Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power episode 8 gets into an istar Stranger, Eärien’s palantir, and Galadriel’s discovery of Sauron. Here’s what Tolkien and Rings of Power’s writer tell us about next season.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power wrapped up its first season with seismic shifts and room for expansion. The billion-dollar show, which has already been greenlit for five seasons, found room for explosive moments and almost-shocking revelations, and even a reworked map of Middle-earth. But it was still table-setting — the Lord of the Rings we know is still far down the timeline.
With the first season finale released to the world, here are the major questions about what exactly happens next in season 2 and beyond. And thanks to The Rings of Power writer Gennifer Hutchison, we already know a little about where Sauron, Galadriel, and the Stranger are headed.
Since the Stranger (Daniel Weyman) showed up his identity has been a mystery, spurred on by the cast and crew of Rings of Power making reference to him as a “familiar” character to fans.
After eight episodes the answer seems to be… maybe. Though the finale gives some compelling evidence: The White Robes decide he’s not Sauron, and instead call him “Istar,” which Tolkien fans will recognize as a singular form of Istari, the elven word for the wizards of Middle-earth. He turns them into swarms of moths — a move certainly associated with the Gandalf of the Peter Jackson movies. He picks up a staff to do this magic (or whatever we’re calling it), which seems to evoke a certain type of gray and later white wizard. And now that he can speak in full sentences he’s certainly sounding more like Gandalf, even cribbing from a lot of stuff Gandalf said in the Jackson movies.
After confronting the White Robes, with the Stranger deciding that he is absolutely not Sauron, he decides it’s time to go east to Rhûn to discover more about himself. Nori, ever eager to get off the harfoot path, decides to go with him while Poppy stays behind.
In Rhûn they’ll be able to see the constellation the Stranger has been chasing all season, which is called “The Hermit’s Hat,” and hopefully get the answers the Stranger’s been seeking all season about his identity, powers, and what he should actually do in this world.
