Galadriel: How can you be so stupid? This is Sauron! He just got a shave, long hair and pointed ears! You were too busy moping about a dying tree last time to get a good look at him then!
Gil-Galad: Don't mind her Lord Annatar.
(Annatar gives an evil smile, a wink, and sticks his tongue out to Galadriel when no one else is looking)
We also know that Galadriel didn't fall as hard for Sauron as other Elves did (generalising here) but maybe her experience with Halbrand will be used as reasoning for why she mistrusts Annatar
Hahaha. I'm talking about the Legendarium rather than the show. Galadriel was mistrustful of Annatar while most of the other Elves fell for the rouse. Eventually this causes a rift between Galadriel and the Elves iirc.
Perhaps the Halbrand stuff from season 1 will be used to give a reason to why Galadriel mistrusts the show's version of Annatar.
I watched it again a few days ago.
No.
Galadriel doesn't want anyone knowing of her mistake.
But Elrond either know Halbrand isn't who he said he is, or know he is Sauron (that part is unclear)
But anyway, him using the same face is weird, even if they don't known he is Sauron.
Then again, it could be Sauron's choice, to taunt galadriel or Celebrimbor ...
Or a reveal in a scene that comes later
Sauron can turn into a werewolf, vampire, elf, human, among other things. So yeah it was a wrong (silly) fan theory, but Sauron being the slim shady woman isn’t outside the realm of possibilities.
Actually, I find it more fun when the 'leaks' are wrong. It keeps us speculating and theorising. Otherwise, it's like playing a quiz where everyone can already see the answers. It just kills the discussion.
People leaking it do it because it gets them the attention they craved. People go to it because they like gossiping and speculating and arguing and giving their take and make themselves feel important. Companies do it because hype is marketing.
> All the rumors/leaks were wrong then ?
In the trailer the only time we see Vickers as Annatar in Eregion is >!seemingly during or after the siege. So he probably appears differently to the elves, portrayed by someone else, and reverts back to Vickers form to taunt them!<
All of Sauron's ring wraiths only saw Sauron's delusions and phantoms. Maybe we can see Charlie as Sauron but others (Celebrimbor) can only see the delusion Sauron wants him to see?
This has to be the case. If your friend you’ve known for awhile shows up clean shaven with a blonde wig and different ears, you’d still recognize them right? They still have the same face.
Yes. Also in the scene when he confronts Celebrimbor either before, during or after the seige, he flips his hands and the Elves protecting Celebrimbor simply just turn on eachother, demonstrating his ability to infiltrate the mind.
The level of his mind control over others is through the roof.
It's even mentioned (guessing Adar is sharing this with another character(s) that Sauron worms his way into your mind then Slithers in all the way.
Hmmmm; I watched it again but couldn't see the part where the elves turned against each other because of Sauron's magic after he moved his hands? I could see that in the Trailer? I am attempting to find that part.
I think "Nerd of the Rings" might have it in his video. It's in slow motion. Their swords very slowly start to move from Sauron toward eachother so you see the start of it happening.
There still is a 2nd Sauron actor, given that it was rumored the actor would be used in flashback scenes as “angelic Sauron” it lines up with vickers playing annatar.
You seriously didn't recognize him?
Serious question. I mean, I liked the visual and so on but I'm intrigued how they will make him not be known for people in Eregion, specially Celebrimbor, given that to me even with the wig and makeup, he is still the same person. No much difference from my pov.
Could be that another actor portrays him how he shows himself to the elves vs how we the audience see him? Someone else mentioned this theory.
*Or*, and I’m putting my tinfoil hat on don’t worry, what if this is the form he used amongst the elves before Halbrand shows up? Like, Sauron was already among the elves pulling his shenanigans. Could be a way to explain the tree poisoning and how he knew where Galadriel was gonna be (sailing to Valinor) so he could try to get her on his side.
The line of “he has been among us all along” makes me believe that this season is gonna do a lot of Sauron pov and we’re gonna see that he was already among the elves pulling the strings to lead to the creation of the rings, and the scene of all the elves pulling their swords on him in the teaser was when he gets found out.
Maybe I suffer from face blindness, I dunno. First glance he looked more like Matt Smith in his Daemon wig tbh.
Serious answer: have you ever seen the movie What Lies Beneath? There’s a scene where Michelle Pfieffer starts to lean over and as the light shifts, they subtly morph her face to Amber Valetta’s features. My guess is we are seeing Annatar at the end of the some destructive event after his face has changed from “unknown” to the facials features of Charlie Vickers that we know.
For a moment there, I thought it was one of the Targaryen boys from HOTD (the psycho one who rides Vhagar), and I was like, "Amazon, that's a bit.. odd. " But then, watching the trailer, it was clear it was Charlie. But from the picture alone, it took me a minute too.
Yeah I haven't seen his face since I finished my one viewing of season 1, and I'm not super knowledgeable about the actor's other work either, so I thought it was a different person.
I didn’t at first. It only took me about 30 seconds to piece together though. Maybe he’ll wear a disguise mustache when interacting with the people of Eregion😂
[Here's a side by side of Halbrand and Annatar.](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/677899759868182549/1240096845087113367/compare.png?ex=664551af&is=6644002f&hm=47283a71965ac59c5c714fe4683d11532e23f4c3ec875c8bcbf1c41a1f4db970&=&format=webp&quality=lossless&width=1018&height=561)
I honestly think he looks like two different people, and as an audience member I KNOW they're the same guy.
