‘The Rings of Power’: Is the Istar Actually Gandalf? It Could Be Another Misdirection
TL;DR:
- The Rings of Power revealed The Stranger is an Istar, and many think he’s Gandalf.
- Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series may be misdirecting viewers on purpose.
- The Rings of Power already misled fans about The Stranger’s identity once.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power finally shed light on The Stranger’s (Daniel Weyman) identity, revealing that the character is an Istar. In the common tongue, that means wizard — and it strengthens the popular theory that The Stranger is actually Gandalf. In fact, The Rings of Power has dropped a number of clues that it’s bringing Gandalf in a little early. However, the show could be misleading viewers yet again.
Is the Istar in ‘The Rings of Power’ actually Gandalf? Fans think so
Although The Rings of Power Episode 8 reveals that The Stranger is an Istar, it doesn’t actually confirm that he’s Gandalf. Many fans have come to that conclusion on their own. And to be fair, there are numerous hints that The Stranger is Gandalf throughout season 1.
Gandalf is one of the Istari in J.R.R. Tolkien’s lore, and Daniel Weyman does look like a younger version of Ian McKellen’s character from The Lord of the Rings. Additionally, The Stranger quotes Gandalf twice during The Rings of Power Season 1 finale. It seems like too many clues to be coincidental.
Of course, it’s possible the writers are misdirecting viewers on purpose. There might be a reason they’ve yet to give The Stranger a name. Perhaps The Rings of Power Season 2 will reveal Weyman’s character isn’t Gandalf after all. There are several other characters he could be.
The clues that The Stranger is Gandalf could be misdirection
Although there’s reason to believe that The Stranger is Gandalf in The Rings of Power, the show could be misleading viewers. After all, Gandalf doesn’t arrive in Middle-earth until the Third Age in J.R.R. Tolkien’s books. And Amazon’s Lord of the Rings series is set in the Second Age, years before Gandalf should arrive.
The Amazon series is changing up its timeline, so it’s possible the writers are tweaking Tolkien’s backstory for Gandalf. However, there are other Istari in Tolkien’s writings. Saruman and Radagast both came to Middle-earth in the same manner as Gandalf. There are also two Blue Wizards who haven’t made live-action appearances just yet.
Saruman and Radagast shouldn’t show up until the Third Age either, but Tolkien’s Unfinished Tales of Númenor and Middle-earth suggests that the Blue Wizards may have arrived earlier. As such, The Rings of Power could reveal that The Stranger is one of them. It wouldn’t be the first time the series misled us about his identity.
‘The Rings of Power’ misled fans about The Stranger’s identity once before
If The Rings of Power is intentionally misleading fans about Gandalf, it wouldn’t be the first time the series played games with The Stranger’s identity. Throughout season 1, fans are led to believe that the character could be evil. The opening of The Rings of Power Episode 8 even claims that The Stranger is Sauron.
It’s later revealed that the White Cloaks were wrong in their assessment of Meteor Man, as Halbrand is the show’s Dark Lord instead. But it’s clear The Rings of Power wants us guessing about everyone’s identities. And for that reason, we shouldn’t assume The Stranger is Gandalf just yet.
The Rings of Power Season 1 is now streaming on Prime Video.
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