Sauron’s rise to power begins inThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerseason 2, and he’s aided by an unsuspecting Celebrimbor. Season 1 of the Prime Video show frequently teased Sauron as the big bad, as Galadriel hunted him down with the assistance of a shipwrecked human named Halbrand. Thinking she could trust him, she brought Halbrand to Eregion, where he convinced her and Celebrimbor of the need to create the Rings of Power to keep the Elven land of Lindon alive, only for her to realizeHalbrand is actually SauroninThe Rings of Powerseason 1 finale, a fact she keeps to herself.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerseason 2 picks up with Halbrand returning to Eregion to check on the progress of the Rings' construction, while also subtly manipulating Celebrimbor to craft the One Ring to Rule Them All under the falsehood of wanting to bring peace to all of Middle-earth. The new season also showcases Sauron’s transformation intohis Elven form of Annatar, which he uses to further corrupt Celebrimbor and the men of Númenor in his ongoing schemes to spread evil throughout the world.
All 10 Sauron Forms In The Lord Of The Rings Explained
Sauron the Deceiver has taken on many forms throughout the Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and The Rings of Power, making him difficult to destroy.
Charlie Vickers and Charles Edwards return to the ensembleRings of Powerseason 2 castas Sauron/Halbrand and Celebrimbor alongside Morfydd Clark, Sam Hazeldine, Robert Aramayo, Owain Arthur, Maxim Baldry, Daniel Weyman, Markella Kavenagh, Megan Richards, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Sophia Nomvete and Benjamin Walker. In addition to expanding J.R.R. Tolkien’s Second Age, the show also reveals Sauron’s origin story and further insight into his evil influence on characters in the past.
Ahead of the show’s return,Screen Rantinterviewed Charlie Vickers and Charles Edwards to discussThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerseason 2, why Celebrimbor is more susceptible to Sauron’s influence in Halbrand form, how the former’s approach to playing Halbrand remained the same, even with the season 1 reveal, and his transformation into Annatar.
Celebrimbor Is “Captivated” By Halbrand & Annatar’s Presence
Screen Rant: Charles, I’d actually like to turn to you first, because in this season we see you really start to come under the sway of Sauron, obviously disguised as Halbrand. I’d love to hear why you think it isCelebrimbor is more easily swayedthan some of the other characters in this show?
Charles Edwards: I think he was captivated, which I think is a pretty accurate way of putting it, in the forge in season 1, when Halbrand suggested what many people thought was such an obvious solution. I think that’s all part of his bewitchment. I think Celebrimbor is bewitched from the moment Halbrand enters his life, and that’s Sauron’s initial spell. I think, in terms of season 2, Annatar presents himself in an extraordinary coup de théâtre, walking out of the flame, declaring he is a God, he is a maiar. He is going to enrich my life in every way possible.
I would question that that was being gullible, if you’re gonna be presented with something so extraordinarily religious and transcendent and as a highly heightened, magical moment, you kind of you pay it heed. You would listen, you’d give it the time of day. So I’ve never had a moment where I felt that Celebrimbor was being gullible, or slow, or daft. He is none of those things, he is susceptible to flattery, and his ambition is a problem, and his pride is certainly a problem, but not gullible. As the season progresses, other things come into play, but I think when you’re presented with that, I think you go with it.
Vickers Approached Playing Halbrand The Same (Even If The Camera’s Changed)
Charlie, I’d love to turn to you next, because I love that we see you as bothHalbrand and Annatar, though as Halbrand, we see that you have the veil down now that people know who you are. What is it like, sort of balancing that knowing mind game for the audience, as well as keeping that hidden from other characters?
Charlie Vickers: It’s a great question. I think it is all a matter of perspective. I think, particularly when I’m playing the Halbrand character, there’s obvious differences in the sense that I’ve lived with this character for five years now, and everything is quite deeply embedded. But the moments, I’m still playing Halbrand the same. It’s just now the audience, because of the storytelling, is in on it with me, so I don’t really need to think about letting the audience in.
I’m just playing it the same way, but this time, the camera tells the story in a different way. It’s positioned differently, it holds, or it comes in in a different way. Like, a moment that I would play in the first season compared to the second season could be viewed completely differently, even though I’m doing the same thing, just because of the perspective that the audience has.
Becoming Annatar Was Both “Incredibly Exciting” & “Kind Of Trippy” For Vickers
I did want to talk about Annatar, as well. What was your first reaction when you saw what the design was going to be for your character, and then when you saw yourself in the full prosthetics, wig and costume?
Charlie Vickers: It’s incredibly exciting. I was very excited by the prospect of transformation. That’s the thing that makes me most excited about acting, and I loved developing it and wearing it for the first time, it was awesome. It was actually, the first day I wore it was the day when I come out of the forge. We’re really lucky to do this chronologically, and that was really fun and really special, and was kind of trippy.
AboutThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of PowerSeason 2
In Season Two of The Rings of Power, Sauron has returned. Cast out by Galadriel, without army or ally, the rising Dark Lord must now rely on his own cunning to rebuild his strength and oversee the creation of the Rings of Power, which will allow him to bind all the peoples of Middle-earth to his sinister will. Building on Season One’s epic scope and ambition, the new season plunges even its most beloved and vulnerable characters into a rising tide of darkness, challenging each to find their place in a world that is increasingly on the brink of calamity. Elves and dwarves, orcs and men, wizards and Harfoots… as friendships are strained and kingdoms begin to fracture, the forces of good will struggle ever more valiantly to hold on to what matters to them most of all… each other.
Check out our otherThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerseason 2 interviews with:
The first three episodes ofThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerseason 2 premiere on August 29, followed by new episodes on Thursdays on Prime Video.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Cast
Set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power explores the forging of the iconic rings, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, and the epic events leading up to the stories in J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic novels. The series chronicles the creation of legendary characters and the historic alliances and rivalries that shape the fate of Middle-earth.
