What is Sauron doing?

We do need to lay out the episodes of Season 5 (which will happen during the Season 5 pre-season sessions), and that will determine what takes place in which episode. For now, it is a safe guess that the Battle of Sudden Flame will be in Episode 12, and Sauron taking Minas Tirith will either be in Episode 13, or in Season 6 Episode 1.
 
I don't mind Sauron using anagram names, although the sound of the nickname "the Mellon" makes me hesitant...
 
I don't mind Sauron using anagram names, although the sound of the nickname "the Mellon" makes me hesitant...
I think the correct Sindarin form would be "i Vellon." Nonetheless, I think just about anyone would recognize that someone who calls himself "the Friend" is probably pretty sketchy.
 
So...the general rule on this project is that each character gets one name, even if Tolkien gave them a bunch of names, with a few key exceptions that make very good sense in the story. Aredhel will be called Aredhel 100% of the time, and never Ar-Feiniel. She'll dress in white and silver, no problem, but the introduction of a new name to tell us that is not really necessary. So, we're leaving that out.
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Sauron is the character with the most names invented by Tolkien (he has, like....over twenty). We are certainly going to use some of them - we've already incorporated Mairon and Sauron, and there was some talk about Thû...and obviously we'll need Annatar. But do we need Lugbûrz? Or Gorthaur? We shall see. So, it would seem to me fairly clear that the goal here is not to rename Sauron every time he appears on screen, but rather to stick to a handful of names for him as needed, and (in general) to resist the urge to make up new names for him.

I'm not saying that we can't...I'm saying that there would have to be a very good reason.
 
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So...the general rule on this project is that each character gets one name, even if Tolkien gave them a bunch of names, with a few key exceptions that make very good sense in the story. Aredhel will be called Aredhel 100% of the time, and never Ar-Feiniel. She'll dress in white and silver, no problem, but the introduction of a new name to tell us that is not really necessary. So, we're leaving that out.
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Sauron is the character with the most names invented by Tolkien (he has, like....over twenty). We are certainly going to use some of them - we've already incorporated Mairon and Sauron, and there was some talk about Thû...and obviously we'll need Annatar. But do we need Lugbûrz? We shall see. So, it would seem to me fairly clear that the goal here is not to rename Sauron every time he appears on screen, but rather to stick to a handful of names for him as needed, and (in general) to resist the urge to make up new names for him.

I'm not saying that we can't...I'm saying that there would have to be a very good reason.
The reason there should be a new one is that Sauron shouldn’t have an alias that he can be easily identified with in later years, apart from Mairon which he uses in Numenor (which I think is weird because he uses an Elvish designation for his title Tar-Mairon, and Sauron hates the Elves).
 
The reason there should be a new one is that Sauron shouldn’t have an alias that he can be easily identified with in later years, apart from Mairon which he uses in Numenor (which I think is weird because he uses an Elvish designation for his title Tar-Mairon, and Sauron hates the Elves).

I have a sneaking suspicion that Thu is going to come up this season, so keep that in mind.
 
Which 'in later years' do you mean? Throughout the 2nd Age, he gets away with 'Annatar' (at least until the death of Celebrimbor, anyway). And as you point out, he can use Mairon again in Numenor. Those three names (Annatar, Sauron, Mairon) should cover the 2nd Age, I would think.....

He currently has 2 active names, going in to Season 5 - his followers (and Morgoth?) call him Mairon. Gothmog (and the other denizens of Angband such as the orcs and eventually the elven slaves) call him Sauron. Thû as sorcerer-king persona is available to us in Seasons 5-6, if we want that.
 
Which 'in later years' do you mean? Throughout the 2nd Age, he gets away with 'Annatar' (at least until the death of Celebrimbor, anyway). And as you point out, he can use Mairon again in Numenor. Those three names (Annatar, Sauron, Mairon) should cover the 2nd Age, I would think.....

He currently has 2 active names, going in to Season 5 - his followers (and Morgoth?) call him Mairon. Gothmog (and the other denizens of Angband such as the orcs and eventually the elven slaves) call him Sauron. Thû as sorcerer-king persona is available to us in Seasons 5-6, if we want that.
Maybe later Ages is the wrong term, but whenever he uses a new form, wouldn’t he have to make a new name to throw off the possibility of someone recognizing him?
 
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Thu sounds almost orcish... i guess he would have had a Name like that among the lesser servants of Angband, they certainly did not call him Mairon or Sauron anyway...
 
