Who Is the Stranger in Rings of Energy? See Our Finest Guesses

5 episodes of The Rings of Energy can be found on Prime Video, however there’s an enormous thriller we’re nonetheless no nearer to fixing. It nonetheless is not clear who The Stranger is. From the second he crashed onto Center-earth in a ball of fireside, audiences have been speculating wildly as to who this is perhaps, however nothing has felt conclusive. Is that this meteor man pal or foe? Will this character play a pivotal position in the long run of the season or will the thriller persist into the following? It is robust to know for certain.

In a July interview with Screenrant throughout San Diego Comedian-Con, actor Daniel Weyman had the next to say about his time as The Stranger.

“They had been fairly clear originally that what they had been bringing me was a personality who had, at his core, a very deep and primal function. He had a necessity to perform one thing; he had a need to perform this factor. As soon as I started to faucet into that, and really feel that deep within the core, then different issues flowed out of that.

I feel, for me, that was actually essential. Whether or not that was costume, or hair and make-up, or dialect and motion — all these issues flowed from that very primal, guttural sense of, ‘I do know what I must do right here. I do know what I am right here for.’ And that is a pleasure to have as an actor, as a result of there are some characters who by no means actually know what their function is. They by no means actually know what their needs are.

As a lot as we do not learn about him, I feel what we will do — if we will stick with him — is to see that the best way that he impacts communities round him goes to be dramatic. We’re going to study and study and study, and discovering out what precisely is happening may not be so fast.”

We many not know for certain who it’s, however there’s loads of data in lore and interviews and what we have seen on display to rule out just a few issues. Listed below are the highest guesses I’ve discovered throughout the web, with some particulars about how doubtless it’s for a given guess to be appropriate. 

Sauron (Annatar)

At this level within the story, Sauron has vanished to construct his energy and tackle Center-earth by his grand plan. To enact that grand plan, he must be on the seat of energy in a manner that no person suspects he is acquired evil in his coronary heart. In Tolkien’s tales, Sauron seems as a disguised elf named Annatar and makes use of his expertise as a grasp craftsman to get Celebrimbor’s consideration. Collectively, they make an entire lot of very fairly rings you might need heard of. 

Whereas it will be fascinating for Annatar to make a grand look like this, arriving in a ball of flame that Gil-galad himself noticed streak throughout the sky, and perhaps claiming to not bear in mind his previous, The Stranger most likely is not Annatar. The largest motive is the ears. Because the lovable Harfoot Poppy factors out, he hasn’t acquired pointy ears and he is not good-looking. 

It is price including right here that, in line with the showrunners in a current interview, Sauron hasn’t but appeared on display. That might be a deflection, as Sauron is thought to disguise himself, and the shirtless tavern man appeared to assume that starfall was an indication of the darkish lord’s impending arrival. Or it might be that this meteor man is not Sauron, which appears believable. 

Glorfindel

Peter Jackson’s movies are incredible, however they did Glorfindel soiled. Within the books he’s on the Council of Elrond after having rescued Frodo from the Ringwraiths and never Arwen. As a lot as I loved Liv Tyler’s efficiency as Arwen, within the books Glorfindel went toe-to-toe in opposition to a number of Ringwraiths as a result of he is simply that robust, and that energy isn’t current within the motion pictures. That is most likely as a result of he killed a Balrog by himself when he was younger, and so was a bit of overpowered for these motion pictures, however that is not an enormous downside for The Rings of Energy. 

Glorfindel is described as having been despatched again to Center-earth within the Second Age with powers that rivaled these of the 5 Wizards, which might clarify the Wizard-like powers proven within the first two episodes. He additionally makes an attempt to speak by constellations, which is one thing historical Elves like Glorfindel would have been well-versed in.

Sadly, Glorfindel can be described as an exquisite elf with golden hair. Whereas it is attainable The Stranger simply wants a shower and a shave to remodel right into a fairer being (look it up, actor Daniel Weyman cleans up good) the shortage of pointy ears makes this much less doubtless.

Gandalf

He is older, gray-ish and seemingly wields magic powers — that is gotta be Gandalf as he is arriving in Center-earth, proper? It is a cheap guess given what we have seen on display, together with the numerous types of magic this character is able to wielding, however this most likely is not Gandalf.

Gandalf the Gray, alongside Radagast the Brown and their chief Saruman the White, do not arrive in Center-earth till a methods into the Third Age. Meaning The Stranger landed in entrance of Nori a really very long time earlier than Gandalf is distributed to assist battle Sauron, at the least in line with Tolkien. If this present goes to mess with when Gandalf arrives in Center-earth, there had higher be an important rationalization for why.   

Allatar or Pallando

Gandalf and the opposite two Wizards did not land in Center-earth till the Third Age, however there are literally 5 Wizards of Center-earth. The opposite two are mostly known as the Blue Wizards, since Tolkien describes their robes as a sea blue. Whereas these two are equal in energy to Gandalf or Radagast once they arrive, their contributions aren’t effectively documented by Tolkien. We do not know a ton about what these Wizards had been doing right here, solely that when Allatar was despatched right here he requested Pallando to hitch him and Tolkien described the 2 as having “had very nice affect on the historical past of the Second and Third Age.”

It is attainable Allatar and Pallando had been separated once they first arrived in Center-earth, and the language barrier between him and Nori might be short-term whereas he identifies his powers on this new place. But when it is actually one of many Blue Wizards, it is extraordinarily odd they didn’t arrive collectively or clad in blue. 

Tom Bombadil

One other extraordinarily enjoyable Tolkien character who was finished soiled by the Peter Jackson movies, Tom Bombadil is without doubt one of the oldest residing beings in Center-earth, and his powers are simply type of unknown. Glorfindel prompt through the Council of Elrond that the One Ring be given to Tom to destroy, as a result of some of the highly effective Elves alive on the time thought he was as much as the duty single-handedly. 

Tolkien did not write a lot of something about what Tom was as much as through the First Age or the Second Age, solely that he was in Center-earth hanging out together with his spouse, Goldberry, who was additionally a river spirit. Tom and Goldberry are identified to have had frequent interactions with Hobbits, making it doubtless they had been aware of ancestors just like the Harfoots. Possibly it was the kindness of Nori Brandyfoot which lead Tom to be so variety to Hobbits?

A Balrog

When most individuals hear the time period Balrog, they instantly consider the enormous smoke and fireplace monster Galdalf fights on the finish of Fellowship of the Rings and the start of The Two Towers. And for probably the most half, that is a reasonably secure wager (although price pointing on the market’s a good bit of debate amid the Tolkien group as as to whether these monstrous beings have wings or not) when imagining a Balrog.

That having been mentioned, The Stranger is unhurt by his magic fireplace and survived a ridiculous touchdown and there is solely a handful of beings able to both. This group of beings are generally known as Maiar, the primordial beings used to assist form the world earlier than it was populated by any residing beings. That is proper, Wizards and Balrogs are made from the identical stuff and as such have lots of the identical talents. This contains the flexibility to alter form.

Tolkien by no means wrote of Balrogs as something aside from giant demons who serve Morgoth, and naturally that incident in Khazad-dûm, so calling it a stretch that The Stranger is a Balrog is one thing of an understatement. However it’s technically attainable given what Tolkien wrote, and we do know from the trailers {that a} Balrog can be making an look in some unspecified time in the future within the present. 

Nonetheless, he is most likely not a Balrog.