The Silmarillion, Tom Bombadil and Sauron's backstory: The Rings of Power season 2 will reportedly be insane
By Daniel Roman
The Rings of Power season 2 will explore Sauron's backstory
TOR reports that the first episode of The Rings of Power season 2 will be a "standalone episode" that focuses primarily on fleshing out the villain Sauron, played by Charlie Vickers. This lines up with an interview quote from Rings of Power director Charlotte Brändström, which described the first episode of the season as "a little more stand-alone." Here's what she said, courtesy of Fellowship of Fans:
"I would probably say that the last two [episodes] are a bit more connected, at least time wise, I must say. And there I had a giant battle again, towards the end of the seventh episode. The first episode is a little more stand-alone. I directed the first and third and the seventh and eighth. The plot in the first and third builds up what is to happen and is a bit more self-contained, but there is a lot going on in the seventh and eighth episodes. It’s a very explosive end to the season."
The 4Chan leak purported to provide more details, including a description of the opening scene of the season:
“The opening scene of Ep. 1 is Eru [Ilúvatar] using the Secret Flame to create Melkor, and Melkor watching as Eru creates all the Valar and the Maiar. Eru is a disembodied voice vaguely human shaped but no characteristics can be made out. The Secret Flame is golden, as are all the Valar and the Maiar. The Valar are larger than the Maiar, but they are bathed in a golden light and completely naked. The actor playing Mairon in this realm is NOT Charlie Vickers or Gavi Singh Chera–it is a third actor. Gave Singh Chera will play Sauron in his battle form and his Annatar form.”
Obviously, none of this is confirmed. It's possible it won't pan out. But the scene described here of Eru — the god of all creation in Tolkien's mythos — creating the Valar and Maiar — lesser god-like beings, many of whom inhabit Middle-earth (Sauron is one of the Maiar) — is straight out of The Silmarillion, so this is an example of something that would presumably only be possible if Amazon had secured those rights.
Intriguingly, the leak also mentions three actors playing Sauron. We previously heard rumblings that Gavi Singh Chera would play a different version of Sauron in a flashback — Sauron pretty famously changes shape a bunch of times throughout the history of Middle-earth, so this is in line with Tolkien's work. However, this is the first we're hearing of a third actor playing the part. Since season 1 spent a lot of time toying with questions about Sauron's identity, it's not too surprising to hear that season 2 will explore why the iconic villain became the force of evil he did. Here's more from the leak, where Sauron talks up his boss Melkor, aka Morgoth:
“A whole episode is dedicated to Sauron’s backstory leading up to the breaking of the First Silence. After the Fourth interruption of the song [Theme], several Maiar meet and discuss Melkor’s discord. Mairon/Sauron alone speaks: ‘The One has blessed me more so than all of you to see the potential of His creations, and what better way to forge their mettle than by allowing them to face Melkor’s discord and grow beyond what they think capable!’ You will see Mithrandir [Olórin] in this scene. Mairon almost converts him. Almost.”
Olórin / Mithrandir, for the record, is Gandalf. That's who we're pretty sure The Stranger (Daniel Weyman) was playing in season 1. Gandalf's being in Middle-earth at this time is a pretty large deviation from Tolkien's work, but there have been enough of those in The Rings of Power that it's not worth getting too hung up on that one in particular at the moment.
Daddy Sauron and Adar
Next, the leak sheds light on why Sauron had beef with the twisted elf Adar (played by Game of Thrones veteran Joseph Mawle in season 1, recast to Sam Hazeldine for season 2). Remember in Episode 6 of The Rings of Power, back before we knew Halbrand was Sauron, when he captured Adar at spearpoint and the elf said, "Did I cause someone you love pain? A woman? Perhaps a child?" Halbrand had a pretty strong reaction to those last words...and apparently there was a reason for it.
The leak claims that at some point in the past, Sauron had a son who was murdered by Adar, thus beginning their beef with one another. Forget Gandalf being a meteor man; Sauron being a dad will easily become the new gold standard for weird and controversial adaptation choices if it proves true. Obviously, the Dark Lord never had any kids in Tolkien's work.
When last we saw Adar, he had just founded Mordor so that all his orc followers could have a home of their own. In season 2, Adar will reportedly surrender to Sauron...only to then pull a fast one and betray him again down the line.
We have to take a lot of this with a grain of salt since we're talking about leaks, but geez will it be a lot to take in if even any of this proves true. And that's not even the craziest thing in the report: