Charlie Vickers #1 Sauron Understander

charlie vickers #1 sauron understander

i’m actually in love with him 🥹

ironic that the qualities that attracted sauron to celebrimbor- his ambition, creativity, determination, and intellect- became the qualities that most irritated sauron when their purposes no longer aligned.

Celebrimbor’s final words deal a death blow to Sauron’s self image. he names him “Sauron, Lord of the Rings”, in direct contrast to episode two where Sauron names himself “Annatar” and Celebrimbor provides the translation “Lord of Gifts”. Charlie Vickers has stated in interviews that Sauron fully immerses himself in his own deceptions and everything he does is 100% genuine. throughout season two he really leaned into his persona as “Lord of Gifts”. he believes he is going to heal Middle Earth, he is the one “holding the storm at bay”. Celebrimbor’s role in episode seven and eight becomes one of confronting Sauron with truths that he is not willing to acknowledge, leading up to the culmination of calling him Lord of the Rings instead of Lord of Gifts, Sauron, not Annatar. the fact that he immediately then dies by Sauron’s hand (which was never part of Annatar’s plan) puts Sauron in a place to actually start to reflect and see how his actions are not aligning with “Annatar’s” purported goals. I think he just starts to realize how he has deceived himself but then his response is to lean into “Sauron”, abandoning “Annatar” altogether. losing Celebrimbor and then facing a second rejection from Galadriel is going to push him further into Sauron out of spite. but he still mourns the loss of Annatar, I think because Annatar had friends, and trust.

i'm sorry but i can't get over this scene from ep7. i absolutely can't. immovable even. simply too seated in the theatre that the employees are begging me to leave. the desperation in sauron's eyes. the hesitation, horrors and curiosity from celebrimbor—willing himself into allowing the smothering closeness that was initiated by sauron. celebrimbor wanted to understand him. he really do. he sympathized with sauron. until sauron blames him for his own doing. even when celebrimbor no longer allow himself the connection they had, sauron still lingers by that thread. trapped in his own world. the need to be understood, admired, and seen overpowers the truth that he deceived himself.

this may not be a popular opinion but i would have loved to hear more about the technical ring making process and lore in rings of power. how the combination of will and intent affects the power and abilities of the rings. how the rings interact with the souls of the bearers. why sauron needed celebrimbor in order to complete the rings (or was it just his desperate need for a partner- but that’s another post).