Sauron on ‘Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power’ Is Officially TV’s Greatest Villain

The landscape of television is littered with great villains. Gustavo Fring, Joffrey Baratheon, the Cigarette Smoking Man, Vernon Schillinger—the list goes on and on. With the latest season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power now in full flow, a new power has arisen and entered that stratosphere of villainy: Charlie Vickers’ Sauron… and Halbrand… and Annatar.

Rings of Power is a staggering achievement in terms of scale and scope, with layered character development, action set-pieces that hold up against the mastery achieved by Peter Jackson 20 years ago, as well as a near-perfect balance of multiple plotlines (Númenor is still a little shaky).

But the show’s greatest achievement to date is establishing Sauron as the greatest villain currently occupying your screens. This is in part due to his characterization, in part down to the magnetic performance of Australian actor Charlie Vickers, along with the sumptuous chemistry he possesses with seemingly every character and cast member he encounters.

Read more at The Daily Beast.