The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Who Does Jack Lowden Play in Season 2?

Warning: The following article contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2, Episode 1, “Elven Kings Under the Sky.”

Slow Horses star Jack Lowden makes a surprise cameo in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power‘s second season premiere. So, who does Lowden play in The Rings of Power Season 2?

Related: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power: Who Plays Sauron in Season 2?

Jack Lowden’s Rings of Power Season 2 Role, Explained

Jack Lowden plays Sauron in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 – but only during the opening flashback. This sequence takes place in the northern realm of Forodwaith thousands of years before The Rings of Power‘s main narrative. Here, Lowden’s dark lord (credited as “Forodwaith Sauron”) demands the Orcs crown him their leader, following the defeat of their original boss, Morgoth. But Sauron’s stump speech doesn’t go over well and his right-hand man, Adar, stabs him with his own crown! The rest of the Orcs quickly get in on the action, plunging their blades into their would-be ruler. When the dust settles, Sauron’s seemingly dead – although a blinding burst of energy that escapes his “corpse” suggests otherwise.

Related: Why Isn’t Bronwyn in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2?

Even so, Adar and his followers remain convinced Sauron is gone for good. They’re wrong, though, and the baddie gradually absorbs enough plant and animal life (including an unsuspecting human traveller!) to create a new body for himself. In this reborn form, he’s now portrayed by Charlie Vickers, not Lowden. This tracks with Season 1, in which Vickers played Sauron disguised as a mortal man, Halbrand. The Aussie actor also portrays the dark lord in his Season 2 cover identity, Annatar. Sauron frames Annatar as Halbrand’s true form: an emissary sent by the angelic Valar to guide Elf-smith Celebrimbor. That’s why his likeness remains the same, only with a distinctly Elven glow-up.

Why Does Sauron Change His Appearance in The Rings of Power Season 2?

If you’re more of a casual Lord of the Rings fan, you may be wondering what the deal is with Sauron’s constantly changing faces. We’ve partly covered this already: his original physical form is destroyed in Season 2’s flashback, so he needed a new one. How exactly Sauron settled on the “Halbrand” look isn’t fully spelled out, however, it’s not hard to connect the dots. Adar and his Orcs were familiar with the dark lord’s previous, Lowden-esque likeness; presumably, others in Middle-earth (such as the Elves) were too. As such, dramatically changing his appearance – and inventing a “long-lost Southland king” backstory – was Sauron’s way of flying under the radar.

Related: Is Sauron an Elf in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2?

As to the mechanics of Sauron’s Annatar “upgrade” later in Season 2, that’s easier to explain. The Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien describes Sauron as a shapeshifter capable of taking on a range of forms. So, Sauron recalibrating his Halbrand disguise into the ethereal Annatar to hoodwink Celebrimbor is well within his established wheelhouse. It also lines up with Tolkien’s canon, in which Sauron likewise swans around as Annatar (just without the Halbrand bit of the equation).

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 is currently streaming on Prime Video, with new episodes dropping Thursdays.