| NOTE: This article is about the version of Sauron from the TV series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. You may be looking for information on his mainstream counterpart or his Peter Jackson counterpart. |
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| “ | In the end, Morgoth would be defeated. But not before much sorrow… for his orcs had spread to every corner of Middle-earth. Multiplying ever greater under the command of his most devoted servant… the cruel and cunning sorcerer. They called him… Sauron. | „ |
| ~ Sauron's introduction. |
| “ | I have been awake since before the breaking of the first silence. In that time… I have had many names. | „ |
| ~ The revelation of "Halbrand's" true nature. |
| “ | I have walked through the dust and the desert of far-away lands, in search of an artist possessing the craft to save all Middle-earth. A storm is coming, Celebrimbor. I can bring you the knowledge none other possesses. I can unlock your grandest abilities. And when our work is complete, never again will the world overlook you as the mere scion of Fëanor but forevermore revere you... The Lord of the Rings. | „ |
| ~ Annatar offering his deal to Celebrimbor. |
Sauron is the main antagonist of the 2022 fantasy TV series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. He is a fallen Maia that became a devoted servant of Morgoth. Following Morgoth's defeat, Sauron took his place as the Dark Lord and assumed command of his army.
Years later in the Second Age of Middle-earth, Sauron assumed the guise known as Halbrand and posed himself to be the forgotten heir of the Southlands. He would eventually meet with the elf known as Galadriel and become an ally of hers throughout her journey, intending to make her his queen so that they could rule Middle-earth together. He went on to pose as Annatar and won Celebrimbor's trust accordingly.
As Halbrand and Annatar, he is portrayed by Charlie Vickers. In a flashback, he is portrayed by Jack Lowden.
Appearance[]
Sauron wears his iconic dark silver armor. During the time of the attempt on his life, he took on a human like form of standard height, long reddish orange hair, and an ornate red robe to match. As the mortal form named "Halbrand", he becomes a captivatingly beautiful young man with silky hair and a matching beard. As Annatar, he takes on a fair elf like form with long shoulder length blonde hair and piercing blue eyes.
Personality[]
Sauron is revered by both his followers and his enemies as a cruel and cunning sorcerer, hellbent on conquering Middle-earth. He does not care about the lives of others except for his own, and as such, everything he does is for himself. He is willing inflict torturous pain and countless deaths on many, including on his own servants, whether to create more powerful creatures for his army or to expand his conquest of Middle-earth. According to Adar, Sauron sees his army as nothing more than pawns for him to dispose of once they've served their purpose. For this, his army follows him not out of loyalty, but out of pure fear and hatred, with some of his followers having turned against him.
As Halbrand, Sauron posed as a gruff yet seemingly humble and charismatic man who was the lost heir to the Southlands. At first, he was skeptical of the elf, Galadriel, but as time went on, he grew to become a close companion of hers and earned her trust, as well as the trust of certain allies that came along the way. He had initially desired to reside in Númenor to make a new life for himself as a smith until he was convinced by Galadriel to retake his supposed place as king.
When his true self is discovered by Galadriel, Sauron claims his goal is to remake Middle-earth into a better world, one that he seeks to heal as an act of atonement for the evil he has done under Morgoth's rule. He also claims to desire Galadriel as a queen, believing the two could accomplish that very goal together, binding her light to him and his power to her. His intentions of doing so are through ruling it as his intended means of "saving it", seeing his mission as being fully justified.
Biography[]
Conquests of the First Age[]
Born countless eons ago, long before the creation of the universe, Sauron, originally known as Mairon, was once the most powerful of the Maiar, divine beings that served as servants of the Valar, the pantheon of gods that would go on to create the world of Middle-earth. Among the Maiar, Mairon was known for his love of order and desire to ensure stability in all things - a trait that would lead to his fall from grace.
During the First Age following the creation of Middle-earth, Mairon was among many Maiar that were swayed into the service of the first Dark Lord, Morgoth, a corrupted Vala who hat rebelled against his creator, Eru Ilúvatar, and sought to enslave the entire world. Seeing potential in Morgoth's conquests to bring about the perfect order and peace he sought for Middle-earth, Mairon pledged his loyalty to the fallen Vala, becoming his most devoted and powerful servant during the War of Wrath. In doing so, Mairon would forever forsake his original name, and adopted a new one that would be known and feared throughout Middle-earth: Sauron.
