Sauron’s rise to power begins The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2, and he’s aided by an unsuspecting Celebrimbor. Season 1 of the Prime Video show often teased Sauron as the Big Bad, as Galadriel hunted him down with the help of a shipwrecked man 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 Lyndon alive, only for her to realize that Halbrand was actually Sauron in The rings of power Season 1 finale, a fact she keeps to herself.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 begins with Halbrand returning to Eregion to check on the progress of the construction of the rings, while also subtly manipulating Celebrimbor to create 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 into his elven form of Annatar, which he uses to further corrupt Celebrimbor and the people of Númenor in his ongoing schemes to spread evil throughout the world.
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Charlie Vickers and Charles Edwards return to the ensemble Rings of power Season 2 cast as 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 on JRR Tolkien’s Second Age, the show also reveals Sauron’s origin story and further insight into his evil influence on characters in the past.
Before the show’s return, Screen Rant Interviewed Charlie Vickers and Charles Edwards to discuss The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2, which Celebrimbor is more susceptible to Sauron’s influence in Halfrand form, as the former’s approach to playing Halfrand remained the same, even with the season 1 reveal, and his transformation into Annatar.
Celebrimbor is “Captivated“By the presence of Halbrand & Annatar
Screen Rant: Charles, I’d really like to turn to you first, because in this season we’re really seeing you start to come under the sway of Sauron, obviously disguised as Halfrand. I’d love to hear why you think Celebrimbor is easier than some of the other characters in the 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 a lot of people thought was such an obvious solution. I think this is all part of his magic. I think Celebrimbor is fascinated by the moment Halbrand comes into his life, and this is Sauron’s first spell. I think, in terms of season 2, Annatar gives himself an extraordinary coup de theater, walking out of the flame, declaring he’s a god, he’s a Maiar. He is going to enrich my life in every possible way.
I would ask that this was plausible, if you are going to be presented with something so extraordinarily religious and transcendent and as a highly heightened, magical moment, you should pay attention. You would listen, you would give it the time of day. So I never had a moment where I felt that Celebrimbor was gullible, or slow, or daft. He is none of these 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 approaches to playing half-round the same (even if the camera is changed)
Charlie, I’d like to turn to you next, because I love that we see you both as Halbrand and Annatar, although as Halbrand, we see that you have the veil down now that people know who you are. What’s it like, sort of balancing that knowledge mind game for the audience, as well as keeping that hidden from other characters?
Charlie Vickers: It’s a great question. I think it’s all a matter of perspective. I think, especially when I play the Halbrand character, there are obvious differences in the sense that I have lived with this character for five years now, and everything is quite deeply embedded. But these moments I still play Halbrand the same. It’s just now the audience, because of the story, is in it with me, so I don’t really need to think about leaving the audience.
I just play it the same way, but this time, the camera tells the story in a different way. It is positioned differently, it continues, or it comes in a different way. Like, a moment that I would play in the first season compared to the second season might be viewed completely differently, even though I’m doing the same thing, just because of the perspective that the audience has.
becoming anatar was both”Incredibly exciting“&”Kind of trippy“For Vickers
I really wanted to talk about Annatar too. 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. It’s the thing that gets me most excited about acting, and I loved developing it and wearing it for the first time, it was awesome. It was the first day I wore it was the day I came out of the forge. We were really lucky to do it chronologically, and it was really fun and really special, and was kind of trippy.
About The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 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 nations of Middle-earth to his Evil will. Building on the epic scope and ambition of Season One, 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 increasingly on the brink of Disaster. Elves and dwarves, orcs and men, wizards and harefoots… As friendships are strained and kingdoms begin to crumble, the forces of good will fight ever more valiantly to hold on to what matters to them most of all… each other.
Check out our others The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 interviews with:
The first three episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 premieres on August 29, followed by new episodes on Thursdays on Prime Video.
Source: Screen Rant Plus