As Bilbo Baggins once asked, “Where to begin?” Well, let’s set the stage by laying out what “The Rings of Power” did that set off all this in the first place. It started when season 1 portrayed the forging of the three elven Rings — which, in Tolkien’s original writing, was never done with the involvement of a helpful fellow known as Annatar, the “Lord of Gifts.” (This alias was, of course, Sauron’s disguise to fool the elves.) Instead, he helped craft 16 “Lesser Rings” that were mainly treated as practice for the greater ones, which were the three Rings created by master craftsman Celebrimbor (played by Charles Edwards in the Prime Video series) and, ultimately, the One Ring that Sauron himself forged in secret within Mount Doom to control all the others. But “The Rings of Power” altered the timeline by depicting the three Rings forged first, partially with Sauron/Halbrand’s help, and then allowing Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) to discover Halbrand’s true identity.
So, with over a dozen Lesser Rings still to come in the series, here’s the “plot hole” in question: Why would anyone trust Sauron to help them create even more Rings? A new comment from actor Charlie Vickers might go a long way towards resolving this bit of uncertainty. While speaking to Empire, he teased that that the Dark Lord taking on the form of Annatar will play a major role throughout this Sauron-centric second season:
“You have Sauron and Celebrimbor working together, making rings […] In the same way the whole Halbrand thing was for Galadriel, this new look is for Celebrimbor. This is the best way to get him to do what he wants him to do: make a bunch of rings that’ll dominate everyone else.”
