This article contains spoilers for "The Rings of Power" season 2 finale.
With that explosive finale bringing the Battle of Eregion to a close, "The Rings of Power" season 2 is officially over and our wait begins for news about the next chapter in the Prime Video fantasy saga.
But just before we say goodbye to the series for now, Tom's Guide was lucky enough to grab a couple of minutes with Sauron himself, Charlie Vickers, who spoke to us about that pivotal scene where he filled Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) full of arrows, how happy he is with the role and the series so far, and what he hopes to tackle in "The Rings of Power" season 3, should the series be renewed.
Have you achieved everything you want to with your portrayal of Sauron so far?
CV: "There's always things that you have no control over; you can't control all the elements of something. There are things I'm really happy with the way they turned out, and then there are other things where I'm like, 'Well, we could have done that slightly differently, or maybe there are some elements of the character in this facet I didn't explore', but it's an ongoing thing.
"I think Charlie [Edwards] and I were really happy with the work we did, and having now watched the season, I love the story that we told. I think it's really nice and really true to Tolkien's work and any things we didn't explore, there's more opportunity to explore them as the character develops throughout the show."
Looking to that moment you fully turn on Celebrimbor, fully, can you talk about building the dynamic with Charles Edwards and reflect on that pivotal scene?
"I think it's like his descent into madness; he lets go of any kind of facade that he's been putting up to Celebrimbor, and it was the scene that we most looked forward to filming as well.
"It gets to the point where it is no longer subtle manipulation to get his way; he's seen that Celebrimbor has resisted, and the mind-warping technique has no longer worked. So it's now just like, 'I need to find out where these nine rings are that you've made, so I'm going to torture you to get you to tell me; it's like the last resort.
"What's really powerful about the scene is that Celebrimbor wins. Even though he dies, he doesn't give up the location of the rings, and that's to the enormous anger and sadness of Sauron. And Celebrimbor says some really poignant things in his death, which are beautifully performed by Charles."
Have you enjoyed playing Sauron, and have you drawn on any particular influences building the character?
"It is a cliche that the evil characters are the most fun, but I think it's a cliche because there is an element of truth to it, right? And everything I draw on was in the text. That's kind of where I always start, particularly with adaptations of literature, and I always start by reading the book.
"With a character like Sauron, there is so much to draw on, and that was my starting and ending point, was trying to make it faithful to all these complexities that Tolkien wrote about him. He was popularized as the eye that Peter Jackson used, but it's kind of a one-dimensional depiction of Sauron. What's actually in Tolkien's books is so much more; there's so much more about his character and his love for craft and his desire for order and control that we've had the opportunity to explore."
And is there anything else you'd like to share about playing Tolkien's villain?
"If we're lucky enough to go forward and do more, there are elements of the character I would love to explore. There are some really exciting things about the downfall of Númenor, and Pharazôn capturing him. I would love to explore Sauron's weakness, in the future, because I have images of him when he gets captured by Pharazôn. So that'd be really cool to explore if we get the opportunity. I'd love that. "
Already missing "The Rings of Power"? Be sure to check out our list of the best fantasy shows on Prime Video to find your next watch while we wait for news about the show's future.
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