The Rings of Power Season 2 Finale Reveals Gandalf & Explains The Origin of His Name

Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power ended Season 2 with an epic finale, which saw the Elven city of Eregion finally fall under the black blades of Adar (Sam Hazeldine) and his “family” of Orcs, while Sauron (Charlie Vickers) managed to secure his hold on the nine Rings of Power that were crafted for men by Elven master smith Celebrimbor. However, those weren’t the only milestone moments in the lore of J.R.R. Tolkien featured in Season 2 of The Rings of Power: The Dwarven city of Khazad-dum saw its ruler, King Durin III, follow the corruption from his ring all the down to the hellish depths of the mountain where a Balrog had been slumbering – and one of the season’s most peripheral storylines finally produced the major moment – albeit one that most fans saw coming from the start. 

(WARNING: SPOILERS FOLLOW!) 

As it turns out, pretty much every fan theory was correct: The Stranger (played by actor Daniel Weyman) is in fact Gandalf the Grey from Lord of the Rings lore! 

The Rings of Power Reveals How Gandalf Got His Name & Staff

In The Rings of Power Season 2 finale “Shadow and Flame” The Stranger reunites with his Harfoot friends Nori Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh) and Poppy Proudfellow (Megan Richards), who have been keeping company with their more domesticated cousins, the Stoors, in the wastelands of Rhûn. Unfortunately, the Stoors village was put in the crosshairs of the Dark Wizard (Ciarán Hinds) and his band of skull-masked raiders, who ordered that the mysterious wizard known as The Stranger be surrendered. That threat was exacerbated when the strange figure of Middle-earth known as Tom Bombadil (Rory Kinnear) led The Stranger to a vision of Nori and Poppy being killed by the Dark Wizard, creating a profound life choice between saving his friends and finding the magic staff that will unlock his powers and memories. 

In the finale, The Stranger meets the Dark Wizard head-on in the Stoors’ village. The Dark Wizard tries to appeal to the history he and the Stranger share as the foundation for an alliance and criticizes the choice of company each of them has had to keep since coming to Middle-earth. However, the Stranger makes it clear that he prefers the company of folk like the Harfoots and Stoors, and the Dark Wizard takes it personally, using his magic to unleash an avalanche that starts to bury the village in rubble and earns his magic staff as a reward for his love and loyalty toward his friends. The Stranger’s magic stops the falling boulders from killing all the Stoors, making him a revered figure in their eyes. The Stoors end up having to become nomads like their Harfoot cousins, and as they’re leaving the village, they each stop to thank The Stranger for his heroism, referring to him as “Grand Elf.” 

The Stranger parts ways with Nori, Poppy, and the Stoors, having finally regained enough sense of self and magic power to resume his mission of protecting Middle-earth from Sauron’s evil. He returns to the home of Tom Bombadil and makes the big decision of choosing his name. Reflecting on the fact that the name “Grand Elf” will stick leads to the slight tweak of “Gandalf,” the name The Stranger already senses will be his fate. 

The “mystery” of Gandalf’s identity in The Rings of Power hasn’t been much of one – not since the early episodes of Season 1, which blurred the lines well between The Stranger possibly being Sauron, if not Gandalf. It’s been an issue with fans of J.R.R. Tolkien’s original canon; in the original texts, Gandalf didn’t come to Middle-earth from Valinor until the Third Age –  around the time that Sauron had taken on the form of “The Necromancer” and was lurking in the shadows. 

Granted, Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit Trilogy already rewrote that timeline in the minds of a lot of fans, by having Gandalf already established on Middle-earth during that time. The Rings of Power is taking further liberties, by placing Gandalf and the rest of the Istari (wizards) in the world during the Second Age.  At this point, however, it’s pretty much a make-or-break deal for viewers if they can accept this change – and so many others – to the original lore. As a television series, the Gandalf reveal was predictable – but thankfully no less powerful in this retelling. 

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Seasons 1 and 2 are streaming on Amazon Prime Video.