Also the movies are different enough from the books that you can’t look at them as an exact telling of Tolkien’s stories.
As far as him rebuilding his power, I agree with the idea that the Ring gave him a foundation-he couldn’t be destroyed, so he could concentrate on recharging his batteries and pulling in his minions.
I think that a large part of why most of the Ainur aren’t seen changing forms is just that they get familiar and comfortable with their form. Like, we humans can change our clothing to any of the wide variety of clothes that humans wear, but most of us end up adopting just a few styles that we almost always wear. Like, I’ll either be wearing dress slacks, dress shirt, and tie, when working, or cargo shorts and a short-sleeved shirt with a pocket, for casual times in the summer, or jeans and a flannel, for casual times in the winter. I could be a clothesshifter and put on a tuxedo or a toga or a great highlands kilt or a wedding dress or a sari or a Speedo, but I don’t.
And don’t think we aren’t grateful.
This is a metaphor that at first isn’t very satisfying, but bears elaborating. What would be the source of that recharging? Is it that the Maiar and Valar drew strength from their surroundings in some way, whether from Middle Earth, or the totality of Ea, or from being in the same universe as Valinor? They all use their powers, some of them in Middle Earth, mostly to do good, but if we assume that even doing good takes some effort and so “uses up” some of their power, they too must get recharged on a regular basis. Sauron, still being a Maia though greatly weakened by the loss of his ring, would also be able to build up his power by husbanding his strength over time.
Did Tolkien write anything on this idea? This is at least plausible (in-universe) and therefore more satisfying.
They draw their power from being what they are, and they presumably rest sometimes. I don’t think that Tolkien ever mentioned them specifically needing sustenance of any sort, though.
Just like a human might speak of “recharging our batteries” with a nap, even though we’re not actually taking in any energy while napping.
Always nice to see a Johnny Knoxville reference in a LOTR thread.
Just wondering if the OP was at all prompted by S2 Epi1 of The Rings of Power? Because there is a scene where Sauron reconstitutes himself from incorporeal form there and it was not at all what one would expect. Not like anything in anything I’ve ever read from Tolkien, but then nothing else in that show is either.
No, I’m not watching that stuff, and my OP was posted before the new episodes were available (I think). As far as I can tell from what I’ve read (since I’m not watching it) there are huge amounts of that series that are not even remotely canon. p.s. I can’t stop it, but I hope this thread doesn’t devolve into a discussion of that series.
Well, I sincerely doubt there is any canonical answer, since (AFAIK) Tolkein never got much into the “how” of the supernatural goings-on in his universe.
You’re asking a question which can only have purely speculative answers; I don’t understand rejecting some because they come from media you don’t seem to like.
It’s not the medium I don’t like, it’s the production, especially the writing. The person I was responding to asked a specific question, whether my OP was inspired by that episode of that show. My post is a response to that question, including reasons why I’m not interested in watching that show.
Ok. Thank you for clarifying.
I wanted to understand if you were going to reject inputs based on the non-canon of the new show, when the entire subject lacks any canonical sources.
It’s true there is no written-down pat in-canon answer. However, for a discussion of my question to make any sense at all I think it needs to use inference and argument based on what is canon. Otherwise it’s just a dorm-room bull session based on whatever pops up in someone’s head, which I don’t find interesting. This is a problem when discussing theoretical questions about an imaginary universe that includes magic (or advanced technology) that isn’t thoroughly defined*.
I have come to understand that the only answer to my question is somewhat tautological: Sauron had the ability to regenerate his strength because it was in his nature as a Maia, an immortal being of immense innate power in that universe. When the ring was cut from his hand, he was in shock and weakened. Apparently he made a strategic retreat to a non-corporeal state so he could escape from the massive army that was there to put him in chains.
*This is no knock on Tolkien, far from it. He was creating a universe, not a board game.