Warning: There are spoilers ahead for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 1 finale!
As The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power progressed, Sauron’s identity became the first season’s biggest mystery. But in the end, the series waited until the season finale to disclose the shocking revelation. Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) revealed himself as Sauron, much to the shock of Galadriel (Morfydd Clark). In an interview with Comicbook.com Vernon Sanders, Amazon Studios’ Head of Global Television, explained the decision to unmask Sauron in The Rings of Power season 1 finale and how it sets up season 2.
“One of the challenges for this show, when you are adapting something, is to tell the story that people are excited to see, but sometimes find ways to surprise them. Sauron, I would argue the greatest villain of all time,” said Sanders. “And how do you get to know that person? How do you get to understand how they work? What are the layers there?”
“And I think because of the way the story was told and because of the great performances of Charlie [Vickers] and Morfydd [Clark], I think audiences now have an insight whether he fooled them or whether they knew it the entire time,” added Sanders. “There’s a much more interpersonal human side of this character, and I’m so excited for people to see Sauron unleashed in season two.”
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The reveal of Sauron capped off a successful first season for The Rings of Power. The series became a staple on Nielsen’s streaming rankings, highlighted by an opening weekend of 1.3 billion minutes viewed. Despite the immense popularity, Sanders knew that not every fan of J.R.R. Tolkien’s books would like The Rings of Power. However, Sanders believed in communicating with the fans to understand their interest in the series.
“We set up our own study with thousands of people, among them thousands of The Lord of the Rings fans, to really have a conversation with them as each episode dropped to just understand how they were reacting. We were doing as much of a 360 comprehensive look to really understand it. And I think we got a lot of those The Lord of the Rings fans, both fans of the books and fans of the movies,” noted Sanders. “We also know that there were some fans who had issues or didn’t feel like this was what they were expecting or done in the way that they expected, and that’s natural. I think whenever you take on something that’s so beloved, you’re going to have probably a strong reaction for and have some people who just aren’t on board.”
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 1 is now streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
What are your predictions for the second season? Leave your guesses in the comment section below!
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