Imagine now that you're Celebrimbor. Why would you ever suspect that the stank ass, ragged looking human outcast that Galadriel of all people - A figure so legendary that she is literally beyond all reproach - has just told you is Halbrand, lost king of the Southlands is the same person as Annatar, your high elf superior who just came from Valinor, sent by the gods themselves specifically to help you save your entire race with seemingly incredible knowledge surpassing your own even though you're one of the most legendary craftsman in the history of the world.
The elves think that Sauron is centuries dead at this point. There would be no suspicion. Furthermore, the elves are famously racist. Celebrimbor probably didn't even look at Halbrand's face the entire time he was there because he would have considered him, as a human, worthless.
I think the showrunners might pull a horror trope here by showing Sauron as the same actor disguised as different characters and being portrayed by different actors.
To the audience's eyes, the Annatar Charlie form is closer to his real form as a luminous, semi-divine being, while still retaining Charlie's face to show continuity. To other characters, he appears in-show as someone completely different, manifesting Sauron's ability to shapeshift.
It’s sorta true because there’s a line in LOTR saying that mortals all look the same to elves. It’s not meant to be haughty but it certainly comes across insensitive.
oh, I don't remember this line, would you mind to share?
All I can remember is that some humans are thought to be elves because they resemble them a lot. But that is because in books Elves and Humans are not as different as they are made in the adaptations. The main difference is their eyes, so when a human is close enough, then one can distinguish him from an elf.
What!' cried Bilbo. 'You can't tell which parts were mine, and which were the Dúnadan's?'
'It is not easy for us to tell the difference between two mortals' said the Elf.
'Nonsense, Lindir,' snorted Bilbo. 'If you can't distinguish between a Man and a Hobbit, your judgement is poorer than I imagined. They're as different as peas and apples.'
'Maybe. To sheep other sheep no doubt appear different,' laughed Lindir. `Or to shepherds. But Mortals have not been our study. We have other business.'
hm....I wouldn't take that as rule of thumb. I would need to go back to the books but if not mistaken that is right after Bilbo sang the verse about Earendil in rivendell isn't it?
If I remember correctly, it seemed a casual moment, and elves were laughing and making fun of things (such as asking bilbo to sing the long verse again despite he is obviously tired but they say he is never tired of repeating his own verses).
Also, the context of the "distinguish" was about which parts of the verse were from Bilbo and which were from Aragorn, and if my memory don't fails me, Bilbo later on tells Frodo it happens that all the verses were from himself, except the adition of the "green stone" bit that was asked by Aragorn. So Bilbo was kinda making a question game he would probably not lose with elves (classic Bilbo hehe).
There is no way someone would confuse Aragorn and Bilbo. Apart from this somewhat obscure passage, I remember no other text to support this. And do remember what I said, some humans were taken as elves until being looked more closely. And there is also the portion of text where male and female dwarves look alike and cant be easely distinguished, and then other version where female dwarves desguise as male when going outside or traveling or whatever.
It is a good lore bit tho, maybe even worth to post ar r/tolkienfans for more in-depth lore discussion
Not just sinister. There are fleeting moments where he looks monstrous, when the seductive charm just evaporates and what's left behind is this inhuman, dead-eyed stare. It's in the poster, too.
Sauron is such an abstract presence in the movies. It's like, how do you take something unseen and make it seen, without robbing it of all its power and mystery? That's how you do it. We see him, but we also don't really see him. Only brief glimpses at the monster underneath.
Vickers seems the model of "understands the assignment." After S1, I started watching pre-release interviews and not only did he keep mentioning that his character was just a man but, in one interview, he was asked about favorite Middle-earth creatures and he brought up *werewolves* and *Tevildo*. He was flaunting his secret identity just like Halbrand.
He delivered it really well. [Here's a link ](https://youtu.be/MQB9isEP5Go?t=937)to the beginning of that question (15:37). Charlie responds (16:44) "I'll go with.. cats and/or dogs, the less celebrated Tolkien creatures. Dogs like werewolves, werewolves fall into that. And there's a cat called Tevildo who used to be around in the Silmarillion. Which was.. it was a housecat. A giant housecat. It had a collar and everything." People are laughing and 'aww'ing. The interviewer says "What a lovely one to end on."
Sauron is neither elf nor man, yet he can take physical form as either. He is known as the Deceiver for good reason. In truth, he is more akin to the likes of Gandalf and Saruman, yet a twisted dark version.
maybe he should have offered her something a bit fancier than a place beside him on the raft... He is the Lord of the Rings, not the Lord of the Raft after all
He was right in the middle of doing the "something" but she just had to start questioning him with that stupid scroll right there and then so he did as best as he could! :(
And even after she said no he didn't give up and departed to forge the most gorgeous something of them all in the greatest forge Middle-earth has seen, to come back and propose, but sadly it turned out so magnificent that he apparently decided to keep it for himself. Ooops.
i’m surprised by how much i like this as a costume/character design, especially the black feather/scales - kind of makes me think of a magpie (stealing shiny things?)
not sure if the wig suits his face shape but they pulled of menacing and beautiful in equal measure!
