"It Keeps Him Going": The Rings Of Power's Sauron Motivation All But Guarantees A Rematch With Galadriel

Amazon Prime Video's The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power may be brewing another Sauron-Galadriel rematch. Rings of Power explored Sauron's identity in season 1, even though we didn't know it for sure until the last episode. Halbrand, an original character, was Sauron and had been schmoozing Galadriel on the sly the whole time, which she was none too pleased to discover. Their next meeting after this discovery was a bitter clash, and now, another one seems likely to happen.

Sauron actor Charlie Vickers said of Galadriel to Collider that "it keeps him going in a way, her existence." His comments hung around Sauron's feelings watching Galadriel plunge off the cliff, having refused to give him Nenya, one of Lord of the Rings' Elven-rings of Power. Sauron made his feelings reasonably clear when the next person to talk to him took a blade to the heart, despite only having blathered on about useful and relevant things. Vickers' comments highlight a developing dynamic strung between hate and some other conflicting sentiments, along with where this dynamic may go.

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Vickers Confirmed That Sauron Is Obsessed With Galadriel

Sauron and Galadriel on the raft in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 1.

Vickers said that Lord of the Rings' Sauron could have killed Galadriel but chose not to, as her worthiness as an adversary sustains him. One may have thought that Sauron's hatred of "wasteful friction" may have prevented such a dangerous attitude, leading him instead to mercilessly eradicate foes as needed (Morgoth's Ring). But in fact, Sauron liked to play around occasionally, although it took the form of twisted torture in J.R.R. Tolkien's novel, throwing Orcs to Shelob. Vickers' words also suggest his awareness of a Sauron-related quote from Unfinished Tales:

He perceived at once that Galadriel would be his chief adversary and obstacle, and he endeavored therefore to placate her, bearing her scorn with outward patience and courtesy.

Vickers is riffing off a fine tradition of villains who rely on their enemy for kicks somehow, bizarrely, while their enemy remains inexplicably ambivalent toward them. One can see how Vickers got here. Galadriel is Sauron's chief adversary, while Sauron, in The Rings of Power season 1, was critically bored, lost, and lonely. This lostness reflected Sauron's canonical repentant phase. The Master or Moriarty to Galadriel's Doctor Who or Sherlock Holmes, Sauron has complex, conflicted feelings toward his enemy.

Sauron's Motivation In The Rings Of Power Means A Rematch With Galadriel Is Inevitable

Galadriel & Sauron Will Probably Get More Scenes Together

Charlie Vickers as Annatar Sauron and Morfydd Clark as Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2.

Given that Vickers is leaning into Sauron returning Galadriel's obsession with him, he is sure to get more scenes with Morfydd Clark, who plays Galadriel. Since Sauron is relying on Galadriel to fight him for his amusement (or sanity), a rematch seems very likely. At the very least, Sauron and Galadriel must reverse their Rings of Power dynamic to line up with their canonical positions by the Third Age. Sauron beats Galadriel telepathically in the show, but she must beat him by the Third Age. As such, more telepathy-related scenes are a must.

Tolkienian Age	Event Marking The Start	Years	Total Length In Solar Years
Before time	Indeterminate	Indeterminate	Indeterminate
Days before Days	Ainur entered Eä	1 - 3,500 Valian Years	33,537
Pre-First Age Years of the Trees (Y.T.)	Yavanna created the Two Trees	Y.T. 1 - 1050	10,061
First Age (F.A.)	Elves awoke in Cuiviénen	Y.T. 1050 - Y.T. 1500, F.A. 1 - 590	4,902
Second Age (S.A.)	War of Wrath ended	S.A. 1 - 3441	3,441
Third Age (T.A.)	Last Alliance defeated Sauron	T.A. 1 - 3021	3,021
Fourth Age (Fo.A)	Elven-rings left Middle-earth	Fo.A 1 - unknown	Unknown

The cast and crew of the show often have fascinating takes on their characters, with it being important to recognize that they don't constitute fact. What goes on the screen is the fact, and viewers should interpret it however they see fit. But The Rings of Power asks if Galadriel would love again after losing Celeborn through her obvious feelings for Halbrand, and it shouldn't leave this question open. As showrunners confirmed at SDCC 2024, Celeborn's mysterious absence will end. Likewise, Galadriel should keep fighting Sauron to resolve their situationship mentally or physically.

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The Rings Of Power Must End A Certain Way

There could be a thematic or narrative obstruction to a Sauron-Galadriel rematch. Taking the forms of Annatar, Halbrand, and Galadriel, Sauron's climactic fight with Galadriel ended The Rings of Power season 2 with a bang, but season 5 can't end the same way. The showrunners shared that the show covers a five-season version of the prologue to Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. The series will, therefore, likely end with Elendil and Gil-galad toppling Sauron in the War of the Last Alliance, before Isildur cuts the ring from Sauron's finger and finishes him.

"The History of Galadriel and Celeborn" in Unfinished Tales describes Galadriel and Annatar's sojourn together in Eregion.

Sauron and Galadriel are circling each other in Rings of Power. Despite how the two hate each other in the books, there is clearly more to it than that in the show. From Galadriel and Sauron's ongoing psychological warfare in The Lord of the Rings to the mystery of Galadriel apparently knowing Sauron's identity in Eregion and yet reluctantly letting him stay in Unfinished Tales, the legendarium left enough breadcrumbs for the show to construct its version of events. A rematch could come in seasons 3 or 4, and some kind of honesty between the two should transpire before season 5, in person or not.

Sauron,-Gil-galad,-and-Isildur-in-Rings-Of-Power

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Director Charlotte Brändström said Galadriel "was very much in love with Halbrand," which viewers don't have to adopt as their own opinion (Entertainment Weekly). But the show should tie up the loose ends of the complexity between the two famous characters. After all, Middle-earth's God brought Sauron and Galadriel together in the series by their chance meeting. The "cosmic connection" so often described by cast and crew can't be swept under the carpet if The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is to feel complete by season 5.

Source: Collider, Entertainment Weekly

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