by Virginia R Lossett - Published 6 months ago

The Rings of Power: Annatar - Sauron's Fair Form

The second season of ‘The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ has been met with more positive reviews compared to the first season. The show delves deeper into Sauron’s resurrection following his supposed demise at the hands of Adar, revealing his cunning and manipulative tactics that allowed him to assume the identity of Halbrand.

After collaborating with Celebrimbor to forge the three elven rings of power, Sauron returned to Egregion to create additional rings for the dwarves and men. He unveiled his true identity as Annatar, a persona he adopted to deceive Celebrimbor by presenting himself as a benevolent and amicable figure.

Annatar's Deception of Celebrimbor and the Elves

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Sauron’s Annatar persona was carefully crafted to gain the trust of the elves of Egregion. He portrayed himself as a friend, a ‘lord of gifts’ capable of teaching them ways to enhance their crafts and assisting them in preserving the beauty and longevity of the realms, leveraging the magical powers of the rings.

Significantly, he became a trusted advisor to Celebrimbor, the most skilled elven smith of his time and the leader of the Elven city of Eregion. Through his influence, Sauron cunningly manipulated events to create more rings of power alongside Celebrimbor, including seven for the dwarven lords and nine for men.

-Annatar to Celebrimbor

Sauron adopted the guise of Annatar because he understood that he could not openly approach the elves or other peoples of Middle-earth as either himself or Halbrand.

His past as Morgoth’s lieutenant and his connection to evil were widely known, and his Halbrand identity was exposed by Galadriel, forcing him to flee the elven kingdom of Lindon.

Sauron, disguised as Annatar, persuaded Celebrimbor to create powerful rings, but discarded this guise by the time of the Lord of the Rings movies.

Annatar's Fate

The timeline for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power differs from the books, making Annatar’s fate uncertain. In the books, Sauron reveals his deception after creating the One Ring, initiating war with the Elves.

He is then defeated by Númenor's army and surrenders. Adopting a new, even fairer persona, Sauron deceives the people of Númenor and rises to a position of power.

He manipulates the Númenóreans into worshipping Morgoth and eventually convinces the king to attack Valinor. Eru Illuvatar intervenes, destroying Númenor and Sauron's physical form.

Sauron is unable to regain a fair form and retreats with the One Ring to rally his armies. This explains why he does not appear in a fair form in either The Hobbit or The Lord of the Rings movies.