Couldn't Sauron resurface in the future?

[Galadriel55]

Originally Posted by blantyr

Not bad. Not too terribly absurd. Still, if your bank and all it's records had been washed to sea in hurricane Sandy, and if you were in California living quite happily without any access to your bank, would you suddenly turn into a column of smoke to get blown away by a west wind?

You might, if the knowledge that in one day you went from a rich man to someone who has no money lead you to self-immolation...

It would be a horribly wicked plot twist if, some 100 years later, the people of ME find out that Sauron was not actually just destroyed by those heroes, but he committed suicide...


Jokes aside, though, you're right. Suspension of disbelief is key.