Lay off the pipeweed, nerd!
New Line Cinema
Alright, I admit it: All of us Tom Bombadil truthers are hanging on by a thread here. Unfortunately, such theories are tenuous, at best. But you’ve made it this far, so why not continue down this rabbit hole?
There’s one last bit of evidence that could sway this debate in either direction. In “The Fellowship of the Ring,” one of the most revealing descriptions we get (beyond the fact that he’s a jolly fellow who likes to wear yellow boots) is that he existed long before hobbits, humans, and elves ever came to Middle-earth. Most intriguingly, he himself mentions that he was there “before the Dark Lord came from Outside.” This could be seen as further proof that the timeline in “The Rings of Power,” set thousands of years before “The Lord of the Rings,” could actually line up with the potential inclusion of Tom Bombadil. However, that becomes complicated if you take it at face value that the Stranger only arrived through that flaming meteor. Obviously, all those different people groups have already been thriving on Middle-earth by the time the Stranger appears on the scene, contradicting Tolkien’s own words if this is, indeed, meant to be merry ol’ Tom.
The prevailing thought seem to lean towards Gandalf, another wizard in his order, some sort of double agent of Sauron (though it seems unlikely, given the recent introduction of Adar), or a very different original character altogether. Whatever the case may be, let’s enjoy these remaining few weeks before the identity of this mysterious Stranger is finally revealed. Up until that moment, our hopes that we might see our first live-action adaptation of Tom Bombadil remain alive! Or maybe it’s time to lay off the pipeweed and let this Tom Bombadil conspiracy theory die. New episodes of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” stream on Prime Video every Friday.
Forget Your Theories About The Stranger — Maybe He’s Tom Bombadil
Prime Video
So how could the creative team possibly unite these two seemingly contradictory aims? It’s easy, really.
Luckily, I’m here to officially set the record straight once and for all with some reckless and irresponsible speculation of my own. Because now that we’re three episodes in, everything I’ve seen from the Stranger points me in one single direction: a certain merry little fellow whose boots are yellow.
That’s right, folks, this one’s for the Tom Bombadil truthers out there.
From book to (small) screen?
New Line Cinema
Fans have long wondered about the bizarre character’s true purpose in Middle-earth and the nature of his backstory. Tolkien himself was maddeningly unhelpful in this regard, only describing him as the “Eldest” and having Bombadil’s wife Goldberry answer Frodo’s question about who he is with a simple, “He is.” In any case, the intentional mystery surrounding both Tom Bombadil in the novel and the Stranger in “The Rings of Power” provides another link that could further tie the two together. Wake up, sheeple!
Lay off the pipeweed, nerd!
Alright, I admit it: All of us Tom Bombadil truthers are hanging on by a thread here. Unfortunately, such theories are tenuous, at best. But you’ve made it this far, so why not continue down this rabbit hole?
There’s one last bit of evidence that could sway this debate in either direction. In “The Fellowship of the Ring,” one of the most revealing descriptions we get (beyond the fact that he’s a jolly fellow who likes to wear yellow boots) is that he existed long before hobbits, humans, and elves ever came to Middle-earth. Most intriguingly, he himself mentions that he was there “before the Dark Lord came from Outside.” This could be seen as further proof that the timeline in “The Rings of Power,” set thousands of years before “The Lord of the Rings,” could actually line up with the potential inclusion of Tom Bombadil. However, that becomes complicated if you take it at face value that the Stranger only arrived through that flaming meteor. Obviously, all those different people groups have already been thriving on Middle-earth by the time the Stranger appears on the scene, contradicting Tolkien’s own words if this is, indeed, meant to be merry ol’ Tom.
The prevailing thought seem to lean towards Gandalf, another wizard in his order, some sort of double agent of Sauron (though it seems unlikely, given the recent introduction of Adar), or a very different original character altogether. Whatever the case may be, let’s enjoy these remaining few weeks before the identity of this mysterious Stranger is finally revealed. Up until that moment, our hopes that we might see our first live-action adaptation of Tom Bombadil remain alive! Or maybe it’s time to lay off the pipeweed and let this Tom Bombadil conspiracy theory die. New episodes of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” stream on Prime Video every Friday.
There’s one last bit of evidence that could sway this debate in either direction. In “The Fellowship of the Ring,” one of the most revealing descriptions we get (beyond the fact that he’s a jolly fellow who likes to wear yellow boots) is that he existed long before hobbits, humans, and elves ever came to Middle-earth. Most intriguingly, he himself mentions that he was there “before the Dark Lord came from Outside.” This could be seen as further proof that the timeline in “The Rings of Power,” set thousands of years before “The Lord of the Rings,” could actually line up with the potential inclusion of Tom Bombadil. However, that becomes complicated if you take it at face value that the Stranger only arrived through that flaming meteor. Obviously, all those different people groups have already been thriving on Middle-earth by the time the Stranger appears on the scene, contradicting Tolkien’s own words if this is, indeed, meant to be merry ol’ Tom.
The prevailing thought seem to lean towards Gandalf, another wizard in his order, some sort of double agent of Sauron (though it seems unlikely, given the recent introduction of Adar), or a very different original character altogether.
Whatever the case may be, let’s enjoy these remaining few weeks before the identity of this mysterious Stranger is finally revealed. Up until that moment, our hopes that we might see our first live-action adaptation of Tom Bombadil remain alive! Or maybe it’s time to lay off the pipeweed and let this Tom Bombadil conspiracy theory die.
New episodes of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” stream on Prime Video every Friday.
