Cynthia Addai-Robinson weighs in on TROP Gandalf Stranger Theory

It’s been almost two years The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premiered, but fans are left talking about the biggest hint in the finale that the Stranger is actually Gandalf.

Cynthia Addai-Robinsonwho plays the Númenórean queen Míriel in the Prime Video series, can’t confirm or deny it, but she likes the way fans think.

“If I say something specific, I might get hit by a bolt of lightning while we’re speaking,” Addai-Robinson, 39, told exclusively We weekly for The rings of powerseason 2 premiere. “What I want to say is that I like being part of something where the audience not only has the theory, but actually gives explanations, whether it’s on social media, by watching a video when we talk to them. … They really think so carefully about how they come to these theories and conclusions. I think it’s a very strong bet, I’ll say that.

The actress promised that season 2 will include “more answers to some of the questions” posed in the show’s first eight episodes. “Season 1 was really about setting the table,” she added. “You introduce, or reintroduce, characters and worlds to those who are familiar. So now, season 2, we can just roll with it. We just continue with the story.”

When Addai-Robinson took on the role of Míriel, details about the project were so secret that she initially did not know who she would play.

“I knew she was a queen, so I knew so much, but I didn’t know what part of the world she came from,” said the Arrow alum remembered. “I didn’t know if she existed in Tolkien’s lore. So you try to make educated guesses. My husband is a Tolkien fan. We have a special 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 contextual clues, but she was still in the dark about a few things. For example, the script she was given for the Season 1 finale was “redacted” so that she and her co-stars wouldn’t see the lines confirming that Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) is really Sauron.

“We all knew it,” she joked. “I mean, they didn’t tell us visually, but we all knew it. We say, ‘Charlie, you are Sauron.’ We know even he didn’t necessarily confirm it. And when we got the script, I think 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 have been removed. They like secrecy on our show.”

Season 2 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres on Prime Video on Thursday, August 29.

With reporting by Christina Garibaldi