Rings Of Power Season 2's New Bombshell May Solve Season 1's Biggest Mystery
On the morning of May 29, news broke (via Vanity Fair) that Amazon Studios' "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" Season 2 features the one and only Tom Bombadil, played by Rory Kinnear ("No Time to Die," "Black Mirror"). The setting for this character in the story is also another major hint that The Stranger (Daniel Weyman) is, indeed, Gandalf. And while nothing is definitive, as we'll see in a moment, the hints and nods are really starting to pile up.
This will be the first time Tolkien's enigmatic Bombadil is brought to life on the silver screen. Both Peter Jackson and Ralph Bakshi opted to cut the jocular Wizard from their "Lord of the Rings" adaptations, as he doesn't add much to the primary plot and is, honestly, a tough individual to translate to a visual setting.
Nevertheless, showrunners JD Payne and Patrick McKay have decided to dive headlong into the whimsical, overpowered, and kind of trippy Bombadil experience. The decision to pair him up with the Istar is an interesting choice, too. By the end of Season 1, we know that Weyman's character is one of Tolkien's Wizards, and his big entrance and confused look already reminded many of Gandalf the Grey. His line to Nori (Markella Kavenagh), telling her to "follow her nose," offers another hint that the Stranger was that Wizard, in particular.
And yet, heading into Season 2, there was still the lingering possibility that Weyman's Wizard could be one of another famous pair of magic-wielding beings in Tolkien's literature. He might have been (and still might be, even if the hope is faint) a Blue Wizard.
The Bombadil announcement is bad news for those hoping to see Blue Wizards
The first season of "The Rings of Power" revealed that The Stranger was both a Wizard and one of the good guys. In the finale, he and Nori set off East toward the distant region of Rhûn in search of more answers. Despite the hints that he might be Gandalf, this move led to speculation that he might instead be a Blue Wizard since these two Istari exclusively operate in the eastern regions of Middle-earth. In contrast, Gandalf specifically says in "The Two Towers" book, "to the East I go not." This raised the possibility that we were seeing the origin of one of the two Blue Wizards.
Adding further fuel to the fire, a rumor from the fan site Fellowship of Fans in early 2024 claimed, "When the Stranger and Nori travel East they will encounter a 'Wizard' that will help train The Stranger improving his abilities and magic making him very powerful. It is unsure yet whether this 'Wizard' is one of the Istari or just another 'magical' character."
While nothing is set in stone until Season 2 arrives, it seems pretty clear that Bombadil is the "magical character" that The Stranger meets. This significantly reduces the chances that The Stranger is a Blue Wizard. What seems more likely is that The Stranger is Gandalf, and he's going to hone his otherworldly skills with the help of Tom Bombadil — in the East. It's an unorthodox way to handle this, but to be fair, these sections of Tolkien's story are light on the details, and the show is filling in a lot of gaps as it goes along. Here's hoping this creative decision works out.