Episode 6 of season 2 of Rings of Power left a new clue about the identity of the Stranger. But how long does Prime Video plan to base an entire story arc on a revelation that never comes?
; what is amazon prime video playing?
Prime Video definitely likes to play with the nerves of its subscribers. While the two showrunners promised before the release of season 2 to reveal the identity of the stranger (whom we recall that everyone, or almost everyone, thinks is Gandalf), it is clear that after six episodes (out of eight), we still do not know who this mysterious character created from scratch by the production is.
Since the beginning of season 2 released in August, JD Payne and Patrick McKay seem to want to play the treasure hunt. If the clues about the stranger being Gandalf seem obvious, the first episodes released opened the way to another track: that of one of the two blue mages, the two Ithryn Luinsent to the East of Middle-earth, a region unexplored and little mentioned by Tolkien, where is located precisely abroad.
a new clue suggests that Gandalf is indeed the stranger
But the main hypothesis about his identity remains that of Gandalf the Grey. In episode 6 released last Thursday, September 19, Tom Bombadil once again left a clue. In his quest to find a staff to master his powers, and thus get rid of the dark mage, he must make sacrifices. With all the wisdom that characterizes him, the most mysterious character of the Lord of the Rings tells him: “Many who die deserve to live, and some who live deserve to die.”
This line probably resonated with fans of Peter Jackson's film adaptations. And that's only natural, since it's taken from the almost similar one Gandalf himself says to Frodo in The Fellowship of the Ring, during a long monologue. It's reversed in the 2001 film:“Many who live deserve death. And some dead people deserve life.»
For many, the debate is no longer relevant, the series has long implied that the stranger is indeed Gandalf. We recall that he walks in a gray robe alongside two Piévelus (the descendants of the Hobbits), or that he has already taken up an emblematic phrase of Gandalf: “When in doubt, follow your nose.”
However, Gandalf did not arrive in Middle-earth in the Second Age (like Saruman and Radagast), but in 1000 of the Third Age. A fact important enough for some fans of the series to rekindle the debate. Whatever the outcome, we wonder how long Prime Video plans to play with its viewers on this revelation that is slow to arrive, and which unfortunately cannibalizes the entire narrative arc around Rhún, with the stranger, Nori, the dark mage and his mysterious city. An arc that fans are already getting tired of.