Sauron’s efforts to claim possession over Middle-earth has taken a devastating step forward in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 finale. The latest season of the prequel to J.R.R. Tolkien’s iconic novel has seen Sauron working with Celebrimbor in his Elven form of Annatar to create the titular rings, manipulating him into believing the rings are meant to bring peace to the world. Sauron, meanwhile, has kept Celebrimbor in a state of hallucinatory peace, keeping Eregion appearing seemingly idyllic, when in reality, the Uruk army is advancing on the city and is in an all-out war with the Elven army.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 finale sees Celebrimbor, freed from the Dark Lord’s influence, keeping Sauron delayed by refusing to tell him where he has hid the nine Rings of Power made for Men. Sauron attempts to retrieve the information via torture, eventually determining Galadriel has them and tracks her down alongside Adar, having turned the Uruk against him and killing him. Following a gripping fight, Galadriel jumps off a cliff before turning over Nenya to Sauron, and is recovered by Gil-galad and Elrond and taken to a new Elven land.

Charlie Vickers returns to the ensemble Rings of Power season 2 cast as Sauron/Annatar/Halbrand, alongside Galadriel’s Morfydd Clark, Elrond’s Robert Aramayo, Durin IV’s Owain Arthur, Isildur’s Maxim Baldry, Celebrimbor’s Charles Edwards, Arondir’s Ismael Cruz Córdova, Disa’s Sophia Nomvete and Gil-galad’s Benjamin Walker, among many others. Expertly raising the stakes and leaving viewers on a devastating, yet hopeful, note for the show’s future, the finale is an appropriately grand send-off.

Ahead of its airing, Screen Rant interviewed Charlie Vickers to discuss The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 finale, how it felt putting together Celebrimbor’s death and torture scene, training for Galadriel and Sauron’s emotional fight, why Sauron doesn’t outright kill Galadriel and take the rings, and watching his co-stars play darker versions of their characters.

Sauron & Celebrimbor’s Final Scene Was “Very Emotional” For Vickers & Edwards

“…it was our last time to share the screen after a really long journey.“

Screen Rant: The final two episodes really just keep the bar so high on the show. I would love to first start with what it was like filming that final sequence between Sauron and Celebrimbor. Because that was such a heartbreaking one, obviously, as we’re supposed to feel sad about Celebrimbor’s death, but we also see Sauron appearing heartbroken by the death?

Charlie Vickers: Yeah, it was really special. It was the final scene that we shot together, so it was our last time to share the screen after a really long journey. So, it was emotional for us, but it was really demanding, because it was a challenging scene. It was a long scene, there was lots of action in it, and, yeah, the emotion just kind of came out in the characters in that way. We were both really excited to tell that part of the story, because it’s in the books, the arrows and that whole sequence. So, that was really, really special.

Vickers Worked Closely With The Show’s Lead Director & Stunt Coordinator For Galadriel’s Fight

“We wanted to…motivate all the action to be linked to this emotional dance…“

I’d love to also talk about the fight with Galadriel, because, again, what an emotionally turbulent sequence, but also so well-choreographed. I had spoken with Vic, and he talked about working with you to really hone in on that fight. What was it like for you training for the fight and then actually being in it with Morfydd on the day?

Charlie Vickers: It was awesome, we spent so much time training. I would finish on set, and then go and train in the evening. The stunt crew were amazing, and they would come out to the set wherever I was filming, and train at lunchtime, or train on wrap or whenever. It was quite a few months of that preparation in order to make this scene really make sense, and it took a lot. We wanted to — in working with Vic and Charlotte — motivate all the action to be linked to this emotional dance that these characters are doing, seeing each other again for the first time, with such a big history between them.

Sauron Has A Certain Reason For Not Killing Galadriel (But Is Unhappy With Her)

“…he will have to have some conflict with her again in the future…“

So I love how the fight, like you say, is an emotional dance, and that Sauron is almost playing with her more than actually trying to kill her for most of that fight. Why do you think that is? He is so power hungry, wanting to get those nine rings, as well as her own ring, why is it you think he doesn’t just go that extra step and take her out?

Charlie Vickers: I think it’s because he wants to have this conversation with her. Maybe there’s a part of him which still thinks and says, “The door is still open.” There’s a part of him which still thinks he can still get her, and I think that’s the big difference between where we end this season and where we ended the first season. I think after this confrontation, he knows that there’s no hope.

She’s resisted him again, and he will have to have some conflict with her again in the future, but there’s no chance of her joining him, and he’s almost taunting her, in a way, and wanting to punish her for, like, “Look what I’ve become. This could have been you, had you joined me in the first place.” So, there is this element of him which wants to make her feel bad and take revenge, almost, for her not listening to him.

Filming Sauron’s Multiple Transformations Was A Unique Experience For Vickers

“I had a weekend to try and grow a pathetic attempt at some stubble for Halbrand…“

I’d love to also hear about Sauron’s multiple transformations in that final fight, the editing was so fluid between them all, especially as you go from Annatar to Halbrand. Can you talk to me about making those quick changes for that sequence?

Charlie Vickers: Yeah, it was cool. I had a weekend to try and grow a pathetic attempt at some stubble for Halbrand, and then they drew some on. [Chuckles] And then we filmed Halbrand in the morning, and then jumped back to Annatar in the afternoon. But the whole time, it was cool to watch Morfydd come out and try and do an imitation of me, and then the same thing with Charlie.

I think they both really enjoyed playing these other sides of their characters, or getting to be their characters, but be them in a different way, and it’s all to try and amplify and demonstrate the power of Sauron. So, those days filming were really special, and they were very technical. Morfydd was attached to a swingy rope line the whole time when she was up there, and so was Charlie. So, it was cool to watch them get hoisted up over and over again.

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 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 previous and upcoming Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 interviews with:

Morfydd Clark & Sam Hazeldine
Daniel Weyman, Markella Kavenagh & Megan Richards
Charlie Vickers & Charles Edwards
Benjamin Walker & Ismael Cruz Córdova
Co-Showrunner Patrick McKay & Executive Producer Lindsey Weber
Ema Horvath
Trystan Gravelle
Vic Armstrong
Barrie Gower
Markella Kavenagh & Megan Richards (post-episode 7)
Markella Kavenagh & Cynthia Addai-Robinson (post-finale)
Charlotte Brändström & Alex Disenhof
Benjamin Walker & Robert Aramayo (post-finale)