The Rings of Power actor Charlie Vickers says it’s not over between Sauron and Galadriel and hints the Lord of the Rings villain gets worse in future seasons: “There will always be more manipulation”

Spoilers for The Rings of Power season 2 follow.

It finally happened in The Rings of Power season 2 finale: Sauron (Charlie Vickers) and Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) had their long-awaited showdown. With the wounds of Halbrand’s betrayal still fresh in her mind, the Elven commander locked swords (and crowns) with the Dark Lord. 

While Sauron may have snatched the Nine Rings for Men away from Galadriel, she ultimately relents and keeps her own Ring of Power, jumping off a cliff-edge and only barely surviving.

So, is the book closed between Sauron and Galadriel? And is her mind free of his corruption? As Sauron/Annatar actor Charlie Vickers tells GamesRadar+, there’s still going to be a connection between the two moving forward.

“I think there’s definitely going to still be a presence. I think it was a confrontation. But I think, as you see in The Lord of the Rings books, he is still present in her mind,” Vickers says. “And I think as long as this show continues, they are the forces of good and evil. And I think that connection will endure for the show. It’s not all over yet.”

As you may know, Sauron ultimately does achieve his goals of forging The One Ring and holding dominion over Middle-earth (for a little while, anyway). The delicious part of The Rings of Power, then, is seeing Sauron’s rise – and the people he has to step over on the way.

We’ve already seen Galadriel almost fall at his hand, while Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) met his own grisly end during the finale. So, can Sauron go much lower?

“This is only the beginning for him. I think that’s the exciting part,” Vickers teases. “It’s the first really key part of this story; he has so much more to do. There will always be more manipulation and more people he needs to get through to. I think there’s a lot more to come from him.”

Vickers adds, “In terms of going lower, there’s definitely the possibility of that happening, yeah.”

The Rings of Power season 2 is now streaming. For more, check out our guides on The Rings of Power season 2 ending and The Rings of Power season 3. Then dive into more of our cast interviews as Daniel Weyman talks The Stranger reveal and the Celebrimbor actor Charles Edwards breaks down why his death scene was cut short on set.