Summary

• Sauron is taking on a new Elf form as Annatar in The Rings of Power season 2, a different take from season 1's Halbrand.
• The trailer for season 2 sees Sauron in his Elf disguise, deceiving the Elves of Eregion in Tolkien's lore.
• While season 1 left out Annatar, the return of Sauron's Elf form in season 2 aims to align more with the character's history.

Sauron looks pretty different in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2, and this is the form he should have taken from the beginning. The Prime Video series is an opportunity to get to know the Dark Lord in a way that wasn't possible in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy since the villain caused much more hands-on trouble during the Second Age. At this point in Middle-earth history, Sauron could take virtually any form he chose, though one in particular was featured in Tolkien's The Silmarillion.

The trailer for The Rings of Power season 2 sees the return of actor Charlie Vickers as Sauron, though he is sporting a different look this time. In season 1, Sauron took the form of a man named Halbrand, and he used this seemingly powerless character to earn Galadriel's trust and manipulate her into getting the Numenoreans to fight in the Southlands. The reveal that Halbrand was Sauron came as quite a surprise since this was seemingly an original character to The Rings of Power. Going into season 2, Vickers is taking on a more familiar version of Sauron.

Sauron Is Fully Adopting His "Annatar" Persona In The Rings Of Power Season 2

The Rings Of Power Season 2 Has Introduced Sauron's Elf Form

In Tolkien's The Silmarillion, Sauron takes on an Elf form called Annatar, and it's through this persona that he deceives the Elves of Eregion into helping him forge the Rings of Power. Prime Video's The Rings of Power season 1 took a different direction, but the trailer for season 2 reveals that Sauron is finally taking on this Elf form. Vickers is seen sporting pointy ears and long hair, and though the name "Annatar" is never mentioned, it's evident from his presence in Eregion that Rings of Power is finally bringing this Sauron version to the screen.

Prime Video may not have rights to the name Annatar since it can only legally adapt from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books. Sauron's Elf name was only ever mentioned in The Silmarillion and The Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth, so this character may go by a different name in The Rings of Power season 2.

Annatar Really Should've Appeared In The Rings Of Power Season 1

Sauron Using A Human Form To Deceive The Elves Doesn't Make Much Sense

After the events of The Rings of Power season 1, it seemed as if Prime Video would leave out Saurson's Elf form entirely. Though it's excellent that Annatar is being brought in for season 2, it's a strange choice since the purpose of this form was to earn the Elf's trust to manipulate them into making the Rings of Power. Doing this as Halbrand didn't make much sense, so there was no reason someone like Celebrimbor would be so taken with a Man, even if he was a friend of Galadriel's.

Halbrand was presented as a sort of Aragorn-like figure to throw audiences off and make the Sauron reveal all the more jolting.

It seems that the only real reason that The Rings of Power season 1 featured Halbrand rather than Annatar is for the shock factor. Halbrand was presented as a sort of Aragorn-like figure to throw audiences off and make the Sauron reveal all the more jolting. Still, the Dark Lord is supposed to be highly clever, and it isn't easy to justify his decision to take the form of a Man in-world. There's nothing wrong with Prime Video's The Rings of Power trying to surprise its audiences, but it should do so in ways that still make sense for the characters and their motivations.