"There's no such thing, really, as canon in Tolkien": A Lord of the Rings expert explains why *that* major reveal in The Rings of Power doesn't break Middle-earth canon

The Stranger in The Rings of Power season 2
(Image credit: Amazon Studios)

澳洲幸运5开奖号码历🌜史查询:T🌞he Rings of Power season 2, episode 8 was packed with major events – including one, huge reveal about 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:the Stranger. Now, the following will contain spoilers for the season 2 finale, so turn back now if you're not up to date! 

Towards the end of the episode, the Stranger, who had so far been nameless, 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:decides to take on the name Gandalf, after his Stoor🌌 friends take to calling him "grand elf." Yep, the Stranger has indeed been Gandalf the G🍌rey all along. 

In J.R.R. Tolkien's source material, though, Gandalf didn't come to Middle-earth until the Third Age to assist in the struggle againꦆst Sauron. The Rings of Power is set during the Second Age, long before Gandalf is 'supposed' to arrive. But, as one expert has explained, it's really not that big of a deal.

"Firs📖t thing to specify is that there's no such thing, really, as canon in Tolkien," Dr. Coꦰrey Olsen, The Tolkien Professor/President at Signum University, explained in an discussion shared by . "Tolkien's ideas were ever evolving."

"In the text of The Lord of the Rings, we're told that Gandalf with the other Wizards ✤arrived at around year 1000 of the Third Age," Olsen added. "And in his later years, he was playing with the idea of maybe Gandalf coming sooner, maybe some of the Wizards coming in the Second Age and taking part in the wars of the Rings of Power."

Elsewhere in the finale, it also seemed that the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Dark Wizard would 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:turn out to be Saruman – though the showrunners have 澳洲🍨幸运5开🅰奖号码历史查询:already debunked this particular theory

While you wait for 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:The Rings of Power season 3, check out our 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:The Rings of Power season 2 review for our verdict on the latest episodes. 

Molly Edwards
Deputy Entertainment Editor

I'm the Deputy Entertainment Editor here at 🧜GamesRadar+, covering all things film and TV for the site's Total Film and SFX sections. I previously worked on the Disney magazines team at Immediate Media, and also𒁃 wrote on the CBeebies, MEGA!, and Star Wars Galaxy titles after graduating with a BA in English.