Warning: There are spoilers ahead for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 1 episode 8! spoiler in season 2
Although The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season finale attempted to fool viewers at the beginning of the episode, the true dark lord stood revealed by the end. The elven warrior, Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), devoted herself to hunting down and exterminating Sauron. However, to her horror, Galadriel learned that her human companion, Halbrand (Charlie Vickers), was actually Sauron all along. To make matters worse, Galadriel saved Sauron’s life more than once, and she inspired him to retake his crown as the dark lord.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay teased what lies ahead in season 2 now that Sauron can operate out in the open again.
“Sauron can now just be Sauron,” said McKay. “Like Tony Soprano or Walter White. He’s evil, but complexly evil. We felt like if we did that in season one, he’d overshadow everything else. So the first season is like Batman Begins, and the The Dark Knight is the next movie, with Sauron maneuvering out in the open. We’re really excited. Season two has a canonical story. There may well be viewers who are like, ‘This is the story we were hoping to get in season one!’ In season two, we’re giving it to them.”
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“We felt Sauron should be a character in his own right,” continued McKay. “We wanted to study the currents running within him in a way that hopefully would reward audiences as they follow him moving forward as he becomes the Dark Lord. You now know him as a person outside the name ‘Sauron.’ In some ways, we wanted to do an origin story for Sauron. We didn’t want to make a show that was about the hunt for Sauron, but we love the idea of Sauron as a deceiver who could, hopefully, deceive some of the audience.”
“In Tolkien, Sauron is a deceiver and we know that in Second Age he appears in ‘fair form,’ added Payne. “So what if he sneaks up on you and is able to get you to sympathize with him and get you to be on board with him so that once you actually realize who he is, that he’s already got his hooks in you? So it’s not just as easy as, ‘This person is evil, I’m going to back away,’ because you’ve already formed some level of attachment to him. What if we could get the audience to go through a similar journey?”
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 1 is on Amazon Prime Video. Additionally, the second season is currently in production.
What did you think about the Sauron reveal? Let us know in the comment section below!
Recommended Reading: J.R.R. Tolkien 4-Book Boxed Set: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings
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