Succession of Morgoth[]
Sauron ascending as the second Dark Lord before his legions of Orcs.
The War of the Wrath, however, would end in the defeat of Morgoth at the hands of the Valar, while Middle-earth and its peoples were left in ruins. When the war ended, Sauron was guilt-ridden over his role in the destruction he had brought and sought atonement for his misdeeds under Morgoth's rule by “healing” Middle-earth, seeking to unite it entirety in perfect order and harmony, under his rule. To do this, Sauron rallied the remains of his master's Orc armies under his command, and succeeded him as the next Dark Lord of Middle-earth before going into hiding in order to avoid detection from his enemies, namely the elves, as he built the size and strength of his forces.
Shortly after succeeding Morgoth and going into hiding, Sauron would be pursued by the Elvish warrior Finrod, who was determined to end the new threat Sauron posed to Middle-earth. This ultimately ended in Finrod’s death at the hands of Sauron’s orcs, sparking his younger sister Galadriel (Sauron's future archenemy) to carry on her brother's mission and spent centuries searching for Sauron, but never found him. With no trace of him having been found for centuries, most of both the peoples of Middle-earth and the Elvish leadership assumed Sauron to have disappeared for good and ended most of their searching for him, allowing him to escape detection as he continued his plans and built up his forces in secret.
While in hiding, Sauron secretly based himself within a fortress in the frozen lands of Forodwaith that had been previously built by his old master during the war. There he made multiple attempts to craft a new kind of power (early experiments at creating the Rings of Power) which he believed would have the potential of “healing” Middle-earth and uniting it under his rule, thus ensuring his redemption in the eyes of the Valar. These attempts, however, repeatedly ended in failure, all the while he callously sacrificed large numbers of his orc servants during each, earning him the fear and hatred of their surviving kin. This extreme mistreatment eventually resulted in his servant Adar, one of the original Orcs and the "father" of the later generations, rebelling against Sauron, seemingly assassinating him and taking command of the Orc legions that remained.
Impersonating Halbrand[]
Beginning a new agenda[]
Unbeknownst to Adar, however, Sauron managed to survive, though he was left weakened and seemingly trapped in the form of a mortal man. How he faked his death and attained such form along the way were unpleasant; when Adar and his fellow Orcs mutilated him, they only destroyed his lifeless husk that let out a blinding light which turned all of Forodwaith into a frozen wasteland, unaware of the Dark Lord discreetly transferred his soul into black blood spilled from his mangled body which then seeped into a crack in the ground throughout the ordeal. As a sentient mass of black blood, Sauron laid dormant for an unspecified amount time before assimilating unfortunate nsects and rats which got too close to him and made his move. Exiting the cave, he proceeded to slip into a traveler's cart, killing her, and assimilating her remains like he did with vermins he fed on previously, creating a human form with which he assumed the identity of "Halbrand", posing as a lone wanderer from the Southlands who had fled when Adar's forces had invaded the territory.
At some point during his travels in this new disguise, Sauron somehow discovered the remains of the last King of Southlands who had died over 1,000 years before and pilfered his necklace with the kingdom's crest upon it, keeping it for himself. Sometime following this, Sauron gave up on his desire of uniting Middle-earth and achieving redemption for his past actions, instead choosing to flee the Southlands and find some measure of peace away from Middle-earth in a mortal life. To do this, he managed to infiltrate and pose as a member of a group of refugees that were fleeing out to sea in the wake of Adar’s invasion of the Southlands.
Meeting Galadriel[]
Sometime after their departure from Middle-earth, the ship Sauron and the refugees were traveling on was attacked by a sea serpent called "the Worm", leaving him and four others as the only survivors as they drifted on a large raft from the remains of the vessel. As Sauron and the others drifted, they fatefully met with Galadriel, the elvish general who had long been hunting Sauron, as she swam in the ocean. While he was initially skeptical of her, he slowly but surely grew to become a close companion of hers and earn her trust.
