Sauron is the representation of the darkness of the human being: all selfish, destructive, greedy and aggressive instincts. He has no army or allies but, like any seed of evil, he will find a way to sow discord among the inhabitants of Middle-earth with the aim of subjecting all peoples to his will. This is the starting point of the second season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, for which Prime Video has presented a first preview video and the premiere date.

“An ancient and powerful evil has returned.” “Stealthily he makes his way into your mind and the rest of his being snakes in.” “I think he’s been here, I think he’s been with us the whole time.” “Every soul in Middle Earth is in danger.” As the viewer can hear, all the phrases go along the same line: the uncontrollable variable that Sauron represents, free across Middle-earth, even though Galadriel expelled him after initially falling under her charms.

One of the most interesting elements is that, as the viewer can see, Charlie Vickers’ Sauron will present a new appearance in the second season: after camouflaging himself as a man next to Morfydd Clark’s Galadriel, at some point he will have the appearance elf-like, with pointed ears and silky blonde hair. He intends to oversee the creation of the Rings of Power that will allow him to control men, elves and dwarves to subdue Middle Earth.

The synopsis advances the following: “Built on the epic journey and ambition of the first season, the new installment immerses even its most beloved and vulnerable characters in a rising tide of darkness, challenging each one to find their place in a world that is increasingly on the brink of misfortune. Elves and dwarves, orcs and men, sorcerers and hairies… as friendships begin to go awry and kingdoms fracture, the forces of good will fight even more bravely to preserve what matters most to them… themselves and their loved ones.”

The second season of The Rings of Power, which will consist of eight episodes creatively led by J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, will premiere on August 29 after accumulating more than 100 million viewers worldwide, according to Amazon. It will return, therefore, two years later and without directly competing with HBO’s House of the Dragon, which will be broadcast between June and early August.

It seems that Prime Video’s plan is clear: take advantage of the public’s thirst for fantasy by trying to attract viewers of the Game of Thrones prequel, series orphans, in addition to repeating at a time of year where they know what kind of attention they can receive by the audience and the media.