You don’t have to think too hard to answer the questions posed in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power — but that isn’t necessarily a hindrance to the Amazon series. Any Tolkien fan could see shades of Gandalf in the amnesiac Stranger (Daniel Weyman), or the physical similarities between the “Dark Wizard” (Ciarán Hinds) and Saruman the White. But The Rings of Power is not as interested in outright confirmation as it is in taking audiences on a journey. A long, winding, occasionally frustrating journey... but a journey all the same.
It’s not about whether the Stranger is Gandalf, but how he becomes the wizard we know and love. It helps that the series finally confirms its longest-reigning theory at the end of Season 2 — and seems to do the same for the Dark Wizard — but The Rings of Power does all of this on its own terms. Let's break down the finale’s big wizard bombshells, and explore how they set up an intriguing Season 3.
