Quote:
Originally Posted by Sauron the White
The flaw is a simple one. If Sauron gets the ring then he can rule the world and end all proper civilization. However, he once had the ring, attempted to do just that and was unsuccessful. The ring did not give to Sauron in the Second Age what the Free Peoples fear he will get by obtaining the ring in the Third Age. He had the ring. It failed to deliver. In fact, he had the ring right there in the Barad-dur in his own kingdom of Mordor and the Last Alliance came there, defeated his armies, then laid siege to his fortress for seven full years. What good did the ring do for him in that time? Nothing. Zip. Zilch. Nada.
But the whole premise of LOTR is that if Sauron gets the ring its all over but the dying... and that will soon follow.
But that was not true. Sauron had the ring, did some bad things with it on his finger .... but, in the end, had his sorry behind kicked and he vanished with the winds after it was cut off.
So much for the power of the ring on Saurons hand.
I see this as a huge flaw. I could have accepted the idea that there is this powerful being who is just inches away from total domination of all creatures if he can just get his hands on this powerful weapon. Of course, he has never had his hands on this powerful weapon but now must obtain it. But that is not the case. Sauron is NOT going after some powerful weapon that will tip the scales completely in his favor. He is simply trying to recover what was once his. In fact, the power in the ring was power that came from him in the first place.
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When Sauron puts the One Ring on his finger and the Elves realise that they have been betrayed they take off their rings , as far as I recall, the Three are not used until after the defeat of Sauron at the end of the Second Age. The concern that presents itself at the end of the Third Age is that if Sauron gets back his Ring all the work done by the Three would be laid bare. It compounds the problem that the Free Peoples have, that they cannot mount the kind of force sent against Sauron at the end of the Second Age. They are far more vulnerable at the end of the Third Age than they were in the second and it makes sense that they should be more worried about Sauron getting back his Ring. While the Ring may not render him invulnerable, the chances of repeating the feat of Isildur are slim. They may have defeated Sauron once while he bore the Ring. But that victory came at great cost and they, realistically, were skeptical of being able to do so again.
As for why Sauron wants the Ring back, this is an object as you note into which he had put the greater part of his power. Even though he may not have foreseen that his enemies would attempt to destroy it, he would not have been anxious to have one of them show up wielding it. Is it not prudent for him to guard against this?