Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) gave Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) one directive in the Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power Season 1 finale: Don’t speak to Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) anymore. She left out the crucial information that Halbrand was just the human mask for the evil sorcerer Sauron, but as one of the eldest and highest-ranking elves in Middle-earth, she didn’t really think she needed to explain herself for her orders to be followed. Well, that was a fateful overestimation of her influence on Galadriel’s part, as the audience learned in the premiere episodes of Rings of Power Season 2.
Warning: The following contains spoilers for the Season 2 premiere episodes of Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power.
The first episode of the season ended with Halbrand returning to the gates of Eregion determined to finish the creation of the rings. Celebrimbor heeds Galadriel’s warning at first, but by the end of the second episode, Halbrand is not only inside Eregion, but has transformed into Annatar, the “Lord of Gifts,” and has Celebrimbor completely under his thumb.
GameSpot asked Charles Edwards at a recent press junket how it was so easy for Sauron–no matter the mask–to make his way back into Eregion, even with Galadriel’s warning. Edwards claims it was beyond Celebrimbor’s control.
“Galadriel has never said that this man is Sauron. I believe that in Season 1 Sauron casts his spell in that scene between [Halbrand and Celebrimbor],” the actor explained. If the elves in Lindon had been more communicative with him, he may not have let Halbrand in, but at this moment in time, Sauron is the only one who is affirming Celebrimbor’s value.
“When he appears at the gates, Celebrimbor is pleased to see him. However, he knows that he’s not supposed to see him, but he’s going to do it anyway because by this stage he’s feeling out of the loop with what’s happened with the three rings. He doesn’t know and he’s building to his forge, but to what end? At the end of Season 1, the king was telling him to disband his forge so his nose is out of joint. In this season, he’s feeling, ‘No, I’m in my place. I can invite this guy in if I want to.’ He resists, but then he goes to see him.”
Vickers agreed that Celebrimbor was in a tough spot and that Sauron knew exactly how to manipulate him. Choosing Annatar as his new mask was purposeful, and the actor is leaning in to being more charming as he plays this latest iteration of the character.
“[Halbrand and Annatar] both feel the same in that internally they relate to the same things, and they’re driven by the same things, particularly Halbrand…There are great differences in the way that manifests externally. I wanted to give Annatar a very different feel on screen than Halbrand. It’s a level of charm, but as an audience member, you can feel something sinister beneath the surface that’s maybe not visible to the characters in the show.”
Even for the audience, there are moments within the show where you question what Sauron is really up to. He told Galadriel in the Season 1 finale that he wanted them to be together because she could make him good. We see the same sort of theme reiterated in the prologue that showed Halbrand questioning whether he could reform from his evil ways. Vickers believes that Sauron did have moments of his conscience peeking through, because Tolkein wrote the character that way.
“Tolkien definitely writes of him at this time period thinking he can be good, this idea of repentance and Tolkien is never specific as to whether or not he genuinely repents,” he said. “I like leaving it ambiguous, but he definitely contemplates the thought genuinely in those moments, particularly in the prologue. We see that idea gets squashed pretty fast.”
Halbrand, Annatar, or Sauron, whichever you want to call him, doesn’t seem to be questioning the path forward at the end of the premiere episodes. He has Celebrimbor and the elves exactly where he wants them at this point in time, and they have no idea.
“Sauron is good at that stuff. He knows. Maybe he’s using a little bit of magic as well,” Vickers said of his character’s manipulation powers.
“The answer is obvious,” Edwards added. “Sauron has got him under a spell. Sauron is extraordinarily persuasive in ways that aren’t obvious.”
That persuasiveness has now set the elves on a path that will change the face of Middle-earth forever.
The first three episodes of Lord of the Rings; Rings of Power Season 2 are now streaming on Prime Video. New episodes will be released every Thursday.
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