# Amazon Lord of the Rings series; The Rings of Power **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** middle-earth, amazon-prime, tv-shows-scripted\ **Created:** [March 3, 2019, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497 "2019-03-03T20:01:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 62
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2022, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1223 "2022-10-15T14:28:57Z")
Any chance The Stranger is _not_ Gandalf? I thought he’d be a wizard, but was still hoping for him to be another one, like one of the unnamed one. Until he said, “follow your nose”. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2022, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1224 "2022-10-15T14:32:23Z")
100% Gandalf. ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2022, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1225 "2022-10-15T14:36:12Z")
I doubt we will ever hear the name Gandalf though we may hear Olorin. But yes, it certainly points in that direction, and it would require some serious explanation at this point if its not. I always suspected it was him, but the “follow your nose” I think is the final confirmation. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2022, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1226 "2022-10-15T14:51:23Z")
Remind me what “follow your nose” is a reference to? ---
**Author:** ![Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/marvin_the_martian/32/2898_2.png) [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marvin_the_Martian)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2022, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1227 "2022-10-15T14:53:26Z")
Interview with the show creators regarding the first season: > **[The Long Road to Mordor](https://www.vulture.com/article/rings-of-power-ending-explained.html)** > > The Rings of Power creators explain Sauron’s identity and their plan to explore the edges of Tolkien’s map. > We were concerned about a situation where the part of the audience steeped in lore is six or seven episodes ahead of the characters. If deception is an important part of the journey, we wanted to preserve that experience for book readers too. Regarding the other rings: Celebrimbor, cleaning up the workshop after completing the Three, turns to his assistant and says, “Oh snap, I seem to have misplaced those sixteen early prototypes - if you come across them, be a good fellow and drop them into the melt. No use wasting good magic alloy…” Regarding the Stranger: Re-embodiment by way of meteorite is an imprecise business at best. The two Blue Wizards landed in widely separated locations in Middle Earth and it will take a while before they make the rendezvous in Rhun. Sauron went way off course and landed in the sea, destroying a passing ship in the process. Good thing he disposed of the last of the survivors before they could rat him out to Galadriel… > [@Mahaloth](#): > > Any chance The Stranger is _not_ Gandalf? I thought he’d be a wizard, but was still hoping for him to be another one, like one of the unnamed one. Until he said, “follow your nose”. He’s just mocking Gandalf’s catchphrase which he heard far too often back in the break room of the Maiar main office… ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2022, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1228 "2022-10-15T15:08:55Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > Any chance The Stranger is _not_ Gandalf? I thought he’d be a wizard, but was still hoping for him to be another one, like one of the unnamed one. Until he said, “follow your nose”. Maybe not. I like the analysis from the [episode breakdown video from “Nerd of the Rings”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQlVXYuE4UU): > [@](#): > > Now no doubt multitudes of folks will immediately jump to this being concrete proof that this is Gandalf because, hey, he said that line that Gandalf says! But I honestly think there’s still a decent chance he’s a blue wizard. > > From a practical perspective, I can understand why they would use Gandalf instead of a blue wizard - he’s an iconic character that you can market to casual fans, despite how much it may rub the book nerds like myself the wrong way when you’ve got the blue wizards right there in the canon. > > However, I think what they’ve done here may actually be them trying to get both in the long run. For now, the news will be spreading that this show has Gandalf in it by people assuming that’s what this line means. But with the heavy focus on Rhun, and even the line that adventures are meant to be shared - I still think there’s a decent chance he’s a blue wizard. > > Gandalf tells us in The Lord of the Rings his names in all the regions of Middle-earth, but says “to the East I go not”. Also worth noting is that the X-Ray during this scene says: “There are many stories that have been told of the Wizards, or Istari, in later ages, but not all of them have yet been heard.” > > And the actor Daniel Weyman in an interview that posted right after the episode dropped wouldn’t say for certain who he plays, so I think the idea he is Gandalf is far from a done deal. > > For now, folks will think he’s Gandalf, and when it’s revealed he isn’t in Season 2, it will cause a new wave of news. > > It’s just my theory, but I’m still on team Blue Wizard until the proof is definitive. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2022, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1229 "2022-10-15T15:24:02Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Remind me what “follow your nose” is a reference to? The end of this scene from FOTR in Moria [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/GqeBUP8B_eU/maxresdefault.jpg "If in doubt, always follow your nose(The Lord of the Rings - Fellowship of the Ring)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqeBUP8B_eU) ---
