Don't Get Cocky About Your 'Rings of Power' Stranger Theories
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This story contains spoilers for the Season One finale of Rings of Power.
Rings of Power has teed up plenty of tantalizing mysteries, but none have tormented viewers quite so powerfully as the identity of The Stranger. Way back in Episode One, this anonymous geezer crash-landed into Harfoot country by way of a meteor strike; ever since, he's been testing his otherworldly powers and forming connections with the Harfoots. But just who is this mysterious meteor man? One need only look to J.R.R. Tolkien’s text for clues.
Before the finale, I wrote here on Steve Jobs’s Internet, once and for all—The Stranger is a Maia. I guaranteed it. Tolkien’s Maiar are creatures of divine origin created as helpmeets of the gods before the beginning of the time; possessed of otherworldly powers, they can wander the world unseen or disguise themselves as earthly creatures. Maiar come in many forms, though casual Tolkienites know them best as wizards like Gandalf and Saruman. But just which Maia could The Stranger be?
One popular fan theory argued that The Stranger is Sauron. Yes, believe it or not, Sauron was a Maia, cut from the same cloth as Gandalf himself—way back at the beginning of the world, Sauron was a good and virtuous being known as Mairon, until Morgoth corrupted him. Certain things about The Stranger pointed toward this theory; in Episode One, his flaming crater looked an awful lot like the Eye of Sauron, and on two separate occasions, he inadvertently harmed Nori Brandyfoot with his supernatural powers, suggesting that he may be dangerous. But in my book, the Sauron theory didn't hold water. The timing didn't line up; although Sauron’s whereabouts were unknown for the first five centuries of the Second Age, Rings of Power takes place during the twilight of the Second Age, meaning that by now, Sauron should be posted up in Eregion, where he disguised himself as an elf named Annatar and manipulated Celebrimbor to craft some very pretty rings you may have heard about. And, it turns out, that's... exactly where Sauron is!
The Season One finale dropped shocking reveals about The Stranger and Sauron both, beginning with some classic misdirection. The three mystics in white who have been hunting The Stranger throughout the season finally pursue him into the woods, where they say, “We’ve come to serve you, Lord Sauron.” But after a series of fearsome confrontations, it becomes clear that the mystics have got the wrong guy. “He’s not the Dark Lord—he’s an Istari!” one shouts with her dying breath as The Stranger obliterates her with a beam of white light. That’s right, he’s a WIZARD, baby (Istar being Tolkien's name for the order of wizards).
But just which wizard is he? The show never calls him Gandalf, but one small line all but confirms it. When The Stranger and Nori make to leave on an adventure together, she confesses that she doesn’t know the way. He notes that the breeze coming from a certain direction smells sweet, saying, “If in doubt, always follow your nose.” A classic Gandalf quote—which means that he’s not just any wizard, he’s Gandalf! It's a smart choice by Rings of Power to build on Gandalf's backstory—of course it was a young Harfoot girl with a thirst for adventure who was his first friend in Middle-earth. No wonder he’d later show such a soft spot for hobbits, especially fellow adventurers like Bilbo and Frodo Baggins.
But lest we get carried away, showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay are here to bring us back down to (Middle)earth. On the official Rings of Power podcast, they reminded listeners that there are five known wizards in Tolkien's canon, including Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast, and the mysterious Blue Wizards, Alatar and Pallandro. "We know wizards can be good and bad," Payne said. "And wizards are of the same class as Sauron. So, the answer is, there is no point at which, 'He’s a wizard, oh great, everything’s cool.' Because, wizards can be as evil and as dangerous; they can be rivals for Sauron, or allies of Sauron, and The Stranger’s journey will continue. So I think that’s an open question still, though I do think by the end of the eighth episode, he sure seems like a force for good."
By that logic, could Rings of Power be using Gandalf's famous "always follow your nose" line as a red herring? In Tolkien's telling, Gandalf didn't arrive in Middle-earth until the Third Age, so introducing him during Rings of Power's Second Age setting would mark a major break with canon. It would make more canonical sense for The Stranger to be Alatar or Pallandro, as the Blue Wizards were known to be rattling around Rhûn during the Second Age. Fittingly, when we leave them at the end of Season One, The Stranger and Nori are headed to Rhûn in search of information about his origins.
Clearly there are still more mysteries to solve, even if we think we've cracked the case of The Stranger's identity. Stick with us for Season Two—we'll be breaking down all the clues as they come.
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