Even though it has been obvious from Cannoli's recaps that this would be the case, it saddens me that the show writers are so incompetent that they need to incorporate Tolkien characters that don't appear until the next Age in their idiotic story. I mean, the Istari don't appear until around 1000 Third Age! Durin's Bane does not awaken until 1980, almost a thousand years later.

But unfortunately, TV and movies assuming the audience need references they recognize shoved into their faces in order to get it, is not unusual.