There’s an awful lot about Sauron I don’t understand and just don’t think about. I don’t even understand the ring or any rings of power. What gives them their power?
Also-
Was it actually Sauron physically fighting in the battle of the last alliance or was that huge suit of armour sort of possessed by his essence via the ring?
Isn’t Sauron just a man-sized man or can he ‘embiggen’ himself?
If that actually was him, why did being parted from the ring cause him to explode and disappear?
Was the ring the only thing binding him to the mortal plain? If so, how did he reform himself, and why would he rebuild his body with only 4 figures if he was starting from scratch, seeing as there were no physical remains after his defeat?
Is the one ring essentially a horcrux?
Gandalf says Sauron’s life force is bound to the one ring but it’s not like with Voldemort where it would be a fragment of his soul; when the ring is destroyed, Sauron dies so the guy poured his entire life force into a tiny object that he had to wear at all times.
That would explain why his body- if that were somehow his 9ft tall body- was destroyed after being parted from the ring- I guess.
The best part is that I don’t need answers to any of these questions. I love the story and characters so much that all I need to know about Sauron is that he’s bad and mustn’t get the ring. Simples.
The Rings were created as a way to both "perfect" Middle-Earth and make it the rival of Aman/Valinor, but were more importantly created as a way of fighting the natural diminishing of the world through time.
In Tolkien's world the great powers, magic, beauty and wonder of earlier ages decreases over time - for both the forces of evil as well as those of good. The Rings were created by Annatar[Sauron in disguise] in collaboration with Celebrimbor to this end - at this point Sauron had genuinely noble [though insanely myopic and misguided] intentions and wished to help fix the world he felt had been abandoned by the Valar/gods [though not capital G God - he is pretty handsoff], Sauron... being Sauron came to the conclusion that he, as the last of the Great Powers still inhabiting Middle-Earth had the right and the duty to direct Middle Earth to a new and glorious future.... but only under his absolute rule. Sauron was so obsessed with order he considered things like the free-will of other beings to be an obstacle to the utopia he would build and be the benevolent dictator of. Of course, there is also the added problem that his idea of utopia is also utterly terrifying and alien to most living beings. But with the intention of dominating the other wielders of the Rings of Power he forged the One and poured into it the greater part of his natural angelic power.
The reason this didn't work is because the Elven Rings were made by Celebrimbor in secret without Sauron, so he couldn't corrupt them directly. The wielders of these 3 Rings could maintain their kingdoms as the magnificent wonders of the Ancient powers they are in a diminishing world- this is why Lorien, Rivendell and The Grey Havens are so much more "magical" and spiritual than other places in Middle-Earth, why they are protected from Evil and why they are the last key havens of the Eldar/Elves. However, while the Three were not made by Sauron directly they WERE made with the knowledge he imparted to Celebrimbor and thus are tied to the One Ring - which is why their power fades when the One is destroyed and Sauron fallen.
The One Ring had a few effects, the chief purpose as I said was to control the minds of Middle-Earths rulers among whom the lesser rings would be distributed, secondly while wearing the Ring Sauron's power actually increased - it effectively worked as a lens that greater concentrated his power more than his directing it himself, thirdly the One Ring kept his powers "constant" - the use of magic in Middle-Earth slowly diminishes the spiritual power of Maia/Angelic beings especially when in the service of evil or the creation of great works or shapeshifting [all of which Sauron did often] - the One prevented his powers diminishing through use and it is why in the Third Age he is undoubtedly the mightiest being in Middle Earth and spiritually far more powerful than even the likes of the Balrog or the Istari [Wizards like Gandalf and Saruman, who are also angels like Sauron but unlike him are bound into a frail human form], simply because he has remained at the stature of a Great Power of an earlier age in a world constantly diminishing, an example of a powerful Ainur [angelic being] who DIDN'T have a device like the One Ring is Morgoth, Sauron's former Master and basically Satan, who despite being the second most powerful being in creation [after God himself] used so much of his power in creating minions, corrupting earth, destroying things and being evil that in the end he was weaker than his own servants like Sauron despite Sauron originally being a much lower ranked angel than he.
