Sauron was certainly a villain in The Lord of the Rings, but that doesn’t mean he was beyond fear. Middle-earth’s Dark Lord had a very specific plan for the realm he desired to rule, and he went to great lengths to keep those with power from thwarting him. This included creating the Rings of Power and the One Ring to Rule Them All, which elevated him far above the vast majority of beings in Middle-earth and the larger world of Arda. Still, there were a handful of characters that Sauron had reason to fear. In fact, his One Ring made some of them even more of a threat.
Not every Lord of the Rings character that Sauron feared was more powerful than he was. Even among the other members of his angel-like race, the Maiar (which included Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast, and several others), Sauron was typically considered superior. Therefore, his power far outweighed that of any Men or Elves. Regardless, specific members of these Middle-earth races posed a significant threat to the Dark Lord, not just because of their physical or magical strength, but because of their influence.
Beyond this, there were some beings in The Lord of the Rings whose power was far beyond anything Sauron could have dreamed of. The best he could do was hope that they wouldn’t get involved, or else would remain indisposed as he caused his mischief. From time to time, he took measures to make himself difficult for them to reach or control, or put obstacles in their paths. Clearly, Sauron wouldn’t have felt the need to do any of this if he weren’t afraid.
Galadriel
Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has crafted a unique history and relationship between Sauron and Galadriel. However, the vast majority of it isn’t canon. Still, the Dark Lord was indeed fearful of Galadriel’s abilities and influence. She was among the few Elves in Middle-earth who were born in Valinor during the time of the Two Trees, making her more similar to the Maiar than her younger kin. Additionally, Galadriel’s lineage connected her to all three primary Elven tribes, so she was deeply influential across her entire race.
The innate abilities granted by Galadriel’s ancestry and birth meant she couldn’t be manipulated or influenced as easily as others. She was among the few who never trusted Sauron in his more seductive disguises. Then, when Galadriel became the bearer of one of the Three Elven Rings, Nenya, she inherited the ability to protect and guard from evil. All of this provided Sauron with plenty of reason to fear Galadriel. Still, what scared the Dark Lord the most was that if Galadriel managed to claim the One Ring for herself, her power would far outweigh his own.
Aragorn
Aragorn most certainly wasn’t more powerful than Galadriel, let alone Sauron. As a Dúnedain, Aragorn would live longer than other Men in Middle-earth, and he possessed some innate magical abilities, such as endurance, healing, and some limited foresight. Still, none of this was anywhere near the Dark Lord’s level. What made Aragorn such a threat was that he was the heir of Isildur, and he possessed the very same sword his ancestor used to cut the One Ring from Sauron’s finger.
Sauron kept his eye out for Isildur’s heir for centuries. It was important to his plan for domination that the race of Man remain painfully divided. If they were to unite under their king, history could be repeated. With his One Ring lost, Sauron’s fear of Aragorn was even more intense. He assumed that the rightful king of Gondor would attempt to claim the Ring himself, and if he did, Men, Elves, and even the Orcs and other evil beasts would join Aragorn’s side. Sauron would have been virtually powerless.
The Valar
This isn’t just a single character, but the Valar are still worth mentioning. These beings are essentially the demigods of J.R.R. Tolkien’s legendarium. They don’t possess the ability to create life themselves, but they aided their god and creator in the construction of Arda and, therefore, Middle-earth. The Valar are tasked with governing life and nature from Valinor (the Undying Lands), and though they remain hands-off with the Children of Ilúvatar as much as possible, they have been known to get involved if there is virtually no other choice.
The Valar tend only to interfere when it comes to their own. Sauron’s old master, Morgoth, was a Vala, and it was ultimately the Valar who jumped in to take this villain down. As a Maia, Sauron was considered below the Valar’s pay grade. Still, he was fearful that he would one day find himself at their mercy. After all, when Morgoth was defeated, Sauron apologized to the Valar for his part before he fled punishment. If things were to go wrong and Sauron were to end up before the Valar again, they would be unlikely to believe further apologies.
Morgoth
Sauron is often considered the central villain of The Lord of the Rings, but he isn’t the true big-bad of Middle-earth. Thousands of years before he created his One Ring, Sauron served a dark master—Morgoth. Initially a Vala, Morgoth’s power was far beyond anything Sauron could dream of. Additionally, while Sauron aimed to rule over his own image of a perfect Middle-earth, Morgoth was purely nihilistic. He despised life and existence because he himself was denied the ability to create life. So, Morgoth took advantage of every opportunity to destroy or corrupt, just for the sake of it.
When Sauron was still serving Morgoth, he was extremely fearful of failure. Falling short of his Dark Lord’s expectations wouldn’t bode well for the lieutenant. While Mogroth’s downfall was a significant hit against Sauron, it was also an opportunity for him to step forward and do things his own way. This naturally meant that Sauron was fearful of his old master’s potential return. There wasn’t much worse that could happen for him.
Eru Ilúvatar
Sauron’s fear of Eru Ilúvatar was complex. This is the supreme god of The Lord of the Rings—the creator of all living things and the only being capable of truly ending the life of an immortal. In the beginning, Sauron revered and worshipped Ilúvatar and possessed a righteous fear of the deity. However, under Morgoth’s influence, Sauron’s fear of Ilúvatar led him to disassociate from his belief in him. He feared punishment, so it was safer to pretend this god didn’t exist at all.
Later, Sauron convinced the Númenóreans to invade Valinor, and this immense breach resulted in a rare hands-on moment for Ilúvatar. The god destroyed Númenor and Sauron’s body, forcing the villain to slowly regenerate from his spirit. Even then, Sauron couldn’t fully handle his fear of Ilúvatar. He couldn’t deny that the god existed, but he convinced himself that Ilúvatar would only get involved if he again threatened Valinor. So, out of intense fear, Sauron kept his distance from the Undying Lands for the remainder of The Lord of the Rings‘ existing timeline.
- Cast
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Norman Bird, Anthony Daniels, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Sean Bean, Ian Holm, Andy Serkis, Brad Dourif, Karl Urban, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Morfydd Clark, Mike Wood, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Charlie Vickers, Markella Kavenagh, Megan Richards, Sara Zwangobani, Daniel Weyman, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Lenny Henry, Brian Cox, Shaun Dooley, Miranda Otto, Bilal Hasna, Benjamin Wainwright, Luke Pasqualino, Christopher Guard, William Squire, Michael Scholes, John Hurt
- Created by
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J.R.R. Tolkien