It would appear that Season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is a marked improvement on Season 1, providing deeper cuts into J. R. R. Tolkien‘s lore, and a better balance between the fantastical elements and horror elements. However, there was a point where, by the end of Season 1 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, there was a plot point that some fans, myself included, were worried would make no sense in Season 2. That is the plotline of Sauron (Charlie Vickers) transforming from Halbrand into Annatar to fool Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) even after Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) told him not to trust Halbrand.

In the texts of Tolkien, Sauron transforms into Annatar, supposedly a new form as the Lord of Gifts, before tricking the elves into forging the elven rings. Since Charlie Vickers would still be playing the role, the fear was Celebrimbor simply wouldn’t recognize Halbrand/Sauron/Annatar, through some cheesy Superman/Clark Kent blindness, or just acquiesce to brute force. But not only did the show write Sauron’s transformation into Annatar perfectly, but Sauron’s overall manipulation has been great so far, perfectly mixing fact with fiction and letting Celebrimbor box himself into a corner with his own actions.

Sauron Makes Honest Intentions Do Dishonest Work

Despite Sauron’s past and present evil deeds and evil intentions, what’s incredible is that he has barely lied in this season of Rings of Power; he just doesn’t give the whole truth. He acknowledges that sometimes the heroes do “step forth” who are worthy, but Celebrimbor thinks he is alluding to the men who will claim the rings, when the audience can tell Sauron really means his own goal in creating the Rings of Power. The audience gets to read between the lines of Sauron’s motives, rather than him just lying at the surface level.

It has given Charlie Vickers so much to work with as an actor, giving him several layers and motives to portray to different characters, like when he manipulates Celebrimbor’s assistant, Mirdania (Amelia Kenworthy). Even though she sees Sauron’s true form in the Unseen world, he can paint it as Celebrimbor. Sauron speaks of wanting these rings to help men, and, in a way, he does, but not by their free will. Sauron’s goal is to rule “over flesh” and unite every race under his rule.

Celebrimbor Is Not Blameless in Sauron’s Scheme

Despite the acknowledgment that Sauron’s manipulation so far has been brilliant, part of why it has been so great is that Celebrimbor is not entirely innocent in his part of the creation of the rings. Sauron also gives agency to Celebrimbor, and his choices actually make sense from his perspective. He doesn’t bully Celebrimbor into anything. Celebrimbor writing the letter lying to Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker), for example, about closing the forge, was his decision, but motivated by one of Sauron’s few outright lies about Gil-galad’s protest at the creation of more rings.

As Celebrimbor even says in this episode, Annatar (really Sauron) is great at manipulating someone into thinking his idea is their own, in this case when Sauron is trying to get Celebrimbor to forge rings for men. However, Sauron ends up making Celebrimbor change his mind by backing him into a corner, not through mind control or threats, but by simple logic using Celebrimbor’s own actions. Sauron is correct that there would be punishment for Celebrimbor’s lies, but it’s Celebrimbor’s anxieties over that punishment that make him believe Sauron’s embellishment of these hypothetical punishments.

When Sauron tells Celebrimbor that he will make Rings of Power for men, he isn’t lying about his intentions or sneaking behind Celebrimbor’s back. Sauron does what isn’t expected of a villain; he openly opposes the hero, who in this case is Celebrimbor, in disguise. It forces Celebrimbor to make a difficult choice. Truly oppose a herald of the Valar or continue down this path. This makes Celebrimbor a fascinating character instead of an idiot or a coward. He clearly doesn’t completely trust Annatar but he feels he has no other choice now. He doesn’t see Annatar as an enemy yet, but we can see why his distrust is only going so far. The writers have placed Sauron in a position where Celebrimbor needs him, and so far, it’s setting the stage perfectly for the oncoming tragedy.

Sauron Does Not Constantly Win in His Battle To Corrupt Celebrimbor

Image via Prime Video

Whilst Sauron has done well in his ultimate manipulation and “gaslighting”of Celebrimbor, as showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne called it in an interview with Collider, it is fascinating to notice that Sauron’s manipulation has not gone entirely smoothly. The fact that Celebrimbor refuses to help Sauron and he is unable to create the rings without Celebrimbor gives Sauron a genuine conundrum, and only by taking advantage of Celebrimbor’s assistant is he able to begin his further corruption of Celebrimbor. By giving the audience a back-and-forth between Sauron and Celebrimbor, it creates a fascinating battle of wills that heightens the tension for the audience as we don’t know who will come out of which scene on top.

Overall, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power seems to have taken a seemingly flawed sub-plot from Season 1 and turned it into its biggest strength for Season 2. Sauron’s transformation into Annatar has not just been written well in its initial creation, but Sauron’s manipulation thus far this season has been well written and portrayed. Sauron has rarely lied this season of Rings of Power. In fact, he has used his true intentions as the core of his lies. This has given the audience a lot more layers to look through, knowing who the impostor is rather than the surface-level guessing game of who was Sauron in Season 1. In the end, this has allowed Charlie Vicker’s Sauron and Charles Edwards’ Celebrimbor to give great portrayals so far this season, with tension existing openly between both characters yet direct opposition being impossible because of realistic implications.