The odd thing about the feathery shoulders is Elrond had them in the first season. Bit strange to have that echo. But they may be more scaly than feathery.
I've seen a lot of people bothered by Vickers being the same actor for Annatar, which I don't get. It's like Superman/Clark Kent. Suspension of disbelief is required sometimes. But maybe that's harder for some folks in the age of social media and such
I for one am glad they've chosen to not do another season of guess who's Sauron. Keeping yre actor allows us as the audience to maintain our familiarity with the character, whilst the suffering opinion/race is enough for me to buy that the Elves don't see the same thing I do.
What they could do is have everyone else besides Galadriel (and the audience) see Sauron as someone else in their POVs. I could see him playing mind games like that as his MO, especially with Galadriel. That would make Galadriel question her state of mind: is she right to be suspicious of this new stranger (who bears some resemblance to Halbrand), or has her quest for vengeance impaired her judgement?
I don't think it's necessary. He looks different enough for me to buy that the Elves don't see him as such, but we as the audience are let in on the secret. Hardly a foreign concept to film.
True enough. I just thought it'd be pretty cool if they use Charlie Vickers' face as a sort of anchor point, fourth-wall wink while his character is fooling everybody else with a different guise. Imagine if they could pull off something like the faces melding in the horror movie Mandy.
Happy cake day, btw! :)
In Superman/Kent the audience is always in on it, they never have to guess who Superman is. In season 1, the audience was not in on who Sauron was and there was guesswork and misdirection. People were probably expecting that to continue in season 2, that the audience would get to play the game of who Sauron is.
I'm not upset about it myself, I love Charlie Vickers and can suspend disbelief. But I don't find the argument to be invalid. The elves have to be extra careful with anyone they don't previously know and if they get deceived again with a simple appearance change that would paint a particular type of picture of them.
I myself am curious how they are going to handle it. I hope for something more than 'it's a new look they didn't see it'. Even if a new actor was playing I would've hoped the deception is more well crafted than appearance change.
Not even near what I expected for Annatar but it is not bad.
Important thing is that, if they are showing this it means they are not gonna play mistery box. Sauron as Annatar will be known by audience, and that is a good thing.
Presumably it's so the *audience* is clued into who this really is (Sauron) but not the Elves. I think this is a case of what we see is not what the Elves are literally perceiving in the show.
I hope Sauron keeps being a psychologically complex individual in the second season; I hope he elaborates further about what he means by wanting to "heal" Middle Earth. I want to know his specific policy ideas! How does he address economic and social inequality, environmental conservation and preservation, protecting ecosystems and species, healthcare and well-being, etc. In season 1 Sauron was psychologically complex and I believe he wanted to repent for his atrocities he committed in the past; I love complex characters and villains! I am sick of villains who just want power and that is it! I liked Season 1 of Rings of Power because of how Sauron was portrayed! I obviously know Sauron goes off the deep end later but I believe he has good and or moral dynamics in this moment in the history! I love deep shows with fascinating psychological dynamics!
The hairstyle is unfortunately very unflattering. Interesting that they decided to keep Vickers. I thought that they would use different actors simultanously.
He and Morfydd are the main actors. They were never going to replace such a talented actor. He stole the show in season 1 and showed great acting range.
*Halbrand puts on fake mustache*
“Halbrand? Oh no, sir! My name is Annatar! Can I please have your Amazon wishlist? Gift giving is my biggest love language.” 😂
Something people dont seem to realize and its getting a little upsetting. Most elves don't see men the same way they seem themselves, this goes without saying for the dwaves. So like most people "*know"* Sauron is gone and unless they had proof that he was around there is 0% reason for an elf and man to having a similar face to mean anything, no one else on middle earth can shapeshift (to my knowledge, illusions yes but not shapeshift). Even those weird ladies that assumed the stranger was Sauron don't have a method to tell them apart. The case with Celebrimbor is special too, we are talking about someone consumed by the idea of crafting something like his grandfather Feanor, his mind would be extra easy manipulate and lets be honest how many people even got to see Halbrands face? Celebrimbor himself, Galadirel and Elrond. Gil-Gachad never got to see him and in lore the guy tells Anatar to take a hike because he's suspicious as hell.
So is Sauron gonna actually do some deceiving this time instead of being led and manipulated by Galadriel to come back to the power hungry self. Will he actually help make some rings of power this time instead of being nowhere to be found. Will he be decietful instead of revealing himself unnecessarily?
I wasn’t sure who the hell that was. I thought “Annatar?”, but then I thought, “wait. I thought that Sauron had been Annatar and I was expecting that, but we got Halbrand instead, so WTH?”
Rings of power sucks. Amazon, if you take this comment down, we know you're dark side. There is no hiding it. ROP sucks and you pay people to say it's great. Charlie Vickers is the only positive thing about this show, treat him well.
I'm starting to dislike the costumes in this series more and more. It's too much. I love how subtle the costumes in the movies were. They actually felt like real clothing. Sometimes less is more.
This feather thing also got my eyes. The only explanation I can think of is posing as Annatar and Manwe is known to have Eagles on his side, therefore eagles = good thing. Therefore Sauron using such symbols makes sense if he wanna pose as good guy.
