Sauron

Sauron
Aliases	Halbrand Low Man (insult against Halbrand) Annatar Lord of Gifts (as Annatar)
Affiliation	Morgoth Mordor Eregion (infiltrator)
Occupation	Dark Lieutenant (formerly) Valar-sent crafting consultant (fraudulent)
Biographical information
Date of birth	Existed before the world was created
Date of death	Early Second Age (original body, later self-resurrected)
Place of death	Dúrnost, Forodwaith (original body, later self-resurrected)
Physical description
Gender	Male
Eye color	Blue (original body, illusion of Galadirel)
Appearances
Portrayed by	Charlie Vickers (Halbrand/Annatar) Jack Lowden (Original body) Morfydd Clark (Illusion of Galadriel)
Debut	"A Shadow of the Past"

You fell from the stars, yet you are greater than they. For fire obeys your will. You fell below the dust, yet dust fears you. For it trembles when you are wroth. The winds and waters, the heat and cold. You shall learn to command them all. And every being that walks or crawls shall be your slave. For you are Lord Sauron.

The Mystics giving praise when they believed they had found Sauron., "Alloyed"

Sauron is one of the main characters and the main overarching antagonist of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.

Once the chief lieutenant of the Dark Power Morgoth, Sauron came to power once Morgoth was defeated by the Elves and their allies. However, he was forced to flee into the wastes of Middle-earth, pursued by companies of Elves who had sworn to track him down. Sauron continued to scheme, disguising himself as the Southlander Halbrand and later as Annatar in an effort to infiltrate and influence the enemy.

Styled as the "Lord of Gifts", Annatar presented himself to the Elves of Eregion, taking a fair form that made him appear as an Elf himself. He influenced and guided the famed Elven-smith Celebrimbor in the creation of the Rings of Power.

Official Descriptions

One of Morgoth’s top lieutenants, Sauron was a key perpetrator of the boundless suffering and death caused by the wars of the First Age. After his master was overthrown, Sauron disappeared. His fate remains unknown, but some believe he will still return – and there are those who even yearn for it.

Halbrand is a "Low Man" of the Southlands, a roguish castaway on the run from his past – and possibly, from his destiny.

History

The Great War

Sauron was a loyal lieutenant to the Dark Power Morgoth and fought with him in the Great War. During the Elder Days, Sauron was sent by Morgoth to a dark and nameless peak where thirteen Elves had been chained without food and water. Sauron offered the Elves, including the one who would become Adar, wine that was as red as a blood moon and they drank it. Eventually, the Elves and their allies defeated Morgoth, which inspired Sauron to rise to power. The Elves swore to hunt down Sauron across Middle-earth, including Finrod, who had sworn to kill the dark lieutenant. Sauron killed Finrod first and carved a sigil into his chest. The war continued led by Finrod's sister Galadriel, and the changing tide forced Sauron into the darkest parts of Middle-earth.

Sauron Betrayed

At the dawn of the Second Age, Sauron had fled to the fortress Dúrnost in Forodwaith, gathering to him a large host of Orcs under their leader, Adar. Sauron proclaimed himself their new master now that Morgoth had been defeated, and laid out his vision of unconditional conquest over the peoples of Middle-earth; to create a new perfect order where they would be seen as the saviors of Middle-earth. When confronted with the truth that many Orcs would die to achieve Sauron's goal, the assembled host was uneasy, and one Orc attempted to kill Sauron but was slain quickly. Adar, taking up the Dark Lord's Crown, proclaimed Sauron as the new Dark Lord. At the moment of Sauron's crowning, he was betrayed by Adar who drove the spikes of the crown into his back. Orcs poured forward, attacking and stabbing at Sauron until his physical form lay dying in a pool of black blood. As his physical form died, an explosion of chill blue light burst from the body, knocking down the assembled Orcs and turning the surrounding Forodwaith into an icy wasteland. Of Sauron's body there was no sign, save for his clothes.

