It’s when they are in Moria trying to chose the right passage. The left, down or south “the air had a foul smell” or something like that, I think it was in both book and movie. But my memory could be conflating the two.
It is only in the movies, or so i read on the interwebs.
Maybe he will go back to valinor after sauron is defeated, and then come back again later.
Another possible theory the youtube guy had is that maybe they will combine Celeborn with the Glorfindel story and have it so that Celeborn died, but will be reimbodied and sent back.
Personally, I’d rather just have Glorfindel come. It would actually work well to have him be the elf that fought the balrog and ended up making mithril. That’s a dumb story, but that would make it slightly better.
There was also some near direct quotes/callbacks in some of the stranger’s lines.
So he is at least partially Gandalf.
Good call @King_of_the_North ! I suppose the introspection shown by Halbrand is a longer version of the short-lived repentance Sauron had after the fall of Morgoth.
My interpretation of the three pursuing the Stranger (imo Gandalf, supported by the analysis by posters above, but we’ll see how the character is involved in Sauron’s fall at the end of the Second Age) is they are fallen Maia (of which Balrogs are a type). I will have to review the imagery in their banishment again to look for any counter-arguments.
I’ve been concerned for a while that they were going to do a “Galadriel loves Sauron” thing - there has been some tension on that front.
I am okay with they way it played out though - with Sauron kinda wanting it but Galadriel rejecting him.