The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power star Daniel Weyman explains how The Stranger will struggle with his powers during season 2. While the Prime Video series follows numerous characters, Weyman’s The Stranger has been surrounded by mystery from the beginning. After appearing to crash on Middle-earth, he forms a relationship with Nori Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh) and other Harfoots. Contrary to early theories, including that The Stranger would become Sauron, The Rings of Power season 1 finale revealed that him to be an Istar and demonstrated just how powerful he could be.

In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, Weyman teased that The Stranger will grapple with his magic in The Rings of Power season 2. Weyman explained that his character, along with Nori and Poppy Proudfellow (Megan Richards), will experience various obstacles during their travels, and The Stranger may contend with using his powers to help. Read more of Weyman’s comments below:

Yes, good question. I think that he’s sort of headed off at the end of season 1 in this quite positive frame of mind. There’s adventure, it’s lovely, there’s swaying grass. Everything seems to be safe for a little bit, and very quickly everything goes upside down and wonky. They don’t have any food, they don’t have any water, and the land is totally different. And suddenly, he’s in a totally different place to that which he’s experienced in all his time on Middle-earth.

So, as we watch that journey, I think that informs a huge amount for him. It’s about how he reacts to Nori, what they can do as a team now to get over the hurdles that are facing them. And then, when Poppy comes back in, I think that’s really good. I think he feels that that’s the old team back together, and yet it doesn’t solve things. They still now have more problems. And in fact, the problems get worse. So, how they all interact together, I think he’s constantly learning, he’s constantly trying to understand how to fix problems, but he probably doesn’t trust himself enough to let go and actually be as useful as he could be. So yeah, it’s sort of on a knife edge with him.

The Stranger Discovering His Powers May Be Important To The Rings Of Power

The Show Has Already Teased Some Of His Magic

Most of the storyline involving Weyman’s character focused on uncovering his identity. Based on some of the destruction he caused for the Harfoots and one frightening interaction where he endangered Nori, and because he has no memories, there was uncertainty about whether The Stranger was evil or not. When it comes to his magic, The Rings of Power sees The Stranger recreate constellations using fireflies and partially freeze water, among other things. By the season 1 finale, he manages to vanquish The Dweller and other witches, before leaving for Rhûn with Nori.

The friendship between The Stranger and Nori is also an important part of their character development.

Should The Stranger discover more of his powers in season 2, he may finally begin to remember who he is. Mistakenly recognized as Sauron, it was eventually revealed that Weyman’s character is a Wizard, leading to even more theories about his role moving forward. Whether The Stranger is Gandalf or another well-known Istar from J.R.R. Tolkien’s novels remains to be seen, but perhaps his evolving magic and repeated efforts at being good will signal something.

As The Stranger encounters personal struggles in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2, it will be interesting to find out what he is capable of. Weyman’s comments suggest that The Stranger could potentially help as he, Nori, and Poppy continue their expedition, but what kind of powers he possesses, and how he will use them, remains unclear.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 premieres on Prime Video on August 29.

Source: Screen Rant