Sauron's blood drained through the stone flooring of Dúrnost, seeping into the caves below and taking on a shapeless black form that grew larger and more distinct with each living thing it consumed. The entity eventually made its way out of the caves, growing larger until it was run over by the cart of a peddler woman. The form entered the cart and consumed the woman, finally given enough sustenance to reform fully. Sauron was reborn in a new form; again as a human, but different in look from his previous body. He wandered long in the east, seeking a crafter who could make the rings he wished. Though he wandered the world for long, his arts and manipulations were unable to bring him the agent he required. Then, fate beckoned events to his advantage.

Halbrand of the Southlands

Sauron began travelling south, until he eventually encountered a group of refugees from the Southlands whose homes had been overrun by an army of Orcs. One of the refugees, Diarmid, convinced Sauron to come with them away from the devastation as they intended to take a ship over the sea to a land where Men might start new lives. Plagued by nightmares, Sauron seemingly began to regret the evil he had done. Diarmid told him he was alive because he had chosen good, and that he had to keep making that choice until it was in his nature. Sauron soon got the opportunity to make that decision for himself, as the ship they were on was attacked by terrifying sea creature. Though for a moment he used his precognitive abilities to warn the man, Diamid was soon trapped and pleaded for help; Sauron instead took the symbol of dead kings he wore around his neck and left the man to die as the ship broke apart. Underwater, the creature came for Sauron but wailed in terror and retreated once it sensed his true nature.

Sauron, now under the name of Halbrand and posing as a Southlander, was one of the few survivors of the wreck. On a cobbled together raft, the survivors floated on a raft for two weeks and debated the death of one of their own to save rations. One morning, they encountered the Elf Galadriel in the waters, and allowed her to board. Abigail felt betrayed when she learned Galdriel was an Elf and shoved her overboard. The worm attacked again and Halbrand separated his half of the raft from the others to save himself, though he brought an exhausted Galadriel onboard too. They survived a treacherous storm, began getting to know one another, and discussed her desire to end the Orcs. Halbrand and Galadriel were later found by a passing ship from Númenor.

The ship brings the survivors to the island kingdom of Númenor, which surprises Galadriel as the island had turned away Elves for years. She explained the islands origins to Halbrand. The ships captain, Elendil, presents them to Queen-Regent Míriel, who exchanges icy words with a rather self-assured Galadriel. She requests a ship and passage back to Middle-earth, which isn't something the Númenóreans have allowed in quite some time. Their argumentative conversation prompts Halbrand to intervene, and he convinces Queen-Regent Míriel to allow them refuge in Númenor until the Queen can decide whether to lend aid to Galadriel or not. She grants the three day stay. Galadriel wants to hurry to save the people of the Southlands, Halbrand he convinces her to let him keep the peace he's spent years searching for. They shake on their decision, and he pulls her close to drop her once stolen dagger back into her hand.

Halbrand spends his time in the city trying to understand the ways of the Númenóreans. He learns about the Guilds and how he must have a crest before he can become a blacksmith. He cozies up to a prejudiced blacksmith named Tamar, getting him and his friends drunk so he can steal Tamar's crest. Tamar and his friends confront Halbrand about the theft in an alley, and a fight breaks out between them. Halbrand easily disarms them and wins until the guards arrive with spears. He is remanded to a prison cell, where Galadriel visits as she finally learned the symbol on his necklace is that of the lost King of the Southlands. She rebukes his claims to have found it on a dead man, believing his is the lost King. He warns her that the heir of the mark is heir to more than nobility, for it was his ancestor who swore a blood oath to Morgoth. Halbrand claims that he is not the hero Galadriel is looking for because his family lost the war. Galadriel's family started it, and she doesn't believe it's chance, fate, or destiny that brought them together but something greater. She wants him to come to Middle-earth to redeem both their bloodlines.

Galadriel joins Halbrand in the dungeons after committing sedition (demanding to see the true king of the island), which he finds quite amusing. He offers his help in identifying Míriel's weakness in exchange for her promising not to bring up his departure from the island again, effectively leaving him to his peace while “his people” fight.