The final [but unintended] effect of the Ring is connected to the last point, Sauron - by having the vast majority of his power "outside" of himself, effectively safeguarded himself against his power being destroyed with physical defeats, When Eru [capital G God] destroyed Numenor with him on it Sauron would have been utterly defeated with no chance of returning - instead as the One preserved the majority of his power, he was back up and running in no time at all, when Gil-Galad and Elendil defeated him in the Battle of the Last Alliance - without the Ring he would never have returned and his defeat there would have cast him low for all time but as the Ring endured his powers were undiminished and he had lost none of his potency. In this sense the One Ring acts like a Horcrux/phylactery = but those ideas stole it from the One Ring or from Koschei the Deathless rather than the One Ring being inspired by them. And like I said this was never the intention when creating the Ring = Sauron is an angel, he is completely and utterly immortal and will continue to exist until the very end of the Universe even after the Ring is destroyed he is still alive, and he never conceived of ever being brought so low as the Ring would accidently save him/his power by being outside of his body.
As for the films depictions - Its hard to say what they were going for, but Sauron like WAS the armor rather than wearing it - Sauron is an angel and thus has no "true" physical form, instead he essentially creates and wears and can change the bodies he wears like we would do clothing [though this requires a degree of power and if an angel spends too long in one form and indulges too much in earthly things like lust, gluttony, etc they can become trapped in in - Sauron however was a particularly skilled shapeshifter until he was rendered unable to assume fair form again when Eru smote Numenor - likely as a punishment for him using his fair appearance to commit evil deeds and as a symbolism that there was no more chance of redemption for him nor pretentions to good intentions].
The Idea of him exploding when the Ring is cut off him is entirely an invention of the film - Sauron's was defeated in combat by Gil-Galad and Elendil [though both died in the process] and his body was so damaged his spirit was formed to discard it and flee - thus leaving the Ring behind which Isildur cut from his hand and claimed [though he lacked the will to subvert Sauron's hold over the Ring and it eventually betrayed him].
Sauron is bound to the physical universe like every other being in both Middle-Earth and Valinor except from Humans who go somewhere else when they die. Sauron cannot die as he is an angel, he cannot even die in the way Elves and the like do when their spirits go to the Halls of Mandos [think something like Hades] but in truth all beings in Middle-Earth are immortal in a way and can never leave the physical universe except for Man.
This is because in a way these beings souls are part of their physical existence - this is why Elves bodies can simply die when their soul's despair is too great, the flesh can reflect their spirit - same applies to Sauron when he reformed his physical body after his defeat at the Last Alliance, without the Ring he still bore some of the "spiritual scars" of that defeat and thus they manifested in the body he was wearing.
Sauron is still in commune with the Ring even when he isn't wearing it - its HIS power, he can still use it even when not wearing the Ring - the difference is he would lack the lens like effect the Ring has that allows him to better direct or concentrate his natural power and also the risk that a being of sufficient will/power/status might be able to sieze control of the Ring from him - which would [for Sauron] have the exact same effect as if someone destroyed it [which he never for an instant considered - in Sauron's twisted worldview absolute power is
factually irresistable, all beings are corruptible and thus are incapable of resisting the Ring, to him the idea of someone bearing the Ring without the intention of wielding it is simply impossible].
The Quest to destroy the Ring, is in many ways, a desparate last hope for the Free Peoples - Sauron doesn't NEED the One Ring to win, he is unquestionably the single most powerful being in Middle Earth - there are none left in the Third Age that can defeat him, he is unquestionably the dominant military power in Middle Earth - despite the victories we see in the movies the truth is that the vast bulk of Sauron's forces were still in reserve, destroying the One Ring is the ONLY way the Free People could survive and win. Sauron, like I said, didn't fear the Ring's destruction as afterall he he
literally cannot imagine the possibility, but he did fear it falling into the hands of someone like Galadriel, Gandalf or Saruman who might have the power/will/status to usurp his control of the Ring and thus rob him of his power - but Tolkien himself states than ONLY Gandalf might have had a chance given that he is a maia and had genuinely benevolent intent and deeds [as those who claim the Ring for evil ends/desire for power etc could never usurp Sauron as all evil deeds and intents serve him as the Dark Lord - which is why Saruman's delusion that he could wrest control of the Ring from Sauron was utter madness] and even THEN Tolkien only gave Gandalf a 50/50 chance.
The lore is complicated but honestly so cool - it helps that Sauron is my favorite part of the wider canon.
