Can it really be? Were all the theories wrong? Is this why Sauron has been absent from the previous 6 episodes of “The Rings of Power”? No, Sauron is not dead. But that doesn’t necessarily mean Adar (Joseph Mawle) was lying…
That was quite an announcement from Adar (Joseph Mawle) in episode 6: “I slashed him. I killed Sauron.” But can that even be true? The fact that we haven’t seen Sauron in “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” yet is at least somehow suspicious. And the characters who, according to various fan theories, are supposed to be Sauron-in-disguise seem to be less and less likely to do so (especially Halbrand). So were all the theories wrong?
SAURON IS NOT DEAD!
We won’t beat about the bush here: No, Sauron is not dead. He plays far too big a role in the course of “The Rings of Power” for that. And one that you can’t just give to any other character. Because the title of “The Rings of Power” already hints at it:
The Amazon series is about the creation of the Rings of Power, i.e. the nine Rings of Men, the seven Rings of the Dwarves, the three Rings of the Elves and finally the One Ring, which then stands at the centre of “The Lord of the Rings” and the events in the Third Age.
And Sauron is the titular Lord of the Rings: disguised as a benevolent Annatar, he incites the Elves to forge the other Rings of Power and then secretly creates the Master Ring to control all the others. We will see all this in the coming episodes and seasons – so a “Rings of Power” series without Sauron is impossible.
SAURON IS (ALMOST) IMMORTAL
In addition, Sauron is not just some evil human or elf who has risen to become the Dark Lord, but a Maia. The Maiar are divine beings who existed before the creation of Middle Earth and its cosmos, and are subordinate to the Valar, who are in a sense the gods and goddesses of this world. And the Valar and Maiar are immortal.
However, and this is always particularly important in connection with Sauron, their physical manifestation, their body, may well be destroyed. This fate befalls Sauron several times – most famously, of course, his destruction when the One Ring is cut from his finger, and his “death” when the Ring is finally destroyed.
DID ADAR LIE?
It therefore seems quite conceivable that Adar really has destroyed the physical form of Sauron and even believes that he has thus finally killed him. And possibly this is also the reason why Sauron has not been seen in “The Rings of Power” so far:
After the destruction of his body, Sauron is weakened and needs a while until he can take shape again. And maybe the eruption of Mount Doom in episode 6 has given him a boost of energy, so that we will see him in episode 7 or 8 after all. Or maybe the mystics from episode 5 have something to do with his resurrection.
Either way, Amazon has already all but announced Sauron’s appearance with a trailer. The preview is titled “Evil reveals itself” and we hear a voice whispering, “You will finally be known for who you truly are, my Lord Sauron.” So apparently this whispering figure is talking to Sauron:
Evil reveals himself. TheRingsOfPower only on @PrimeVideo pic.twitter.com/UTM2w7ZhPF
– The Lord of the Rings on Prime (@LOTRonPrime) September 23, 2022
