{"id":23783,"date":"2022-10-14T07:30:35","date_gmt":"2022-10-14T05:30:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.radiotimes.com\/?p=1721215"},"modified":"2022-10-14T08:18:12","modified_gmt":"2022-10-14T06:18:12","slug":"rings-of-power-showrunners-on-big-reveal-for-the-stranger","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/rss_feed\/rings-of-power-showrunners-on-big-reveal-for-the-stranger\/","title":{"rendered":"Rings of Power showrunners on big reveal for The Stranger"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Lewis Knight\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Friday, 14 October 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

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One of the most enduring mysteries of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power<\/a> has been the character known only as The Stranger.<\/a><\/p>\n

The mysterious figure, played by actor Daniel Weyman, crash-landed to Middle-earth in a red-streaked meteor at the conclusion of the first episode of the Amazon Prime Video<\/a> series.<\/p>\n

Since then, The Stranger has befriended Nori Brandyfoot<\/a> (Markella Kavenagh) and other Harfoots<\/a>, but soon displayed remarkable abilities.<\/p>\n

The penultimate episode<\/a> confirmed that he was being pursued by a trio of mysterious characters, led by The Dweller<\/a> (Bridie Sisson).<\/p>\n

So, what happened in the finale<\/a> once these figures \u2013 and Nori \u2013 caught up with The Stranger?<\/p>

What species is The Stranger in The Rings of Power?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Daniel Weyman as The Stranger in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.<\/span><\/figcaption> Ben Rothstein\/Prime Video<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power episode 8 confirms that The Stranger is one of the Istari<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The character is identified as such by the sorceress The Dweller who comes from the eastern land of Rh\u00fbn.<\/p>\n

Later, the word Istari is explained to mean \u201cwise one\u201d or \u201cwizard\u201d.<\/p>\n

In the works of J R R Tolkien, the Istari are formerly some of the Maiar of Valinor<\/a>, angelic beings who took human form and were sent to Middle-earth by the godlike beings known as the Valar.<\/p>\n

Five are introduced in the source material \u2013\u00a0 two blue wizards named Alatar and Pallando, plus Saruman the White, Gandalf the Grey and Radagast the Brown.<\/div>\n

Is The Stranger actually Gandalf?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Daniel Weyman as The Stranger in The Rings of Power.<\/span><\/figcaption> Amazon Studios<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

Speaking to RadioTimes.com<\/a> and other press outlets, showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay discussed the revelations surrounding the character and why he was not named as a specific character \u2013 Gandalf \u2013 beyond that.<\/p>\n

McKay noted: \u201cWe were talking about Sauron earlier and how the whole season, he\u2019s struggling with his own good and evil, and we know that in Tolkien, wizards can break bad, right? You know, Saruman chooses evil, which means that in theory, other wizards can be tempted.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven Gandalf has a moment where he\u2019s like, \u2018I kind of want the ring, but just don\u2019t even show it to me.’\u201d<\/p>\n

Payne then added: \u201cThere are also blue wizards who go to the east and eventually have magic cults form around them. So, you know, there\u2019s a lot of possibilities there.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Ian McKellen as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.<\/span><\/figcaption> New Line Productions, Inc.<\/i><\/span><\/div>\n

McKay then continued: \u201cI think we want to keep the possibilities open. We\u2019re sort of hinting a little bit, but his whole journey next season is going to explore that further. We don\u2019t think of it as playing a game or withholding something so much as this guy is on a journey of self-discovery, and if we were to just slap a name on him at some point, it might feel a bit like, \u2018There we go!\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cAll he\u2019s learned is \u2018I\u2019m a wizard and I got to find out what that means\u2019. And that journey has value emotionally and in our minds outside of a canon name. For him, all he knows is he\u2019s here on a mission and he\u2019s gonna have to go on a great journey to find out exactly what it is and what he\u2019s supposed to do. I think we\u2019re looking at it as a long-term project, and you want strands to take a while to tie back in and you want to have breadth.\u201d<\/p>\n

So, the chance he is Gandalf remains\u2026<\/p>\n

Read more on The Rings of Power:<\/strong><\/p>\n