Who Is The Stranger In The Rings of Power? Season 2 Finale Comes With Answers

The identity of the mysterious Stranger in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has finally been unveiled. In season one when the Stranger fell to Middle Earth he and his companion Nori Brandyfoot tried to find the Stranger’s real identity. Although he had no clues about who the Stranger was, viewers acquainted with the works of novelist JRR Tolkien might have recognised him through some of his characteristics and actions as shown in the fantasy drama series. The big reveal, however, came with the season 2 finale where the Stranger learns that his name is Gandalf. The Stranger is a grey-haired wizard played by Daniel Weyman.

According to a report by the Los Angeles Times, ≈ — the showrunners of The Rings of Power. By the end of season 2, it was clear that the Stranger was a character called Istari as mentioned in JRR Tolkien’s novels. Istari is a mystical creature associated with the Third Age of Middle Earth. The Stranger was introduced to viewers in Season 1 as a possible red herring for the show’s villain Sauron.

The Stranger’s name revelation as Gandalf is disclosed when he protects the Stoors and Harfoots from the Dark Wizard. Stoors named him Gandalf as a token of affection for saving their tribe. The leader of Stoors Gundabale Earthauler thanked the Stranger by calling him Grand-Elf which later on got warped as Gandalf as addressed by the Stoors’ future generations.

This was not the first time that The Rings of Power hinted that the Stranger’s name was Gandalf. In episode 2 of the second season, there was a discussion about needing to find a “gand”. In the medieval Old Norse language, “gand” stood for “gandr” meaning “wand” or “staff”. In fact, the name Gandalf means Elf with a wand in Old Norse. In JRR Tolkien’s Unfinished Tales, the Men of Middle-earth named the wizard Gandalf.

Speaking about Gandalf’s name discovery, Patrick McKay said, “No one will believe us, but this was a journey of discovery for the character and the characters around him, and it was a journey of discovery for the writers. We wanted this to be the origin story of a wizard coming to terms with who he is and what he has to do.”

The Rings of Power is adapted from JRR Tolkien’s The Lord Of The Rings. Season 2 premiered on Prime Video on August 29.