In The Rings of Power finale, “When in doubt, always follow your nose” is made in reference to Gandalf in The Fellowship of the Ring.

The Rings of Power has just premiered its eighth and final episode from what has been a remarkable opening season. Despite a controversial start, the Amazon Prime series has developed into not only an enthralling story for LOTR newcomers, but a surprisingly honest addition for long-time fans alike.

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Those long-time fans of The Lord of the Rings story will e delighted with the number of references that feature in The Rings of Power finale, including the mention that “When in doubt, always follow your nose.”

In this article, we explain the “always follow your nose” reference and breakdown the two other references to Gandalf that you may have missed.

Spoiler warning: This article will contain spoilers to The Rings of Power episode 8, the season finale, as well as the original The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy – so read at your own discretion.

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Always Follow Your Nose reference explained

In The Rings of Power episode 8, Nori decides to go with The Stranger as he travels across Middle Earth in search of his supposed homeland of Rhun. Unfortunately, despite being a fairly decent navigator, she confesses that her “Feet feel heavy as iron, not to mention I haven’t an inkling which way to go.”

The Stranger then points out a heading and says that “There’s a sweet smell on the air this way” and that “When in doubt, Elanor Brandyfoot, always follow your nose.”

This is a reference to what Gandalf said in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring as the group is finding their passage through the Mines of Moria.

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After being sealed in the mines, Gandalf (played by Ian McKellen) finds that he has forgotten the correct route through the labyrinth of Dwarven tunnels after so many years.

The fellowship takes a break at the entrance to three large passageways and whilst he tries to remember the way, Froda asks about Gollum; the mysterious creature that has been following them for some time.

Gandalf eventually exclaims “It’s that way” to which Merry happily says “He’s remembered!”

However, Gandalf is quick to put down the young Hobbit once again, explaining how he hasn’t remembered the correct route, but that “the air doesn’t smell so foul down here…If in doubt, Meriadoc [Merry], always follow your nose.”

Not only is this verbatim to what The Stranger said in The Rings of Power episode 8, but both pieces of advice are curiously also directed towards Hobbits/Harfoots.

Interestingly, this is not the only reference to Gandalf in The Rings of Power episode 8, the season 1 finale.

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Gandalf’s Moth and Wizard references give us another clue

To be clear, we don’t know for certain that The Stranger in The Rings of Power is going to develop into the character we know as Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

However, there are multiple references to the two being linked, such as the aforementioned quote about following your nose.

During the battle with The Dweller, The Nomad and The Ascetic, the three women exclaim in shock that The Stranger is not Sauron as they had believed, but was instead called an ‘Istar’.

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The Stranger then appears to destroy the very flesh of these three beings and as their bodies begin to crumble, they turn into moths – with the face of The Dweller turning into a particularly large Moth.

As avid fans of The Lord of the Rings will surely remember, Gandalf has a certain affiliation with Moths that are not only explored in the original films but also in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

In The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf whispers to a Moth whilst being imprisoned by Saruman- the Moth reappears just before an Eagle arrives to save the wizard.

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Then, in The Return of the King, a third Moth appears in front of Gandalf during the Battle of the Morannon just before the Eagle show up again to help with the Nazgul.

In The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, Gandalf uses a Moth to summon the Eagles after Thorin and the group is trapped by Wargs.

Finally, we have the term ‘Istar’ – which The Stranger reveals to be translated roughly into ‘Wizard’.

Gandalf is obviously part of the class of this wizard; however, there are actually five different magical wizards by the Third Age of Middle Earth (when The Lord of the Rings story is set); Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast and the Blue Wizards.

So, whilst The Stranger is indeed confirmed to be a wizard and he makes multiple references to the character to be later known as Gandalf, there could still be a number of different possibilities as to how these two are linked…Perhaps the mystery of The Stranger’s true identity shall be revealed in The Rings of Power season 2.

By Tom Llewellyn – [email protected]

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