Halbrand, having earned his guild crest, worked as a blacksmith alongside Smithy. The seasoned blacksmith admires the Southlanders work. Halbrand aides Queen Míriel by providing intelligence of the enemies travel to the watchtower of Ostirith. He learns Galadriel promised he would reunite the Southlands, using it as a bargaining chip with the Queen. He confronts Galadriel about using him, but she is upset her handed her over to the Queen for a guild crest. She has over 500 soldiers to help his people and give him a crown. He slams his necklace on the table and tells her to find another head to crown.

Halbrand spends the afternoon watching Galadriel spar the prospective Númenórean soldiers. She visits him that evening in the blacksmiths forge. She apologizes for using him and asks him to attend a meeting with the Queen in the morning. She wants his help but Halbrand believes he's helped her enough. Exasperated, she asks him to help himself so they can join forces and fight together. He recalls men like him fighting alongside the enemy, but she corrects it was men like him, not himself. He claims she's wrong as he did things before he ended up on the raft to survive. He knew the Númenóreans, and Galadriel, would cast him out when they discover the truth. She knew that to find the light, they must first touch the darkness. He asks who she lost in the war. She lost her brother in a place of darkness by servants of Sauron. He accuses her of only being in the fight for vengeance, but she disavows that. He questions why she wants him to return to the one place he swore to never return. She keeps fighting because she cannot stop. The company she led mutinied against her, her closest friend conspired with the King to exile her, and she believes each of them acted as they did because they could no longer distinguish her from the evil she fought. He apologizes for her brothers death and everything she has been through. She knows no peace would be found for either of them here, only in the path across the sea. Ultimately changed by her words, Halbrand picks up the necklace and joins her on the expedition across the sea.

A few days later, the Númenórean army, led by Galadriel, Halbrand, and Míriel, gallop across the Southlands. They arrive in the village of Tirharad which is actively under siege by Adar and his Orcs. As the battle begins, Halbrand throws a spear to save Elendil's life. Galadriel is hot on Adar's heels, with Halbrand approaching from the opposite direction to trip the horse Adar rides. Galadriel rides past, unable to slow her momentum. Adar crawls for the hilt, but Halbrand impales his hand before he can. He asks if Adar remembers him, but he doesn't. Halbrand prepares to impale him, but Galadriel stops Halbrand as they all need him alive.

He returns the favor when he stops Galadriel from killing Adar during an interrogation. Adar asks who Halbrand is, but the Southlander ignores him. He sits with Galadriel on a tree while the others feast in celebration of their victory. She thanks him for pulling her back, but he was only returning the favor. She tells him to be free of what he did and what Adar did to him. Halbrand didn't believe he could be until today, fighting at Galadriel's side, he felt something he wanted to hold on too. He wanted to keep it with him and bind it to his very being. She felt it, too and they share a long look.

Halbrand meets his people through the Queen Regent, and they acknowledge him as their long-lost King because of the crest he wears. They toast to the true King of the Southlands. Suddenly, the nearby fire mountain erupts and spews ash, fire, and rocks on Tirharad. Halbrand ushers Southlanders to safety as the eruption reaches the villages. He's injured in the eruption and taken to a Númenórean rendezvous point. Bronwyn brings Galadriel to her King and Galadriel realizes he needs Elvish medicine to survive. They depart for the Elven city of ERegion with a promise to return.

The artificers successfully save Halbrand's life, and he explores the city, finding Lord Celebrimbor's workshop. The masters Halbrand apprenticed spoke of Celebrimbor's work, though he never dreamed he'd get the chance to see them in person. He sees a set of gemstones on the table, which Celebrimbor is hoping he can use to capture the essence of the Valinor for Middle-earth the same way Fëanor once did. Halbrand picks up the mithril, which isn't enough for Celebrimbor to use. The Southlander suggests he combine it with other ores to better stretch it out. Celebrimbor believes it's impossible without diluting the ore's unique qualities. Halbrand suggests using the right ore to amplify the qualities. Where he came from, precious metals were rare, so they combined them to strengthen the metals and hide their flaws. He returns the ore as Celebrimbor muses over the suggestion, though Halbrand calls it a gift.

