Of all the stories I wanted to see in Amazon’s Rings of Power, the story of how Sauron disguised himself and tricked the wise into helping him make the Rings at the heart of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings was The One. It terrified me. The circle of doom cast by the Dark Lord in his “fair form” that slowly closed in on the great smith Celebrimbor presented a master class in manipulation and abuse. But it also offered insight, wisdom and even hope.

So let’s look at how Sauron manipulated Celebrimbor into what we now recognize as the classic abusive relationship.

While we know that the tall, angelic figure with the blonde hair is the cruel, deceptive being that brings ages of suffering to the world, Celebrimbor the Elven Smith ignored all warnings and let himself be used to make Sauron’s Rings. Sauron’s strategy and tactics weren’t fancy. In fact, they were textbook. He gussied them up in a bit of magic, but not that much.

Manipulative people don’t first show up as ghouls. They show up as sympathetic, maybe a bit rough or downtrodden, in need of help, but willing to walk away. Like Sauron, the abuser uses our best instincts against us, such as the desire to help and even our confidence to believe that we can help.

Once they have wormed their way in, they dazzle us with how wonderful they are. Sauron appearing as an angelic messenger in need of the Elf Smith’s help was what we now call a Love-Bomb. How could this awesome thing fall from the sky needing us? Wanting us? We must be special. We were chosen. Our faith and pity paid off. And our role is important. Vital!

At first, Sauron gets Celebrimbor to lie to his High King by flattering the Elf that only his skill could help him make the Rings. Sauron sees that, deep inside, a small part of Celebrimbor doesn’t simply want to be the greatest smith of his time, but the greatest ever. Greater than his famous ancestor. And then Sauron gently fans that spark.

With his passion for his work inflamed, Celebrimbor slowly begins to slide from one lie to another, from petulance to anger at anything or anyone that seems to stand in the way of his glorious, important work with Sauron — creating something so special the highest angels needed his aid. And, of course, it was all for a good cause. These great works would bring peace and save his people. So what’s a little lie? Or an angry outburst?

Nowadays that’s called “moral injury.” When we, for whatever reason, act against our core values. Soldiers forget their humanity during war, the truthful lie, the faithful go astray. This injury leaves great shame, a shame that abusers twist to convince us that we are the problem and to keep us needing them. We are why things aren’t working out. Remember when we did that thing? But it’s OK. They will forgive us, even if others are too stupid to get it.

The result is isolation. Celebrimbor berated his workers, and they were easily convinced he’d lost his mind. He would not hear the pleas of his Dwarven friend and turned him away. He allowed himself to be shut away from the world because, to him, his world had become that workshop where he and Sauron did their important work.

And, of course, in the Smith’s moments of clarity, Sauron was there to convince the Elf that he was just imagining things. And after ensuring his isolation, Sauron made Celebrimbor think he was going mad. We call this Gaslighting, and it doesn’t take the actual ability to make a gruesome battlefield look like a sunny day. But that is what it amounts to. “See? What did I tell you? There’s nothing to see! You’re imagining things.” You may well be living in something close to Hell, but the cunning abuser will paint it over in pinks and gold.

Towards the end, when the Smith has grown completely isolated and has worked himself to a nub as the walls literally fall down around him, he finally, finally catches on. Of course that’s when the situation becomes truly dangerous. That’s when violence is heightened or more likely: when you’re going to leave. What has the abuser have left to hide then? That’s when you get to see the truth.

Celebrimbor dies a torturous death at the hands of Sauron, in torment over what he has done. But he does get to redeem himself. When he finally sees what Sauron is, The Great Deceiver, he predicts that in the end, he will succeed in deceiving himself. Which comes to pass when, blinded by his need and desire for The One Ring, it never occurs to Sauron that anyone would try to destroy it.

And that really is the key, isn’t it? Liars, manipulators, deceivers; they lie most to themselves. That is when they overstep and lose whatever it was that they needed, or thought they needed, to complete the hole inside of themselves.

The evil that any person can do is equal to their ambition and will. Our job is to police our hearts for signs that our hopes are not being used for another’s gain, or we become disposable pawns. I had a thought when tall, blonde and handsome Sauron stroked the hair of Basic Elf Chick. I wondered, “How will he toss this one away when he’s done using her?” It turned out he literally did cause her to be tossed off a wall and plop to the ground, swarmed by the orc army. She was an Elven Tate Bros web-cam girl, a prostitute to a pimp. And when she became inconvenient, he tossed her.

But I did speak of hope. And it is this: you can come back. Galadriel did, and she lived to see the end of Sauron and all his evil. Battered women do. Addicts do. Veterans do. Even wounded children do. And Galadriel showed us how to do it. She admitted she had fallen under his spell, and then did the hard work of learning to trust herself again. The Commander became the Lady of Light, the true enemy of evil. What is the light? Well, if Sauron is The Deceiver, then the light is truth.

Alright, that’s enough talk of dark lords and the end of the world and all. How about meeting Tom Bombadil!? That made me ridiculously happy, although I admit to coveting his hedgehog shaped tea kettle. But, no worries, I won’t be enslaving an army of hedgehogs to craft The One Tea Kettle. Or will I?

What was your favorite part of Season Two of Rings of Power, you totally immune from deception legends?

Namasté you legend,

-J.Lakis

✌🏼❤️🧝🏼‍♀️🧙‍♂️👑💍👁️🌋🦔🤟🏼

If you or anyone you know has experienced sexual violence please contact RAIIN, for Domestic Violence in the US contact The Hotline. Both are available 24/7 by phone or chat in English and Spanish.

If you’re considering suicide, self harm or have a mental health crisis: call or text 988 any time to talk or text with someone from the National Suicide Prevention and Crisis Hotline. Help is always available in English or Spanish. LGBTQ+ youth in crisis? Contact:  The Trevor Project.

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