Celebrimbor and Sauron’s relationship reaches its tragic conclusion in the Rings of Power Season 2 finale, where Charlie Vickers delivers an unexpected moment as the Dark Lord.
Celebrimbor has emerged as the most tragic character in Rings of Power: the greatest of Elven smiths, who has been manipulated by the embodiment of evil, disguised as an emissary of the Valar, leaving him unable to rely on the gods to create rings as powerful as his own.
In the penultimate episode, Celebrimbor’s illusion of Annatar’s grandeur dissipates like a fading shadow. Unbeknownst to him, he had been forging rings for Sauron all along, and as the finale approaches, he finds himself ensnared in Sauron’s orbit.
Regrettably, he does not survive in Season 2 Episode 8. True to Tolkien’s narrative, Sauron tortures him with arrows, cruelly probing his wounds before ultimately impaling him against a pillar with a pole.
“I am the creator. I am the master,” Sauron proclaims, to which a dying Celebrimbor retorts: “No, you are a prisoner. Sauron… Lord of the Rings.”
Vickers mentioned that this was the scene he had been most eager to see completed in the final episode. “There’s a wealth of imagery in this scene that is rooted in the lore, so we were thrilled to bring that to life. We filmed it chronologically, marking the end for [Charles Edwards] and me in the room we had inhabited for eight months,” he reminisced.
“Reaching the end of the road was profoundly emotional and intricately complex; it was a lengthy, challenging scene filled with numerous moving parts.”
As Celebrimbor’s lifeless body collapses, a tear falls from Sauron’s eye. This is a riveting moment for a villain who has never exhibited remorse—only a facade of charm, rage, and impatience.
“I believe it was an overwhelming release of emotion, anger, and sadness. At times, you can’t articulate these feelings; they simply manifest. During filming, I didn’t plan for it to happen. That’s the fascinating aspect of acting: you are fully immersed in the moment, and if something unexpected occurs, you must embrace it,” he explained.
So, what prompted his tears? Was he grieving the loss of a companion, or was it something deeper? “Looking back, it can be interpreted in numerous ways,” mused Vickers.
“He might feel sorrow. There’s a dimension of sadness regarding the loss of a creative collaborator whom he respects. However, at that moment, he realizes he has been defeated.
“He has yet to discover the location of the Nine, and Celebrimbor has manipulated him into killing him… his rage overtakes him. This moment of loss of control is very un-Sauron-like. He is a being centered on control, so it introduces a lot of complexity.”
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