**Author:** ![k9bfriender](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k9bfriender/32/3283_2.png) [@k9bfriender](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/k9bfriender)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2022, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1230 "2022-10-15T15:42:46Z")
> [@Marvin\_the\_Martian](#): > > Regarding the Stranger: Re-embodiment by way of meteorite is an imprecise business at best. The two Blue Wizards landed in widely separated locations in Middle Earth and it will take a while before they make the rendezvous in Rhun. Sauron went way off course and landed in the sea, destroying a passing ship in the process. Huh, I think it was assumed that that was one meteorite seen by many different people across Middle-Earth, but it _could_ have actually been three (or more). ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2022, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1231 "2022-10-15T15:44:03Z")
Ah thanks. Somehow that line didn’t stick we me like the writers intended. Of course my DVD sets have been in storage for a long time now. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2022, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1232 "2022-10-15T16:02:58Z")
> [@k9bfriender](#): > > I always suspected it was him, but the “follow your nose” I think is the final confirmation. Confirmation that the Stranger is actually [Toucan Sam](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jChRcSY5uI)? ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2022, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1233 "2022-10-15T16:12:29Z")
Looking back, is it believable that Celebrimbor didn’t think of adding another metal to the mithril to make an alloy? ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2022, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1234 "2022-10-15T16:17:24Z")
When the conversation started about making an alloy, I said out loud, “And thus the elves invented adamantium.” ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2022, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1235 "2022-10-15T16:21:56Z")
That conversation was silly. If the Elves know about metallic alloys–and their technology shows that they must–then they also know that some alloys enhance certain qualities rather than just diminishing all qualities. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2022, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1236 "2022-10-15T16:48:04Z")
No, not at all. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2022, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1237 "2022-10-15T16:51:02Z")
> [@Love\_Rhombus](#): > > Looking back, is it believable that Celebrimbor didn’t think of adding another metal to the mithril to make an alloy? No. And neither did “i need super-pure gold and silver, so let me melt down your whole sword”. But as a device to let Sauron be helpful to the elves, the interaction worked, even if the details of the help he provided didn’t. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2022, 5:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1238 "2022-10-15T17:04:27Z")
Anything to be drawn from the Three Fates being turned into swarms of moths? That was kinda weird. But I think shows they aren’t destroyed. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2022, 5:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1239 "2022-10-15T17:08:28Z")
Is Galadriel basically insane/idiotic to insist they continue with the ring-making-project after learning that the process they are using came from Sauron? How did creating three rings even help them as opposed to making two? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2022, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1240 "2022-10-15T17:12:04Z")
Well if you want it from the point of the Lore we do know, it is basically Arghh!, too stupid! Why did they do that? From just the show point of view. This Galadriel is an absolute fool. ---
**Author:** ![Pavelb1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/439d5e/32.png) [@Pavelb1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pavelb1)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2022, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1241 "2022-10-15T17:17:10Z")
If this goes the way it has, with massively compressed time…it will continue to be a form of media that completely eschews the potential drama of the creation of the Nazgul. Now sure…the Witch King was probably already a nasty git, but the eight others? In the Shadow of Mordor and Shadow of War videogames…I believe they include passages where Nazgul are either created quickly or someone replaces a slain Nazgul…uhh…the fall of Human Kings and powerful human wizards should have been a slow and tragic thing. Not something just done at the convienence of Sauron. And I fear thats what we will see here. Just a very quick assembling. Adar probably becoming the Witch King, which has a bit of tragedy I suppose…but is kind of half assed. IOW I just dont trust the show-runners to extract any real tragedy out of this. ---
**Author:** ![Love\_Rhombus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/love_rhombus/32/10694_2.png) [@Love\_Rhombus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Love_Rhombus)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2022, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497/1242 "2022-10-15T17:23:28Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > How did creating three rings even help them as opposed to making two? They said it made balance, but it would also mean two could team up against one. Wouldn’t 4 be more balanced? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497.md?page=61) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/amazon-lord-of-the-rings-series-the-rings-of-power/830497.md?page=63)