The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power's first season revealed that Charlie Vickers' Halbrand was secretly Sauron in disguise. It was a legitimate shock and one which left fans with a long list of questions heading into season 2.
The first three episodes of the prequel's sophomore season hit Prime Video today and address at least some of them. The premiere opens by exploring Sauron's origins thousands of years in the past, taking us to the Dawn of the Second Age.
Slow Horses star Jack Lowden plays the villain as he attempts to assume control of the orcs. It's all part of his mission to "heal Middle-earth" as part of a "new and perfect order," but they're unimpressed by his statement that many of them will die in the process. So, as he's crowned, Adar stabs and kills him.
Sauron's spirit eventually manages to restore itself to physical form and we then follow him to the moment Galadriel encounters Halbrand at sea in season 1.
Charlotte Brändström directs the premiere and tells Variety, "That [flashback] was meant to be in Episode 6 in the first season. Then there was no room, so they decided to keep it for this season. They opened the season with this look back, and I think it’s a very smart way to get into Sauron’s character."
"Because what the showrunners are really trying to show is that everybody is a real character. The evil characters aren’t just black; they have a lot of nuances to them."
"In the moment he meets Galadriel and the moment when he comes back and he’s reborn that’s thousands of years," the filmmaker continues. "First there is the first Sauron - that’s the very first scene thousands of years before. He takes this new shape into this blob and this creature, that’s thousands of years before."
"Then when he becomes Halbrand and meets Galadriel - when he comes back it’s like six months later after he has clothes on, and meets the old man on the road."
Brändström went on to say it was important for them to make sure Sauron isn't "100% evil," so "when he meets the old man on the road and looks back at the dark clouds over the trees and he makes the choice to go with the people onto the ship, he still doesn’t know what he’s going to be up to."
"He hasn’t made a choice of becoming what he’s going to become. I think the choice happens when the sea monster attacks the ship, it starts sinking and the old man is asking him to help him, and he doesn’t."
With it now clear The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is just as much Sauron's origin story as it is for the titular rings, Brändström shared some hints about where the character's story is heading throughout the reason of season 2.
"Sauron wants to help everybody, but he wants to do that with the ultimate power and the ring. He is getting into everybody’s head and manipulating everybody," she teases. "This season is really about how Sauron is going to accomplish what he’s going to do. He’s starting off with nothing, he’s by himself, no army. He’s all alone."
"How is he going to basically conquer Middle-earth and also have Celebrimbor make the ring for him?"
In a separate interview with Entertainment Weekly, Vickers addressed Halbrand/Sauron's decision to not reveal himself to Adar in the show's present-day timeline.
He may have allowed himself to be humbled by his old foe so he can get back to Eregion and the forging of the Rings of Power, but that doesn't mean he's given up on revenge.
"He feels a huge amount of ownership over the idea of Mordor and his people," Vickers teased. "He leaves season 1 with a huge amount of anger towards Adar and wants to get retribution. But he has a level of power that someone like Adar can’t comprehend clearly."
"So he has this level of confidence knowing that he’ll stop at nothing to take revenge on Adar. Their relationship is [a] really cool and complex part of season 2."
The first three episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power are now streaming on Prime Video.