Númenor[]
Upon his arrival in Númenor, he desired to make a new life for himself as a smith. However, Galadriel, believing him to be the supposed last survivor of the royal line of the Southlands, convinced him to retake his supposed place as king.
Moving against Adar[]
To be added.
Revelation to Galadriel[]
To be added.
Assimilation of Mordor[]
Following his intense revelation, he returned to the Southlands, which had been recreated into a realm called Mordor, with a volcano named Mount Doom reactivated by water in Orc-created tunnels standing out under a black, lightning-marred sky. Clad in fetching black robes, he gazed upon the hellish landscape and stepped discretely down the charred black hills, intending on ruling his future kingdom and declare war on the Free Peoples. This led him to challenge Adar.
Impersonating Annatar[]
To be added.
Powers and Abilities[]
Powers[]
| “ | These Orcs were meddling with the powers of the unseen world...some dark sorcery of old, but what was their purpose? Even stone cannot hide the mark of one whose very hand is flame unquenched. He was here. Sauron was here. | „ |
| ~ Galadriel |
- Maiar Physiology: As a fallen Maiar and sorcerer, Sauron wields extremely powerful dark magic which he utilizes in order to perform various feats that most races of Middle-earth would perceive as supernatural.
- Shapeshifting: Sauron is a shapeshifter, being able to assume different forms and disguises to suit his needs. After his assassination attempt, he turned into a black blob like creature that grew the more living things it assimilated before finally taking on the guise of Halbrand, a mortal man who was supposedly the long-lost king of the Southlands. It was as Halbrand that Sauron convinced Celebrimbor and the Gwaith-i-Mírdain guild to forge the Rings of Power, as well as manipulate Galadriel into leading him to the elves and later tempting her to rule by his side. He later shape shifted into a fair being called Annatar to trick Celebrimbor further into creating more rings. This extends to even turning into other people such as Galadriel herself and Celebrimbor during his duel with her.He was even able to disguise his black blood into a natural red.
- Telepathy: Sauron is capable of invading the minds of others that are within close proximity to him. While under the guise of Halbrand, he was able to forcefully invade Galadriel’s mind and cast illusions within it in order to deceive her, such as assuming the form of her brother Finrod and making it seem as though she was in Valinor and soon after on the raft where they first met. He later conjured an illusion of a peaceful Erigion to Celebrimbor while it was actually under attack. This also extends to some for of mind control such as when he tried to get Galadriel to give him her ring of power, though she resisted. He was even able to communicate with and control a warg to follow his command and attack the guard while he made his escape from Adar's camp.
- Super-Strength: In his true physical form, Sauron possesses incredible levels of superhuman strength. Even when in his mortal disguise, Sauron has been shown to possess levels of strength far greater than that of a normal human or elf, being able to knock out and leave several Númenóreans bleeding with just a single blow from his fists and later being able to hold off Galadriel as she assaulted him with her dagger, with only one hand, and without any signs of struggling, despite her elvish strength and physiology.
- Super-Durability: Even in his mortal form, Sauron was supernaturally durable. This was demonstrated when Adar stabbed him in the neck with a crown, and the orcs attempted to lynch him. Despite enduring multiple stabs from the orcs, Sauron held out for a while.
- Cryokinesis: Sauron is able to create ice, as he turned all of Forodwaith into a frozen wasteland upon his death.
- Telekinesis: Sauron is able to use telekinesis, as he threw several orcs to defend himself when they attacked him. He used it again to make it seem like Celebrimbor pushed his student off the wall to make him seem violently insane. Later when serval Erigion guards tried to arrest him he used it to paralyze them all, finally controlling them into killing each other.
