This story contains spoilers for the Season One finale of Rings of Power.Rings of Power has teed up plenty of tantalizing mysteries, but none have tormented viewers quite so powerfully as the identity of The Stranger. Way back in Episode One, this anonymous geezer crash-landed into Harfoot country by way of a meteor strike; ever since, he’s been testing his otherworldly powers and forming connections with the Harfoots. But just who is this mysterious meteor man? One need only look to J.R.R. Tolkien’s text for clues.Before the finale, I wrote here on Steve Jobs’s Internet, once and for all—The Stranger is a Maia. I guaranteed it. Tolkien’s Maiar are creatures of divine origin created as helpmeets of the gods before the beginning of the time; possessed of otherworldly powers, they can wander the world unseen or disguise themselves as earthly creatures. Maiar come in many forms, though casual Tolkienites know them best as wizards like Gandalf and Saruman. But just which Ma… Click below to read the full story from Esquire
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