The Lord of the Rings is celebrated for its simple black-and-white approach to morality. Like most high fantasy stories, the heroes are unflappable selfless beacons of light, and the villains are monsters made of hatred. The heroes tend to be underdogs, struggling to stay unnoticed while they oppose the all-powerful antagonist. Aragorn defies expectations in several ways, making him a nightmare for the Dark Lord, Sauron.

Sauron is the fantasy villain from which every other example must diverge. That iconic suit of armor still lives in the mind of every fan of the genre. Though he starts and ends his story with a shattering defeat, he appears godlike and unstoppable. Even Sauron has things to be afraid of.

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Why is Sauron afraid of Aragorn?

Aragorn at Helm's Deep

Aragorn II Elessar is a lone man who personifies almost every threat to Sauron. In Aragorn, Sauron saw his greatest possible challenger. Most obviously, Aragorn was the heir to Elendil and Isildur. Elendil was one of the two men who led the army to defeat Sauron in the Second Age, and his son Isildur cut the Ring from his hand. Aragorn is a direct descendant of those two men. The book mentions his physical resemblance to Isildur several times. As Aragorn joins the War of the Ring, he has the sword his ancestors used reforged into a new blade. Bloodlines are very important in Tolkien's stories, and it makes a lot of sense that Sauron would fear the great-grandson of the man who cut off his hand.

Aragorn carried the blood of Numenor with him. His genetic connection to the heroes of the Second Age established him as a dangerous opponent of Sauron. Sauron's deepest fear was that Aragorn would use the Ring against him. With its powers of domination, Aragorn could comfortably take over the entirety of Sauron's dark army. Though this would eventually corrupt Aragorn, it would allow him to destroy Sauron and take his place. Aragorn was an immensely threatening figure regardless of his ancestry. He's one of the greatest warriors in all of Middle-earth, he was trained in Elvish ways by Elrond, and he held a banner all men would flock to. Sauron believed that Aragorn was the only man who could wield the Ring against him and win the war. Sauron was right to fear Strider, but not for the reasons he would have thought.

What else does Sauron fear?

Gandalf on the Bridge of Khazad dum

Aragorn is the main thing keeping Sauron awake at night, but he's far from his only powerful enemy. Gandalf represented the consistent effort to undermine Sauron's power. With the use of Gandalf's Ring of Fire, the Fellowship was able to hide from the Eye of Sauron. Gandalf probably couldn't take Sauron in a fair fight, but the presence of the only wizard who still opposed him was an obvious oversight. Sauron also had some degree of fear for Galadriel, the last of the great Elves. They view each other as equals, leading both to hold some fear for the other.

The problem with Sauron is that he couldn't imagine anyone passing up the power of the Ring. Sauron saw the downfall of his predecessor, and it inspired him to attempt a stealthier approach. Sauron spent most of his time in the shadows, plotting the retrieval of his Ring. His biggest fear was that someone else would replace him as the Lord of Darkness. His fears were understandable. Boromir planned to use the Ring against Sauron, knowing that it would result in his corruption. However, the only way to truly defeat Sauron was to destroy the Ring forever.

What happened to Sauron?

sauron-rings-of-power-reflection

Sauron spent centuries in silence after he was defeated by Isildur. His resurrection was short-lived. Aragorn led the forces that opposed him yet again while Frodo brought the Ring to the fires of Mount Doom. Gollum, of all people, sent the Ring tumbling into the lava below. With the Ring destroyed, Sauron was robbed of his power. His fears weren't proven right, but he still knew who would defeat him. Aragorn's role in the final battle was unique. Since the forces of good were outnumbered, they marshaled their forces to draw out Sauron's army. This allowed Frodo and Sam to make it to Mount Doom. In many ways, Aragorn used Sauron's fear of him to win the war.

Sauron had every reason to fear Aragorn, but his doom came from the strangest of places. Much of the story of Lord of the Rings is about the little guy finding a way to become a hero. Sauron could never have imagined a Hobbit would oppose him. He never imagined a mortal would willingly throw the power away. His selfishness and fear were his undoings. Sauron is one of the most iconic villains in fictional history, but he wasn't defeated by superior military power or greater magical skill. Sauron lost for more personal reasons.

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