Inside The Rings of Power S2, E2 | The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power | Prime Video

Season 2 is all about how Annatar inveigles his way into Celebrimbor’s world. Seduces him to being an unwitting accomplice. There are big problems in Khazad-dûm. You will see us in all our glory. Brace yourselves! Get down! Welcome back to Inside the Rings of Power. I want to welcome everyone’s favorite Dwarven couple, Owain Arthur and Sophia Nomvete, as well as the legendary craftsman himself, Charles Edwards. Welcome, friends. - Thank you - Thank you very much. So, I want to ask the obvious question. What did it feel like to be back for Season 2? Charles? Oh, well, very exciting because I knew where we were going with Celebrimbor’s story, and it was left on a big ol’ cliffhanger, end of Season 1, so I was really looking forward to getting started on the meat of his story. Yeah. Yeah, and what about the Khazad-dûm couple over here? How, how did you feel about getting back on set? Yeah, I mean, it was, it was interesting going back home, wasn’t it? - Do you remember that first day on set where - Yeah! Yeah, yeah. it was really comfortable. It was like putting old slippers on. How was the mines? What was really exciting is, not only coming home to a Khazad-dûm that we knew, but it had expanded. - The set this season was, - Twice as big. - There were various sections to it, but markets! - The markets. The- Oh, my goodness! And the, the big corridors and stuff. She was shopping every day. Too dear. What? We’re not paupers. You’re the one said we’d be wise to tighten our purse strings. Or were you not including yourself when you said that? Hm? So, Charles, you have your forge, uh, in Eregion. Oh, again, four times the size - of the one I had before - Really? Everybody got - expanded this season. - Yeah yeah. It’s a most wonderful set. This is actually my first night on this set, which is Celebrimbor’s brand-new tower. He’s been true to his word, he built something quite extraordinary. Down the steps here, if you’d like to come with me, you will get an idea of the vastness of this building. It looks like a cathedral in here. When you look out there, you see Eregion in all its glory. Eregion is this center of artistic excellence. He believes it can be a place of enormous good where, um, races from all over Middle-earth can gather and create. It’s two or three days’ travel from Khazad-dûm, so there’s a relationship between the Elves and the Dwarves, which is starting to develop. Sophia, Khazad-dûm is actually in dire straits when we start out, - Yeah - in the season. Can you talk about the situation and maybe contextualize it a little bit? It’s life and death for Khazad-dûm at the moment. [Singing] In Season 1, we actually saw a lament. So we saw a version of connecting to the mountains. A mountain’s like a person. Sing to it properly. It will reflect your song back to you. [Resonating] I feel that this is the first time that you will see resonating in its purest, strongest form. Us as resonators, singers, we’ve completely lost our power. The shafts are closing, therefore there is no light in Khazad-dûm, therefore we are unable to grow our crops. It’s a pretty high-stakes, intense moment right now. And Charles, we have another high-stakes, intense moment when we see Galadriel’s visions with the ring of what may be happening. What do you think those visions mean? I think they’re the first sign that maybe the audience see of when you wear one of these rings, you can have access to visions of the unseen world of, of harbingers of things that may be to come. So, can I ask you one question. you seem like a very intelligent, - brilliant artist, um, as a person. - Thank you! Yeah, and as a character. Why did you let Halbrand in? I mean, I’m screaming at the screen. Why would you break your promise to Galadriel like that? Well, he had, he cast his spell in Season 1. So, infiltrated. Yeah. Owain and Sophia, if you had been in his shoes, would you have let Halbrand in? [Gasps] Charlie Vickers turns up at your door. [Laughter] - You’re gonna let him in. - He, he’s pleasing on the eye, let’s say that. Um... Come in, what do you want for breakfast? We’d be Sophia’s. Yeah, I probably would, yeah. And for all of you, what did you make of the revelation of Annatar? Oh, it was amazing. Oh, it’s so good. - You were there, yeah. - Yeah, yeah. Talk a little bit about filming that. Well it, it was as you saw, you know, the, the fire was doing that. So, it’s real fire? Yeah, it get, it’s hot in there. And to go nearer and nearer, and they go, “Yeah, Charlie, a bit nearer, nearer,” and I go, “really? This is... fire going on.” Celebrimbor is very smart, he’s a leader, he’s a leader of his people, he’s a leader as an artist. What, why does he, what do you see - that he’s falling for Annatar? - Well, when Annatar reveals himself out of those flames as this messenger from the Valar, he has revealed himself as, essentially a god who is here to help and advise. I can unlock your grandest abilities. Never again will the world overlook you as the mere scion of Fëanor, but forever more, revere you. The Lord of the Rings. And what did it feel like being called The Lord of the Rings? Yeah, it felt good. It felt good. [LAUGHTER] Puffed you up a little bit more? You will forever be - The lord of the Rings. - The lord. Of the rings. Well, thank you, it was amazing talking with all of you. Thank you so much, I cannot wait to see where your characters go from here. - Thank you. - Thank you very much. You need not bow to me. Hello. I’m sitting here with J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay. Welcome to both of you! - Thank you. - Thanks Felicia, great to be here. So, Halbrand’s transition into Annatar is like this big moment that fans have been waiting for. Can you talk a little bit about Charlie’s look as Annatar? Yes, so it was a whole journey to find it really. So it felt like, if Annatar’s trying to present as, “I am a messenger from the gods,” he needs to have that look that sort of says, “You can trust me.” And how much does Sauron shift his form based on what the target wants to see? The great deceivers, the great seducers, that’s how they do it. They speak to you in the voice that you’re most likely to respond to. And they let you kind of, you know, project onto them and, you know, uh, uh, I think he’s a master of that. I am your partner. No more, no less. A sharer of gifts. This is one of Sauron’s iconic moments in the, you know, 9,000-year history of Middle-earth. We’ve seen him as Halbrand, we’ve seen him as, you know, Annatar. Sauron has this vision of, “I’m the one who’s gonna make it right. Everyone else keeps messing it up, and if everyone else would literally just do what I wanted, everything will be great.” And he genuinely believes that. Yeah, well no evil person thinks they’re evil, right? Yeah. Season 1 is about introducing you to Middle-earth in the second age, and then Season 2 is all about letting the villains loose. One of the great opportunities we’re really excited about for fans for Season 2 is, you’re ahead of everybody, and you know what the villain knows, and you know what he’s after, and it’s all about, how’s he gonna get it? There’s just a simmering feeling under the surface that something is coming, something is coming. That’s a wrap on Episode 2. But I can tell you with absolute certainty, this season is only just getting started. Next time on our look inside the series, we’re headed to Númenor, where dirty politics, palace intrigue and betrayal abound. Better bring your Palantír. I applaud your patience.