“It Keeps Him Going in a Way, Her Existence”: ‘The Rings of Power’s Morfydd Clark and Charlie Vickers Break Down Their Season 2 Finale Fight

The second season of Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power culminated in devastating fashion, with particularly disastrous consequences for the Elves after Sauron (Charlie Vickers) not only seized control of the Orcs once belonging to Adar (Sam Hazeldine) but also oversaw the major, two-episode battle taking place in Eregion, resulting in the city being burned and razed to the ground. On a more intimate level, the finale also saw Sauron and Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) facing off once more for an even more dramatic and bloodier rematch of their Season 1 clash. This time, their fight results in Galadriel narrowly escaping with her life, ultimately healed by Nenya’s power once Elrond (Robert Aramayo) dons the ring. While the Elves recommit themselves to fighting for the safety of Middle-earth, Sauron seems more driven now than ever to vanquish his enemies at all costs.

In the wake of the Season 2 finale, Collider had the opportunity to speak via Zoom with Vickers and Clark about some of the more spoiler-filled moments they couldn’t talk about ahead of premiere — including the big fight between their characters. Over the course of the interview, which you can read below, the co-stars discuss the moments that caught them by surprise while filming the fight sequence, why Sauron shifting into Halbrand catches Galadriel so off-guard, what Clark enjoyed about getting to play Sauron herself for a change, what their characters’ respective mindsets are in the wake of that finale clash, and more.

COLLIDER: Charlie, is it true blondes have more fun?

CHARLIE VICKERS: Oh, yeah! In Sauron’s world, maybe he was having more fun because he was being more Sauron. I had an amazing time this season. We were saying before, it’s so cool to be able to play different characters, and these people that are so far from yourselves. Young actors don’t get that opportunity very often, so I felt enormously lucky to be working this close with Morfydd and then Charles [Edwards], as well. It’s been awesome.

On a more serious note, the Season 2 opener fleshes out a lot more about who Sauron is. Did that help you put together a fuller image [of him] in your head?

VICKERS: It was incredibly useful in giving me more of a backstory for him. You have the text, you have everything that happens. You know that he’s brought low at the beginning of the age, and he comes and repents in front of the Valar. It’s wishy-washy. It’s like, “Was the repentance genuine?” And I think this was their version of that story in that he gets betrayed, and then he is brought as low as possible. So, it gave me a lot of context to the point of meeting you [gestures to Morfydd] on the raft, and it was quite fun recreating that in a tiny little pool in England, to recreate that shot in order to give me a moment of thought before hearing Galadriel in the water. That whole sequence was so useful to me, and it just colored his whole world. It gave it a little more context to the earlier parts of the first season.

MORFYDD CLARK: I think it redeemed Galadriel a bit to see that he’d chosen [this]. She didn’t open up all his darkness, but she doesn’t know that, unfortunately.

Morfydd Clark and Charlie Vickers Didn’t Want To Face Each Other Any Sooner Than the Finale

Season 2 really leans into the connection that persists between your characters. I asked J.D. [Payne] and Patrick [McKay] if there were ever plans to bring the two of them together sooner, and there had been early conversations about having Sauron in the Orc camp when Galadriel was captured.

VICKERS: I didn’t know that. Interesting!

Did you ever hope for an earlier reunion, or did you enjoy getting to tease out the big rematch?

CLARK: No, I liked that it was teased out because, for Galadriel, there was a time when she wouldn’t have been able to face him, and by the time she actually does, she has been empowered by seeing how dreadful he is. So, I feel quite grateful that she didn’t see him before then because she was much more ready. It was really exciting because they’ve just been obsessing over each other this whole time, and so it means that when they do fight and meet each other, they are weirdly aligned in the desire for this confrontation.

VICKERS: Each with their own intention. I agree with that. I think it adds more weight to the ending. If they were just hanging out all the time, it removes the epicness of the final confrontation.

Even though we don’t get to see them interact until that moment in the finale, the two of you were obviously preparing for this fight scene, getting to block through how this is all going to go long before you get into costume, step on set, all that stuff. Was there anything that emerged between rehearsal and cameras rolling that took either of you by surprise? A moment of improvisation on set, or a bigger display of emotion that you weren’t expecting to come when you were both having to be in it?

CLARK: The stunt rehearsals of the fight were very fluid in terms of those moments where they feel the connection and a closeness and then when that will be either repelled or accepted. So, they were in this kind of dance. It’s really fun as an actor to do those things without words.

VICKERS: Because it was so physical, what we really wanted to do was try and make it about the scene and not about the fighting. I did one line in a slightly northern accent when we were fighting, and I think it was a mistake — I didn’t mean to do it — but I think it was the familiarity of Halbrand being back with Galadriel. I think it’s when I say the line, “Not all of it.” You say, “Was it part of your illusion?” And I say, “Not all of it.” And I think that was kind of northern, and then I transform into Halbrand. It’s those things you don’t expect when you’re put back in the situation with the other actor, and things like that just happen.

CLARK: In terms of Galadriel, as well, when she says, “The door is shut,” she kind of knows that she might just die there, but she’s going to go as hard as she possibly can. But she’s redeemed herself. So, that was fun, to find how low she could be brought by him, and to then be able to rise and still maintain her sense of goodness and integrity.

Even before that happens, there is the moment when [Sauron] does present himself to [Galadriel] as Halbrand. It gives her pause. Maybe she even lowers her defenses for a second. I’d like to hear your thoughts, Morfydd, on playing that scene, that moment of the fight, and what effect that seeing his face has on her in the midst of all this.