After the High King grants them three months to create the power, Lord Celebrimbor, Halbrand, and the Elvensmiths work together. He makes suggestions that keep the mission progressing. He confers briefly with Galadriel, thanking her for saving his life. He had all-but given up when she believed in him, saw strength in him, and pushed him to new heights. He'll see to it that no one forgets that.

He finds her in the Glanduin where she confronts him about not being the heir to the Southlands, clutching a scroll that proves the line died over a thousand years ago. He cheekily reminds her that he took the talisman off a dead man. She refuses to accept the truth because he saved her on the raft, but he sees it as her saving him. She mentions his convincing Míriel to save the men of Middle-earth, though he counters that Galadriel convinced her while he wanted to stay in Númenor. He fought beside her against both their enemy. The Elf Lady demands to know his true name. Halbrand then states has been awake since before the breaking of the first silence. In that time, he's had many names. She stabs at him with her dagger, though he catches her wrist and puts her to into a dreamscape.

Through a series of illusions, which includes him taking the form of her brother Finrod, Galadriel realizes that Halbrand is the Dark Lord Sauron. Sauron claimed that Morgoth was defeated it was as if a great, clenched fist released its grasp on his neck. He felt the light of The One again and he knew if he were to ever be forgiven, he had to heal everything he helped ruin. He reminds her of her words after their victory - that he can be free of his past. He told her that he had done evil, but she didn't care at the time. She doesn't see a future with him anymore. Sauron can see her greatness and her light. He would make her a Queen, fair as the sun, stronger than the foundations of the Earth, and him as King. They were brought together for a purpose. She will bind him to the light and he will bind her to power. Together, they can save Middle-earth. He doesn't see a difference in saving or ruling Middle-earth, and for that alone, she will never rule by his side. He tells her she doesn't have a choice, because the shadow will spread and darken to cover the world. He wonders what the Elves will do to her when they learn Sauron lives because of her. He then leaves her unconscious in the Glanduin and leaves Eregion.

Sauron returns to the desolated lands of the Southlands. He stands on a mountain overlooking Mordor and the erupted Orodruin, then begins his descent of the mountain.

Forging A New Scheme

Sauron, still posing as Halbrand, entered Mordor and surrendered himself to Adar's forces. In exchange for the freedom of the Southlanders, Sauron promised to tell Adar about Galadriel's alliance with a sorcerer who promised a power over flesh, one that could give him control of the Orcs as his slaves once more. Halbrand was imprisoned, but eventually Adar agreed to his terms. "Halbrand" told him that "Sauron" had returned in a new form, but he did not know what it was. He wanted to use the trust he had with the Elves to learn Sauron's location and report to Adar, allowing him to marshal his legions to destroy the Dark Lord. After swearing allegiance to the "Lord of Mordor", Sauron was freed. He headed straight for the Elven kingdom of Eregion.

Personality and Traits

Sauron was seen as a cruel and cunning warlord, and mighty sorcerer; known for bringing slaughter and pain for his own power without compunction. When as Halbrand he came upon Galadriel, he thought nothing of sacrificing the men and women he was with to a sea monster. He carefully cultivated his image as Halbrand, making sure that Galadriel would see the mark of the Southlands king about his neck. He hated being denigrated, even in his Halbrand form, nearly going into a rage, before getting control over himself. By the near end of his use of that aspect, he was more willing to let himself be mocked, humiliated, and tortured for his plans, though he made sure to get his revenge and never promise fealty to anyone else. He betrayed Galadriel to the guards to get membership in the Númenor smith guild and claimed to be disgusted with how Galadriel directed his path to becoming the king of the Southlands. In his Halbrand state, Sauron said he was sorry for "everything" including Finrod's death. while also paying close focus to Galadriel's words. He hated Adar for what he did to him it taking all his self-control and Galadriel quoting his words back at him for him to take the Uruk captive instead of killing him. He returned the favor to the Elf. After, he said that he felt like he had a chance at life and light if he could "bind" Galadriel and how she made him feel to himself. Adar revealed that he lusted for a power to dominate life and in his quest magically killed many Orcs in his experiments, without any sense of remorse.

