Summary
- The Rings of Power season 1 finale confirmed the present’s mysterious Stranger is a wizard, however his identification continues to be not confirmed.
- The trailer for Rings of Power season 2 means that the Stranger could also be younger Gandalf, breaking canon however nonetheless becoming inside Tolkien’s lore.
- The Blue Wizards, Alatar and Pallando, are a possible identification for the mysterious determine in Rings of Power, providing a brand new twist.
The first season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power gave followers a number of main inquiries to reply, however the true identification of its wizard-like Stranger (Daniel Weyman) stays one among its greatest unsolved mysteries. Audiences now know that this character is a wizard, showing in a brand new, unwritten story inside J.R.R. Tolkien’s lore. But which wizard—Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast—is now the riddle, and it is one which ScreenRant’s The Rings of Power Podcast is making an attempt to reply.
The closing moments of Rings of Power‘s first season finale might have teased followers an excessive amount of, inflicting many to take the insertion of Gandalf dialogue as an express affirmation: this is young Gandalf, appearing centuries before he should (on his Third Age mission). That isn’t but confirmed to be the case, however surprisingly, it would not ‘break the timeline’ the best way some lovers assume, both. All of which is mentioned at size within the newest episode of The Rings of Power Podcast: “Is The Stranger Young Gandalf, a Blue Wizard, or Neither?” embedded under:
Hosts Andrew Dyce and Stephen Colbert dive deep into the present lore, concepts and potential tales scribbled or mentioned by Tolkien throughout his life, and the place the Rings of Power writers have room to fill in their very own fiction. But when weighing the proof surrounding the present’s Stranger, two main theories appear the more than likely to show true.
Related
The Rings Of Power Drops Another Big Gandalf Clue In Season 2’s Trailer
The trailer for Rings of Power season 2 continues to trace that The Stranger is Gandalf, which is unhealthy information for lovers of JRR Tolkien’s canon story.
Yes, Rings of Power’s New Wizard Can Be Young Gandalf
The new ‘origin story’ for Gandalf may match current lore, however continues to be only one concept
By necessity, any uncorrupted wizard might be ‘appearing like Gandalf,’ even when they merely exhibit the identical qualities, information, or insights supposed for all 5 Istari.
To set our sights immediately on the massive drawback with this concept, it is true that Gandalf first seems in Middle-earth at the start of the Third Age. With The Rings of Power set within the Second Age, an arrival by Gandalf would seemingly break canon. Of course, ‘canon’ does not actually apply to Tolkien’s writing generally, or his writing on the wizards particularly, since a number of concepts had been floated, thought-about, expanded upon, and deserted by the writer.
For those that would argue an express “breaking of canon” had been the Stranger revealed to be Gandalf, Tolkien made certain to tease that “Olórin” (as he was identified in his pre-Istari kind) was probably chosen for the position due to his affection for Men and Elves, from prior experiences in Middle-earth:
“That
Olórin, as was potential for one of many Maiar, had already visited Middle-earth,
and had develop into acquainted not solely with the Sindarin Elves and others deeper in Middle-earth, but in addition with Men, is probably going, however nothing is [> has yet been] stated of this.” – Last Writings, “The Peoples of Middle-earth” (1996)
For clarification: “as was possible for the Maiar” does not imply any limitation, however acknowledges Tolkien’s prior lore that Maiar can take bodily kind, or stroll unseen, at will. The closing “nothing is/has yet been” word additionally suggests Tolkien might have supposed to discover this lacking historical past himself. He did not, however imagining Olórin taking a bodily kind to ‘develop into acquainted’ with residents of Middle-earth would hew intently to the Stranger’s narrative up to now. So not confirmed, however inside Tolkien’s imaginative and prescient.
Considering all the Stranger’s similarities to Gandalf, the connection was simply the primary for a viewer to make. But there’s a main drawback with this line of reasoning. Gandalf is the one wizard readers really meet whose nature or habits can de described as ‘wizardly.’ By necessity, then, any wizard might be ‘appearing like Gandalf,’ even when they merely exhibit the identical qualities, information, or insights supposed for all 5 Istari.
Tolkien’s Blue Wizard Mystery May Finally Be Solved
Has the present created a solution to Tolkien’s many variations of ‘Blue Wizards’?
The first query anybody ought to ask in response to The Rings of Power debuting a brand new wizard is, “Was there another wizard Tolkien created, that this could be?” The reply is sure, and with reviews actor Ciaran Hinds will play another wizard in season two, it makes excellent sense that Tolkien really created two:
“…[T]hey had no names save
Ithryn Luin, “the Blue Wizards”
; for they handed into the East, pursuing there the needs for which they had been despatched; or perished; or… had been ensnared by Sauron and have become his servants… unusual certainly although this may increasingly appear, the Istari, being clad in our bodies of Middle-earth, may whilst Men and Elves fall away from their functions, and do evil, forgetting the great within the seek for energy to impact it.” – The Istari, “Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth” (1980)
Considering Tolkien solely realized there have been 5 Istari when Saruman referenced “the five wizards,” it isn’t stunning he solely managed to explain three of them within the revealed Lord of the Rings. Gandalf, Radagast, and Saruman illustrate three completely different approaches to their shared mission, however the different two ‘Blue Wizards’ stand aside as a single unit (with no hints in any respect as to what their colour refers to). All we all know is that they each arrived within the Second Age, went East, and both turned to evil… or secretly saved Middle-earth.
Tolkien’s unpublished concepts for the Blue Wizards would change over time, imagining a novel mission for them, a connection to Saruman, and even names (hearken to the total episode of The Rings of Power Podcast for the total breakdown). As pertains to The Rings of Power, Tolkien would additionally muse that in going East, the Blue Wizards may stray from their mission to disrupt Sauron’s supporters, as an alternative turning into “founders of secret cults and ‘magic’ traditions” (Letter No. 211, “The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien”).
None of those concepts ought to be thought-about ‘canon,’ nor had been they developed sufficient for the present to agree or disagree with them. But with one wizard now on a mission to do good within the East, and one other seemingly searching for the primary out utilizing followers of a mystic cult, it seems The Rings of Power writers could possibly be adapting not only one model Tolkien thought-about, however a number of. If that is the case, then audiences will get a Lord of the Rings prequel journey its creator dream of, however sadly by no means wrote himself.
While by no means finalized or revealed, Tolkien named the 2 Blue Wizards Alatar and Pallando, and alternatively Morinehtar and Rómestámo, or “darkness-slayer” and “East-helper,” respectively.
For the total dialog and debate on this and all different subjects associated to the TV present, you should definitely comply with The Rings of Power Podcast in your favourite podcast app, and keep tuned to ScreenRant for all protection of season two and past.
The Rings of Power Podcast
Tolkien lovers Andrew Dyce and Stephen Colbert host this ScreenRant podcast about Prime Video’s ongoing sequence The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Each episode explores questions, criticism, and theories in regards to the Middle-Earth-set present.
