Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for the first two episodes of The Rings of Power.Long have we waited for our ships to dock at the Gray Havens once more, but now our return to Middle-Earth has finally happened. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is here bringing back that feeling of wonder when seeing all sort of strange folk and unusual beings that only J.R.R. Tolkien‘s Legendarium could create. And right off the bat, in the end of the very first episode, we get our first (and perhaps biggest) mystery of the season: who is the man inside the meteor that fell from the sky?
For the sake of clarity, let’s call this individual The Stranger (Daniel Weyman), because that’s how he’s been promoted so far. Even though his presence has not been among the biggest in the marketing for The Rings of Power, every little moment shown of him back then was already sparking all sorts of speculation in the depths of the internet. Now that we’ve seen a little more about him, we are starting to get some clarity, although far from any definitive answer.
What we know isn’t much: he fell from the sky aboard a meteor and clearly has magical abilities. The fire caused by the fall isn’t hot to the touch, which allowed the ever curious Harfoot Nori (Markella Kavenagh) to approach him safely. Afterwards, he spent most of his time passed out, waking up the following day after Nori and her friend Poppy (Megan Richards) hid him in a safe spot, away from the Harfoot camp. Upon waking up, he was still very weak, so he basically devoured the snails Nori had brought him, shell and all, while uttering the words “mana” and “urë”. When Poppy approaches unannounced, he elevates his voice to a supernatural tone, influencing weather and light as he does it. And a while later, he gets the fireflies in the Harfoots’ (Harfeet? Perhaps Odo Proudfoot from The Fellowship of the Ring could help us here) lanterns to draw a constellation in the sky, a clue about where he might come from. All the fireflies perish right after, though.
The Case for Gandalf
As of now, there are two main possibilities about who and where The Stranger might come from, and these first episodes do a great job of instigating viewer curiosity towards both of them and not giving anything away just yet. The first and most popular so far is that he is none other than the Gray Wizard of the Istari himself, Gandalf. The second is a darker theory, that he is the big bad of the whole show, the Dark Lord Sauron himself. But let’s see what is what before drawing any conclusions, shall we?
Everybody loves Gandalf, and those who don’t are just wrong. But if The Stranger is indeed him, it’s important to note that he is still not the Gandalf we know and love, he has a long way to go before getting there. This possibility would require some artistic liberties to be taken by creators J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay, and we all know how protective the Tolkien Estate is of their properties. But for the sake of storytelling, it shouldn’t be much a problem. The first of those artistic liberties is changing the moment in which Gandalf arrived in Middle-Earth. In the books, the Maiar known as Olórin arrived at the Gray Havens in the beginning of the Third Age to aid in the fight against the threat of Sauron and, therefore, after all the events to be portrayed by The Rings of Power. He arrived along with two other of the Istari, Saruman (Christopher Lee) and Radagast (Tom Baker), the Blue Wizards having arrived earlier. The arguments in favor of this theory are his abilities. The Stranger has much of the same powers displayed by Ian McKellen‘s version of Gandalf in the Peter Jackson trilogy. The loud and intimidating voice, the friendship with animals and the constant uttering of runes and magical words.
Another big hint that The Stranger might be Gandalf is the fact that he was discovered by a Harfoot. The Gray Wizard has always been a friend of the Hobbits in The Lord of the Rings, despite his status as a “disturber of peace.” He has deep respect admiration for the Halflings, and has always been their champion against those who would look down on them. The kindness displayed by Nori towards The Stranger may be a first step in setting up this beautiful friendship (and Gandalf always did have a preference for the most adventurous Hobbits, of which Nori must clearly be an ancestor, because come on). Also, in the Tolkien Legendarium, stars are usually seen as a good omen, and what is a meteor if not a fallen star? None of that rule out the possibility of The Stranger being any other of the Istari, too, or someone related to them that we just don’t know at this point. Gandalf is just such a beloved character that not seeing him again in a Lord of the Rings show would be a big missed opportunity.
The Case for Sauron
Now, on to You-Know-Wh… I mean, Sauron. Ever since the beginning of the marketing campaigns for The Rings of Power, The Stranger has been depicted as a simple figure, rarely wearing anything more than a cloak and holding nothing but an apple in his hand. Tolkien fans are usually no strangers to Christian iconography, and apples are gifts that usually come with consequences (thanks, Adam and Eve), and that would fit the bill for Annatar, the name taken by Sauron in his fair form. In the history of the Second Age, before waging war against them, Sauron attempts to dominate the peoples of Middle-Earth by forging the Rings of Power. Now, as fine a craftsman as Sauron may be, he still wasn’t all that hot himself at the moment the show is currently at. He needed guidance and expertise, so he turned to the Elves. Disguised as Annatar (which translates to “lord of gifts”), he first tries to befriend Gil-Galad (Benjamin Walker), but is quickly dismissed by the High King of the Noldor. He then goes to Eregion, where he finds a much warmer welcome in the forges of Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards). There, they would together forge the Rings of Power, with the elven smith having no idea of who he was really working with.
Okay, but what does that have to do with the Harfoots (or Harfeet)? Sauron is known for subverting everything he touches, turning good things bad with a lot of time and patience. He also has powerful magical abilities, obviously, so the displays of The Stranger wouldn’t be misplaced in this theory as well. There are also hints of Sauron’s theme in Bear McCreary‘s score for the moment he is found by Nori and when he makes his voice louder a while later. But, most important, is the apple. When Nori hands him an apple (in a moment seen inly in trailers so far), he understands the logic of exchange among the being of Middle-Earth. An apple may represent the simplest things in nature, but it’s also a gift that represents sin. That would be a way of foreshadowing his reveal as Annatar and his devious nature, subverting even the most natural things for his evil ends. So let’s all hope he is just Gandalf, though, right?
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres new episodes every Friday exclusively on Prime Video.