Despite his brutal and tyrannical inclinations, Sauron was not unwilling to defend and pretend to care for his subjects if that was the role his assumed personality was expected, such as when Orodruin erupted he tried to get the Southlanders to safety, swore that he would return after being healed to help them, and indeed surrendered himself to Adar, seeming to give of himself as a good king should, making a deal that his people had to be released in exchange for information about Sauron (shaded to make it seem like Sauron was a different person, working with the Elves to devastate the Orcs).

Halbrand had an ironic sense of humor, at one point remarking that "Looks can be deceiving" upon meeting Galadriel, while himself being guised as a mere man. He seemed rather pleased and entertained when he was hailed king of the Southlands. He also chose to be bigger than most people, even men of Númenor.

Powers and Abilities

Sauron was a very powerful sorcerer able to use his magic for agressive and manipulative uses and also was a master smith. He could make his hand burn as with unquenched fire, powerfully enough to brand and gouge stone and remain with a sort of echoing heat for hundreds of years. His evil in his last fortress left it cold, where warmth could not be. In Dúrnost, he performed magical experiments to try to gain a power "Not of the flesh, but over flesh" as Adar said, killing many Orcs by fusing them into walls or otherwise unleashing his powers to test things on them. Sauron could teleport, appearing beside Galadriel just in time so that she would not kill Adar, transiting to Mordor from Eregion faster than any beast could carry him, and appearing a few dozen feet away from Celebrimbor inside the elf's forge when he revealed himself as Anatar.

Sauron could take on many forms. One was a gigantic warrior in heavy plate armor, thrice the height of an orc. He then chose to appear as a human-like figure to rule over the Orcs. However, in this state and wearing robes instead of armor, he was ambushed by Adar, who impaled him with the soul-breaking Iron Crown, and the orcs at heavy cost slew Sauron, leaving him seemingly gone with only a sundered robe and his cold death burst as mementoes. But in truth, Sauron endured this, surviving as a black sludge for a long while, until he was able to absorb a rat, then he had enough life to roll his gelatinous mass and attack a human, destroying her and regaining enough vitality to shift into the Halbrand personality, seeming to be just a lean tall man.

Saruon was a skilled warrior. After the Great War, he found Finrod, who was hunting him and slew the elf, leaving the corpse scarred. As Halbrand, he fought at the Battle of Tirharad, saving Elendil with a thrown spear and hacking Orcs with his blade. He somehow got himself and his horse ahead of Adar and Galadirel, then used his new spear to tangle Adar's stolen Númenor horse and then impale the Uruk's hand and capture him.

As Halbrand, he showed himself to be as ever a canny manipulator of others, using them to get what he wanted and sneakily casting them aside. Halbrand was good at fast talk, defusing a confrontation between the regent of Númenor and Galadriel as both women's egos and prejudices clashed, though he was not able to use his words to get Númenorians to illegally give him a job as an unapproved smith or back down after robbing them. He even deduced that Mireil was not phased by Galadriel's words until the princess asked to be taken to see the deposed king, so used this fact and s tricked Galadriel into taking actions that led him back to Middle-earth with her as an ally, while making her think she was the one guiding events.

Even in this state, refraining from using his full powers, he was quite strong, able to dive to rescue a dupe from drowning as easily as overpowering five men and breaking limbs in a streetfight with no worse than a bit of bleeding from when he let himself get smacked around. The tall "man" used a hug to pickpocket Galadriel's knife from Elendil and then a similar move to give it back to her. He tried to steel a guild crest, but the Númenorian smith noticed anyway. Sauron could hear conversations across a crowded bar, and from well outside Adar's camp heard Waldreg's screams as the man was eaten by the Warg the Dark Lord had commanded to attack the mortal. Somehow, Halbrand ended up with a huge gash in his side after the Southlands burned and his injury seemed to be infected.

Sauron was a master craftsman. On Númenor, he claimed he could smith better than anyone on the island, offering to forge a perfect anchor for free or even work at shoveling coal if he would just be given a chance. He proved himself to be, in this at least, honest, making weapons for the men when he was allowed to work as a smith.

