Warning, there are spoilers for the second season of the Lord of the Rings series: The 2nd season of The Rings of Power is behind us and all 8 episodes are now available to stream on Amazon Prime *. A highlight of the new season for many was the toxic relationship between Annatar/Sauron (Charlie Vickers) and Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards), which ends fatally for the Elven blacksmith in the finale. However, the most surprising moment of this murder was not planned.
Sauron’s tear in season 2 of the Lord of the Rings series was improvised by Charlie Vickers
Elf Celebimbor discovers Annatar’s true identity too late. The tragic end of the Lord of Eregion, when Sauron tortures Celebrimbor, peppers him with arrows and finally impales him with a spear and kills him, was even defused in The Rings of Power compared to the original book. Nevertheless, it is one of the saddest scenes of the second season. So sad that even Sauron cries – which may have surprised many. Maybe also because the emotional outburst was improvised, as Charlie Vickers revealed to Dextero at the finale:
That was a really special day. […] We have [die Szenen von Sauron und Celebrimbor] filmed chronologically, so it was the end for Charles Edwards and me after spending eight months in that room. Reaching the end of the road was very emotional and complex; a long, difficult scene with a lot of moving parts.
As Celebrimbor’s body finally limps and dies, the Ring of Power audience witnesses a single tear trickle down Sauron’s face. An unexpected twist for a villain who has never shown any remorse:
I think it was a huge release of emotions, anger and sadness. Often you can’t explain such things because they just happen. When we filmed the scene, It wasn’t my intention for this to happen. That’s the beauty of acting: you live in the moment and when something happens you have to trust it and just go with it.
The Lord of the Rings series creators apparently liked the spontaneous moment so much that it became part of the finale, even though it wasn’t in the script.
Why is Sauron crying in the Season 2 finale of The Rings of Power?
Of course, Sauron star Charlie Vickers still tried to understand why the ultimate evil would shed a tear for his manipulated enemy:
Looking back, that’s what it’s for many possible interpretations. I think he might be sad. There is an element of sadness that he has creative partner lost and someone he really respected. But it is also that moment he was defeated. He didn’t get the 9 Human Rings and Celebrimbor tricked him into killing him. His anger has gotten the better of him and this loss of control is very un-Sauron-like. Control is the most important thing to him. So there’s a lot of complexity in it.
Lord of the Rings fans are also discussing on Reddit why Sauron gets such a “human” moment in episode 8 of season 2. Another explanatory facet could be that Sauron is the major series antagonist, but considers himself to be the savior of Middle-earth: someone good who sometimes has to do evil to improve the world (under his rule).
When Sauron asks Celebrimbor why he is forcing him to torture him, he believes that he is right. Or as the Elven Blacksmith puts it: The Lord of the Rings is such a great deceiver that he… even deceive yourself can. In season 3, this sadness and anger is likely to continue to erupt when Sauron forges the One Ring and wages war on Middle-earth. Despite all the tears, it is questionable whether he takes Galadriel’s “heal yourself” advice to heart before he sets about “healing” Middle-earth.
Lord of the Rings series podcast: Rings of Power season 2 finale and what awaits us in season 3
After 8 episodes, the second season of Amazon’s big fantasy series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has come to an end. Middle-earth fans Esther from Moviepilot and Sebastian from Filmstarts draw conclusions after the grand finale and discuss highlights and missteps of the return.
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Did the wizard reveal succeed? Does the great battle deliver what it promised? And what do Sauron, Galadriel and Co. plan to do next as we look at Season 3 theories?
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