Annatar - Tumblr Posts - Page 3
celebrimbor pointing out the imperfection in sauron's fabricated reality, as both of them match in skills as a creator. sauron can craft the most appealing illusion in the entire world, but celebrimbor will always sees right through the deception, due to sauron's need for order. the reality he crafted is perfect. too perfect. nothing in this world is perfect. the patterns of the mouse, and the candle is the flaw within his works. celebrimbor merely critiques it.
his story in regards to his relationship with melkor, shed a different perspective on their dynamic. sauron, who was once in the same position as celebrimbor, now inflict the same pain unto him just as melkor once did. sauron, who learn to bear the pain and face years of torment under melkor, now stands in the same position as his lord. a frightening mantra cast by abuser that mirrors to real life, "i hit you because i love you. i want you to be best version of yourself. if only you just listen to me."
and the worse part about this entire interaction is how sauron truly believes in his own words. in his mind, he could have done worse. what even is a shackle to a noldo such as he, right? celebrimbor could bear the pain, right? he is truly lost, and all was said on celebrimbor's face.
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER (2022 - )
2.01 - Elven Kings Under the Sky
2.07 - Doomed to Die
sauron narcissism analysis
1. lovebombs celebrimbor -> emotional dependence/ offering bouts of serotonin, gets him addicted to the praise and promise of creating something bigger than life/feanor
2. makes himself seem like the only person who can help him complete his work -> makes himself seem like he can offer something no one else can
3. expects celebrimbor to lie for him to others -> demanding proof of loyalty
4. lowkey secretly locks celebrimbor in the tower -> serves to isolate him from others and make him focus on doing sauron‘s bidding
5. he creates magic illusions and deliberately lies to celebrimbor to make him question his own reality/perception -> gaslighting
6. when celebrimbor confronts sauron with his lies sauron claims that celebrimbor WANTED all this done to him -> shifts the blame and responsibility for his own behaviour away from him and unto others
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).
i have been turning this scene over and over in my mind, there is so much rich complexity here in their interactions and characterization. celebrimbor is genuinely drawn in to the vision sauron is painting, and you see the flicker of understanding and empathy on his face when confronted with sauron’s past. you see this even clearer, though, in the third gif. celebrimbor is not just shocked and angered by sauron’s attempt at victim blaming, but hurt and betrayed. this is a perfect crystallization of how emotional abuse plays out. the abuser creates this moment of connection and emotional intimacy and then uses that setting to shift blame, gaslight, and wound. it’s a play at regaining control, and in sauron’s case, as with many abusers, it is so engrained it becomes a subconscious pattern and he deceives himself into truly believing that he is the victim.
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER (2022 - ) Charles Edwards as Celebrimbor & Charlie Vickers as Sauron 2.07 - Doomed to Die
You must know it pains me, treating you like… Like you've treated countless others? Like Morgoth treated me. Do you know what it is to be tortured at the hands of a god? I cannot imagine. I see the end, Celebrimbor. So clearly. I have seen it from the moment I awoke. But his end, it was different from mine. For what he wished to destroy, I wished… to perfect. Sometimes, the pain almost became a reward. Became a game. A contest, to see whose will was the mightier.
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.
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.
sauron driving that spear through celebrimbor in his rage and then shedding a tear... i like to think because there is a part of him that is, or at least remembers the feeling of being mairon, the servant of aulë and he's completely destroyed and now killed a relationship he could have had. celebrimbor's words hit him so hard because it's coming from a fellow smith, whose goals mirrored his in many ways. making something powerful that would impact all of middle earth. of course, sauron's sense of right and wrong is severely warped by this point, but i think if there is any remnant of goodness in him it is the base concept that he doesn't want to destroy middle earth as morgoth did, but thinks of improving and perfecting it. if he hadn't been driven by his desire to manipulate and puppeteer celebrimbor, they could have had so much more and made so much together. there was an understanding and mutual appreciation of craft! we saw flashes of that relaxed rapport when he was masquerading as halbrand. celebrimbor clearly already liked him even when he was masquerading as a low man.
celebrimbor represented one more chance sauron had for redemption, for him to be mairon again, or at least drawing back from his worst and most destructive tendencies. sauron's relationships with other beings are like someone who once knew how to coax a piece of metal into perfect shape and make something beautiful by respecting, working and understanding what he has in his hands; now he breaks and destroys what won't bend to his will in his rage. 'your only craft is treachery' is the final hammer blow from celebrimbor as he lies bleeding: you are not mairon, maia and smith of aulë who helped my smithcraft reach new heights— you are sauron, the abhorred. you didn't have to continue to be that after morgoth's defeat, but you choose that path again.
i cannot get enough of celebrimbor so im manifesting him appearing in flashbacks in season 3 as sauron contemplates and plans to make the One Ring. i need sauron nostalgically reminiscing about celebrimbor, his puppet and his tool, but also his partner and his muse whose conversations inspired him. i need the twisted intimacy and genuine sincerity of sauron thanking celebrimbor as he picks up fëanor's hammer in order to make the One, with the vibe of "despite the ill words you spoke to me at our parting, i wish i could show you my greatest creation but alas, you are not here by my side." let celebrimbor haunt the narrative as sauron proceeds towards his greatest triumph— and also his eventual downfall.
can we talk about the face caressing...
and the way he caressed the arrow..... 🏹
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.
ok this is two interviews now where charlie and charlie have talked about wanting to do an au spinoff with sauron and celebrimbor, one they said annatar would be celebrimbor’s gardener and now charlie vickers said they would live together in New York 😭
this makes me absolutely crazy. my guy was so deep into character and the scene that he started genuinely crying. no one is doing it like the charlies.
re: sauron crying after he killed celebrimbor.
charlie revealed in an interview with nerdist that sauron crying in that moment wasn't actually scripted. it was something that just happened while they were filming and they decided to leave it in.
charlie v proposed “celebannatar” as the new ship name for silvergifting and i think that’s completely unhinged 🫶🏻
They show their truth one single time.
But they lie
and they lie
and they lie
a million little times
gandalf's story and sauron's story running parallel to one another yet again...
