It Took ‘Rings of Power’s’ Latest Episode to Correct One of Peter Jackson’s Most Controversial Sauron Changes

‘Rings of Power’ of power is currently in the middle of its second season. The second season so far seems to be a bit more lore-accurate than season 1, still, there are plenty of improvements to be made.

One of the aspects of the second season however is a welcome improvement when compared to Peter Jackson’s trilogy of movies – we’re talking about Sauron or rather Annatar, as he is currently known in the show.

Peter Jackon’s trilogy approached Sauron in an incredibly controversial way. In the films, Sauron is primarily depicted as a giant eye (the Eye of Sauron) rather than the more traditional and elaborate form described in J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings. Some fans felt this simplified the character and reduced his complexity as a dark lord.

Sauron appears mostly as a looming threat rather than an active character. Some fans originally felt this made him less interesting and dangerous compared to other villains who had more development and backstory.

Now Sauron is known as a shapeshifter, he took forms ranging from elves to vampires and wolves, and yet Jackson decided to portray him rather cartoonishly.

‘Rings of Power’ approached the portrayal of Saruon in a much more elaborate way, as the character already changed several forms since the show started airing. The giant fiery eye was always a metaphor for Sauron’s presence and influence and with the latest episode of ‘Rings of Power’ this has once again been corrected.

Rather than depicting Sauron as a physically burning eye, the showrunners decided to turn it into a metaphor once again.

In episode 6, while Adar and Galadriel are discussing Sauron and what can be done to him, Adar accuses Galadriel of already being under his influence. He mentioned the following line: eye bores a hole while the rest of him slithers in.

This is true, or at least a more faithful depiction of Sauron’s eye than what Jackson presents us with. First and foremost Sauron is a manipulator. He is constantly exploring his target’s psyche to search for weaknesses that he can abuse.

For most Middle-earth creatures those weaknesses are related to power, Sauron promises great power but what he actually delivers is control and ruthless rule, ultimately settling on the corruption of all that is good and holy.

Galadriel was already “scanned” by Sauron, he promised her an army, something that her own kind was not willing to provide wrongly believing that Sauron had been destroyed and his influence severed.

Saruon’s eye was never really, at least in the writing, a physical thing looking for the Ring, it was always supposed to be a metaphorical concept. You can’t escape Sauron’s gaze, not physical but rather his mental and psychological scrutiny and attempts to deceive you.

Sauron sees into your soul which makes his machinations all the more powerful and all the harder to resist.

Hopefully, this transformation back to metaphor will please Tolkien purists who weren’t really pleased with Jackon’s interpretation of the character.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below!

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