I think that Thû could be a name Sauron actually chooses; he could want to create this persona not just to inspire fear in his enemies, but to overshadow the "Sauron" situation in Angband, while it would also signify that he has fallen or moved away from his original position as Aulë's Maia Mairon, a recognition of the shift in loyalty that has been obvious for a long time. Maybe he can use Thû again, later (if it's not going to be a name that is associated with the First Age, and something he leaves behind when he almost repents after the War of Wrath).
 
So...the general rule on this project is that each character gets one name, even if Tolkien gave them a bunch of names, with a few key exceptions that make very good sense in the story. Aredhel will be called Aredhel 100% of the time, and never Ar-Feiniel. She'll dress in white and silver, no problem, but the introduction of a new name to tell us that is not really necessary. So, we're leaving that out.
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Sauron is the character with the most names invented by Tolkien (he has, like....over twenty). We are certainly going to use some of them - we've already incorporated Mairon and Sauron, and there was some talk about Thû...and obviously we'll need Annatar. But do we need Lugbûrz? Or Gorthaur? We shall see. So, it would seem to me fairly clear that the goal here is not to rename Sauron every time he appears on screen, but rather to stick to a handful of names for him as needed, and (in general) to resist the urge to make up new names for him.

I'm not saying that we can't...I'm saying that there would have to be a very good reason.
Well, Gorthaur is his Sindarin name while Sauron is Quenya, but he can’t be using the same name if he’s still conducting the Catch and Release program; someone would still catch on if the same guy keeps showing up at these same occurrences.
 
Well, Gorthaur is his Sindarin name while Sauron is Quenya, but he can’t be using the same name if he’s still conducting the Catch and Release program; someone would still catch on if the same guy keeps showing up at these same occurrences.
I do not think Sauron generally refers to himself “Sauron” or “Gorthaur,” as those are insulting names. However, he may accept those names and not correct people who use them.

The catching part of the catch and release program is done mostly if not wholly by force. Sauron is not going to fool anyone into walking up to Angband with him unless he puts a spell on them the whole way, and why would he waste time doing that if he could have Orcs or underlings drag the person there? Even if Sauron does assume a false identity in order to lure a target away to a place where his minions could grab them, he would likely choose to take the form of someone familiar to his target rather than a stranger.

The only time I think Sauron would need to invent a persona would be when he goes undercover to spy among the Elves like he did at the Mereth Aderthad. Neither he nor Thuringwethil used names in the script I wrote for that episode (Thuringwethil is called Gwilwileth only to indicate she is in the same form that she takes in the next episode, which is all about her undercover work); however, if Sauron goes undercover again and does not disguise himself as someone specific, there may be call for him to use a different name.
 
The only time I think Sauron would need to invent a persona would be when he goes undercover to spy among the Elves like he did at the Mereth Aderthad. Neither he nor Thuringwethil used names in the script I wrote for that episode (Thuringwethil is called Gwilwileth only to indicate she is in the same form that she takes in the next episode, which is all about her undercover work); however, if Sauron goes undercover again and does not disguise himself as someone specific, there may be call for him to use a different name.
This is what I would have in mind if we use my idea of luring Eilinel away during the Dagor Bragollach; he’d take the appearance of a generic Elf in Angrod/Aegnor’s employ, convince Eilinel away, and she’d be killed.
 
I do not think Sauron generally refers to himself “Sauron” or “Gorthaur,” as those are insulting names. However, he may accept those names and not correct people who use them.
What I mean is that Elves refer to him in different languages; he’s “Sauron” in Quenya, and “Gorthaur” in Sindarin, and does not see fit to change them.
 
I think that Sauron could choose to call himself Thû and not expect that his enemies are fooled into believing that he is someone other than "Sauron" (a name that hasn't really been established among the Elves yet). I can't think he considers "Sauron" a real name, like Mairon. It's an epithet. He doesn't like it much (although I agree that he could tolerate it). So if he would choose, he'd obviously call himself Mairon - that's who he is. And in the catch-and-release program, there's no reason for him to go by any other name, except in rare cases when he momentarily is fooling someone - but that's more of a mission operative routine, not a change of identity. And I agree that he mostly would impersonate known people. He could use Thû though, as a way to establish himself as a known power outside of Angband. This would not mean that he takes a different shape or anything. It would be a way to make himself a known enemy of the Elves and thereby someone to fear. And as I implied before, I think it could be a name he uses more than once. It could be his necromancer name.
One reason "Thû" could be a name he uses as some sort of disguise is that he could be a little wary of Ulmo's power. Minas Tirith is in the middle of a river and he can suspect that it could be under the influence of Ulmo (not unreasonable). Could the name be a way to avoid being known to the Vala and thereby make himself vulnerable somehow?
 
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