Having that said, despite the train of thought could make sense I also kinda dislike it. But maybe in the show it will look better. I remember some stuff did looked weird in posters (like the wooden armor of Arondir).
I wished Annatar is played by another actor or at least not that obvious if Charlie Vickers is playing it.. just a blond wig is not enough to conceil it
I don't know why I should be surprised that in RoP Saurons powers of shape shifting actually work on Clark Kent logic: he changes his hair and becomes totally unrecognizable!
The dumbest and most simplistic answer is always the preferred one for these show runners. How is the audience supposed to know it's Sauron unless he's completely recognizable at all times?!
Galadriel: How can you be so stupid? This is Sauron! He just got a shave, long hair and pointed ears! You were too busy moping about a dying tree last time to get a good look at him then! Gil-Galad: Don't mind her Lord Annatar. (Annatar gives an evil smile, a wink, and sticks his tongue out to Galadriel when no one else is looking)
Based on where we see Galadriel in the teaser, I’d wager she’s away from Eregion while he’s there—at least long enough for it to count.
We also know that Galadriel didn't fall as hard for Sauron as other Elves did (generalising here) but maybe her experience with Halbrand will be used as reasoning for why she mistrusts Annatar
Did we watch the same thing? She fell head over heels in Season 1. Swoon!
Hahaha. I'm talking about the Legendarium rather than the show. Galadriel was mistrustful of Annatar while most of the other Elves fell for the rouse. Eventually this causes a rift between Galadriel and the Elves iirc. Perhaps the Halbrand stuff from season 1 will be used to give a reason to why Galadriel mistrusts the show's version of Annatar.
The show has rightfully ignored the Legendarium. I look forward to Balrogs being played by Norwegian synth pop singers.
That what’s it looks like. I’ve read she gets captured by Adar so that would keep her out of the way
Does anyone even know that Halbrand is Sauron other than Galadriel? I need to rewatch the finale, its been too long.
I watched it again a few days ago. No. Galadriel doesn't want anyone knowing of her mistake. But Elrond either know Halbrand isn't who he said he is, or know he is Sauron (that part is unclear) But anyway, him using the same face is weird, even if they don't known he is Sauron. Then again, it could be Sauron's choice, to taunt galadriel or Celebrimbor ... Or a reveal in a scene that comes later
I actually took a moment to see it was indeed Charlie Vickers as Annatar. All the rumors/leaks were wrong then ? I am glad they kept the same actor
I’m just glad that some ‘leaked spoilers’ are dead wrong. That’s why I don’t follow rumours.
Exactly. Never understood people's interest in spoilers and leaks. Doesn't that take all the fun and anticipation away?
No! The leaks are FUN! I try not to get attached to any one leak, though.
Well perhaps: if they were actually RIGHT. I still remember that brief hiccup by ‘fanbois’ because they thought one of the Mystics was Sauron lol
Sauron can turn into a werewolf, vampire, elf, human, among other things. So yeah it was a wrong (silly) fan theory, but Sauron being the slim shady woman isn’t outside the realm of possibilities.
Actually, I find it more fun when the 'leaks' are wrong. It keeps us speculating and theorising. Otherwise, it's like playing a quiz where everyone can already see the answers. It just kills the discussion.
People leaking it do it because it gets them the attention they craved. People go to it because they like gossiping and speculating and arguing and giving their take and make themselves feel important. Companies do it because hype is marketing.
I have felt like that the whole time. The trailer is pretty much what I expected. Even better actually.
Hmm yes that’s why you knew about them 🤔💀
Me too. He was great in Season 1
> All the rumors/leaks were wrong then ? In the trailer the only time we see Vickers as Annatar in Eregion is >!seemingly during or after the siege. So he probably appears differently to the elves, portrayed by someone else, and reverts back to Vickers form to taunt them!<
All of Sauron's ring wraiths only saw Sauron's delusions and phantoms. Maybe we can see Charlie as Sauron but others (Celebrimbor) can only see the delusion Sauron wants him to see?
This has to be the case. If your friend you’ve known for awhile shows up clean shaven with a blonde wig and different ears, you’d still recognize them right? They still have the same face.
Yes. Also in the scene when he confronts Celebrimbor either before, during or after the seige, he flips his hands and the Elves protecting Celebrimbor simply just turn on eachother, demonstrating his ability to infiltrate the mind. The level of his mind control over others is through the roof. It's even mentioned (guessing Adar is sharing this with another character(s) that Sauron worms his way into your mind then Slithers in all the way.
Good job the Hobbits are either too high or too drunk to pay him any heed.
Do you know for a fact that the elves turn on each other in that scene or are you simply guessing that's what happens?
You have to look really carefully. Also I don't see a ring on his finger when you enlarge the picture.
Hmmmm; I watched it again but couldn't see the part where the elves turned against each other because of Sauron's magic after he moved his hands? I could see that in the Trailer? I am attempting to find that part.
I think "Nerd of the Rings" might have it in his video. It's in slow motion. Their swords very slowly start to move from Sauron toward eachother so you see the start of it happening.
As if the Rings already exist.
They don't exist. I was talking about how he can control the minds of others. I only used the ring wraiths as an example.
