When Elves get sick of Middle-earth, and decide they want to go back to the Lands of Valinor, they have to pass through the Grey Havens. At the end of The Return of the King, in the last proper chapter of the book, titled “The Grey Havens,” Frodo and his pals meet an elf named “Círdan the Shipwright” who built magical white ships that can take you out of Middle-earth and into the West.
But now, in Season 2 of Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, a much younger version of Círdan will appear, without the ships, and almost certainly, with a very, specific magic ring, known as “the Ring of Fire.” So, by putting Círdan into Rings of Power Season 2, his casual appearance at the end of The Return of the King might be clearer than ever before, while simultaneously revealing a classic Tolkien wizard.
Círdan in Rings of Power Season 2
Although he didn’t show up in Season 1, Círdan will appear in Season 2 of Rings of Power, where he’ll be played by Ben Daniels. Recently Daniels embodied another classic character from old sci-fi and fantasy books; in Foundation Season 2 he played Bel Riose, the brilliant general who defies Empire in the end. This is brilliant casting, and, as Foundation proved, Daniels is fantastic at imbuing vaguely defined literary characters with a sense of moxie and interiority. Because the show differed from the Asimov text, Daniels basically re-invented Bel Riose from scratch. This could happen again with Círdan, a character who has more backstory than actual characterization. In Foundation, Daniels couldn't rely on Asimov much, and now, he’ll likely not be able to really glean much from Tolkien, either.
In Return of the King, Círdan is described thusly: “Very tall he was, and his beard was long, and he was grey and old save that his eyes were as keen as stars.”
But like many of the other familiar characters in Rings of Power, the first image of Círdan for Season 2 (just released on EW) has him beardless, and looking quite different than how he appeared in Return of the King. And it's in this journey — from a younger Elf in Middle-earth to the bearer of the Ring of Fire, to the keeper of the Grey Havens — that Rings of Power can help elucidate.
The Gandalf connection
Because the three Elven rings weren’t actually created by Celebrimbor until the end of Rings of Power Season 1, the ring that Círdan is most known for is relatively new to the game. This is a ring called “Narya,” the Ring of Fire. While Galadriel is destined for Nenya, the Ring of Adamant, and Vilya, the Ring of Air, is going to Gil-galad and eventually Elrond, the Ring of Fire is the only one that passes from the hand of an Elf to.. .a wizard.
Gandalf is the one who carries the Ring of Fire during the Third Age, which means that we may see Círdan give this ring to Gandalf in Rings of Power Season 2. In fact, as EW hints, this detail seems to all but confirm that the Stranger (Daniel Weyman) is, in fact, a younger version of Gandalf. Why would Rings of Power bring in the guy who wore Gandalf’s ring before Gandalf, if Gandalf wasn’t in the show? It’s a riddle that’s in the dark for now but could soon,be very much in the light.
Rings of Power Season 2 hits Prime Video on August 29.
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