Rings of Power Showrunners Defend the Changed Order of Sauron’s Ring Forging in Season 2 (Exclusive)
Sauron’s timeline for forging the rings changed, but the showrunners feel it was a good choice.
The showrunners behind The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power have changed the order in which Sauron forged the titular rings, a choice they feel perfectly fits the show.
The source material (The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion) originally had Sauron crafting the dwarven rings for men first and then the elven rings. Last but not least was the One Ring, which was actually forged before the Siege of Eregion (which happened at the end of Season 2).
Obviously, that all played out differently in the first two seasons (of the expected five) of The Rings of Power. The Eleven and Dwarven rings were first, then the men, and even with Eregion fallen, the One Ring has not been crafted yet.
The Rings of Power Showrunners Reveal Their Favorite Controversial Change in the Show
“We Just Deemed That to Be a Bridge Too Far.”
The Direct: “There have been a lot of changes to the lore within this show, and you guys have a lot of passionate fans, and so there’s certainly been a response to that. What’s one of your favorite controversial changes that you’ve made up until this point that you feel was a perfect choice for the show?”
Patrick McKay: Well, that’s a big question. But you know, there is a technicality within the lore that the One Ring was made before the destruction of Eregion, and to accomplish that in Season 2, Sauron would have had to have left his storyline, gone off on his own to Mordor, and made the One Ring, and then come back, and we just deemed that to be a bridge too far.
And instead, we have tried to adhere to the order of the making of the rings that is laid out in The Ring Poem, which, to our minds, is probably the order that most readers and viewers are familiar with from either Peter [Jackson’s] films or the ‘Lord of the Rings’ proper, and that rationale, we think, is serving the show well…
The show is an adaptation. And when you’re doing an adaptation, you make choices to bring something to the screen, and hopefully in a way that is, you know, thrilling and emotionally gripping, and every choice we make is for that, and hopefully that brings you actually closer to the source material, rather than further away.
It makes sense for the showrunners to have made the changes that they did, as having Sauron leave Eregion would have undermined his story of corruption and influence with Celebrimbor. It would have also severely slowed the overall pacing down.
However, this means that when Season 3 does hypothetically arrive, fans should probably expect the One Ring to be forged by Sauron sooner rather than later.
Rings of Power Showrunners on the Evolution of Sauron in The Rings of Power
The Showrunners Have Nothing But Praise for Charlie Vickers’ Incredible Performance
The Direct: “Now, you mentioned Sauron. He’s a pillar to this show and has greatly evolved over Seasons 1 and 2. Can you talk about the process of perfecting his different forms and how you hope to continue doing that in the story going forward and keeping his threat fresh but familiar?”
J.D. Payne: We felt like we had one opportunity, Season 1, to take Sauron the Deceiver and actually deceive the audience as well, in a way where people didn’t know which corner the map he was going to come from, and you’re guessing, was it this over here? Is this over there? And then ultimately, like, here he’s hiding in plain sight. And that was a really fun thing to be able to do in Season 1.
And then Season 2, to be able to bring that and go to a completely new angle with it, where he’s gonna present himself to Celebrimbor, who he’s met before, and has to come up with a plausible story, you know, about what’s going on. And says, look, Galadriel figured out I wasn’t who I thought I was. And for a second, you think, man, is he gonna just come out with it and say, ‘I’m sorry.’ He’s like, ‘No, I’m this guy, Anatar, a messenger from the Gods. And we really loved the opportunity to reinvent everything about him.
Suddenly, he’s got these pointy elf ears. He’s dressing in this sort of Old Testament, sort of prophetic garb. And he appears in this sort of Angel of Light, kind of with the long, lush blonde hair. So it really felt like a totally new angle for him. But it felt commensurate with the Sauron that we met before.
And then watching Annatar, then just sort of kind of come out as full Sauron as the season goes on. You know, as his costume sort of darkens, his whole kind of demeanor sort of shifts. When you have an actor like Charlie Vickers, who can do so much and play so many different shades within this complex character. It’s delightful as writers and showrunners.
Patrick McKay: It’s the gift that keeps on giving. We’re very, very lucky to work with somebody like Charlie.
