The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has presented audiences with a mysterious character called the Stranger since season 1, and there is a theory that the Stranger is actually a Blue Wizard. The Rings of Power season 1 finale revealed that the original character, Halbrand, was Sauron, which finally put to bed one big mystery box that had pervaded the whole season – Sauron’s identity. Now, the biggest mystery box remaining in the show is the Stranger’s identity. A lot of people claim that the Stranger is Gandalf, but there is good reason to believe he could be another Istar.

With Sauron’s true identity revealed, much discussion around the show revolves around the Stranger’s many ties to Gandalf. The Stranger advised Nori to follow her nose if in doubt and slammed his staff into the ground in a powerful evocation of Gandalf’s famous “you shall not pass” moment from The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. There is clearly mounting evidence that the Stranger is Gandalf. However, there is also reason to believe that the Stranger may be a different Wizard from the same order, which was known as the Istari.

Who Are The Blue Wizards In The Rings Of Power?

The Blue Wizards Are Istari

Now that the primary mystery box of The Rings of Power season 2 is the true nature of the Stranger, it is a good time to dive into the lore of the Blue Wizards. The show is based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s works, with the rights to adapt The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, from which it pulls the basics of its narrative. Despite its rights agreement, the show can flesh out its story using inspiration from other Tolkien works and secured one-off rights to use a name from The Silmarillion at least once. The Blue Wizards are discussed in Unfinished Tales.

In 1954, Tolkien wrote an essay called “The Istari” for The Return of the King, part three of his masterwork, The Lord of the Rings. It was cut due to printing costs but, thankfully, released posthumously by Tolkien’s son in the fascinating collection of Tolkien stories that was Unfinished Tales. It told of the 15 Valar sending five wizards – Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast, and the two Blue Wizards – to northern Middle-earth to resist Sauron’s rise in the Third Age. One tale, which was actually unfinished by Tolkien, listed the Blue Wizards’ names as Alatar and Pallando.

The Stranger’s Rhûn Connection Means He Could Be A Blue Wizard

The Blue Wizards Went East

The end of Rings of Power season 1 saw the Stranger leave Rhovanion with Nori to go looking for the constellation he remembers from his past, and season 2 sees them end up in the eastern land of Rhûn. Nori felt her destiny was tied to the Stranger and was determined to help him find out who he was by following the scant clues available as to his origins. Placing the Stranger in Rhûn connects him to the Blue Wizards straight away. The Blue Wizards went east, and no record was returned of their activities. “The Istari” confirms they could have fought Sauron, joined him, or died.

Tolkien wrote a letter clarifying another fate that could have befallen the Blue Wizards – “I suspect they were founders or beginners of secret cults and ‘magic’ traditions that outlasted the fall of Sauron.” This recalls The Rings of Power’s Dark Wizard. The Dark Wizard is more likely to be a Blue Wizard than the Stranger, owing to the suggestion in this letter, which the showrunners are undoubtedly aware of. The Dark Wizard leads the Rhûn cult responsible for the show’s three witches. However, there are strong arguments for the Stranger not being Gandalf, which could make him the second Blue Wizard.

The Blue Wizards Do Arrive First In The Lord Of The Rings Lore

The Blue Wizards Arrived Before Gandalf

The Rings of Power is set before the magical Istari arrived in Middle-earth in “The Istari”, but the Blue Wizards arrived before Gandalf, so it is, in a way, less of a stretch that the Stranger is a Blue Wizard. However, “The Istari” unequivocally states that the Istari “first appeared in Middle-earth about the year 1000 of the Third Age,” which applies to all the Wizards. So, by this logic, the Stranger could really be any Istar. However, one part of The Lord of the Rings indicates that the timing of the Istari actually does align with the events of The Rings of Power.

There are a few contradictory myths throughout the legendarium. Some of these are the result of being unfinished works, whereas some are the deliberate imitation of realistic mythology, which often has conflicting accounts.

Gandalf contradicted the timeframe of “The Istari” in The Lord of the Rings by claiming that he had walked the earth for “300 lives of Men.” If “Men” live roughly 70 years, Gandalf would have been around in Middle-earth for 21,000 years, according to his estimate in Lord of the Rings. That places Gandalf’s arrival in Middle-earth so long before the Second Age (S.A.) that there wasn’t even a sun in the sky. And really, Lord of the Rings should normally be taken as gospel beyond whatever Tolkien wrote and never published, for whatever reason.

Tolkien’s Blue Wizard Ambiguity Makes Them Easier To Include In The Rings Of Power

The Blue Wizards Are Fairly Mysterious

Tolkien obviously wrote far more about Gandalf – as well as Saruman and Radagast – than he did about the Blue Wizards. This means that The Rings of Power has more source material on Gandalf than source material on the Blue Wizards. On the surface, this makes it seem as if it would be easier to adapt Gandalf than it would be to adapt the Blue Wizards. An abundance of content provides ample scope. However, it also reduces Rings of Power’s creative range. Plus, Gandalf has already been adapted by Peter Jackson, creating an inevitable comparison, which may challenge the show.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power seasons 1 and 2 are streaming on Amazon, with new episodes out each Thursday.

The relative mystery of the Blue Wizards allows the show a clean slate. It can adapt never-before-seen Tolkien characters and use details in Unfinished Tales to furnish its ideation, without stealing explicit details that may violate its rights agreement. Besides, showrunners probably wouldn’t let the unresolved timing of the Istari stop them from adapting them. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 adapts the Siege of Eregion of S.A. 1697, but Elendil wasn’t born until 3119, so clearly, the show isn’t precious with Tolkien’s timeline. This makes any Istar a valid candidate for the Stranger’s role.