However, in the Return of the King,
Sauron does survive in some form after the destruction of the Ring. However, since he put so much of his own power into the Ring, he only exists as an evil spirit and cannot do anything. Instead of having control over all the people of Middle Earth, Sauron barely has control over his own fate.
Sauron, in werewolf form, fought with Huan—and lost. He yielded his power to Lúthien, took the form of a vampire, and went into hiding. He emerged after Morgoth was finally defeated, and pled the Maia EönwëOpens in new tab for mercy. But out of fear of judgment, he fled and went into hiding in Middle-earth once again.
So, to make it as strong as possible, Sauron imbued it with a substantial part of his soul. As a result, his fate was bound to the One Ring, and if it were ever to be damaged or destroyed, Sauron's power and strength would be destroyed along with it.
While there is no official answer for why Bilbo and Sam were able to be rid of the Ring without too much issue, there is a lot of supporting evidence that suggests it was partially due to their inner morality, as well as partially because of the Ring choosing its own path.
There have been 3 times in the record of Middle Earth that the evil Sauron has been defeated and cast out of his physical form. The first is during the fall of Numenor, when the kingdoms are turned to ruin, and the once noble race is almost wiped out, and loses control of the Palantir stones.
Morgoth spent thousands of years corrupting the Earth and making many evil things. But this slowly dispersed his natural power into the fabric of reality, so that he himself became diminished and weakened on a personal level. (This was not something he'd planned or expected.)
So much so, during the Second Age he even showed repentance for his actions as Morgoth's lieutenant. In The Silmarillion, Tolkien tells us about this brief period, in which Sauron was regretful of his servitude precisely for knowing the fate of Morgoth and wanting to avoid it for himself.
After the War of Wrath, with the downfall of Morgoth and the destruction of Thangorodrim, Sauron adopted a fair form and repented his evil deeds in fear of the wrath of the Valar. Eönwë ordered Sauron to return to Valinor in order to receive the judgement of Manwë.
Mount Doom exploded. Both Sauron and his Ringwraiths were apparently destroyed. After the ultimate defeat of Sauron, Mordor became mostly empty again as the Orcs inside it fled or were killed.
What Happened to the Orcs After the War of the One Ring? Without the Ring's power sustaining it anymore, Barad-dûr completely collapsed and Sauron's army fled. The final installment of the film trilogy shows the Orcs either escaping or being swallowed up by the ground beneath them after the war ends.
It begins after Sauron's master, the evil lord Morgoth, is defeated. Sauron may have gone into hiding, but he's still alive: the series will eventually show Sauron's creation of the titular rings of power—including the one ring to rule them all.
Tolkien wrote that Sauron went through phases, including one where he briefly sought redemption after the fall of Morgoth.
Ever since his downfall, Morgoth held a desire for destruction; above all else, however, Morgoth held deep hatred of the mere existence of intelligent or beautiful life. Unlike his servant Sauron, Morgoth's ultimate goal was solely the corruption, not control, of all that he despised.
Even if Galadriel had the One Ring, Sauron would destroy her instantly. Her plan, in desiring the Ring; was to use the One Ring in order to become the beloved queen over all men and Elves, and have them destroy Sauron.
Sauron: Morgoth's Most Loyal Servant and Backup Plan
Morgoth's most powerful servant was his loyal lieutenant SauronOpens in new tab, a supreme being himself. Sauron was one of the Maiar, spirit servants of the Valar. ( Wizards are also MaiarOpens in new tab.)
Basically, Morgoth distributed his own power so that he could rule by proxy, enforcing his will through his creations. That makes a big difference in terms of power scale. In fact, Sauron during the Second Age was more powerful than Morgoth at the end of the First Age.
The reason that Morgoth might be unfamiliar to some is that he was never depicted Jackson's Lord of the Rings film series. This is because, by the time these stories take place, Morgoth has been imprisoned for millennia. He is only ever mentioned in the books, as well as in the films.
Tom Bombadil, despite Tolkien's ruse of Tom's appearance (deliberate), and his silly manner of singing his version of the Ainulindale (also deliberate), is and was the most powerful entity in Arda at any time in its history. All hail to Tolkien the master author and creator of the fantasy genre.
Finally Sauron came out to fight Elendil and Gil-galad face to face. When Elendil fell, his sword Narsil broke beneath him. Isildur took up the hilt-shard of Narsil and cut the One Ring from Sauron's hand, vanquishing Sauron.
Sauron intended it to be the most powerful of all Rings, able to rule and control those who wore the others. Since the other Rings were powerful on their own, Sauron was obliged to place much of his own power into the One to achieve his purpose. Creating the Ring simultaneously strengthened and weakened Sauron.
Immortality: As one of the Ainur, Mairon/Sauron was functionally immortal; failing that, seemingly very long-lived having existed with and without a physical form for the better part of several thousand years, Sauron was created before the physical realm of Arda and Middle-earth was established thus his age is ...
She already feels an outcast after Gil-galad tried to send her back to the Undying Lands, and she fears that if she reveals what she has done, it will be the final nail in the coffin. Instead, when Elrond pulls her from the river Glanduin, and she races back inside to Celebrimbor's forge, she chooses to stay silent.