Very interesting. Thank you for writing it. My only question is if the writers actually put this much thought into the matter, or if they are sort of making it up as they go along.
I think there is always some degree of improvisation inherent to writing and especially writing for serialized television. But I also believe there's quite a bit of forethought here, especially in the Adar story.
Pleasantly surprised to read an article that thoughtfully engaged with ROP material, rather than just ranting and railing against it! I highly enjoyed the show and I think your ideas here make a lot of sense. I’m very interested to see where ROP goes with Sauron’s story next.
Thanks! I do think a lot of people unfortunately tend to rely on comparative evaluations when it comes to this series, judging it either in terms of fidelity to the books or in comparison to the Jackson LOTR trilogy. I don't think it's perfect, but I thought it was definitely better than the reception would lead one to believe.
Imo, S1 faced a lot of the typical problems faced by new series, especially with inexperienced showrunners. But in it I see a potential for greatness. We'll see if the show runs long enough to realize it.
Love this analysis! One thing that wasn’t addressed though was Halbrand’s several comments to Galadriel about how he just wanted to start fresh and he wished she would leave him alone. To me, this seemed as though his fall from power had humbled him greatly and he intended to live simply as a man (at least for a time). It was only because of Galadriel’s persistence that this new path and plan came to his awareness (which would be consistent with the vision of Gil Galad and why he wanted Galadriel out of Middle Earth). Curious what you think!
I think this was a legitimate possibility in S1. Certainly, a Sauron that chooses to actually turn away from his dark destiny only to re-embrace it is a cool story and I wonder if the scene with the Old Man in the S2 premiere was a hint towards that.
Totally! That scene definitely added a great layer to his character and I think suggests that left on his own he’ll choose selfishly without care for others.
I've never seen Dr. Who but I realized what that was referring to like a second after posting the full comment, so I edited it right away to remove the questions. Anyway, that's a cool point of comparison!
Thank you for sharing this essay! Actually I disagree with the premise that Sauron was surprised to encounter Galadriel. My headcanon was that he appeared in the form of a man from the Southlands on a raft, specifically to encounter Galadriel and appear vulnerable to her. This would be consistent with the advice he gives her on Numenor, about helping people feel like they can control their greatest fear.
However, the fact that he is shown at the end simply walking, is better evidence that he cannot shift into whatever form. Unless, of course, there is more to his story than we're shown.
Welcome! My take is that Sauron is good at improvising and adapting to a given situation. I'm quite certain that Galadriel opened a new path for him, which is why he tells her he had basically given up before meeting her in 1.08. In turn, when he made it to Eregion and saw what they were doing, he made him recognized what he had missed when trying to craft the new power.
Very interesting. Thank you for writing it. My only question is if the writers actually put this much thought into the matter, or if they are sort of making it up as they go along.
I think there is always some degree of improvisation inherent to writing and especially writing for serialized television. But I also believe there's quite a bit of forethought here, especially in the Adar story.
Pleasantly surprised to read an article that thoughtfully engaged with ROP material, rather than just ranting and railing against it! I highly enjoyed the show and I think your ideas here make a lot of sense. I’m very interested to see where ROP goes with Sauron’s story next.
Thanks! I do think a lot of people unfortunately tend to rely on comparative evaluations when it comes to this series, judging it either in terms of fidelity to the books or in comparison to the Jackson LOTR trilogy. I don't think it's perfect, but I thought it was definitely better than the reception would lead one to believe.
Imo, S1 faced a lot of the typical problems faced by new series, especially with inexperienced showrunners. But in it I see a potential for greatness. We'll see if the show runs long enough to realize it.
Love this analysis! One thing that wasn’t addressed though was Halbrand’s several comments to Galadriel about how he just wanted to start fresh and he wished she would leave him alone. To me, this seemed as though his fall from power had humbled him greatly and he intended to live simply as a man (at least for a time). It was only because of Galadriel’s persistence that this new path and plan came to his awareness (which would be consistent with the vision of Gil Galad and why he wanted Galadriel out of Middle Earth). Curious what you think!
I think this was a legitimate possibility in S1. Certainly, a Sauron that chooses to actually turn away from his dark destiny only to re-embrace it is a cool story and I wonder if the scene with the Old Man in the S2 premiere was a hint towards that.
Totally! That scene definitely added a great layer to his character and I think suggests that left on his own he’ll choose selfishly without care for others.
It seems we're one sonic screwdriver away from the MOST EPIC CROSS-IP REVEAL IN TV HISTORY.
Had to look that up to realize this is a Dr. Who reference!
No, but death and rebirth in a new body with a (partial) memory loss is a classical Dr Who trope.
I've never seen Dr. Who but I realized what that was referring to like a second after posting the full comment, so I edited it right away to remove the questions. Anyway, that's a cool point of comparison!
Sorry, missed your edit.
I really ought to go back and finish that show one of these days. 😊
I couldn't bring myself to watch the show ALTHOUGH I just assumed that Sauron could change form to be what he needed at the time.
An Elf so that they trusted him enough so that the 3 could be forged.
A Human so that the 9 could be forged.
Someone the Dwarves would trust so that the 7 could be forged.
An excellent and persuasive analysis. Thanks for posting it!
Thank you for sharing this essay! Actually I disagree with the premise that Sauron was surprised to encounter Galadriel. My headcanon was that he appeared in the form of a man from the Southlands on a raft, specifically to encounter Galadriel and appear vulnerable to her. This would be consistent with the advice he gives her on Numenor, about helping people feel like they can control their greatest fear.
However, the fact that he is shown at the end simply walking, is better evidence that he cannot shift into whatever form. Unless, of course, there is more to his story than we're shown.
Welcome! My take is that Sauron is good at improvising and adapting to a given situation. I'm quite certain that Galadriel opened a new path for him, which is why he tells her he had basically given up before meeting her in 1.08. In turn, when he made it to Eregion and saw what they were doing, he made him recognized what he had missed when trying to craft the new power.