It took two seasons and as many years but “Rings of Power” fans finally know who The Stranger (Daniel Weyman) really is – and it’s exactly who you think.
The Stranger found his name after coming face-to-face with the Dark Wizard (Ciaran Hinds) of Rhǔn at the Storers home. The wizard told The Stranger they were old friends and they came to Middle-earth together to face Sauron. The difference is that the Dark Wizard wants to rule in Sauron’s place.
The Stranger refuses and the Dark Wizard tries to bring the canyon down on the Storers. The Stranger manages to hold the collapse at bay until everyone is free. As morning comes, the Storers have decided to go on the move if Nori (Markella Kavanagh) and Poppy (Megan Richards) lead them.
As the group is leaving, they individually thank him as “grand elf.” Nori explains it’s probably because the Storers have never seen an elf. After he says his goodbye, he finds a staff – or it finds him – that suits him and he returns to Tom’s (Rory Kinnear) home.
He gets there and immediately confronts Tom, saying the man was testing him and he was supposed to choose saving the Storers over power. That led to The Stranger finding his staff.
“A wizard does not find his staff, it finds him,” Tom tells The Stranger. “Like his name.”
“Gandalf,” The Stranger (no more) says after a pause. “That’s what they’re going to call me isn’t it?”
“Now let the song begin,” Tom responds with a nod.
The Stranger being Gandalf might not be a huge surprise for fans of the show. It was basically the frontrunner assumption since the character literally crashed to Middle-earth in Season 1. Because of that assumption, finale director Charlotte Brändstrom said she didn’t want to make the reveal a bombastic moment.
“It was a big mystery but I think a lot of people had guessed it,” Brändström told TheWrap. “Because I was sure a lot of people knew, I made it a big moment but didn’t want to make a huge moment out of it too much. There was a very important moment when he realizes who he is and he’s at ease and peace because he’s found his destiny.”
She continued, “everything that Tolkien writes is about destiny and fate. I always say fate is something that happens to you and destiny is a choice.”
The big mystery of the first two seasons might be answered but there are plenty more raised for future seasons. One of the big questions now is who the Dark Wizard is. Clearly he’s also an Istar since he claims to be old friends with Gandalf. Another frontrunner guess is Saruman, but maybe those Blue Wizards might finally get the screen time many think they’re due.
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