Who Is the Stranger in ‘Rings of Energy’? Tolkien Followers Share Their Theories

Regardless of being a significant a part of The Rings of Energy  up to now, we’re nonetheless no nearer to fixing the present’s greatest thriller up to now. Some name him the meteor man, some name him the shadowy large, however his official title in accordance with Amazon Studios is the Stranger. 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 buddy or foe? Will this character play a pivotal position in the long run of the season or will the thriller persist into the subsequent? 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 because the Stranger.

“They had been fairly clear at first that what they had been bringing me was a personality who had, at his core, a very deep and primal objective. He had a necessity to perform one thing; he had a want 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 necessary. 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 have to 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 objective is. They by no means actually know what their wishes are.

As a lot as we do not find out about him, I feel what we’ll do — if we are able to 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 won’t be so fast.”

Since that first interplay, we have realized valuable few particulars concerning the Stranger. Every time we see him in Rings of Energy we see glimpses of energy, so clearly a magic consumer of some sort. He is taller than most people, and lacking the pointed ears of an Elf, however surprisingly that does not slender issues down all that a lot. 

We might not know for certain who it’s, however there’s loads of info in lore and interviews and what we have seen on display screen to rule out a number of issues. Listed here are the highest guesses I’ve discovered throughout the web, with some particulars about how probably it’s for a given guess to be right. 

Sauron (Annatar)

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

Whereas it could be attention-grabbing 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 possibly claiming to not bear in mind his previous, the Stranger most likely is not Annatar. The largest purpose is the ears. Because the lovable Harfoot Poppy factors out, he hasn’t bought pointy ears and he is not good-looking. 

It is price including right here that, in accordance with the showrunners in a current interview, Sauron hasn’t but appeared on display screen. That may very well 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 may very well be that this meteor man is not Sauron, which appears believable. 

Glorfindel

Peter Jackson’s movies are improbable, 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 is rarely 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 little bit overpowered for these motion pictures, however that is not an enormous drawback 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 way of constellations, which is one thing historical Elves like Glorfindel would have been well-versed in.

Sadly, Glorfindel can also be described as a fantastic Elf with golden hair. Whereas it is doable the Stranger simply wants a shower and a shave to rework right into a fairer being (look it up, actor Daniel Weyman cleans up good) the shortage of pointy ears makes this much less probably.

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 affordable guess given what we have seen on display screen, 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. Which means the Stranger landed in entrance of Nori a really very long time earlier than Gandalf is distributed to assist struggle Sauron, at the very least in accordance with Tolkien. If this present goes to mess with when Gandalf arrives in Center-earth, there had higher be a fantastic clarification 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 after they arrive, their contributions usually are not nicely 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 doable Allatar and Pallando had been separated after they first arrived in Center-earth, and the language barrier between him and Nori may very well be non permanent 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 completed soiled by the Peter Jackson movies, Tom Bombadil is without doubt one of the oldest dwelling beings in Center-earth, and his powers are simply type of unknown. Glorfindel advised 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 along with his spouse, Goldberry, who was additionally a river spirit. Tom and Goldberry are recognized to have had frequent interactions with Hobbits, making it probably they had been accustomed to ancestors just like the Harfoots. Perhaps it was the kindness of Nori Brandyfoot which lead Tom to be so sort to Hobbits?

A Balrog

When most individuals hear the time period Balrog, they instantly consider the large smoke and hearth monster Galdalf fights on the finish of Fellowship of the Rings and the start of The Two Towers. And for essentially 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 stated, the Stranger is unhurt by his magic hearth and survived a ridiculous touchdown and there is solely a handful of beings able to both. This group of beings are often known as Maiar, the primordial beings used to assist form the world earlier than it was populated by any dwelling beings. That is proper, Wizards and Balrogs are manufactured from the identical stuff and as such have loads of the identical talents. This consists of the power to alter form.

Tolkien by no means wrote of Balrogs as something apart from massive 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 doable given what Tolkien wrote, and we do know from the trailers {that a} Balrog will probably be making an look sooner or later within the present. 

Nonetheless, he is most likely not a Balrog.