At the end of the first episode of “Rings of Power” (available on Amazon Prime Video starting today), a ball of fire crashes into Middle-earth, carrying with it a strange figure. But who is it?
SPOILERS – Warning, the article below reveals potential spoilers. If you don’t want to know the content, please don’t read the following…
At the end of the first episode of the new series Rings of Power (available on Amazon Prime Video since today), a strange phenomenon is occurring in Middle-earth. As Gil-Galad, Elrond, Celebrimbor, Arondir, Bronwyn and Nori can see at the same time, a meteor lights up the sky and comes crashing down not far from the Pievelus tribe.
In the middle of this ball of fire: a man. Completely naked, bearded, and of unknown identity. In short, the ideal breeding ground to grow all kinds of theories.
Who exactly is this mysterious character, collected by Nori and her friend Poppy? Is it an immortal being from Valinor? Of an evil force? A whole new hero? While some evoke Sauron in human form or the enigmatic Tom Bombadil, others allow themselves to pronounce the name of… Gandalf.
A hypothesis that one would at first be tempted to reject altogether, given that in Tolkien’s work, the arrival of the magician in Middle-earth does not occur until the year 1000 of the Third Age (while the series takes place during the Second Age, many centuries before). However, when we carefully examine the various arguments that support the theory, it is clear that many elements agree.
Amazon Prime Video
Back in detail on the different points that tend to make us think that this mysterious character is indeed Gandalf:
- Physically, the appearance of this stranger seems quite similar to that sported by Gandalf on the big screen. He is indeed endowed with a beard (much shorter than in the films, of course) and the tunic with which he is covered once collected by the Pievelus resembles the long gray coat of the magician.
- His meeting with the Pievelus (ancestors of the Hobbits) could prefigure his particular attachment to this people, and his future friendship with Bilbo and Frodo.
- By picking it up, Nori senses that she is dealing with an extraordinary being. “He could have landed anywhere, but he landed here. You’re going to find it strange, but deep down I feel he’s important”she explains to Poppy.
Amazon Prime Video
- At the end of episode 2, the stranger can be seen talking to fireflies in a strange language, whispering in the palm of his hand, just like Gandalf did with a butterfly in his hand. The Fellowship of the Ring. Right after, he uses the same luminous insects to trace shapes in the sky. Perhaps this is a way of announcing his future talent for the two d’artifices.
- A little before, when he tries to explain something to Nori and Poppy, the first object he grabs (in order to draw a shape in the sand) is… a stick.
- During the same sequence, when he starts to scream, a powerful wind suddenly blows over the forest in which he is. A strange power that could very well coincide with the gifts of Gandalf which, let us remember, is linked to the Vala of the air, Manwë.
Amazon Prime Video
- The meteor that carries the unknown appears in the sky at the precise moment when the portal opens for Valinor, who must let Galadriel’s ship pass. Would “Gandalf” leave the Undying Lands of the Valar at the same time?
- And from a purely strategic point of view, Gandalf being among the most popular and most recognizable figures in the universe created by Tolkienits presence in the series of Prime Video could be very useful to reach a large audience.
What do you think of these different arguments? In your opinion, are the unknown fallen from the sky and Gandalf one and the same person?
While waiting for the answer to all these questions, (re)discover our video dedicated to the famous magician…