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Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Rings of Power season 2, episode 4.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 has provided answers about how The Stranger connects to Sauron, and what the stars he sought meant for his journey. Many of the individual character arcs in The Rings of Power have centered around purpose and clearly defined goals; Galdriel made it her mission to find and stop evil from resurfacing, while Sauron's plan in The Rings of Power sees him looking to forge the titular jewelry to exert his will over every being in Middle-earth. Then there is The Stranger, whose purpose may not be as clear-cut.
Played by David Weyman in The Rings of Power's cast, The Stranger was introduced as a man who fell from the sky, believed by many to be Sauron himself. However, The Rings of Power season 1's finale revealed he is not Sauron, but one of Lord of the Rings' Istari. The Istar are also known as wizards, with The Rings of Power's big reveal setting The Stranger on a path east to the lands of Rhûn to find a star constellation he is drawn towards. There, The Stranger hopes to find his purpose, one that seemingly connects to Sauron after all.
The Stranger's Star Constellation Was Meant To Lead Him To Tom Bombadil
The Stars Were Leading The Wizard To A Who, Not A What
In The Rings of Power season 2, episode 4, The Stranger finally finds the strange star constellation he was seeking above the Middle-earth lands of Rhûn. Beneath the stars lies a hill, and in that hill lives a being from Tolkien's vast mythology: Tom Bombadil. Bombadil was part of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring yet was cut from Peter Jackson's film adaptations, before finally being used in live-action in The Rings of Power season 2.
Initially, The Stranger thought he would find a staff that would help him control his burgeoning magical powers beneath the star constellation. However, The Rings of Power season 2 reveals that it was never a staff he was meant to find, but Tom Bombadil himself. The Stranger confirms as much in The Rings of Power season 2, episode 4, insisting that Bombadil has been the destination of his entire journey since he fell to Middle-earth in a ball of fire.
Tom Bombadil Is Supposed To Teach The Stranger Magic
Bombadil's Power Is Unlike Any Others In Middle-earth
Custom Image by Lewis Glazebrook Concerning why The Stranger was destined to find Tom Bombadil, the answer seems to extend to the former's uncontrollable magic. Only once has The Stranger been shown to control his powers, when he held the staff of the Dark Wizard's acolytes during The Rings of Power's season 1 finale. Since then, he has been shown to lose control of his abilities and believed a staff is what he needs to harness his magic. That said, Bombadil points out that a staff to a wizard is like a name to anyone; it will forever be theirs if they prove worthy of having it.
Bombadil points out that The Stranger has proven he is not worthy to wield a staff yet, but hints that he could be. This comes with The Stranger's realization that Bombadil could teach him to control his powers, thus making him worthy of his abilities. Based on these hints, it seems The Rings of Power season 2's future episodes will feature The Stranger becoming worthy, be that as a student of Tom Bombadil or as a servant of good in a world turning dark.
"Elven Kings Under the Sky" | Season 2, Episode 1 | August 29, 2024 |
"Where the Stars are Strange" | Season 2, Episode 2 | August 29, 2024 |
"The Eagle and the Sceptre" | Season 2, Episode 3 | August 29, 2024 |
"Eldest" | Season 2, Episode 4 | September 5, 2024 |
TBA | Season 2, Episode 5 | September 12, 2024 |
TBA | Season 2, Episode 6 | September 19, 2024 |
TBA | Season 2, Episode 7 | September 26, 2024 |
TBA | Season 2, Episode 8 | October 3, 2024 |
The reason as to why Tom is the one to teach The Stranger stems from his own magical powers. In Tolkien's original novels, Bombadil was shown to possess immense power over magical beings like malevolent trees, Barrow-wights, and even the One Ring itself. This led to theories about what Tom Bomadil is, be it a god or a wizard himself. The Rings of Power depicted this subdued power in multiple ways, explaining why The Stranger has the desire to learn from Old Tom Bombadil.
The Stranger's Purpose Is To Oppose Sauron & The Dark Wizard
The Stranger's Storyline Is Being Tied To The Threat Of Sauron
With the revelation that Tom is who The Stranger was meant to find in Rhûn, The Rings of Power season 2 also reveals more about his true purpose. Bombadil tells The Stranger that he is not the only Istar to have sought refuge in the former's cabin, revealing the other to be The Rings of Power season 2's Dark Wizard. Bombadil mentions that the Dark Wizard now holds dominion over Rhûn and that, should his and Sauron's tentative alliance grow stronger, fire will spread to all corners of Middle-earth.
If The Stranger can stop the Dark Wizard and then Sauron, Middle-earth will be saved from destruction...
After being asked if he can defeat the Dark Wizard, Bombadil insists he is a wanderer, not a warrior, stating that great deeds must be conducted by the hands in which they are placed. This is when The Stranger realizes that his purpose for being sent to Middle-earth is to stop the fire. If The Stranger can stop the Dark Wizard and then Sauron, Middle-earth will be saved from destruction, and the Istari will play a massive part in The Rings of Power's Second Age timeline.
The Stranger's Mission Is Very Similar To Gandalf's In The Lord Of The Rings
More Evidence Is Provided Concerning The Stranger's Identity
Perhaps the biggest theories surrounding The Stranger center on the topic of his identity, with The Rings of Power season 1 strongly hinting that he is an early version of Gandalf. The Rings of Power season 2 makes the Stranger-Gandalf comparisons all the more prevalent, from the more grandfatherly depiction Weyman is imbuing the character with now that his memories have been regained to his continued love of halflings like Nori and Poppy. If that was not enough, The Rings of Power season 2, episode 4's reveal of The Stranger's mission further supports the idea that he is Gandalf.
The Gandalf theories began when The Stranger told Nori to always follow her nose, a line Gandalf uses in The Fellowship of the Ring.
In Tolkien's mythology, Gandalf was sent to Middle-earth in the Third Age by the Valar to fight Sauron. As Sauron's spirit grew in power, the Istari were sent to aid the people of the world in their various wars against the dark lord. This draws obvious comparisons to the premise of The Stranger's story in The Rings of Power. Not only was The Stranger sent to Middle-earth by an unseen, magical force as Gandalf was by the Valar, but his purpose in Middle-earth is to stop Sauron's plan from causing the death of the planet's peoples in the Second Age.
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