As The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power crosses the halfway point of its 8-episode sophomore season, viewers have born consistent witness to Galadriel’s (Morfydd Clark) manifold emotions about her climatic split from Sauron (Charlie Vickers), the villain she thought was a human ally throughout Season 1. Simultaneously, Sauron has wasted no time adopting a new guise — Annatar, the benevolent Lord of Gifts — and infiltrating Eregion, the forge of master elven-smith Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards), to craft his corruptive Rings of Power. Since he’s spent his days carefully lying through his teeth, our first true glimpse of the Dark Lord’s side of things — how he’s been handling Galadriel rejecting his joint offer to rule Middle-earth — took its time arriving. The answer, according to Season 2’s fifth episode? Not well. This pairing might be separated by distance, moral standards, and a looming war, but this man can’t get over Galadriel and seemingly has no intention of trying. One specific moment from Episode 5 (written by Nicholas Adams and co-directed by Louise Hooper and Sanaa Hamri) elevates Sauron’s toxic creeper vibes to the next level. Like all of Season 2’s Saurondriel content, I approve this message; the connotations of a few choice words and a single gesture has seared itself into my brain.

Sauron Has Kept His True Feelings Hidden in ‘The Rings of Power’ Season 2

Image via Prime Video

Appropriately, given the “Halbrand is Sauron” revelation that concludes The Rings of Power Season 1, the second season has put Galadriel’s complicated emotions on full display. She bears the shameful weight of being deceived, grief over losing a friend, fear over the emotional sway Sauron still holds over her, and her resolve to defeat him regardless — not to mention her growing affinity with her own Ring of Power and her fracturing friendship with Elrond (Robert Aramayo). Her vendetta against Sauron isn’t just unresolved; the debacle’s gravity heightens it.

Sauron-as-Annatar, meanwhile, has kept any legitimate feelings cloaked underneath his manipulations. His manufactured persona has wrapped Eregion’s awe-inspired smiths around his little finger. Any glimpses of his true thoughts are stolen moments we intuit based on Vickers’ expressions. In many ways, Season 2’s fifth episode isn’t that different; although frustrated with Celebrimbor’s reluctance to make Rings for Men, Sauron improvises his way around the interference (a true display of “I’ll do it myself” energy) without surrendering any essential emotions.

Sauron Comparing Mirdania to Galadriel Is Peak Dark Romance Behavior

Even the one-on-one moment he shares with one of Celebrimbor’s proteges, Mirdania (Amelia Kenworthy), doesn’t begin as anything egregious. Mirdania was kind to him earlier in the episode, touching his arm in proud congratulations before shrinking away from his frosty silence. She also had quite an awkward moment when she briefly wore one of the forge’s experimental Rings and glimpsed the Unseen World, including the unfiltered darkness of Sauron’s true form: a “tall” being with “skin made of flames” and “pitiless, eternal” eyes.

In the aftermath of such disorienting terror, Sauron reaches out to Mirdania. He establishes an emotional connection by comforting her lingering fears. He pretends to confide in her about Celebrimbor’s growing “darkness,” deflecting any potential suspicion that might come his way. Once that gaslighting is out of the way, Sauron falls silent, staring at Mirdania with a growing smile. He marvels at her beauty by comparing it to Galadriel’s, acting like the resemblance caught him by surprise. Mirdania glances away with a smile, flattered by the oddly intimate compliment — before Sauron amps up the Byronic antihero vibes to eleven by invoking one of the genre’s most gratuitous tropes. Gently, almost reverently, he brushes back a lock of Mirdania’s luminous hair, nearly grazing her shoulder in the process.

Sauron, my good sir: what in the dark romance was that? Not only does the gesture lean more explicitly sexual than my wildest dreams could have conceived, but it’s creeper to the max while still being undeniably enchanting. I was yelling “get a job, stay away from her” at the same time I gasp-giggled into my hands at such “you remind me of my ex” audacity. Really, Rings of Power, is this necessary? Not one bit — except for where it’s entirely relevant. Even though his silver-tongued praise is a calculated manipulation, our first hint at Sauron’s mood in the aftermath of the Saurondriel break-up carries more than a whiff of obsession. He seems exceptionally burned by Galadriel’s rejection — even, dare I say, down bad for the tempestuous elven warrior. If Sauron has become the hot Gothic villain who invades Galadriel’s thoughts uninvited, can we presume that losing Galadriel haunts him in return? Enough for him to see Galadriel’s likeness in the nearest blonde woman, to spy her in the forge’s very firelight Spectacular, give me 14 of them right now.

‘The Rings of Power’ Season 2 Understands Sauron and Galadriel’s Romantic Appeal

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If our thesis needs further evidence, consider how Charlie Vickers has repeatedly analogized Sauron’s Season 1 offer to a marriage proposal and described their relationship as a “cosmic connection.” Additionally, he told Collider in an exclusive interview that Sauron is determined to overpower Galadriel’s past resistance:

“His getting rejected definitely leaves him with this sour taste in his mouth, and he goes away thinking, ‘I can make this right.’ Whatever that means to him. That’s one of his throughlines in terms of his motivation or goals for this second season is how much he’s driven and how much this relationship gives him a sense of purpose .”

Simultaneously, Vickers has dismissed Sauron’s inclinations as romantic; as one of Middle-earth’s demi-gods, the actor attests that Sauron is above such trivial things. However, I submit into contradictory evidence Sauron’s fond, predatory smirk as he recalls Galadriel’s image, his prolonged stare at Mirdania, and how he daringly sneaks in that indulgent stroke of her hair — long golden tresses that, like Galadriel circa Season 1, Mirdania wears down. Rings of Power‘s production team certainly isn’t unaware of the Saurondriel dynamic. According to co-showrunner Patrick McKay, series producer Gennifer Hutchison knew their potential before the first season aired. McKay told Yahoo UK that Hutchinson informed the team how “everyone’s gonna ship these two!’ We’re like, that’s crazy. They’re enemies. What? What are you talking about? So, Genny, you were right.” Not to be undone, Prime Video’s marketing has hyped up the not-couple’s appeal, especially the upcoming moment when they clash weapons once again.

In some corners, Sauron’s Galadriel comparison has rejuvenated earlier rumors that Mirdania is actually Celebrían, a character from J. R. R. Tolkien‘s legendarium and Galadriel’s daughter with her missing husband, Celeborn. While not impossible, a reveal of that nature feels too convoluted; Mirdania is likely just an original character designed to remind Sauron of Galadriel’s presence — or lack thereof. Constantly seeing the woman who got away rubs salt in his wounded pride. It levels the emotional playing field between the two immortal enemies. And like every Saurondriel interaction to date, it’s more exquisitely trope-y than my romance-loving heart expected. I’m only human, and I’m as weak as a wet noodle to the crumbs Season 2 keeps feeding us. (If future displays continue at this pace, Rings of Power will render me a non-functional member of society.) Episode 5 — which might as well go down as the “hair caress” episode — all but proves that Sauron, one of the world’s most nefarious household name villains, is bedazzled with his heroine to the point of touching another woman’s hair while softly reminiscing about the object of his desire. Talk about chilling and thrilling.