That big “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” Season 2 opening flashback showing how Sauron (Charlie Vickers) became Halbrand almost happened in Season 1.
The second season opened with a harrowing look at how Sauron — briefly played by “Slow Horses” star Jack Lowden — was betrayed by Adar (Sam Hazeldine) following Morgoth’s defeat. Instead of dying, the Dark Lord transformed into an amorphous black goo that slowly pulled itself across the countryside before coming across a wagon. The goo devoured its driver and emerged wearing the Halbrand face.
From there, Sauron met a group of Southlanders fleeing the region. He joined them on a boat — which we learn the fate of officially and that all lead up to his meeting Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) on that raft in Season 1. Showrunner Patrick McKay said that Sauron’s Season 2 flashback was meant to feel like an inverse of Galadriel’s from the Season 1 premiere.
“We have this overarching plan, but very early on one of the specific granular ideas was the way the first season starts and the first 10-15 minutes is telling who Galadriel is and what she’s been through, that Season 2 being the Sauron season might you get a mirror version of that with what he brought to that raft,” McKay told TheWrap. “We liked the idea of that early submersible section pulling you in, and pulling you in to how he sees the world and what he’s endured.”
Having the premieres mirror each other with flashbacks for the two opposing forces almost didn’t happen. According to executive producer Lindsey Weber, aspects of the Season 2 premiere’s long opening nearly appeared in Season 1.
“We decided to save it, or at least part of it, for Season 2,” Weber told TheWrap.
There’s a moment toward the end of the flashback, just before things go to hell on the boat and Galadriel swam up to find Halbrand and the survivors floating on the debris, where Sauron almost wavered. Vickers told TheWrap playing those flashback scenes felt like they were really getting into how author J.R.R. Tolkien wrote the Dark Lord at this point in the story — with a mixture of vengeance and vulnerability.
“He had to repent and that repentance – whether it was genuine or not – was kind of represented in this part of the story,” Vickers said.
He added, “[Sauron] has to literally reform himself. He’s lost everything, Morgoth has been defeated, and now he literally has to rebuild. I wanted to show a desire for vengeance but also coupled with a vulnerability and questioning of his decision to side with Morgoth.”
“The Rings of Power” Season 2 premieres new episodes Thursdays on Prime Video.
