The Rings Of Power's Charles Vickers Doesn't Believe That Scene With Galadriel Was Romantic
Warning: major spoilers below for "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" finale.
From the moment "The Rings of Power" first graced our screens, the (true) identity of Sauron was the question on everyone's lips. The fact that the dark lord is a notorious master of disguise injected the series with an exhilarating twinge of mystery. No one was exempt from the Sauron allegations, and with the series playing into our healthy paranoia with new hints and red herrings at every turn, it made an event out of tuning in each week.
The "Rings of Power" finale effectively answers the mystery it teased out for eight episodes, and it's exactly as most feared: Sauron is none other than Halbrand (Charlie Vickers), the supposed king of the Southlands. Such a revelation might have thrown a wrench into the promising dynamic blossoming between Halbrand and Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), since the latter pledged her life to hunting the last remnants of Sauron on Middle-earth. If you ask me though, that just makes said dynamic all the more poetic ... and super, super hot. That Halbrand (or Sauron ... should we start calling him Sauron now?) tries so hard to seduce Galadriel to his side invokes some of the most popular tropes in fantasy romance. But after all that, should we be interpreting their dynamic as romantic at all? According to Vickers himself, it's probably best not to.
The sea and the sun
Vickers recently spoke to Variety about Halbrand/Sauron's shifting dynamic with Galadriel, especially in light of their charged temptation scene in the finale. Clearly, the two awaken something in each other that neither has recognized in another person in a very long time. "There must be something thrilling for him in meeting someone that's close to his level in terms of power and age and aura that must get his blood pumping," Vickers explained. "Inevitably, it brings him back toward his darkness and Galadriel doesn't realize it at the time, but she draws the lust for power out of him again."
Again, it's very easy to see the romantic implications in that. But for Vickers, the two characters are drawn together by a different force entirely. "I don't think of theirs as a romantic connection, but as a cosmic connection," Vickers admitted. "Morfydd taught me the word 'shipping' the other day, which I had no idea about. I think it's awesome that people have been reading into it, but my view on this scene is that it's for his own gain." Unfortunately, Sauron's aims begin and end with his quest for power, not a partner:
"When he says, 'Join me as a queen,' it's not to be misinterpreted as romantic ... He's thinking in this moment, 'If she joins me, it'll help me to enact my plan and it'll happen faster.' When she resists him, it angers him, but it's not the end of the world.
Binded by the light
It pains me to say it, but Vickers makes a good point. Even if Sauron were interested in seducing Galadriel — better yet, if he actually cared about her at all — their partnership would undoubtedly be short-lived. When he offers to rule Middle-earth side-by-side, he does so out of fear of losing the power Galadriel possesses. "[T]hat's what she is to him in that moment," Vickers told The Hollywood Reporter. "She's a means for him returning to power with her by his side. That will be more effective in the short term, but I think in the long run, he will not be happy unless he is in power and alone."
As fun as it will always be to root for a pairing like Galadriel and Sauron's, there's probably no longer a place for it in "The Rings of Power." With Sauron headed to conquer his kingdom in Mordor, and Galadriel sacrificing everything anew to defend the elves from darkness, their paths may not cross again. That said, I'm still hoping for another showdown between these two crazy kids in a future season. You can't let all that chemistry go to waste!
The first season of "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" is streaming now on Amazon Prime Video.