The end of the second season «The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power» discloses the identity his most mysterious character. However, the answer will not surprise many.
Despite the obviousness of the correct answer, connoisseurs of J.R.R. Tolkien’s works have expressed other versions. For most of the time, it was known for certain that the stranger — Istari. Thus, the circle of «suspects» narrowed to five known individuals: Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast, and the two Blue Wizards who were sent by Valar to the East of Middle-earth. The second most popular was the version about the Blue Wizardsbecause it coincided with the geography of the Stranger’s travels and gave the authors of the series more freedom. However, everything is simpler than that — he turned out to be Gandalf.
In the finale, the Stranger meets the Dark Magician, who hints that he knows his true identity by calling him «an old friend». He then says that there were five of them. However, it is not the Dark Wizard who gives him the answer, as the Stranger avoids him because of the threat to Poppy and Nora’s lives.
Later, the garfoots say goodbye, calling him «the great elf». It is not entirely clear where they got this nickname from, but it evokes emotions in the wizard. The stranger walks across the Rune to see Tom Bombadil again.
When they meet at Tom’s house, Bombadil says: «The Wizard does not find the staff, he gets it with the name». The stranger replies: «Gandalf, that’s what they’ll call me, won’t they?». They both sing the Bombadil song, and the camera moves away from the bearded men.
Is the character from the «Lord of the Rings» series similar to Gandalf in Tolkien’s works?
In general, the Stranger looks like Gandalf — no wonder many fans recognized him. But the big discrepancy is that Gandalf «is not really» until the Third Age. In the original, he sailed to Grey Harbor on a ship, where he met with Kirdan and received a ring.
So, «The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring» significantly changes the chronology. So far, the Amazon Prime Video series has tended to compress events, but Gandalf seems to be in Middle Earth longer than in Tolkien’s book, and his story will be different.
Source: GamesRadar
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