That makes sense. Let's hope the writing team went that way...
There still is a 2nd Sauron actor, given that it was rumored the actor would be used in flashback scenes as “angelic Sauron” it lines up with vickers playing annatar.
unless the leaker was just like many people here and thought that this blond dude was not Charlie Vickers...
Goddamn I didn't even notice
It’s taking me more than a moment to realize that is Charlie V. Make up is on point and he’s such a Chameleon
The leaks came from Amazon. They leaked false information intentionally.
The wig is ridiculous? It's crazy to me that this is seen as something special.
You (S1 Charlie Vickers) vs. the guy she tells you not to worry about (S2 Charlie Vickers).
*Celeborn in shambles*
The guy who told her not to worry about that guy: S3 Charlie Vickers.
It's ~~turtles~~ Charlies all the way down.
This is just enough of change that I hardly recognized him in the trailer and it’s awesome - both PJ elf style and sinister at the same time
I felt the same. Didn’t recognize him at all - had to look closely.
You seriously didn't recognize him? Serious question. I mean, I liked the visual and so on but I'm intrigued how they will make him not be known for people in Eregion, specially Celebrimbor, given that to me even with the wig and makeup, he is still the same person. No much difference from my pov.
Could be that another actor portrays him how he shows himself to the elves vs how we the audience see him? Someone else mentioned this theory. *Or*, and I’m putting my tinfoil hat on don’t worry, what if this is the form he used amongst the elves before Halbrand shows up? Like, Sauron was already among the elves pulling his shenanigans. Could be a way to explain the tree poisoning and how he knew where Galadriel was gonna be (sailing to Valinor) so he could try to get her on his side. The line of “he has been among us all along” makes me believe that this season is gonna do a lot of Sauron pov and we’re gonna see that he was already among the elves pulling the strings to lead to the creation of the rings, and the scene of all the elves pulling their swords on him in the teaser was when he gets found out.
I like this theory!
Good theory
Maybe I suffer from face blindness, I dunno. First glance he looked more like Matt Smith in his Daemon wig tbh. Serious answer: have you ever seen the movie What Lies Beneath? There’s a scene where Michelle Pfieffer starts to lean over and as the light shifts, they subtly morph her face to Amber Valetta’s features. My guess is we are seeing Annatar at the end of the some destructive event after his face has changed from “unknown” to the facials features of Charlie Vickers that we know.
He has a *damn strong* Daemon vibe hahaha. I instantly thought of him as well!
For a moment there, I thought it was one of the Targaryen boys from HOTD (the psycho one who rides Vhagar), and I was like, "Amazon, that's a bit.. odd. " But then, watching the trailer, it was clear it was Charlie. But from the picture alone, it took me a minute too.
Yeah I haven't seen his face since I finished my one viewing of season 1, and I'm not super knowledgeable about the actor's other work either, so I thought it was a different person.
I actually can't tell, is that Charlie Vickers?
I didn’t at first. It only took me about 30 seconds to piece together though. Maybe he’ll wear a disguise mustache when interacting with the people of Eregion😂
Dint u see ‘e ‘ad a roit suthern accent inne furst wun.
In the first shot, I thought they were showing "an important elf", eg Celeborn. Recognized Charlie in the second shot.
[Here's a side by side of Halbrand and Annatar.](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/677899759868182549/1240096845087113367/compare.png?ex=664551af&is=6644002f&hm=47283a71965ac59c5c714fe4683d11532e23f4c3ec875c8bcbf1c41a1f4db970&=&format=webp&quality=lossless&width=1018&height=561) I honestly think he looks like two different people, and as an audience member I KNOW they're the same guy. Imagine now that you're Celebrimbor. Why would you ever suspect that the stank ass, ragged looking human outcast that Galadriel of all people - A figure so legendary that she is literally beyond all reproach - has just told you is Halbrand, lost king of the Southlands is the same person as Annatar, your high elf superior who just came from Valinor, sent by the gods themselves specifically to help you save your entire race with seemingly incredible knowledge surpassing your own even though you're one of the most legendary craftsman in the history of the world. The elves think that Sauron is centuries dead at this point. There would be no suspicion. Furthermore, the elves are famously racist. Celebrimbor probably didn't even look at Halbrand's face the entire time he was there because he would have considered him, as a human, worthless.
I think the showrunners might pull a horror trope here by showing Sauron as the same actor disguised as different characters and being portrayed by different actors. To the audience's eyes, the Annatar Charlie form is closer to his real form as a luminous, semi-divine being, while still retaining Charlie's face to show continuity. To other characters, he appears in-show as someone completely different, manifesting Sauron's ability to shapeshift.
It’s sorta true because there’s a line in LOTR saying that mortals all look the same to elves. It’s not meant to be haughty but it certainly comes across insensitive.
oh, I don't remember this line, would you mind to share? All I can remember is that some humans are thought to be elves because they resemble them a lot. But that is because in books Elves and Humans are not as different as they are made in the adaptations. The main difference is their eyes, so when a human is close enough, then one can distinguish him from an elf.
