#Trop spoilers

[nikinikori]

“The man who knelt before her would have sprung from her needles, even down the ghostly flecks of silver in his hair.” ― Catherynne M. Valente, Deathless

[insp]

[hailturinturambar]

“For Sauron as a character at the beginning of season two, he still thinks he's the hero, right? He's like, I'm going to fix the whole world," McKay explains. "I have to make magic rings to do it and the way I do that is to trick this guy, right? That's my plan. But then to succeed, he has to double down and basically descend into the worst version of himself, where, by the end, he's the villain of this story, and he knows it.”

He added: “So in some ways, the first two seasons have been the origin of Sauron, the Dark Lord. Season one, he was the aspiring Dark Lord, by the end of season two, he's the newly conquering Dark Lord.”

Patrick McKay for Total Film

To me, one of the most interesting things about Sauron is that in his mind, he is an underdog hero.

Unlike Morgoth, who desires to destroy the world and is perfectly content to do evil, Sauron truly believes that he is capable of healing Middle-earth and achieving peace.

Even if to achieve this peace he has to become a tyrant, a conqueror. Sauron thinks that only with his methods of deception and manipulation will he be able to achieve his ultimate goal. And this is where the real tragedy lies, isn't it?

He corrupts everything around him, betrays everyone who is on his side, to achieve his long-awaited peace. The interesting thing about Sauron is that he doesn't think he's doing evil, he's just using all the necessary efforts to save everyone.

I believe that after murdering Adar and being defeated by Galadriel, the last people in Middle-earth who were close to him since the loss of Morgoth, Sauron then realizes, as McKay said, that he is the villain of the story, the evil that rots the ground.

He's too corrupt, he's done too much harm to turn back. I imagine that's when he gives up, looking at Celebrimbor's hammer. Does he realize that he's the villain everyone's facing? A crack in Sauron's truth, in what he believes is right, without a doubt.

Sauron finally accepts that he is The Dark Lord. He no longer wishes to become one, because he already is. There are no more masks, only the dirty truth.

[booksandcleverness81]

Guys, I'ma be real honest with you here.. I've been an actor for over 20 years, I studied classically, I've shared the stage with many many people over the years, I play a lot of leads, and just once... once I would like to have the pleasure of acting opposite someone with this level of skill. I don't expect it of anyone... But goddamn wouldn't it be a delight to be surprised once by a low-key community theatre Charlie Vickers....

And on that day, The Dark Lord's master plan was born.

[incorrectringsofpower]

Elrond: Galadriel, a demon has infiltrated the group. Galadriel: Not just any demon. Sauron is a diabolical, sadistic agent of evil. Might just be the single most dangerous creature in the universe. [cuts to Sauron in Eregion] Annatar: Who wants lemon bars??? It’s my nana’s recipe and they are just sinful!

[greenleaf4stuff]

TROP x tumblr text posts

(screenshots via cap-that.com) (my other trop memes)

[elena-gilbert]

THE RINGS OF POWER 2.02 ― “Where the Stars are Strange”

[jennistarjs]

Obsessed with the Elves being constantly deceived by Sauron in all his many guises and Durin taking one look at him and going "fucking fraud"

[toherrys]

Sauron, Lord of the Rings

The season 2 finale drove me insane, I can't believe I'm watching the Sauron I know and love being his terrifying self in this amazing adaptation.

This was inspired by Jodie Muir's art!

[leotanaka]

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER (2022 - ) Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor & Charlie Vickers as Sauron 2.08 - Shadow and Flame

No, hear me. Hear me! Shadow of Morgoth. Hear the dying words of Celebrimbor. The Rings of Power shall destroy you. And in the end, I foresee, one alone shall prove your utter ruin!

[fukutomichi]

Benjamin Walker as High King Gil-galad S2.E7 ∙ Doomed to Die

[galadrielslight]

We are not alike. We never were.

The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power Galadriel & Sauron in S02E08: Shadow and Flame

[dailyflicks]

THE RINGS OF POWER — S2E8: Shadow and Flame

[hailturinturambar]

Thoughts on Charlie Vickers's interview

Once again I'm analyzing an interview! In addition to this one, I've already separated two others that I'm going to analyze. If I find more, I'll definitely publish them too! :)

What I love most about Halbrand is that not even Charlie knew Halbrand was a fake. That makes the story better, doesn't it? Everyone suspected Sauron would be present at the show, but no one knew when or where. Not even Sauron himself.

This raises the stakes. The suspicion is not just from the audience, but from the cast as well. And Charlie is being genuine in his portrayals. Because he doesn't know there's something going on, but he acts on his own suspicions. It makes the character ambiguous. A great addition, I'd say.

A very interesting point between the beginning of the first season and the prologue of the second is the change in Halbrand's attitude. Yes, he was a stranger and we suspected all the characters of being Sauron. But apart from small characteristics, which could have been put in the show just to deceive, we didn't have many clues against Halbrand.

It's Charlie's brilliant performance that makes us think, "Yes, this is Sauron. Look at the way he carries himself." Halbrand on the raft in season two had a dark weight that wasn't as present in season one. But it's Charlie's face, his gaze, his way of speaking that accentuates Sauron's presence.

