Theory: The Stranger is a Blue Wizard, not Gandalf | The Rings of Power

Hi guys. As I said in my final Rings of Power breakdown, I'm going to be re-watching the first season for what I'm sure will be a very extensive review of what I felt worked and what didn't in season 1. I've been a little busy with ...other things...so I'm about to start watching again. But these past few weeks I've been surprised by how many people have determined that The Stranger is Gandalf is 100% confirmed. While I think there's a good chance it turns out to be Gandalf, I don't think it's a done deal. So today I wanted to go over why I think there is still hope that The Stranger is in fact a Blue Wizard.

First there is the most obvious reason to believe that The Stranger is a

blue

wizard

: the fact that he is here in the Second Age. Now, obviously, there's no guarantee that the show will adhere to Tolkien's lore here, but as we know in Tolkien's later writings, he said that the two

blue

wizard

s arrived in 1600 SA. This would fit perfectly within the show's condensed timeline. And while we have reason to think otherwise, the showrunners stated that they weren't bringing Third Age stories to their Second Age show, and bringing Gandalf to the Second Age would be bringing in arguably the most popular character in the Third Age.

That said, Gandalf is arguably the most popular character in the Third Age, meaning he's incredibly recognizable to even casual fans. Realistically, I can see from a marketing perspective that having Gandalf would pique the interest of casual fans, despite the annoyance it would cause to fans. But let's pause on the external reasons regarding the Stranger's identity and look at what the show has set up in the world. Now that we've seen the entire season 1, we know that from the beginning, The Stranger is searching for a constellation that is visible on Rhun. As Aragorn says during the council of Elrond: I have crossed many mountains and many rivers, and I have traversed many plains, even to the far countries of Rhûn and Harad, where the stars are strange.

Now this to me screams blue wizard. While he doesn't say what his particular mission is, we know that he must go to Rhun, the same lands we're told the blue wizards travel to. Another thing I think a lot of people have missed is something mystics say when they realize the Stranger isn't Sauron. They refer to him as “The Other” and “The Istar.” The latter reveals that he is in fact a wizard, but I think the former may indicate something more than simply not being Sauron. What if "The Other" means this isn't the first star the mystics have found?

In the books, we are told that only Cirdan, Elrond, and Galadriel knew the truth about the Istari being Maiar. So it is quite possible that these mystics only know that he is another of the Istari, not that he is another being on par with Sauron. More on that in a moment. Another big question the show raises is whether The Stranger is good or dangerous. In the end, it is determined that he is both. This is one aspect I'm curious to see how he plays out upon rewatch, but the question of whether he's good or bad is felt throughout the season.

If he's Gandalf, that becomes a superfluous question: he's good and he'll go on adventures to help save the world, yada yada. However, I think a much more interesting possibility is that he is a blue wizard BECAUSE we don't know for sure which direction he will ultimately go. In Tolkien's earlier writings, the blue wizards are called Alatar and Pallando, and we are told that they ultimately failed in their mission and probably founded secret cults and magical traditions. In their later writings, in which they appear in the Second Age, they are quite successful in the East and the South.

Their names here are Morinehtar and Romestamo, the slayer of darkness and the helper of the east, which I must say are pretty good names. This ambiguity about whether the blue wizards were good or bad (whether they succeeded like Gandalf or fell like Saruman) gives the show a lot of flexibility for the journey this character takes. Assuming we met the second blue wizard, a natural question arising from Tolkien's own writings would be: will these wizards succeed or fail? Will they remain faithful or fall? Or, perhaps even more interesting, one blue wizard will remain faithful while the other turns evil, drawing inspiration from both versions of Tolkien's story.

It makes me wonder: if the other blue mage already headed to Rhun and potentially encountered the mystics, what could he already be doing? Could he be the one turning towards the darkness? In fact, could he even have been the one who sent the mystics? So far, the biggest evidence that this is Gandalf are some visual similarities, his affinity for halflings, his manipulation of fire, and his "always follow your nose" line. While I, like many others, initially thought that "always follow your nose" was the final proof of his identity, I have given this more thought and believe it could easily be another in a long line of connections to Peter Jackson.

Movies. We get a lot of references and nods to Peter Jackson in this show, a lot more than I ever thought there would be, and I honestly thought they were a bit much and actually undermined the show at times. That said, I think there are a lot Chances are this is just another one of those nods. This show has certainly enjoyed having its mysteries, to the frustration of some like me. Even now, the people behind the show insist that The Stranger's identity has not been proven. at this point, him being Gandalf would be quite disappointing, as that's what most people expect if he turns out to be Gandalf, I'd expect at least one more twist in an attempt to bring the mystery to light before the final reveal. from Gandalf.

Another reason for the blue wizard is in the appearance of The Stranger. Both his robe and his hair are definitely brown Although I am sure he will change his wardrobe for a more indicative look perhaps in season 2, the hair color. could be revealing. While the wizards aged during their time in Middle-earth, we are told that they only aged slightly in their thousands of years of existence. Presumably, its general appearance here would be pretty close to what it will be like in a few thousand years. His brown hair led many fans to guess that he could be Radagast, and while I wouldn't complain about a birdless Radagast poop, I think this is also a point towards the blue wizard, as we're not told what color his hair. .

While I can't say for sure, I highly doubt Tolkien envisioned the wizard's hair matching his robes in this case. I've mentioned this on livestreams before, but going back to practical, real-world reasons for hoping this isn't Gandalf is the burden that will come with this. Gandalf is a very popular character even among casual fans, thanks in large part to Sir Ian McKellen's iconic performance in six films. Now, I think that Daniel Weyman's performance has been one of the best performances of the entire series. Almost the entire season had to rely heavily on non-verbal communication or at least a very limited vocabulary, and his story managed to bring some of the most heartfelt moments to the show.

While I'm reasonably confident that he could do a younger version of Gandalf quite well, I'd really enjoy Weyman getting the chance to make a character completely his own without having to take into account everything we've seen before. Now, I have made no secret of the fact that I firmly hope that The Stranger is a blue wizard, and it is possible that this hope is simply a foolish hope. Personally, I think a blue wizard is the more fun option and it's just a smart move from my perspective as a Tolkien fan. Unlike the blue wizards, we know a lot about Gandalf.

We know a lot more about his history, his personality, his life, and even how he first met the hobbit race. Moving forward with The Stranger as Gandalf is a potential minefield, while moving forward with a blue wizard is much more open to creative interpretation and, in my opinion, no less interesting to even casual fans; In fact, I would say that it actually has the potential to be more interesting for all audiences. We've seen it many times in franchises before: the inclusion of popular characters is no guarantee that said characters will resonate with fans. With Gandalf, I think there's a chance the show will choose between what it thinks is a compelling story and staying true to what we know about Gandalf.

With a blue wizard, I think there's a clear path to having both and the potential mutual benefit of entertaining both fans of the books and casual fans if they do it right. Let me know if there are any other theories or topics about the show you'd like me to cover. With the exception of my eventual Season 1 review video, I'll be pretty light on Rings of Power going forward unless there's big newsworthy stuff, but I'm open to covering a few topics here and there if there's something everyone wants see. . In the meantime, I look forward to chatting more about the other adaptations coming up.

Not just the War of the Rohirrim anime, but also the handful of video games coming over the next few years that I'm excited to dive into. In the meantime, let me know in the comments what you think of The Stranger. Are there things I'm forgetting about this character that influence you one way or another? And which option seems more attractive to you?