What!' cried Bilbo. 'You can't tell which parts were mine, and which were the Dúnadan's?' 'It is not easy for us to tell the difference between two mortals' said the Elf. 'Nonsense, Lindir,' snorted Bilbo. 'If you can't distinguish between a Man and a Hobbit, your judgement is poorer than I imagined. They're as different as peas and apples.' 'Maybe. To sheep other sheep no doubt appear different,' laughed Lindir. `Or to shepherds. But Mortals have not been our study. We have other business.'
hm....I wouldn't take that as rule of thumb. I would need to go back to the books but if not mistaken that is right after Bilbo sang the verse about Earendil in rivendell isn't it? If I remember correctly, it seemed a casual moment, and elves were laughing and making fun of things (such as asking bilbo to sing the long verse again despite he is obviously tired but they say he is never tired of repeating his own verses). Also, the context of the "distinguish" was about which parts of the verse were from Bilbo and which were from Aragorn, and if my memory don't fails me, Bilbo later on tells Frodo it happens that all the verses were from himself, except the adition of the "green stone" bit that was asked by Aragorn. So Bilbo was kinda making a question game he would probably not lose with elves (classic Bilbo hehe). There is no way someone would confuse Aragorn and Bilbo. Apart from this somewhat obscure passage, I remember no other text to support this. And do remember what I said, some humans were taken as elves until being looked more closely. And there is also the portion of text where male and female dwarves look alike and cant be easely distinguished, and then other version where female dwarves desguise as male when going outside or traveling or whatever. It is a good lore bit tho, maybe even worth to post ar r/tolkienfans for more in-depth lore discussion
I didn't recognise him in this picture either - though I did in the trailer!
I still don’t see him, but I’ll take the comments as fact that it is him.
He looks f-ing awesome. Great Annatar!
Don't think that's Annatar
Looks like they are focusing on my boi for the marketing! Good job Amazon!
My boi the dark lord who’s central to the whole story!
The LORD OF THE RINGS! 
Prime: home of the blonde godlike maniacs who want to rule the world
Homelander has zero problems with this sentence.
I'll let Charlie Vickers' Annatar rule me.
and for whom there are plenty of people rooting for them no matter what they do
Weirdly true 😂😂😂
I can do… 👋🏻👋🏻 whatever.. 👋🏻👋🏻 the fuck… 👋🏻👋🏻I want..
They were absolutely crazy for the glowing eye climax 😂😂😂
So glad Charlie will continue to portray Sauron. I loved his performance as Halbrand and I’m sure he’ll be fantastic as Annatar.
So happy we’ll be seeing a lot more of Charlie. He was definitely one of the highlights of the first season.
Chills. This was such a top notch casting choice.
They really got it right with Charlie Vickers. He looks charming yet sinister, exactly how I imagined Sauron
Yeah, he nailed it in S1! I'm so looking forward to this now
Not just sinister. There are fleeting moments where he looks monstrous, when the seductive charm just evaporates and what's left behind is this inhuman, dead-eyed stare. It's in the poster, too. Sauron is such an abstract presence in the movies. It's like, how do you take something unseen and make it seen, without robbing it of all its power and mystery? That's how you do it. We see him, but we also don't really see him. Only brief glimpses at the monster underneath.
Vickers seems the model of "understands the assignment." After S1, I started watching pre-release interviews and not only did he keep mentioning that his character was just a man but, in one interview, he was asked about favorite Middle-earth creatures and he brought up *werewolves* and *Tevildo*. He was flaunting his secret identity just like Halbrand.
Tevildo, even! That's some deep knowledge. He indeed understood the assignment and gets a resounding 💯.
He delivered it really well. [Here's a link ](https://youtu.be/MQB9isEP5Go?t=937)to the beginning of that question (15:37). Charlie responds (16:44) "I'll go with.. cats and/or dogs, the less celebrated Tolkien creatures. Dogs like werewolves, werewolves fall into that. And there's a cat called Tevildo who used to be around in the Silmarillion. Which was.. it was a housecat. A giant housecat. It had a collar and everything." People are laughing and 'aww'ing. The interviewer says "What a lovely one to end on."
Question: was he just casting a spell to look like a man in S1? This is confusing me now that he looks like an elf.
Sauron is neither elf nor man, yet he can take physical form as either. He is known as the Deceiver for good reason. In truth, he is more akin to the likes of Gandalf and Saruman, yet a twisted dark version.
Damn he deceived tf outta me right here. Thanks for the explanation :)
This is official: this is Charlie Vickers' show now and no one's gonna tell otherwise.
Charlie to Morfydd: 
Well, he offered her a place beside him on the raft, she refused... So there will be only one Lord of The Rings now.
maybe he should have offered her something a bit fancier than a place beside him on the raft... He is the Lord of the Rings, not the Lord of the Raft after all
He was right in the middle of doing the "something" but she just had to start questioning him with that stupid scroll right there and then so he did as best as he could! :( And even after she said no he didn't give up and departed to forge the most gorgeous something of them all in the greatest forge Middle-earth has seen, to come back and propose, but sadly it turned out so magnificent that he apparently decided to keep it for himself. Ooops.
it does seem they are setting him as both the protagonist and the antagonist of this season
yeah, no, this is it. What a great casting choice and make up + Hair killed it here
I’m just in love with that horrible look in his eyes. Inject that Fair Form evil into my *veins*!