Charlie as Annatar is like a new person. He is unrecognizable from Halbrand's appearance. Annatar reminds me more of Mairon from the early days, with his powerful, godlike aura and his cold, calculating manner. A far cry from the carefree mortal man.

Annatar is very god-like. Distant, powerful, feared, icy. Halbrand and Annatar could be two completely opposite people, but they are not. Not deep down. However, it is with mastery that the characters were portrayed in such an opposite way. Like Sun and Moon.

Who knows, Sauron himself may have been affected by his human representation. After all, being Halbrand was the lowest point in his life. After losing so much, he returned in the form of a mortal man. I believe that at that moment, at the beginning, not even Sauron understood his place in the world.

Medici and Alice Hart were examples of Charlie's brilliant acting. I watched both for their roles and was impressed with Charlie's performance. He always gives his soul on screen and even though his appearance doesn't always change that much, his essence is completely different.

Sauron is undoubtedly a challenge. He is a major character, the most beloved villain in Tolkien's books. A villain we have rarely seen on screen. In the LOTR trilogy and as a Necromancer in The Hobbit, Sauron is a very distant figure, because his essence is there, but not Sauron in his physical form.

“I think that that is just part and parcel of: he is the Lord of the Rings.”

Are you kidding me, Charlie? You completely understood the character and you're trying to kill me by saying this.

This always gets me. I love how they never know who they're going to play, it must make it more interesting and mysterious. Honestly, I can't imagine Charlie playing anyone else. He's Sauron through and through. There's no other character he would have suited more.

This news didn't just change your life, Charlie, it changed all of ours. The actors in TROP are truly rare gems. They dedicate themselves and delve deeply into Tolkien's books to portray them in the most honorable and faithful way possible.

Oh, I'd love to know how Charlie felt when he discovered that in addition to playing a character in the book, he was portraying one of Tolkien's most important characters.

Prime Video, please record moments like this. Can you imagine what that conversation was like? I need to know how it all happened, I would like to follow every moment of the production of the show.

Yes yes!! This dedication was noticeable on the screens.

I would say that Sauron as Halbrand lived his most vulnerable and humiliating moments. This connection between repentance and humiliation before the Valar and kneeling before Adar was a very good connection.

These humiliations, the moments when Sauron is plunged into his own disgrace, certainly encourage him to continue and come back worse than before, stronger than before.

Sauron is relieved to be back, Charlie portrayed this so well. After thousands of years without form, stripped of much of his power, crawling to survive, to be in form again, able to control the things around him, must have been Sauron's greatest relief.

It's amazing to see Sauron's form in his rebuilding process. From a great, powerful Maia destroyed, to a slimy, lifeless form that lives more humiliatingly than an animal, to a human form. Did Sauron feel this weight, all this humiliation? He lost a lot of grace from his past self, so I bet he did.

The duality and ambiguity between Galadriel and Sauron, in my opinion, is what keeps the audience's attention. Because we're constantly theorizing and thinking. We wonder if, after being at his worst, Sauron is being vulnerable for the first time in a long time.

Or we also wonder if all of this is just an illusion and he's understanding how Galadriel feels so he can manipulate her to his own advantage.

Not speaking romantically, I think it was a bit of both. That Sauron was vulnerable at times, after all, he had lost so much and was still not fully confident, like when he became Annatar. But also, as he did with Celebrimbor, he also used what Galadriel wanted to manipulate her and get her to follow his plan.

What I like about Sauron is that even when he's inside an illusion, when he's created a whole new form to deceive the people around him, he's still Sauron, he's still the same person.

The level of connection between Sauron/Galadriel/Celebrimbor, not only showed how the two manipulated elves felt, but also exposed parts of Sauron. Fears and vulnerabilities that I don't believe he wanted to share, but that ended up being revealed through the connection.

And the scenes remained completely the same. It almost seemed like they filmed everything in the first season, it was so similar. As I said a little above, the weight of the scene changes a lot, Charlie's entire posture changes when the audience and even he himself know who Sauron is now.

We are like Galadriel, looking back and noticing that while everything remains the same, everything is different now.

The prologue of the second season was like a dark retelling of the first. We have all the facts presented under a new perspective, under the understanding of who Sauron is and how he returned to Middle-earth.

Our entire perspective changes when we realize that Charlie is Sauron. The Mist lifts from our eyes and we see Halbrand's actions from a new perspective.

I like the idea of ​​Galadriel-Light (although she is partly grey) and Sauron-Darkness. It's like the attraction to darkness, a tug of war that we witness with the characters, seeing who will give in first.

Besides new scenes that aren't in the book, I can't think of how they could have made Galadriel and Sauron meet again. However, I have complete confidence in the producers and the team that everything will work out in the end.

[olessan]

Low Opacity Elrond: the trifecta

[incorrectringsofpower]

Annatar: stop calling me a bad person just because i'm orchestrating your downfall

[greenleaf4stuff]

TROP x twitter text posts

(screenshots via cap-that.com) (my other trop memes)