Abilities[]
| “ | In an instance like this, you'd do well to identify what it is that your opponent most fears. (Galadriel: And exploit it.) No. Give them a means of mastering it. So that you, can master them. | „ |
| ~ "Halbrand" To Galadriel |
- Master Strategist/Tactician/Manipulator: Sauron is an exceptionally skilled deceiver, with his mastery of deception being able to perfectly fool many intelligent and perceptive individuals, including Galadriel, Queen Míriel, and Celebrimbor, into believing him to be an ally and friend when, in truth, he was secretly manipulating them into unknowingly helping him pursue his agenda for power and domination.
| “ | I'm telling you. There is not another man on this isle that knows this craft better than I. | „ |
| ~ "Halbrand" to Numenorian blacksmith |
- Master Metalsmith: Sauron is an extremely talented and passionate blacksmith, with his knowledge of the practice far exceeding that of even Lord Celebrimbor, the greatest of Elven smiths. It was only under Sauron’s knowledge and suggestions as Halbrand that Celebrimbor was able to discover the means of crafting the first three Rings of Power. He later aided Celebrimbor as Annatar to forge the other rings for dwarves and men.
- Expert Combatant: Even without the use of his powerful magic, Sauron has shown himself to be an extremely capable fighter. He was able to overpower a few orcs with his strength during his assassination attempt, piercing the skull of one on a sword impaled in his own body. While in his mortal guise as Halbrand, he was able to effortlessly defeat a small band of Númenórean assailants with impressive reflexes and prowess, and without the use of any weapons.
- Weapon Expertise: Even without his magical abilities and incredible strength, Sauron is skilled with conventional weaponry such as daggers, swords, spears, and bows. As Halbrand, he was able to slay serval orcs with his sword while on horseback and shortly after, he was able to throw his spear at an orc attacking Elendiel, then use it trip up Adar's horse, preventing his escape. He was able to hit Celebrimbor with arrows in certain spots as to not kill him but cause pain. He later dueled Galadriel in a sword fight, though he was toying with her throughout, though even she got some hits in, he finally fought serious and overpowered her.
- High Pain Tolerance/Indomitable Will: Sauron possesses a nearly unyielding will to do anything to accomplish his goals by any means necessary not matter to whom or how cruel. He also has a high threshold for pain. Being able to fight back against Adar's rebelling orcs despite being wounded by Morgoth's crown and stabbed multiple times.
- Multilingualism: Sauron can speak in Adûnaic and Quenya. He also develop his own language called Black Speech.
Weaknesses[]
- Mortal Vulnerability: Though he possesses exceptional levels of strength and stamina, Sauron is more vulnerable to physical damage when he takes on mortal form and can receive painful injuries from attacks that would normally harm ordinary humans.
- Emotional Instability/Psychotic Episodes: Though highly intelligent, calculating, and patient, one of Sauron’s greatest weaknesses is his own anger. While he usually possesses a very high level of self-control, Sauron possess an extremely volatile temper when provoked too hard. During such instances he will undergo psychotic episodes, which can also negatively affect his appearance when he is assuming another form. This could be seen when during one of his psychotic episodes while in his human form, during which his anger caused him to take on a much more demonic appearance.
Equipment[]
- Dark Lord Armor: As the dark lord, Sauron wears a majestic set of dark armor that possesses black robes flowing around it and has a full face covering helmet with crown-like spikes protruding from the top of the headpiece.
- Spears: As the dark lord, Sauron used an elaborate spear as his primary weapon of choice. It had two diamond like protrusions on the long, narrow blade and a partisan cross guard at the base. As Halbrand, he used a standard spear with an angular type blade when throwing it at an orc about to kill Elendiel, tripping Adar's horse, stabbing his hand and attempting to kill him with it before Galadriel intervened. In his Annatar form, Sauron took an Elvish spear with a glaive style blade which he used to execute Celebrimbor with.
- Swords: During the assassination attempt on his life, Sauron took an Orcish sword pierced through his own body to defend himself with. As Halbrand, Sauron used a standard Numenorian sword during a fight with orcs, slay a few of them with it. It has a single edged blade, and up facing cross guard, and a pommel resembling a horse head. He later disarmed an Erigion guard of his curved Elvish sword before killing him with it. He later died with Galadriel, using Adar's own longsword, with had an ornate yet smelted handle along with a chipped and jagged blade.
- Daggers: Sauron disarmed an Orc attempting to assassinate him and killed him with his own dagger. He later used an Elvish dagger to cut his own hand in order to trick Celebrimbor into putting his essence into the nine rings for the rulers of Men.
- Elvish Longbow and Arrows: Sauron used an Elvish longbow and arrows to torture Celebrimbor on the whereabouts of the nine rings for Men.
