What if 👁️Sauron regained the ring, or Isildur never got the ring?

[JackTorrance]

So this will be split into two scenarios:
1. The One Ring is reclaimed by the Nazgul from Frodo in Mt. Doom.
2. Sauron swings his colossal weapon thing and kills Isildur.
what would happen?
Edit: Now imagine that after years, Radaghast and the others form a last resistance against Sauron, what would happen? I think they'd be screwed.

 

[Ent]

I'll go with Gandalf. He said if Sauron regained the one ring he'd rule M-e.

Of course, if he had smushed Isildur to begin with so never lost the ring, there would be no LoTR to worry about... he'd just take M-e over then and Tolkien would not have been a 'free-people' to write his history at all. He would have been a 'bound-people' writing of the greatness and magnifisence of Sauron.

 

[JackTorrance]

I'll go with Gandalf. He said if Sauron regained the one ring he'd rule M-e.

Of course, if he had smushed Isildur to begin with so never lost the ring, there would be no LoTR to worry about... he'd just take M-e over then and Tolkien would not have been a 'free-people' to write his history at all. He would have been a 'bound-people' writing of the greatness and magnifisence of Sauron.

Yeah your right.

 

[Ent]

Yeah your right.

Don't tell anybody. Ruin my image.
I'm also prone to 'oversimplifying' the 'what if' questions... don't know why.

 

[JackTorrance]

Don't tell anybody. Ruin my image.
I'm also prone to 'oversimplifying' the 'what if' questions... don't know why.

Okay. @all Ent is prone to oversimplifying "what if" questions, and he doesn't know why.

edit:
Edit 2: Removed the mentioned users

 

[Valandil]

Sauron was actually lying there dead (or apparently so) when Isildur cut the One Ring from his finger. He slew Elendil (High King of Men) and Gil-galad (High King of Elves) - at the same time they both slew him. He was incapable of swinging anything.

 

[Ent]

Sauron was actually lying there dead (or apparently so) when Isildur cut the One Ring from his finger.

Yes, but @JackTorrance is playing the 'what if' game here.
So what Was is no longer what Is, and he's wanting to invent a new 'what may have been' you see.
Thus, nothing is off the table, and what's on the table (which is labeled "The What If table") is what's on the table, and doesn't need to match the facts at all.

Imagine if you will, a world where Sauron wasn't 'defeated' in said former battle, really does wield a colossal weapon thingy to smush people with, and after prevailing over the other two, Isildur approaches and gets smushed. Then what?

OR: Imagine if you will, a world where the former battle happens just as it was written, LoTR really still happens, but Sauron wakes up from his idiotic misjudgment in time to get the Nazgul to Mt. Doom to snatch the One Ring back before Gollum takes a dip in the lava pool? Then what?

This is @JackTorrance's fantasy now, you see, not Tolkiens. Tolkien's facts simply no longer apply.

So in his first case, Sauron is not defeated, he retains the one ring, and goes on to rule all Middle-earth.
In his second case, Sauron reclaims the one ring, and as Gandalf says, he will then rule all Middle-earth.

This is why I oversimplified both Mr. Torrance's into one. Sauron simply goes on to rule all Middle-earth either way.
He would be infinitely happier in case one, because he'd be ruling much sooner, and doesn't need to bother with all 'the rest of the story'... the saga would be MUCH shorter.

That said of course, we'd need to rewrite a lot of prophecies, change up SIL in several ways, and a great deal more... but well... we'll let Jack deal with all that stuff.