since the debut of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of PowerFans asked if the mysterious O Estranho (Daniel Weyman), the man who literally came down from heaven could be Gandalf, one of the most iconic characters in the canon of tolkien. The season one finale, which aired this Friday (14th), made a very strong allusion to these theories but the show’s creators backed down from the conversation when questioned by the omelet during a press event.
To recap, it was revealed during the episode that the character in question is an Istar meaning a mage. But the nod in question is a particular phrase, “always follow your nose,” that the stranger says to Nori (Markella Kavenagh) as they both embark on an eastbound journey to Rhun, where he intends to seek answers about his origins.
If the sentence in question sounds familiar to you, it is. In the film The Fellowship of the Ring from the trilogy of Peter JacksonGandalf (Ian McKellen) says the same to Merry (Dominik Monaghan). According to the makers, however, there is still no confirmation. Patrick McKay and JD Payne. “I will say that these words and other actions reflect what we know of Gandalf. But there are other elements that reflect other magicians. For example, we know that Saruman made a journey east,” says McKay.
“The blue mages also went east; Saruman and possibly one of the blue mages were tempted by the darkness, just like this character,” he adds, leaving the mystery in the air.
Payne points out that the Stranger’s story is one of selfdiscovery: “At this point, the name means nothing to him. He will still understand who he is. The name will come when the stranger is willing to learn more about their identity.” Whether that answer will come in season two, we don’t know yet.
The New Year of The Rings of Power has just started recording and could hit screens in 2023. The series is shown by Prime video.