The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power became a huge hit series on Amazon in spite of a lot of hate and criticism. The show is getting a second season, as we have previously reported in a number of our articles and the eight new episodes of that season will debut on August 29, 2024, which is very soon. It will be intriguing to see how everything turns out, particularly in light of the recent significant revelations from the showrunners.

Not that long ago, we reported how the Fellowship of Fans fan portal provided us with a series of scoops related to two characters and their roles in the upcoming second season of the show. One of the characters in question was The Stranger, who is one of the most intriguing characters of the whole series.

In light of that, ScreenRant’s The Rings of Power podcast held a discussion on the identity of The Stranger, and some interesting theories have been put forward as to who the mysterious character could be.

In preparation for the upcoming second season of The Rings of Power, we decided to talk a bit about The Stranger, who is the series’ biggest mystery. Season 1 revealed that he was a wizard, and Season 2 is expected to confirm the identity of this character or at least provide us with a credible hint as to who he could be. And while we don’t have any official confirmation, ScreenRant’s The Rings of Power podcast discussed this topic as well, and two theories have been put forward:

It is a young Gandalf;
It is one of the two Blue Wizards.

As for the first theory, many fans believe that it would be breaking canon to put a young Gandalf here, although a lot of about The Stranger actually points to him being Gandalf; on top of that, his role seems to be similar to Gandalf’s role. But, in The Last Writings (1996), Tolkien wrote the following: “That Olórin, as was possible for one of the Maiar, had already visited Middle-earth, and had become acquainted not only with the Sindarin Elves and others deeper in Middle-earth, but also with Men, is likely, but nothing is [> has yet been] said of this.” The authors of the podcast use this to explain that while tricky, it could still be possible to include a young Gandalf in this timeline without breaking canon.

 
The Rings of Power Podcast · Is The Stranger Young Gandalf, a Blue Wizard, or Neither?
The second theory relates to Tolkien’s mysterious Blue Wizards, who he wrote about as follows: ““…[T]hey had no names save Ithryn Luin, “the Blue Wizards” ; for they passed into the East, pursuing there the purposes for which they were sent; or perished; or… were ensnared by Sauron and became his servants… strange indeed though this may seem, the Istari, being clad in bodies of Middle-earth, might even as Men and Elves fall away from their purposes, and do evil, forgetting the good in the search for power to effect it.“

Their names were later revealed to be Alatar and Pallando, and alternatively Morinehtar and Rómestámo, or “darkness-slayer” and “East-helper,” respectively. We don’t know which or if any of these theories is true, but they are quite interesting so we’re looking forward to discovering the truth about The Stranger.

Have something to add? Let us know in the comments below!