The Rings of Power Finale's Sauron Vision Was All CGI, Zero Acting
As many among those who watched The Rings of Power predicted – some as early as Episode 2 – Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) was in truth Sauron who assumed a guise of a man.
At the beginning of the season's final episode showrunners tried to mislead us into believing that the Stranger (Daniel Weyman), also nicknamed "Meteor Man" was Sauron, but that was not very convincing, even before the white-cloaked witches, who mistook the Stranger for their master had realized their fatal mistake. So, the question of "Who is Sauron?" finally got an answer, even if it wasn't even remotely surprising.
Well, at least Charlie Vickers was one of the highlights of the Season 1, so we can be sure that the nearly all-important role of the main villain is in good hands. After the final episode was released, Charlie Vickers and Daniel Weyman gave an interview to Variety, which offered plenty of information about his character and the showrunners plans for the future.
Among the more interesting tidbits is the fact that Charlie Vickers himself was not certain that his character is indeed Sauron until filming of Episode 2, although he guessed that based on monologues which were used during his audition.
Also, surprisingly, the shot where Halbrand's reflection in the water is briefly shown as Sauron in his armor and spiky helmet was entirely computer-generated (as well as Sauron's brief appearance in the prologue) although Vickers himself hopes to one day wear the full costume resembling Sauron's armor from Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings film trilogy.
Charlie Vickers also firmly shot down any ideas that Sauron's feelings towards Galadriel were supposed to be in any way romantic, instead of going along the "it would be really great if someone almost as old and powerful as myself joined me and helped to advance my plans" line and confirms that at the beginning of Season 1 Sauron was supposed to be at his lowest points – in terms of power and determination, not morality, Vickers has his thoughts on whether his character was at any point genuinely repentant, but refuses to share them – from which he gradually rebuilds himself, until he is ready to assume the mantle of the Dark Lord.