Three rings for the Elven-kings under the sky. Check. Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone. Not just yet. But it seems to be Sauron’s next step in his plans in the new season of Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. With the first batch of episodes available now, it’s an excellent time to catch up with some of the stars of Middle-earth!

Aussie actor Charlie Vickers returns as the now-revealed evil Sauron. With his identity discovered by Galadriel in season one and the rising Dark Lord cast out, he now must find a way to rebuild his strength to continue his plans to create the Rings of Power; the opening of episode one highlights Sauron’s persistence to survive and stubbornness to pivot when things don’t go his ways.

“You see much more of what Sauron seeks than him having kind of been Galadriel’s assistant,” Vickers reflects on Sauron’s perspective this season compared to last.

“Rather than him hiding and [viewers] not really understanding or seeing his inner workings. The perspective of the show shifts, and you see that the mask is off, and you start to see what he seeks and how he seeks it. And you watch his manipulation. And that makes it quite thrilling to watch.”

How would Vickers describe his villain arc to be played out this season?

“Manipulative, cheeky and heartbreaking,” he lists out and quickly clarifies to Supanova the use of the last word, “Maybe not about my character, but it’s involved in my arc,” he finishes without any spoilers.

“Optimistic, unpredictable and hopeful” are the three words Aussie actress Markella Kavenagh would use to describe the arc of explorative Harfoot, Nori Brandyfoot.

At the end of season one, Nori leaves her Harfoot community behind to journey to Rhûn with the Stranger to regain his memory. It’s an entirely new chapter for Nori, who leaves behind her family and the community she has known since birth.

“I think it surprises her how homesick she is,” Kavenagh says.

“I think that now, she’s very aware of how much every second counts and how high the stakes are. And so there’s a lot more at stake. She’s just hoping that every decision she makes doesn’t worsen the circumstances. And she then also meets a new community along the way with Poppy (Megan Richards) that opens her mind and opens her eyes in a lot of ways.”

“I would say emotional, explorative and developmental,” Aussie actor/rapper Tyroe Muhafidin states in the thought of Theo’s arc for this season. Muhafidin is also learning how to navigate the emotional mindset of his character.

“When you are playing a character who goes through such emotional turmoil as an actor, we feel those same emotions in that moment. And I think that with the weight of the things that Theo feels, there are times where I would take it into my own life,” Muhafidin explains.

Theo’s journey throughout season one was emotional for the young teen. Now, in this new season, he is learning how to move forward after dealing with the aftermath of their homeland being overwhelmed by the orcs and then destroyed by the volcanic eruption.

“It’s really just trying to understand the emotion. I think the hardest part is that what Theo goes through is so kind of unfathomable. Unless you’ve gone through it, I have to draw from certain things in the world that are going on and dive deep into those sorts of situations to really get a grasp of what he’s going through. And I don’t think I ever will fully, but I try to do the story as much justice as I can.”

Kiwi actor Leon Wadham returns to play Kemen, the son of the cunning Númenórean chancellor, Pharazôn (Trystan Gravelle).

Wadham attempts to surmise his character’s arc for this season to Supanova: “Kemen is as both ascending and descending at the same time. And I was trying to work out some clever way to talk about that, and I-”

“Undulating”, Vickers quips, in which Wadham heartily agrees with a laugh.

Despite Kemen’s small role during season one, viewers learn how vastly different Kemen is from his father in terms of their approach to political tactics. However, the lack of consequences becomes a learning point for the politician’s son.

“I think the lesson he learned in season one, unfortunately, is that he can get away with almost anything. He blew up these ships, and there have been no consequences as far as I can tell.”

Wadham will have a more prominent role this season due to Pharazôn political rivalry against Queen Regent Míriel (Cynthia Addai-Robinson) when she returns to Númenór.

“Now he’s like, I can just take big swings because the worst that’s going to happen is nothing. So he’s a lot more ambitious this season and a lot more dangerous,” Wadham concludes.

‘The Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power’ Season 2 is streaming exclusively on Prime Video, with new episodes weekly!

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