Movies News Talk
The final episode of The Rings Of Power season 1 dropped a huge clue about The Stranger's identity. The Stranger says "Always follow your nose" to Nori, a phrase Gandalf memorably utters in The Lord of the Rings. Fans are now buzzing about the possibility that The Stranger is Gandalf and Amazon showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne have been hinting at the possibility.
In an interview, McKay said "We always felt from the very beginning that you need all the ingredients. We always talk about a Thanksgiving meal — you want the turkey, you want the cranberry sauce, you want the stuffing. We felt like a Lord Of The Rings show without a wizard who felt the things that wizards in Lord of the Rings make you feel would just feel like it's missing the point. Anything that can help us get there and evoke those feelings we were drawn to."
The showrunners have hinted that The Stranger is a familiar wizard, which makes it highly likely that he is Gandalf. However, Gandalf doesn't arrive in Middle-earth until the Third Age, thousands of years after the events of The Rings Of Power. If The Stranger is Gandalf, then it seems that the show is making some changes to Tolkien’s source material.
Fans have been wondering why Gandalf wasn't present during the War of the Last Alliance, which ended the Second Age. However, the showrunners have stated that they are not playing a game, and that characters will grow and change throughout the series. It's possible that these timeline discrepancies will be addressed in future seasons.
J.D. Payne has been teasing fans with the possibility that The Stranger might be Saruman, rather than Gandalf. Payne said, "Could it also mean that The Stranger is Saruman, and you realize that later on Saruman said that to Gandalf and then Gandalf said it. You know what I mean? There are always ways you can sort of like pinball it. There could be delightful paths that could come out of either eventuality. So, we like to keep those doors open. It's fun to engage with the story and think of the possibilities."
If The Stranger is Saruman, it would be a major twist, and would change the entire narrative of the show. It's clear that the showrunners are not afraid to make bold choices, and it's possible that they are leaving fans to speculate until the season 2 premiere.
The Rings of Power season 2 will premiere on August 29. Hopefully, the show will finally reveal The Stranger's true identity. If The Stranger is indeed Gandalf, it will be interesting to see how the show reconciles his early arrival in Middle-earth with Tolkien's source material.
But the show could be taking us on a different journey with The Stranger completely, and the showrunners may have other surprises in store. Regardless, the mystery of The Stranger has been one of the most discussed topics among fans and has kept them on the edge of their seats ever since the first season premiered.