Warning: Spoilers follow for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power episodes 1-8! Turn back now if you're not caught up on Amazon Prime Video!
Just who is the Stranger in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power? It's a question we've been asking ourselves since the mysterious giant crash-landed on Middle-earth in the first episode. Over the course of the season, Nori (Markella Kavenagh) has been steadily befriending the Stranger, and he's been a major help to the Harfoots on more than one occasion.
The Rings of Power season finale not only revealed the identity of Sauron, but also all but told us who the Stranger is too. Were you listening carefully? One key line, and other scattered pieces of dialogue, has shown that The Stranger is a very familiar face indeed...
No, The Stranger (Daniel Weyman) is not Sauron, Saruman, or even Radagast the Brown. While it is revealed in the season finale that The Stranger is an Istar/Istari (otherwise known as a wizard in Middle-earth parlance), one line clues us in even further to The Stranger's identity.
At the season's end (and a new journey's beginning), The Stranger, having regained "fragments" of his memories, tells Nori "When in doubt... always follow your nose."
Sound familiar? That line is said by Gandalf in The Fellowship of the Ring to Merry. Now, the show hasn't outright confirmed The Stranger is Gandalf, but the Istar link and Fellowship callback means we're about 99% sure the fan theory has come true.
Read up on more of The Rings of Power's big mysteries with our complete explainer to the Halbrand is Sauron theory and all the clues that you may have missed. Plus, there's our guide to The Stranger as well as The Rings of Power timeline to help you make sense of Middle-earth's centuries of conflict and chaos.
