new material they can engage with and talk about. It may not please everyone, but that is an increasingly impossible task. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is streaming now on Prime Video. Season 2 is set to release on August 29, 2024.