The Stranger in The Rings of Power Might Not Be Gandalf After All…

Theory 1: Gandalf

Gandalf is the most popular—and most likely—answer to who The Stranger is in The Rings of Power. It’s all but confirmed by this point. Did you catch him directly quoting Ian McKellen’s Gandalf in the finale of season one when he said, “If in doubt, always follow your nose”? 

In the season 2 opener, The Stranger still doesn’t know who he is, which is why he teams up with Nori Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh), and Poppy Proudfellow (Megan Richards) to follow a star map to the Eastern land of Rhûn. Hopefully, they can find out where he came from and perhaps most crucially, his name.

During one conversation, Poppy wonders why The Stranger can’t just conjure up food and water for them on their journey, to which Nori reminds her that he can’t do much without his staff or something to channel his magic, saying “he’s afraid he’d lose control again without a gand.”

The word “gand” in Old Norse means “staff” or “wand” and represents a key part of the great wizard’s etymology. A huge clue, if you ask us.

Theory 2: A Blue Wizard

For fans who’ve rejected the Gandalf theory, they believe he’s a Blue Wizard. According to Tolkien’s Middle-earth legendarium, the Blue Wizards are two lesser-known members of the five Istari (Wizards) sent by the Valar to help the peoples of Middle-earth fight against Sauron. While the more familiar Wizards are Gandalf, Saruman, and Radagast, the Blue Wizards are named Alatar and Pallando.

Unlike Gandalf, Saruman, and Radagast, the Blue Wizards traveled far into the East and South of Middle-earth, away from the regions primarily described in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. They ventured into these lands to contest the power of Sauron and his influence in those regions.

Theory 3: He’s Saruman

A somewhat unpopular theory is that The Stranger is Saruman—a chief antagonist in The Lord of the Rings. He is one of the five Istari (Wizards) sent to Middle-earth by the Valar, the divine beings of Tolkien’s universe, to aid in the struggle against the Dark Lord Sauron.

In LOTR canon, Saruman is the first wizard to arrive on Middle Earth. He also went off to Rhûn (which Gandalf didn’t) but came back. In Tolkien’s notes, he had considered having the two blue wizards come over in the second age before the other three. Fans think the Gandalf clues are a misdirect.