Warning! Spoilers for Rings of Power Season 2, and specifically Nori and Poppy’s story, are ahead! If you aren’t caught up, you can stream The Lord of the Rings prequel series with an Amazon Prime subscription.
The first Stoor Poppy and Nori meet after getting separated from The Stranger is Nobody. However, his name is actually Merimac. The thing is though, it took his parents so long to pick a name, that by the time they did, Nobody had stuck. So, considering the unique nickname and the intriguing amount of time it took to choose it, I had to ask why it took so long when I interviewed Poppy actress Megan Richards, and she broke down the philosophy behind it.
For a bit of context, in Episode 6 of Season 2, Poppy asks Nobody why that’s what everyone calls him, and in response, Gavi Singh Chera’s character says:
My folks aren’t the most decisive. Took them a long time to settle on a name.
When Poppy asked how long a “long time” was, he said “one or two years.” Then, when the Harfoot noted that that’s not too long, he clarified that they only made the decision “one or two years ago,” and “by that point, Nobody had stuck.”
Now, as I mentioned, his name is actually Merimac, not Nobody. But because it took so long for his parents to choose it, the Stoors don’t really call him that. So, when it was time for my follow-up Rings of Power interview with the Harfoot actress who plays his friend and love interest, I had to ask about this process and why it took so long. In response, Megan Richards told me:
I think there's that thing of when you're sort of within a community of people, sometimes there's that notion of getting lost a little. And I think that happens for everyone, no matter how big your friendship group is, or how small it might be, or whether you've got individual people. Sometimes within the world, you can just feel a bit lost. And you know, I think for some people, those journeys of being noticed or sort of self-inviting them, you know, like the self-journey of that, of sort of moving away from that and moving into something new takes different time for different people.
Gavi Singh Chera joined the Rings of Power cast for Season 2 to play the Stoor, and he portrays him in a way that shows this idea Richards was talking about. While he’s lovely and charming, it also seems like he is a bit lost within this big community. However, when Merimac meets Poppy, they both feel an immediate connection, and to me, it seemed like he felt really seen by her, which was so sweet.
Richards also tied her point to a bigger theme of Rings of Power, which is self-discovery and that self-journey we’re all on. It’s especially relevant in Nori, Poppy and The Stranger’s stories as they’re all trying to find themselves and what motivates them this season. For example, in the same episode, The Stranger is asked to make a big decision between his friends and destiny on his quest to figure out both his name and place in this world.
Merimac is seemingly on a similar mission of growth and discovery, and I loved the sweet moment he shared with Poppy where he explained why he had been called Nobody for so long.
Now, I can’t wait to see how the Stoor and Harfoot grow together as Season 2 enters its final two episodes. To see how their relationship evolves, if we find out what The Stranger’s name is, and to hopefully witness the reunion of the wizard, Nori and Poppy, you can stream new episodes of Rings of Power as they air on the 2024 TV schedule every Thursday.