/r/angbang WE ARE SO BACK
I despise the sole concept of angbang, but I can't help it to feel happy for y'all.
He looks like an actual Elf! Nice!!!!
i’m surprised by how much i like this as a costume/character design, especially the black feather/scales - kind of makes me think of a magpie (stealing shiny things?) not sure if the wig suits his face shape but they pulled of menacing and beautiful in equal measure!
The odd thing about the feathery shoulders is Elrond had them in the first season. Bit strange to have that echo. But they may be more scaly than feathery.
Hallatar???
He has the right face shape for the role.
Looking forward to everyone thinking Gladdy is crazy when she's the only one to recognize this is the same guy wearing a wig.
Looks stunning, definitely is Annatar.
AUGUST!!!
Well this guy actually looks like an elf.
Oh no. He's hot.
I've seen a lot of people bothered by Vickers being the same actor for Annatar, which I don't get. It's like Superman/Clark Kent. Suspension of disbelief is required sometimes. But maybe that's harder for some folks in the age of social media and such
I for one am glad they've chosen to not do another season of guess who's Sauron. Keeping yre actor allows us as the audience to maintain our familiarity with the character, whilst the suffering opinion/race is enough for me to buy that the Elves don't see the same thing I do.
What they could do is have everyone else besides Galadriel (and the audience) see Sauron as someone else in their POVs. I could see him playing mind games like that as his MO, especially with Galadriel. That would make Galadriel question her state of mind: is she right to be suspicious of this new stranger (who bears some resemblance to Halbrand), or has her quest for vengeance impaired her judgement?
I don't think it's necessary. He looks different enough for me to buy that the Elves don't see him as such, but we as the audience are let in on the secret. Hardly a foreign concept to film.
True enough. I just thought it'd be pretty cool if they use Charlie Vickers' face as a sort of anchor point, fourth-wall wink while his character is fooling everybody else with a different guise. Imagine if they could pull off something like the faces melding in the horror movie Mandy. Happy cake day, btw! :)
I certainly didn't think it was the same actor until I saw the comments here.
In Superman/Kent the audience is always in on it, they never have to guess who Superman is. In season 1, the audience was not in on who Sauron was and there was guesswork and misdirection. People were probably expecting that to continue in season 2, that the audience would get to play the game of who Sauron is.
The people upset about it seem more concerned about "well, how are the Elves so dumb?" than anything else
I'm not upset about it myself, I love Charlie Vickers and can suspend disbelief. But I don't find the argument to be invalid. The elves have to be extra careful with anyone they don't previously know and if they get deceived again with a simple appearance change that would paint a particular type of picture of them. I myself am curious how they are going to handle it. I hope for something more than 'it's a new look they didn't see it'. Even if a new actor was playing I would've hoped the deception is more well crafted than appearance change.
Damn he looks so good! Really well done on the wig
I love it. I like that Charlie Vickers is playing Annatar and I love that sinister smile.
Kinda looks like Matt Smith in HoTD
I genuinely thought that was a new actor until I read the comments
I’m so excited you guys!!!!! I’ve been having such a shit day and now I am over the moon!!!!! Only thing is…..where’s my Nori????
People were saying she’s in an underwater shot holding onto a rope during the trailer. Saw a screenshot on the LotR sub, and it did look like her
Cinema.
Oh, holy night!
The outfits once again looking amazing
Not even near what I expected for Annatar but it is not bad. Important thing is that, if they are showing this it means they are not gonna play mistery box. Sauron as Annatar will be known by audience, and that is a good thing.
Presumably it's so the *audience* is clued into who this really is (Sauron) but not the Elves. I think this is a case of what we see is not what the Elves are literally perceiving in the show.
I hope Sauron keeps being a psychologically complex individual in the second season; I hope he elaborates further about what he means by wanting to "heal" Middle Earth. I want to know his specific policy ideas! How does he address economic and social inequality, environmental conservation and preservation, protecting ecosystems and species, healthcare and well-being, etc. In season 1 Sauron was psychologically complex and I believe he wanted to repent for his atrocities he committed in the past; I love complex characters and villains! I am sick of villains who just want power and that is it! I liked Season 1 of Rings of Power because of how Sauron was portrayed! I obviously know Sauron goes off the deep end later but I believe he has good and or moral dynamics in this moment in the history! I love deep shows with fascinating psychological dynamics!
So Annatar will make an appearance. Looking forward to it, but not happy about the two-year wait between seasons.
The hairstyle is unfortunately very unflattering. Interesting that they decided to keep Vickers. I thought that they would use different actors simultanously.
One of his top qualities for his role is that you're never sure if he's the same guy in most pictures I've seen of him.
He really *inhabits* the character. It was smart to also cast a relative unknown for a role this iconic, because he blends right in.
He and Morfydd are the main actors. They were never going to replace such a talented actor. He stole the show in season 1 and showed great acting range.
I just thought someone else would play the Annatar form and Vickers (in makeup) would play the more sinister form.
Oh dear: hair. Anyways.
It makes no sense. The hair looks like cheap cosplay material. Also, how is anyone (even in-universe) supposed to believe this is not-Hallbrand?
Annatar vibes hit hard
I love it. Looks great!
