The Rings of Power differs from its source material in a number of instances, and Sauron’s rise to power is one such instance. In the series, the first Dark Lord Morgoth’s defeat and banishment from Middle-Earth could have paved the way for his greatest accomplice, Sauron, to take his place as the leader of the wretched ones—but as shown in the second season, a coup orchestrated by the first corrupted elf, Adar, resulted in his momentary setback. However, later emerging in his new form, sometimes through sheer chance and coincidence and carefully planned manipulation, Sauron managed to set his plan of Middle-Earth domination in motion. By tricking the mind of the legendary Elven smith, Celebrimbor, Sauron has already managed to create Rings of Power for the Elves and Dwarves, which he aims to use to grant himself power over their flesh and over their minds. The Rings of Power are instrumental to Sauron’s rise to power, which is the reason we will discuss his perspective behind utilizing them. Realizing how Sauron’s approach to domination differs from that of Morgoth also helps us to get a thorough understanding of Sauron’s obsession with the creation of the rings.
Spoilers Ahead
The Major Difference Between Sauron and Morgoth’s Approach
The land of Arda had had two Dark Lords through the ages whose machinations changed the history of the world forever—Morgoth, the fallen Valar, and Sauron, the Maiar, Morgoth’s second in command. Their vicious handiwork and corrupting influence brought misery and darkness to Arda, something that persisted till the End of Days—but the interesting factor remains that both of them were quite different in their approach to propagating evil. Morgoth represents the primal, chaotic evil, which doesn’t need a defining reason to exist. In fact, the only reason Morgoth began his reign of terror was simply to spite the creator, Eru Ilúvatar, just because his own actions fell within the grand plans of the creator. Morgoth’s violent approach is a wrecking ball of hateful rage, which collides with everything in its path head-on without any consideration of consequences. The first Dark Lord was preoccupied with the Secret Fire of Eru, the power of creation, which he wanted to possess as well. However, Melkor failed to assess the strength of his enemies, resulting in his defeat and capture. By comparison, Sauron employed much shrewder, more calculative tactics to weaken his enemies from within and ensure his unchallenged dominance. Ever the great deceiver, Sauron believed in taking control over flesh and over the spirit, denying free will—enslaving his victims to assure complete dominance over them.
Sauron knew he could not simply overpower the might of men, elves, and dwarves with his band of orcs, and needed to assert control over them with deceit and guile. In his initial days as a noble Maiar, Sauron believed in order and decorum, something that, in its extreme form, manifested in his will to take over everything that didn’t fit in his envisioned perfection. Sauron often used the fear and insecurities of his adversaries to psychologically weaken them, as seen in his interaction with Galadriel, and used lies, half-truths, and truths to manipulate even the positive emotions to trigger nefarious tendencies, as seen in his interactions with Celebrimbor. Needless to say, the strong mental hold he was able to exert upon others, especially Elves, who were supposed to have unparalleled mental fortitude, became his motivation for using his ability to bring Middle-Earth to its knees. The Rings of Power, three Elven Rings, six Dwarven Rings, and nine Rings for the Kings of Men were created by Celebrimbor upon Sauron’s suggestion, who beguiled the Elvensmith by appearing as Annatar, emissary of the Valars, Lord of Gifts all along, pretending to be a benevolent presence for Middle-Earth. The Rings were conduits, which Sauron decided to control with the One Ring he created for himself. As the former disciple of craftsman Valar, Aulë himself, Sauron had keen knowledge of how to imbue part of himself in his creation, which is what he did when he created the One Ring in secrecy. Using the Rings of Power, Sauron wanted to corrupt the wielders of the other rings, earning their loyalty without struggle. To some extent, he was successful as well. As the easily corruptible kings of men joined by his side, the stubborn Dwarves resisted his control, but the rings increased their greed, leading to the downfall of their kingdoms. Elves became estranged from both the other races, and it took much time and effort for the races to reconcile with each other and end the threat of Sauron.
Morgoth’s evil was chaotic, disruptive, and direct, while Sauron’s brand of evil was unpredictable, calculative, and cerebral in nature. Unlike Morgoth, who took pleasure in twisting and corrupting Eru’s visions, Sauron was content with subjugating his opposition, bending them to his will. Sauron’s willingness to exact totalitarian command was aided by his intellect, cunning, and guile, and the Rings of Power are the greatest testament to that. However, putting all the eggs in a basket—putting too much importance on the rings as the only major instrument of conquest—later served as a major blowback to the Dark Lord and eventually resulted in his downfall as well.
