So why was #Sauron on that raft? I know that's a question a lot of people are asking and one that both Charlie and the #RingsOfPower showrunners have said will be addressed in Season 2. Unlike Sauron, I'm not in anyone's head, but I can give it my best (hopeful) guess.
Disclaimer that I have not had time to do a rewatch of eps 2-8 yet, so I don't know how well this will hold up in light of that. 2/
The show has been leaning heavily into the "chance" meeting. Galadriel references it explicitly more than once. (I know this has been talked about, but stay with me here). I'd even say episode 1 ends with her jumping off the ship almost as an act of faith in such an event. 3/
It's being played not unlike in The Lord of the Rings, but much more overtly and against more religious imagery (that whole boat ride/Valinor). This has lead to all kinds of questions about what it means for Galadriel to have met SAURON of all people in that "chance" meeting. 4/
But here's the angle I think makes the most sense for a Sauron who is still reeling from the defeat of Morgoth (who he "adored" according to Morgoth's Ring) but also seems to have feared in RoP: Sauron was doing the same thing Galadriel did but for slightly different reasons. 5/
I sometimes refer to Sauron as "Sauron The Dramatic and Petty" because, well, he is. Despite his love of organization and hate of "wasteful friction" his actions in Numenor that lead to the cataclysm are so disproportionate. They are largely unnecessary for achieving his ends. 6/
The degradation he leads Numenor to goes far beyond what he would need to subdue and collapse their empire. So why does he do it? I think he's making a point, or trying to, about Arda and The Children—how wrong this whole Ea thing has gone. He's sending a message to Eru. 7/
It's not unlike his choice to stand on top of the temple during the lightning storm, defying it in front of the people, but it's an order of magnitude greater. 8/
Tolkien at one point writes that Sauron "could not be a sincere atheist"—he has been in Eru's presence after all. But he convinces himself that Eru (and the Valar) have abandoned Middle-earth, leaving him (presumably) it's only god and only savior. /9
I can absolutely see that Sauron casting himself "Adrift" (the name of the ep) as a challenge to Eru but of a slightly other sort: giving Eru one last chance to prove he's still there, that Providence is a real thing, and that this whole Ea mess still makes sense. /10
It's overly dramatic. It's self-absorbed. It's missing the point a bit. But he gets what he asks for! He get's his nudge of Providence when Galadriel shows up. But he takes exactly the wrong message from it. 11/
And it's yet another way of expressing in the show how Sauron/Galadriel are alike and yet different (Something I said I wanted and something I got although not quite in the way I had hoped for: still longing for "wanting to rule" Galadriel, though it won't hit the same now). 12/
A bit about Providence: from Gandalf's perspective circa the beginning of LotR, Bilbo finding the Ring is evidence of Providence (although he doesn't name it that) at work in a way that might be "an encouraging thought." From Frodo's perspective at the same time "It is not." 13/
Frodo is being perfectly reasonable. Gandalf doesn't shame him for it. The narrator doesn't either. In the end, while Frodo carrying the Ring to Mordor is one piece of an intricate web of choices and chances that defeated Sauron, Frodo is still maimed physically and mentally. 14/
What one thinks of any particular "act of Providence" is very much based on perspective. And what one thinks of the idea in general—whether it is consonant with the idea of a loving Creator—is, too. 15/
I also think his beef with Eru all goes back to the distinction between Arda Marred, Arda (Un)Marred, and Arda Healed and what Sauron doesn't understand/assent to about the choice to instantiate Arda Marred (with the hope of Arda Healed) instead of Arda (Un)Marred. 16/
He says he wants to “heal” Middle-earth but that’s not really what he means. He wants to “fix” M-e, legitimately ("beginning with fair motives"). But M-e can't be "fixed," (what you do with things) it can only be "healed" (what you do with people). 17/
Healing is a harder process. It's inefficient and it involves the input of other beings (not their domination). To get to Arda Healed, The Music has to be allowed to play out. And he’s far too impatient for that. 18/
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