What the Star Meant and Sauron Connection Explained

Warning! This article contains spoilers for The Rings of Power Season 2, Episode 4.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 provided answers about how the Stranger connects to Sauron, and what the stars he sought meant for his journey. Many of the individual characters appear in The rings of power have centered around purpose and clearly defined goals; Galdriel made it her mission to find and stop evil from resurfacing, while Sauron’s plan in The rings of power See he’s looking to research the titular jewelry in order to exert his will over every object in Middle-earth. Then there is the stranger, whose purpose may not be so clear.

Played by David Weyman in The rings of powers figure, the stranger is introduced as a man who fell from the sky, believed by many to be Sauron himself. however, The rings of power Season 1’s finale revealed that he is not Sauron, but one of Lord of the RingsIstari. The Istar are also known as wizards, with The rings of powers great revelation set the stranger on a path east to the lands of Rhûn to find a star constellation to him. There, the stranger hopes to find his purpose, one that seemingly connects to Sauron after all.

The star’s star constellation was meant to lead him to Tom Bombadil

The stars guided the wizard to a who, not a what

in The rings of power Season 2, Episode 4 The Stranger finally finds the strange star constellation he’s been searching for above the Middle-earth lands of Rhûn. Beneath the stars lies a hill, and in that hill lives a being from Tolkien’s vast mythology: Tom Bombadil. Bombadil was part of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring Still was cut from Peter Jackson’s film adaptations, before finally being used in live action in The rings of power Season 2.

Initially, the stranger thought he would find a staff that would help him control his burgeoning magical powers under the stars. however, The rings of power Season 2 reveals that it was never a stick he was meant to find, but Tom Bombadil himself. The stranger confirms as much in The rings of power Season 2, Episode 4, insisting that Bombadil was the destination of his entire journey since he fell to Middle-earth in a ball of fire.

Tom Bombadil is supposed to teach the alien magic

Bombadil’s power is unlike any other in Middle-earth

As for why the stranger was destined to find Tom Bombadil, the answer seems to extend to the former’s uncontrollable magic. Only once did the stranger show control of his powers, when he held the staff of the Dark Wizard’s acolytes during The rings of powerSeason 1 finale. Since then, he has been shown to lose control of his abilities and believes that a staff is what he needs to use his magic. That said, Bombadil points out that a staff to a magician is like a name to anyone; It will forever be theirs if they prove worthy to have it.

Bombadil pointed out that the stranger had proved that he was not yet worthy of carrying a stick, but that he could be. This comes with the stranger’s realization that Bombadil can teach him to control his powers, thus making him worthy of his abilities. Based on the hints, it seems The rings of power The future episodes of season 2 will have the stranger become worthy, be it as a student of Tom Bombadil or as a servant of good in a world that turns dark.

The reason why Tom is the one to teach the stranger stems from his own magical powers. In Tolkien’s original novels, Bombadil is shown to possess immense power over magical beings such as evil trees, barrow-wits, and even the One Ring itself. This has led to theories about who Tom Bomadil is, being a god or a wizard himself. The rings of power Depicted this subdued power in multiple ways, explains why the stranger has the desire to learn from old Tom Bombadil.

The stranger’s purpose is to oppose Sauron and the Dark Wizard

The Stranger’s storyline is linked to the threat of Sauron

With the revelation that Tom is the stranger meant to be found in Rhûn, The rings of power Season 2 also reveals more about his true purpose. Bombadil tells the stranger that he is not the only Istar who sought refuge in the former’s cabin, revealing the others to be The rings of power Season 2’s Dark Wizard. Bombadil mentions that the Dark Wizard now holds rule over Rhûn and that if his and Sauron’s tentative alliance grows stronger, fire will spread to all corners of Middle-earth.

After being asked if he can defeat the Dark Wizard, Bombadil insists that he is a wanderer, not a warrior, and claims that great deeds must be done by the hands in which they are placed. This is when the stranger realizes that his purpose in being sent to Middle-earth is to stop the fire. If the stranger can stop the Dark Wizard and then Sauron, Middle-earth will be saved from destruction, and the Istari will play a massive role in The rings of powers second age timeline.

The stranger’s mission is very similar to Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings

More evidence is provided about the stranger’s identity

Perhaps the biggest theories surrounding the stranger center on the subject of his identity, with The rings of power Season 1 strongly hints that he is an early version of Gandalf. The rings of power Season 2 makes the Stranger-Gandalf comparisons all the more prevalent, from the more grandfatherly depiction Wyman has improved the character with now that his memories have been regained to his continued love of halflings like Nori and Poppy. If that’s not enough, The rings of power Season 2, episode 4’s reveal of the stranger’s mission further supports the idea that he is Gandalf.

In Tolkien’s mythology, Gandalf is sent to Middle-earth in the Third Age by the Valar to fight Sauron. As Sauron’s spirit grew in power, the Istari were sent to aid the people of the world in their various wars against the Dark Lord. This draws obvious comparisons to the premise of the story of The Stranger In The rings of power. Not only was the stranger sent to Middle-earth by an unseen, magical force like Gandalf was by the Valar, but his purpose in Middle-earth is to stop Sauron’s plan of causing the death of the planet’s peoples in the Second Age .