THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER Showrunners Cast Some Doubt On The Stranger's Identity - SPOILERS

THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RINGS OF POWER Showrunners Cast Some Doubt On The Stranger's Identity - SPOILERS

Last week's season finale of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power finally revealed the true identity of Daniel Weyman's mysterious Meteor Man... or did it? Spoilers follow...

News
By MarkCassidy - Oct 19, 2022 06:10 AM EST
Filed Under: Lord of the Rings

If you still haven't watched the season finale of The Rings of Power, "Alloyed," major spoilers follow.

The recent season finale of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power finally revealed that Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) was actually Sauron all along, and while we didn't get a definitive answer when it came to the identity of The Stranger (Daniel Weyman), his last line of dialogue to Nori appeared to confirm that he was Gandalf.

Or did it?

Interestingly, showrunners/writers JD Payne and Patrick McKay are still not willing to confirm anything when it comes to the mysterious "Meteor Man" beyond the fact that, yes, he is one of the five Istari/Wizards.

"So, the answer [to the question of The Stranger's true identity] is there is no point at which [audiences should think], 'He's a wizard, oh great, everything's cool,'" Payne said during an appearance on the show's official podcast. "Because wizards can be as evil and as dangerous, they can be rivals for Sauron or allies of Sauron, and The Stranger's journey will continue. So, I think that's an open question still, though I do think by the end of the eighth episode, he sure seems like a force for good."

McKay agreed with Payne, noting that, like Sauron, The Stranger and the other Wizards are Maia spirits and are also subject to corruption.

Could the Gandalf tease ("when in doubt, always follow your nose") be a fake-out? It's certainly possible, and would actually make more sense since Sauruman - the Istar who was ultimately corrupted into joining forces with the Dark Lord - arrived to Middle-earth before Gandalf in Tolkien's lore, and was a force for good right up until the events of War of the Ring.

It looks like we're just going to have to wait and see how Nori and The Stranger's journey progresses in season 2, but be sure to share your thoughts and theories in the comments down below.

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Conquistador
Conquistador - 10/19/2022, 6:30 AM
I feel like they're purposely leaving it unconfirmed so they change their mind later on. I don't think they've committed to where his character will lead to yet.

Just my opinion.
r4dagast
r4dagast - 10/19/2022, 7:03 AM
I’m thinking it was a misdirect and it’s still 1 of the blue wizards. Saruman did not come to middle earth before Gandalf, him Gandalf, and Radagast came early in the Third Age to the gray havens on a boat together, the blue wizards (which Tolkien had changed himself) came during the second age, and eventually disappeared in the east and/or south, and this wizard is going east to rhun so there’s also that connection
Fogs
Fogs - 10/19/2022, 7:36 AM
@r4dagast - you're under the premise they're following the lore.

Galadriel never set fot in Númenor.
Fogs
Fogs - 10/19/2022, 7:36 AM
*foot
AC1
AC1 - 10/19/2022, 8:07 AM
Haven't seen this and dunno if I'll ever get around to it, but all of these hints are being laid on pretty thick, to the point that him NOT being Gandalf wouldn't really make sense.

He's literally had lines of dialogue that are direct quotes of Gandalf in the books, has a strong attachment to Hobbits, and literally first appeared in a fiery crater after arriving on a meteor which seems pretty symbolic considering Gandalf ends up being the owner and wielder of the Ring of Fire.
slickrickdesigns
slickrickdesigns - 10/19/2022, 8:35 AM
I guessed it early one that he was a wizard… also helps that people posted spoilers about there being a twist on who Sauron was so the big guy falling from the sky was too obvious.
I’m guessing that’s young Gandolph… just a guess.
The show was slow but enjoyable .. like any other lord of the rings movies.
slickrickdesigns
slickrickdesigns - 10/19/2022, 8:38 AM
Spoken
Spoken - 10/19/2022, 9:59 AM
MrDandy
MrDandy - 10/19/2022, 10:06 AM
Sure. Stretch this out as long as possible. He’s going to end up being Gandalf because he references a Peter Jackson line, has a connection to hobbits, and (most importantly) he’s a very bankable character.
TheCoonII
TheCoonII - 10/19/2022, 10:10 AM
What part of Gandalf was not around in TBE second age do you people not understand
McMurdo
McMurdo - 10/19/2022, 4:59 PM
@TheCoonII - are you serious? This entire series is one made up plot thread to the next. None of this was [frick]ing accurate. You're deluding yourself if you don't think these two idiots would throw in Gandalf a whole age too early.
SauronthePower
SauronthePower - 10/20/2022, 9:43 PM
@TheCoonII - judging by some of the commentary above A LOT. The Istari came together 1000 years into the 3rd Age. If they had been in Middle Earth during the Second Age, they most assuredly would have had some part to play in the Last Alluance but they were nowhere to be found….for the precise reason you outlined above
IcePyke
IcePyke - 10/19/2022, 10:37 AM
Goddamn you, Amazon! Just confirm it!!!


McMurdo
McMurdo - 10/19/2022, 4:57 PM
God these two suck. So we have to wade through eight more harfoot cess riddled episodes just to truly get an answer as to whether this homeless bum from San Francisco wipes his ass hole with his left or right hand. [frick] that
1stDalek
1stDalek - 10/19/2022, 4:57 PM
A blue Wizard would make most sense, sure it doesn't have the impact of revealing 1 of the 3 wizards we know, the audience would go bananas if they heard the name Gandalf, but IMO that's the lazy route. A blue gives them full control of where to take his journey without having to end up at a certain point, like randomly going back to Valinor at the end so he can be shipped back in via boat in a couple thousand years to get a ring of power in the case of Gandalf. We don't know anything about the blue wizards other than them going far East early on the 3rd Age.
DerekLake
DerekLake - 10/19/2022, 10:55 PM
This show really has no business including wizards or hobbits. For one, the show was far too limited to try to feature four different storylines all at once, and second, this particular storyline was little more than a massive red herring for the main storyline.

Third and more broadly, the narrative here really suffered from the “need” to hit all the Lord of the Rings beats, resulting in a messy story that fails to give its main plot time to breathe. All that narrative space taken up by the Harfoots’ ultimately pointless journey could have been devoted to fleshing out the Eregion/mithril story a bit further, so that the finale could have at least felt more developed rather than feeling like a rushed attempt to pay off the title of the show.


More importantly, though, the entire premise of the season seemed off. The mystery of Sauron and Galadriel’s revenge-fueled efforts to convince Numenor to save one Southlands village, along with mithril as a magical lodestone cure for a poorly conceived Elven tree-sickness were just odd ways to set up a story about the second fall of Middle Earth. And I think the finale shows it - even though it felt the most LOTR like now that the revenge plot and Southlands and Numenor were in the background.
DerekLake
DerekLake - 10/19/2022, 10:57 PM
This whole mystery box approach shouldn’t be surprising, but it is an incredibly disappointing way to adapt a rich narrative world that doesn’t really rely on such audience-bait.
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