CLARK: Her time with Halbrand was a time where she was very much herself in some ways because she was an Elf alone. She wasn’t following the rules of her people at that point. So, he knows a part of her that other people, other beings, don’t, and there’s a tragedy to losing that, and through losing him, she’s also lost that part of herself.

VICKERS: That’s a really good point.

CLARK: That is also looking back at a time when she’s ashamed of herself…

VICKERS: For letting him in.

CLARK: Yeah. I think she feels pity towards him and herself in that moment and decides that there’s no time for pity. She’s got to find some sort of wolf inside of her and keep fighting.

VICKERS: And she kicks him.

CLARK: [Laughs] She does.

VICKERS: A roundhouse kick.

Was that you taking that kick, Charlie, or was that someone else?

VICKERS: I think that might have been Jonny [James] who took the kick. I took it in the tighter stuff, but then there was one bit where he was on a wire. But you still kicked him, didn’t you?

CLARK: Yes, which… this part of stunts I find really terrifying. When I came into this, I was like, “And it’s all just smoke and mirrors?” And they’re like, “No, you’re going to kick me a lot.” “What? Actually do it?” It’s amazing for us to be around stunt artists because I don’t think there’s many people close to Elves. It’s amazing to watch them.

Morfydd Clark Reveals What She Found “Fun” About Playing Sauron

I did ask Charlie before about you, Morfydd, getting to play Sauron for a very brief moment. I wanted to get your perspective too, because it’s Sauron as Galadriel, so it’s Galadriel, but not.

CLARK: In the time we’ve known each other, we’ve spoken so much about what is Sauron and how evil is he? You can’t just be this evil, dastardly character. I really love this idea that Sauron is looking to create stability and order, and that, through his desire for order and control, this void has been created of the natural part of chaos of life and love and hope and all that. So, even though I hadn’t spoken directly to Charlie about that moment, we’ve discussed a lot about who his Sauron was. I wanted to find this emptiness within that performance. Because Galadriel is so full, she’s brimming with all this feeling and emotion and hope and despair all at the same time, and to just strip all that away was quite fun.

Both of you get to have moments with Sam [Hazeldine] playing Adar this season, and I wanted to ask about working with him, and the tragedy of that storyline, because it culminates with both Sauron and Galadriel there in quite a heartbreaking way.

CLARK: I love the character of Adar because he contradicts so many of our ideas of Middle-earth and good and evil. Galadriel particularly has such little regard for him and writes him off in a way that is unhelpful to her and Middle-earth, really. And seeing that their final interaction is her seeing him do something that barely any beings on Middle-earth could do, which is to reject the power of a ring, I think will change her forever. I love this idea that the Elves know so much, but as we see later on, Galadriel is moved by the hobbits, that, despite all this wisdom, they can’t know the future exactly. Even with the gift of foresight, they will continue to be surprised. It was really nice to have her truly being blindsided by what he did.

VICKERS: The character is so interesting, and Sam is so nice, as well. He’s the opposite, and I always think that’s amazing to see him do that. I got to work with him really early on because we had those sequences in the cell, and he does that monologue when he was corrupted, and I just remember the first days of working with him, actually, and just thinking, “This is going to be a real joy, and he’s going to do such an amazing thing with this character.” At that time, I don’t think I knew the whole bit about the ring. You get to see him being quite sexy for a while, as well.

What Are Galadriel and Sauron Thinking Heading Into ‘The Rings of Power’ Season 3?

[Laughs] That’s true. Just to wrap up, let’s talk about your characters’ respective mindsets on the outcome of this fight. As you previously mentioned, Morfydd, “the door is shut.” That feels like where Galadriel’s head is at before plunging off the cliff. In terms of where they emerge from this fight, what’s Galadriel’s perspective on Sauron after this? And for you, Charlie, how have Sauron’s feelings about Galadriel changed in the wake of this ultimate defiance? Where are they now, heading into Season 3?

CLARK: In the first season, she’d become very cynical because she was so blinded and consumed by her grief, and I think she’s fallen back in love with Middle-earth, and also the idea of striving for goodness, even if you know you’re not going to win. This idea of only being good because you can succeed is gone from her now. She’s not trying to win, she’s trying to continue to hope and protect and value what Middle-earth has, which is also something that she knows that Sauron won’t be able to do, and that will always keep her apart from him.

VICKERS: I think he doesn’t value Middle-earth. I think he sees Middle-earth as an instrument that could be functioning at its highest capacity if everyone listens to him. It’s like that man and machine thing, which Tolkien was obsessed with, and the operation of Middle-earth as a machine, and that, “It could be really harmonious and beautiful if everyone listened to me.” I think he underestimates Galadriel. And when she jumps off the cliff, he knows she’s not going to die from that, but there is a part of him which is like, “I’m not going to just jump off and then go down and kill her,” because there’s got to be a small part of him that sees her as a worthy adversary, and it keeps him going in a way, her existence.

Also, I think it just really reaffirms he hates the Elves. Tolkien was so clear about the fact that Sauron hates the Elves with an absolute passion, and I think it really sets up that whole sequence and their resistance. They’re like an annoying fly that’s still there in the ointment he’s trying to crush. That sets up the war of the Elves and Sauron beautifully, because you know that that’s coming in some capacity.

CLARK: He doesn’t see them as rational.

VICKERS: No. Exactly. That’s the thing. And it’s these things that he can’t fully understand because of who he is. Is this the hope and the thing that you were talking about, about fighting, knowing that you may not win? That defeat is not an option for Sauron.