- Morgoth's Crown: Sauron retrieved his former master, Morgoth's crown from Adar, even using it in conjunction with Adar's sword to block and trap Galadriel's blade attacks. It could even be used as a weapon such as when he used the spikes on it to wound Galadriel, causing her to be infected by a dark magic.
- Numeonorian Armor: When fighting Adar and his orcs as Halbrand, Sauron wore Numenorian armor. The armor was adorned with blue, gray, black and red colors. The armor design pattern was made to resemble fish scales and had metal chain over the body strap and gauntlets.
- Elvish Armor: As Annatar, Sauron wore an Elvish breastplate and forearm bracers over his robes when confronting Adar and dueling Galadriel. The best plate design has multiple serpents embroidered into it.
- Southland royal necklace: Sauron used this necklace as Halbrand in order to deceive Galadriel and others into believing that he is the lost heir to the King of the Southlands.
- Feanor's Hammer: After killing Celebrimbor, Sauron took Feanor's smithing hammer from him as a memento and a potential component to his future plans.
Quotes[]
| “ | Always after a defeat, the shadow takes another shape and grows again. Morgoth is gone, leaving us alone and disgraced. But today, a new age begins. | „ |
| ~ Sauron declaring the beginning of a new age. |
| “ | Halbrand: You have no choice. Without me, your people will fade, and the shadow will spread and darken to cover all the world. You need me. Galadriel: I should have left you on the sea. Halbrand: A sea you were on because the Elves cast you out! They cast you out for deigning to beg them for a few petty soldiers! What will they do when you tell them that you were my ally? When you tell them...THAT SAURON LIVES... BECAUSE OF YOU?! |
„ |
| ~ Sauron's return. |
| “ | I am your partner. No more, no less. A sharer of gifts. Annatar. | „ |
| ~ Annatar introducing himself to Celebrimbor. |
| “ | Leave this tower now, and when the Men of Middle-earth fall, I swear to you, every soul in the seen or unseen world will know that it was you who was the architect of their demise. We still have nine Rings to forge! | „ |
| ~ Annatar cursing Celebrimbor for going against him. |
| “ | I have learned so much from you, since I cam to Eregion. But no lesson more lasting than this. True creation... requires sacrifice. | „ |
| ~ Annatar revealing Celebrimbor his true nature. |
Gallery[]
Season 1[]
_vs_Adar.webp "Halbrand (Sauron) vs Adar.webp (810 KB)")
.jpeg "Halbrand (Sauron).jpeg (58 KB)")
Season 2[]
Trivia[]
- Sauron’s human form, Halbrand, is based on Annatar, the Dark Lord’s fair form from Tolkien’s The Silmarillion. Like Halbrand, Annatar served as Sauron’s disguise for which he used to infiltrate the kingdom of the elves and manipulated Celebrimbor into forging the Rings of Power, with the intention of using that knowledge for creating the One Ring.
- This fact was referenced during Halbrand’s first scene with Celebrimbor, during which he calls his suggestions regarding the Mithril a gift, referencing how Annatar translates to the “lord of gifts”.
- Sauron would eventually adopt the Annatar disguise in Season 2, as the second attempt to gain Celebrimbor's trust and continue having him crafting next Rings of Power.
- When Sauron, as Halbrand, shapes into his demonic form, his pupils take on the same shape as his “Great Eye” form in the Lord of the Rings film series. Mordor also looks just like it does in Peter Jackson's films.
- Sauron's momentary death at the hands of Adar and the Orcs in the opening flashback of Season 2 is an intentional parallel that of the Assassination of Julius Caesar.
- Viewers of the show praised it's accurate depiction of Sauron's unparalleled skill in deception and manipulation, with each season of the show showcasing this ability utilized against different characters such as Galadriel in Season 1, Celebrimbor in Season 2, with Ar-Pharazôn presumably being the next victim of Sauron in Season 3.
External Links[]
- Halbrand on the Tolkien Gateway
- Sauron on the Tolkien Gateway
- Halbrand on the Lord of the Rings Wiki
- Sauron on the Lord of the Rings Wiki
