It’s been nearly two years since The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premiered, but fans haven’t stopped talking about the finale’s major hint that the Stranger is really Gandalf.
Cynthia Addai-Robinson, who plays Númenórean queen Míriel in the Prime Video series, can’t confirm or deny, but she likes the way fans think.
“I might get struck down by a bolt of lightning as we speak if I say anything specific,” Addai-Robinson, 39, exclusively told Us Weekly ahead of The Rings of Power’s season 2 premiere. “What I will say is I love being a part of something where the audience, not only do they have the theory, but they really lay out, whether it’s on social media, making a video when we engage with them. … They really are so thoughtful about how they arrive at these theories and conclusions. I think that it’s a very strong guess, I’ll say that.”
The actress promised that season 2 will include “more answers to some of the questions” raised in the show’s first eight episodes. “Season 1 was really about table setting,” she added. “You’re introducing characters and worlds, or reintroducing, for those who are familiar. So now, season 2, we get to just get right on into it. We just get going with the story.”
When Addai-Robinson took on the role of Míriel, details about the project were so locked down that she didn’t initially know who she’d be playing.
“I knew she was a queen, so I knew that much, but I didn’t know what part of the world she was from,” the Arrow alum recalled. “I didn’t know if she existed in Tolkien’s lore. So, you’re trying to make educated guesses. My husband is a Tolkien fan. We have a dedicated shelf at home. He was able to help me interpret and look for some clues.”
Addai-Robinson’s husband, Thomas Hefferon, guessed correctly based on the context clues, but she was still left in the dark about a number of things. For example, the script she got for the season 1 finale was “redacted” so she and her costars wouldn’t see the lines confirming that Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) is really Sauron.
“We all knew,” she quipped. “I mean, they didn’t tell us visually, but we all knew. We’re like, ‘Charlie, you’re Sauron.’ We know even he was not necessarily confirming it. And then when we got the script, I believe they had closed sets for some of those moments, some of those reveals, and so you get your script and it’s just blacked out or pages removed. They love secrecy on our show.”
Season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres on Prime Video Thursday, August 29.
With reporting by Christina Garibaldi
