In the last scene of The Rings of Power, Gandalf’s famous phrase from The Fellowship of the Ring, “When in doubt, always follow your nose,” is referenced.
It was a lot of fun watching The Rings of Power’s first season, which just concluded with its eighth and final episode. In spite of the fact that it was met with some resistance at the outset, the Lord of the Rings series that is available on Amazon Prime has evolved into not only an excellent narrative for viewers who are new to the Lord of the Rings franchise but also a refreshingly straightforward addition for long-time followers.
The conclusion of The Rings of Power has a number of allusions to the plot of The Lord of the Rings, including the phrase “When in doubt, always follow your nose.” Longtime readers of the story are going to enjoy this development.
This article explains the reference to “always follow your nose” as well as two additional references to Gandalf that you could have missed.
You should proceed with caution if you want to read this article since it contains spoilers not just for the eighth and final episode of The Rings of Power but also for the first three films in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.
Always Follow Your Nose Reference Explained!
In the eighth chapter of The Rings of Power, Nori makes the decision to travel with The Stranger as he traverses Middle Earth in search of his purported hometown of Rhun. “Feet feel heavy as iron, not to mention I haven’t an inkling which way to go,” she laments, despite the fact that she has a reasonable sense of direction. “I don’t know how to walk.”
The Stranger then indicates a direction and gives Elanor Brandyfoot some advice, telling her to “follow your nose” whenever there is uncertainty about where they are going since “there’s a pleasant smell on the air this way.” When the fellowship was exploring the Mines of Moria in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Gandalf made a similar remark as they travelled through the mines.
After being locked up in the mines for such a long time, the character of Gandalf, played by Ian McKellen, realises that he has become disoriented amid the complex network of Dwarven tunnels. At the intersection of three huge corridors, when the group stops for a bit, Froda asks about Gollum, the mysterious creature that has been following them for some time now. Gollum has been following them for some time.
Finally, Gandalf says, “It’s that way,” and Merry exclaims, “He’s remembered!” Merry is overjoyed by this development. Gandalf, on the other hand, is quick to reject the small Hobbit once more, claiming that he has forgotten the correct path but that “the air doesn’t smell so filthy down here… “
When in doubt, Meriadoc, you should always go with your gut instinct. Not only is this advice identical to what The Stranger provided in the eighth episode of The Rings of Power, but both pieces of advice are bizarrely directed at Hobbits and Harfoots.
It is important to note that the final episode of the first season of The Rings of Power, episode 8, has additional references to Gandalf.
Gandalf’s Moth and Wizard References Give Us Another Clue
It should be made clear that there is no assurance that The Stranger from The Rings of Power will one day mature into Gandalf, the wizard who appears in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. In spite of this, there are a number of allusions that link the two, such as the proverb that says to “follow your nose.”
The three women are taken aback when they learn that The Stranger is not Sauron, as they had presumed, but was instead described to as a “Istar” by The Dweller, The Nomad, and The Ascetic during the conflict they were involved in with these three men.
Then The Stranger appears, destroying the very flesh of these three creatures, and as their bodies begin to fall apart, they convert into moths, with The Dweller’s visage transforming into a particularly enormous Moth.
Fans of “The Lord of the Rings” will no sure remember that Gandalf has a link to moths, which is something that is explored in both “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.”
In “The Fellowship of the Ring,” Gandalf communicates with a moth while he is being held captive by Saruman. The moth later reappears just before an eagle comes to free the wizard.
During the Battle of the Morannon in The Return of the King, Gandalf sees a third Moth appear in front of him shortly before the Eagle arrives to assist in vanquishing the Nazgul.
In the movie “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” after Thorin and the other party members have been captured by wargs, Gandalf calls for the Eagles with the help of a moth. Last but not least, there is the word “Istar,” which, according to The Stranger, can be translated in a general sense as “Wizard.”
Even though by the Third Age of Middle Earth (the time period in which The Lord of the Rings takes place), there were five different magical wizards, including Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast, and the Blue Wizards, there is little doubt that Gandalf is a member of this particular class of wizards.
Therefore, despite the fact that The Stranger is undeniably a wizard and that he makes multiple references to the person who would later become known as Gandalf, it is possible that these two are connected in a variety of different ways.
Perhaps the mystery of The Stranger’s true identity will be solved when The Rings of Power returns for its second season.
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