LOTR: The Rings Of Power Leak Teases Season 2's Critical Ring-Making Struggle
Contains potential spoilers for "The Rings of Power" Season 2
Anticipation is building for Season 2 of "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power," and fan site Fellowship of Fans has contributed a steady supply of fuel to the fire in the form of leaks and rumors. The latest of these teases a series of interactions between several key Elvish characters and one (kind of) yet-to-be-identified Dark Lord — more on Sauron's appearance and identity in the show in a minute.
The four-part scoop on Twitter starts thusly: "EXCLUSIVE: The 'Original Form Sauron' character has been on the Eregion sets and has shared scenes with Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards)." This foreboding claim is followed by three others: "The original form Sauron character has also shared scenes with Galadriel, Celeborn, Elrond, Selina Lo Elven character"; "The 'Original Form Sauron' character has also been on the battle sets and in black and gold tinted battle armour"; and "There will be a dramatic scene in the final episodes between 'Original form Sauron', Celeborn and Galadriel. This scene is said to be important."
At first glance, this invokes black-armored Dark Lords wielding maces and Elven lords and ladies snuggly ensconced in Rivendell and Lothlorien. In Amazon Studios' series, though, these developments haven't taken place yet. Sauron is still ascending in his role as the primary antagonist of Elves, Dwarves, and Men. Elrond (Robert Aramayo) is a youngster (relatively speaking) without a Homely House. Heck, in J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay's adaptation, Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) has yet to find her husband, Celeborn, let alone their future woodland kingdom. Nevertheless, these plot elements are all well underway in the Second Age series, and the latest roundup of rumors could point to several important developments coming in the near future. Let's dig in, shall we?
Who is Original Form Sauron?
First things first — what the heck is meant by "Original Form Sauron"? Are we talking about the tall black figure with a spiky crown and spear that we saw for a brief glimpse in the opening sequence of the show? Is this the terrifying black-armored Dark Lord from Peter Jackson's films? Is it referring to the ocular interaction that Sauron takes later in that trilogy or the Necromancer from "The Hobbit"? Is this Charlie Vickers' Halbrand character, who was revealed to be Sauron in disguise in the Season 1 finale? (Man, there are a lot of versions of this dude.) According to Fellowship of Fans, though, this isn't referring to any of them. The term is actually one that the site itself created back in June.
At that time, the site released a claim that "A new actor will play the 'Original Form Sauron' Character in the later episodes of The Rings of Power Season 2, not Charlie Vickers." It also explained that this character wouldn't look like a terrifying black-clad giant or a frail Man. It said, "This character has been described as 'Angelic' and 'beautiful' in his design with a black and gold costume colour palette and long black hair."
Just to be clear, these are all scoops and rumors that have not been confirmed by Amazon Studios. However, if they're true, the description of Original Form Sauron isn't of the Dark Lord in his later days. It resonates more with an earlier Second Age appearance in Tolkien's texts, when Sauron takes on the persona of Annatar, the Lord of Gifts. It's also worth noting that the black-and-gold-costume comment jives with the new scoop's claim that Original Form Sauron will wear "black and gold tinted battle armour."
The complicated relationship between Sauron and Celebrimbor
The first scoop talks about Original Form Sauron interacting with the Elvish lord Celebrimbor, who is played by Charles Edwards on the show. As has already been established in Season 1, Celebrimbor is a craftsman. In the book "Unfinished Tales," Tolkien describes the Elf by saying Celebrimbor had an "almost dwarvish obsession with crafts." In the source material, he becomes fast friends with the nearby Dwarves of Khazad-dûm (something that has yet to take place in Amazon Studios' adaptation). He is also the leader of the region called Eregion, where the people are referred to as the "Gwaith-i-Mírdain," which means the people of the jewel-smiths. It's this excessive investment in artisan work and crafting that attracts Sauron to Celebrimbor and his people.
Both "The Silmarillion" and "Unfinished Tales" provide tragically brief summaries of the relationship between Sauron and Celebrimbor. However, there's enough there to understand that Sauron, in his angelic form as the Lord of Gifts, beguiles Celebrimbor and his fellow Elvish craftsman into working with him. He teaches them how to create powerful rings (yes, those rings) and then creates the One Ring to rule them all.
Eventually, Celebrimbor catches on to the ruse, but by then, it's too late. Sauron shifts from deception to brute force and attacks the Elven kingdom with devastating consequences. Based on the description of Original Form Sauron in glittering black and gold armor, there's a good chance we'll see this in the show — possibly as soon as the next season.
Sauron and the other Elven leaders in Season 2
What about all these other leaks referring to Sauron interacting with other Elves? Selina Lo's character is unconfirmed so far, so there isn't much to say there. However, the Dark Lord does interact with Elrond indirectly in the source material. When he attacks Eregion in force, High King Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker) sends an army under the command of Elrond to help the beleaguered Eregion Elves. Eventually, this group is driven away and retreats north to a lovely spot where Elrond decides to establish a new stronghold. The name of that fortress? Rivendell.
As far as Galadriel and Celeborn are concerned, Tolkien briefly mentions Celeborn leading an attack and then linking up with Elrond before that group is cut off and forced to retreat. Galadriel's specific activities during the fall of Eregion aren't detailed at all. Nevertheless, the final part of the leak mentions a dramatic and important scene between Original Form Sauron, Celeborn, and Galadriel. This is interesting in the context of Season 1, where there was a strong attraction between Galadriel and Sauron in his Halbrand form. Show writer Gennifer Hutchison told Looper back in October 2022 that the relationship wasn't deliberately romantic and "more a meeting of the minds."
All the same, the complexities between Galadriel and Sauron — along with the assumed connection that she would have with her rediscovered husband — could make for a fascinating scene, even if it's technically made up for the show. Of course, all this is contingent on the fact that any of it happens in the first place. Leaks and rumors, even from a source with a proven track record, are still just that: leaks and rumors. We won't know anything for certain until Season 2 premieres.