Equipment

Sauron possessed many implements, items, and instruments. In the Great War and early Second Age, he had a suit of armor, suitable for his form as three times taller than the orcs he ruled, and carried a massive spear fit for his scale.

He was given a guild crest for betraying Galadriel. When he fianlly agreed to join the mission to the Southlands, he left the island in armor and with a blade. He used them, a horse, and two spears he claimed during the Battle of Tirharad. He then donned a blue cloak from Westernesse.

Behind the scenes

Sauron first appeared in "A Shadow of the Past"; Halbrand first appeared in "Adrift" and Annatar in the second season, both portrayed by Charlie Vickers. A younger form of Sauron, portrayed by Jack Lowden, appeared in the opening scenes of the Season Two premiere, "Elven Kings Under the Sky".

The time between Sauron's death at Dúrnost to his resurrection and later encounter with Diarmid after wandering the world is not explicitly stated, but must have taken place over the course of several centuries, though in turn he also had the time to wander the world and study crafters until he came to understand that only the master of Eregion could make the magical tools he wanted.

Charlie Vickers, the main actor who plays Sauron, gave an interview to Nerd of the Rings, explaining how he sees his character, how he got into the tone of being a villain, and his hopes for the show. To him showing that Annatar and Halbrand walked and spoke differently, but are still the same evil being was key, as was avoiding the mistake of trying to make the forms too different for the sake of it, such as making Annatar's voice too squeaky. He noted that some of the similar traits were due to being the actor for both. When he got the role (without knowing he was Sauron) dove deeply into Tolkien's writings, especially the Silmarillion so he could make the character slot into the sort of stories Tolkien might have told. Then, once he was told what his real role was, he was eager to dive into all things Sauron and the obscure texts that Tolkien made about the Dark Lord. He joked about coming back to Season Three as a cat, as a tribute to one of Tolkien's abandoned ideas. Moreover, Vickers used Tolkien's letters for inspiration. The actor talked about how his character was called a slave to the magic rings, and felt that he idea was interesting, due to both sides. Vickers said that he liked having Sauron's blood being put into the rings and showing how the rings were made was important, since that needed to be shown but Tolkien did not give enough detail. Thus, the actor argues that his character was struck when he was called a slave to the rings, for all his powers. Vickers said that it was very fun to act the parts of Sauron where the Dark Lord was slaughtering people and had fully fallen back to evil and thrown away the last fragments of hope for repentance. He admitted that playing a god was hard, but that he made it work and the emotions resonate. Vickers expressed that his favorite upcoming part will be portraying the downfall of Númenor and the scenes with Trystan Gravelle, the Ar-Pharazôn actor, and otherwise following Tolkien's story.

In co-interview with Morfydd Clark given to Geek Vibes Nation, Vickers spoke on how hard it was to act as a god who had never had much of a face or voice. He had to study the novels and Tolkien's letters to find shards of personality that he could use for acting. To Vickers, since Sauron was not shown in a human like role (such as the Great Eye Sauron will become later), that gave him an ease and freedom in acting. When asked, he said that it was very hard to not say he was Sauron in interviews before he was allowed to. He also stated that Clark was good at helping reveal truths about society, and the other interviewee said he was able to make people feel like they had value. Another time the Sauron actor did this format was with Muses of Media and said that he really liked doing the Sauron killing of Celebrimbor and that since the set had to be wreaked in real life to depict the ruination, the show was filmed in timeline order. He admitted that the arrow he is seen shooting into Edwards is GCI and laughed and said he was not sure if that was because he was too bad at archery to do the scene. The actor also said that Clark is really good at archery. He really liked the scene where Mirdania put on a ring and saw Sauron.

Appearances

• Season One
  • "A Shadow of the Past" (First appearance)
  • "Adrift" (First appearance as Halbrand)
  • "Adar (As Halbrand)
  • "The Great Wave" (As Halbrand)
  • "Partings" (As Halbrand)
  • "Udûn (As Halbrand)
  • "The Eye" (As Halbrand)
  • "Alloyed" (As Halbrand and Sauron)
• Season Two
  • "Elven Kings Under the Sky"