I absolutely adore Bear McCreary's soundtrack for this show, but Howard Shore did an incredible job with the opening song as well. I've been thinking about the visuals that go along with that music and wanted to get different opinions.

The first season visuals look like it is a subtle adaptation of the Ainulindalë. The music certainly seems to back that up as well, since the scene of darkening sand comes in as the music gets bassier. Whereas in the second season, the visuals seem to be more abstract and just show different aspects of the upcoming season. For example, there is a Balrog face in the sand. I think it opens with a pile of red sand that looks like it could be erupting, so I think it is trying to portray the spread of evil out of Mount Doom and show the various consequences as it spreads.

Does anyone else have a take on what the symbolism of the season two opening visuals is meant to be? What do you think they will do for season three? I imagine it will be a new color scheme since the first season was gold and black and the second season is red and gold/yellow.

TLDR: The visuals of the show contrast with what we know from Sauron in books. Do you like this visual interpretation? Would you like something else? Do you expect the show to go into more details and dive into Sauron intentions of order and it making sense on his own pov while contrasting it to what it really means to the rest of Middle-Earth? Or will it just keep things simple and portray a more "evil x good" story with no in-between dillemas?

Longer post:

Its been a while that we got some images for season 3, most of them focusing on Sauron.

In many of the images we see some misallignment, be it with his crown not being centred in his face or the Dark Throne not being centred in the "throne area"

There has been some discussions that this was all done on purpose (which I agree) and that it could be a way of the series to portray the "twisted" goals of Sauron.

Sauron's purposes is, as mentioned in HoME, order over chaos, the latter being what his predecessor Melkor wanted. Sauron doesn't want destruction, he wants order

It had been [Sauron’s] virtue (and therefore also the cause of his fall, and of his relapse) that he loved order and coordination, and disliked all confusion and wasteful friction

OFC, the "order" that he wants is ultimatelly twisted, for he only sees it in a world where the order relies on himself being the ultimate holder of such order, and thus the "king of world". In fact that is one of the tiles he takes for himself during 2nd age, along with "king of kings"

Now to the point:

While it is an interesting take of adaptation to "easely convey" the distorted order Sauron is seeking, in-universe from my POV it doesn't make much sense, as Sauron would probably not be willing to sit in a missalligned throne and probably would thrown the orc that sculp it into shelob lair.

I think the "problematic and twisted order" could be promoted in different ways that not directly into physical things surrounding Sauron, which I would expect would keep his things...in order (can't hold myself on thinking on The Incredibles movie where Mr. Incredible company boss keeps all the pencils alligned on his desk).

BUT

I don't hate the visuals in any mean. This is nitpicking from my part, and just would like to hear what you think about the subject.

Do you like this visual interpretation? Would you like something else? Do you expect the show to go into more details and dive into Sauron intentions of order and it making sense on his own pov while contrasting it to what it really means to the rest of Middle-Earth? Or will it just keep things simple and portray a more "evil x good" story with no in-between dillemas?