Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season one ended with the revelation that Galadriel’s close companion throughout the season was Sauron pretending to be a human named Halbrand, King of the Southlands. Sauron was keen on luring Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) in as an ally…or something a little more, shall we say, personal…and as season two picks up, the whole of Middle-earth is dealing with the return of Sauron (played by Charlie Vickers).
Prime Video brought 16 members of the cast to the San Diego Comic-Con to discuss the upcoming season. Morfydd Clark and Benjamin Walker, who plays High King Gil-galad, teamed up for roundtables to talk about where we pick up their characters when season two premieres on August 29, 2024 with the release of the first three episodes.
New episodes stream on Thursdays.
Morfydd Clark and Benjamin Walker Season 2 INTERVIEW
What was the goal of Sauron trying to seduce Galadriel to the dark side? Charlie Vickers believes that it wasn’t really marriage or an equal relationship. Sauron was going to be in charge and use Galadriel. How did you view it?
Morfydd Clark: “Well, I think she just couldn’t see the wood for the trees. And she ultimately thought that her stars had aligned in a way that they hadn’t for many centuries, and she kind of got drunk on that hope. I think that she was also…she was an elf alone; she was quite far away from her elf-ness and was approaching a cynicism, and he really got in there. But I think what’s so scary about Sauron is he’s such an effective evil guy.”
Benjamin Walker: “He’s called the Great Deceiver. Give her some slack.”
Morfydd Clark: “Yeah. But he exploits people’s strengths, not their weaknesses, which makes the elves very vulnerable to him because they’re very proud of their strengths.”
Benjamin Walker: “He’s also incredibly handsome.”
Morfydd Clark: “Yeah, and well-dressed this season as well.”
There were a few moments in season one where Galadriel made some questionable decisions and at the end of season one, she was reflecting on those choices. Is she on the same path in season two or has she realized where she’s gone wrong and is correcting that?
Morfydd Clark: “Well, she’s also kind of… It’s not just a personal kind of failure; she’s affected everything. And so, she’s got to be accepted back into her realm. And I think that’s the thing that kind of changes her the most and protects her most from Sauron, is this desire to be part of Middle-earth again and not this lone soldier.”
Season two is labeled as the season of the villain. How would you describe it?
Benjamin Walker: “I like to think of it as Oppenheimer.”
Oppenheimer?
Benjamin Walker: “Yeah, go with me, go with me. We have this new technology, and we can either save the world or blow it up. (Laughing) Didn’t think I’d go there, did you? We’ve got rings now. And it’s three hours long!”
Morfydd Clark: “I think there’s a lot of bravery in this season. I mean, you’re seeing people conquer their fear in the face of what seems like inevitable darkness.”
Does Galadriel have a singular focus this season? Does she have one goal and nothing will distract her, or is she multitasking?
Morfydd Clark: “No, I think she’s kind of raw and open to everyone else again. I think she’d shut herself off so much. I like to think of that Sylvia Plath line for her this season where it’s like, ‘It’s a terrible thing to be so open. It’s as if my heart put on a face and went out into the world,’ and I think that’s kind of what Sauron’s forced her to be. So, she’s raw.”
How much of Cate Blanchett’s performance in The Lord of the Rings informed your performance?
Morfydd Clark: “I grew up on those films and can quote them all, so it would have been the hugest task to try and unlearn everything I’d got from them. And it’s lovely knowing where my character ends up. And so, yeah, it’s kind of this guiding light of Cate Blanchett’s Galadriel.”
Benjamin Walker: “They’re both based on the lore. I mean, they both come from the same guiding light. It’s inevitable that there will be some cross-pollination and some celebration of each version, but there’s enough room at Tolkien’s table for everyone.”
What have you learned from your characters in this new season?
Morfydd Clark: “I’ve learned, I think, that you must keep watering your hope, and that it’s good to be able to imagine a beautiful world. You should be proud of that. Hope is beautiful.”
Benjamin Walker: “I like to think of him as like a loving parental figure. The idea of to love a child is you climbed up in that tree, now get yourself down. And he does quite a bit of that. Not in a condescending way, but that to love someone in a state of becoming is to give them space to become. And that’s hard to do when you think you know the answer. It’s hard to do when you’ve been alive for 2,000 plus years. And also, when peace doesn’t work, when do you take the gloves off?”
MORE THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER SEASON 2 INTERVIEWS:
- Charlie Vickers and Charles Edwards
- Daniel Weyman and Megan Richards
- Sam Hazeldine and Robert Strange
- Lloyd Owen and Ema Horvath
- Maxim Baldry and Sophia Nomvete
- Cynthia Addai-Robinson and Trystan Gravelle
- Ismael Cruz Cordova and Tyroe Muhafidin
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