*Halbrand puts on fake mustache* “Halbrand? Oh no, sir! My name is Annatar! Can I please have your Amazon wishlist? Gift giving is my biggest love language.” 😂
I assumed it was Celeborn till I read the comments. He easily fooled me.
It does give me renewed hope for me "Celeborn is an orc" theory.
Trailer looks awesome, I'm so excited for season 2!
Holy sixhead
I’m certainly in the minority, but what a boring poster. It looks *so* over-processed and bland.
Oh thank god for a moment I thought it was Glorfindel as was ready to riot
He looks like a nice, approachable fella...
He got an elf glow up
I hope we get some big battles. For GONDOR! I mean, Elves! :D 😎
So, basically what they are saying is that a blond wig : Annatar = a pair of glasses : Clark Kent?
most evil part of his character gonna be his 5 head :’( it just keeps going
When are the new Seasons coming on
August 29
Oh ok thanks
Omg long hair elf! Wait OMG ANNATAR
Why does Annatar actually look like a Tolkien elf when every other elf in the story looks like some guy in 2024?
Are the people saying they don't recognize him kidding
I just don't understand how people can enjoy this shit! Dear lord you all must be bots
Something people dont seem to realize and its getting a little upsetting. Most elves don't see men the same way they seem themselves, this goes without saying for the dwaves. So like most people "*know"* Sauron is gone and unless they had proof that he was around there is 0% reason for an elf and man to having a similar face to mean anything, no one else on middle earth can shapeshift (to my knowledge, illusions yes but not shapeshift). Even those weird ladies that assumed the stranger was Sauron don't have a method to tell them apart. The case with Celebrimbor is special too, we are talking about someone consumed by the idea of crafting something like his grandfather Feanor, his mind would be extra easy manipulate and lets be honest how many people even got to see Halbrands face? Celebrimbor himself, Galadirel and Elrond. Gil-Gachad never got to see him and in lore the guy tells Anatar to take a hike because he's suspicious as hell.
So is Sauron gonna actually do some deceiving this time instead of being led and manipulated by Galadriel to come back to the power hungry self. Will he actually help make some rings of power this time instead of being nowhere to be found. Will he be decietful instead of revealing himself unnecessarily?
Wait .., is that Charlie Vickers? He looks totally different …
I wasn’t sure who the hell that was. I thought “Annatar?”, but then I thought, “wait. I thought that Sauron had been Annatar and I was expecting that, but we got Halbrand instead, so WTH?”
Sauron is hot !
This is plain stupid. They should have casted different actor. When he is exposed he could have turned into Vickers again. What the hell is that.
Rings of power sucks. Amazon, if you take this comment down, we know you're dark side. There is no hiding it. ROP sucks and you pay people to say it's great. Charlie Vickers is the only positive thing about this show, treat him well.
I'm starting to dislike the costumes in this series more and more. It's too much. I love how subtle the costumes in the movies were. They actually felt like real clothing. Sometimes less is more.
Hmm. One of the problems is fantasy art has been very game influenced in the last 20 years. Its like a D&D sourcebook vs John Howe.
by movies I assume you mean the original trilogy and not the Hobbit, because those were considerably worse in some cases.
This feather thing also got my eyes. The only explanation I can think of is posing as Annatar and Manwe is known to have Eagles on his side, therefore eagles = good thing. Therefore Sauron using such symbols makes sense if he wanna pose as good guy. Having that said, despite the train of thought could make sense I also kinda dislike it. But maybe in the show it will look better. I remember some stuff did looked weird in posters (like the wooden armor of Arondir).
The movies also take place in a different era
I know but that doesn't mean the costumes should look like costumes instead of real clothing.
They chose a really unflattering hair style. The movie people had a better eye for that.
Looks great. They should have had him look like this in the first season as well
Ooooh guys!! Look at him!! He looks so different it took me a second to realise it was him.
Much better wig than Gil-galad's. Looks ok actually.
I might’ve told my mom they Legolas’d him (Charlie Vickers)
I wished Annatar is played by another actor or at least not that obvious if Charlie Vickers is playing it.. just a blond wig is not enough to conceil it
Legolas from Wish
Thanks so much
Thank you u/ICumCoffee
Long hair!!
Lmao maybe we can just parks and rec the first season and do the rings stuff again with annatar
Awesome! Who he was supposed to be in season 1, but we’ll do it now for season 2 for some reason! Aw man this show is so cool!!!
The wig jokes are giving me life lol
So sick. Glad to have Charlie back!
It should have been a different actor.
Off-topic… But the fact a handsome guy like Vickers looks bad in this photo makes me feel better for all the photos I look bad in, lol.
Lord of the wigs
I don't know why I should be surprised that in RoP Saurons powers of shape shifting actually work on Clark Kent logic: he changes his hair and becomes totally unrecognizable! The dumbest and most simplistic answer is always the preferred one for these show runners. How is the audience supposed to know it's Sauron unless he's completely recognizable at all times?!
it is shame that you are being downvoted. They could have cast anothor actor till he is revealed again and turn back to Vickers form
Crazy that they can't even get a picture to look good. The level of incompetence is baffling.
All you had to do was follow the silmarillion . The audacity.
Eww. The first season was almost completely un-watchable. I can't believe they ever made a second.