Many suspected the Stranger was Gandalf in The Rings of Power season 1. Red herrings were intentionally placed to coax audiences into believing this powerful Middle-earth newcomer might be Sauron, but "Alloyed" finally confirms the Stranger is an Istar, or wizard. The veil of secrecy isn't lifted completely, however. The Rings of Power still hasn't definitively revealed which wizard.
The Rings of Power's showrunners, JD Payne and Patrick McKay, described the Stranger's identity as an "open question" during an appearance on Amazon's official The Rings of Power podcast - but is it, really? From the very beginning, plenty of viewers believed the Stranger was Gandalf, and even if The Rings of Power's season 1 finale doesn't drop a name (whether that be "Gandalf" or his original moniker, "Olórin"), the case looks watertight. Here's every clue proving the Stranger is Gandalf in The Rings of Power.
Gandalf Uses The Stranger's Final Line In The Rings Of Power Season 1
By far the most convincing indication of the Stranger's connection to Gandalf comes during the dying moments of The Rings of Power season 1's finale. Having already had his "you're a wizard, Harry" moment while fighting the Dweller, the Stranger's memories begin to resurface ahead of his trip to Rhûn with Nori the Harfoot. Before they leave, Nori its, "I haven't an inkling which way to go," but the Stranger reassures her, "When in doubt Elanor Brandyfoot, always follow your nose." Gandalf offers exactly the same advice to Merry in The Fellowship of the Ring, offering a sure sign that these two bearded meddlers are the same person.
The Rings of Power isn't just recycling a famous Gandalf quote verbatim here, but also using the line as a season finale stinger. The Lord of the Rings, then turns out to be someone completely different. Red herrings are one thing, but such cynical misdirection serves little purpose.
The Stranger's Gray Costume In The Rings Of Power
The Rings of Power's earliest signals that the Stranger is Gandalf concern his physical appearance and costume. Daniel Weyman's character first drops from the sky sporting long gray hair and an impressive beard, and when Nori fashions some clothes for her new friend, the garments she picks are also gray. The Rings of Power season 1's finale may confirm the Stranger is a wizard, but the color of his costume and hair, as well as his personal grooming habits, all point toward Gandalf specifically.
As seen in both Tolkien's original descriptions and Peter Jackson's movies, the outward appearance of The Lord of the Rings' wizards denotes their rank among the Istari order. Gandalf wears gray, Radagast prefers brown, Saruman goes for all white, etc. Color is extremely important for a wizard in Middle-earth, and now that The Rings of Power has confirmed its Stranger is indeed a wizard, the hue of his hair and style of his clothes become far more significant. Gray means Gandalf, right?
The Stranger's Harfoot Friendship Foreshadows The Lord Of The Rings
The Rings of Power's Harfoots provide a further reason to believe the Stranger is Gandalf over other possible Istari characters. Upon arriving in Middle-earth during the Third Age, the wizards went their separate ways and developed their own interests. Radagast turned toward animals, Saruman decided to become evil, and the blue wizards took to the mountains. Gandalf appears in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit having already become a frequent visitor of the Shire, and a well-known figure (not necessarily a welcome figure, but a figure nonetheless) among the hairy-footed locals. Neither The Hobbit nor The Lord of the Rings explains how Gandalf first became acquainted with Hobbits.
Over the course of The Rings of Power season 1, the Stranger strikes up a heartwarming friendship with Nori and her fellow Harfoots. By the time he re his Istar origins, the Stranger is already incredibly fond of the Harfoot clan who (sort of) accepted him as one of their own. The Stranger's close relationship with Harfoots only makes sense if he's Gandalf, since it explains the wizard's association with the Shire thousands of years later. The Harfoots will eventually cross west alongside the Stoors and Fallowhides, and all three will coagulate into the race known as Hobbits, settling in an area of Eriador that becomes the Shire. It makes sense that the Stranger would seek out his old Harfoot friends - or their descendants, at least - upon his return to Middle-earth in the Third Age as Gandalf.
The Stranger & Gandalf Both Use Similar Spells
As soon as the Stranger landed, his potent magical ability became obvious. Immediately, The Rings of Power told audiences that the Stranger was a magical being, and the season 1 finale's Istari revelation explains where this power comes from. Taking a closer look at the spells the Stranger casts, however, a correlation between Daniel Weyman's wily sorcerer and Gandalf begins to emerge.
The Rings of Power's most obvious spell similarity is the Stranger whispering instructions to fireflies in episode 2 - a nod toward Gandalf whispering instructions to moths while trapped atop Saruman's Tower of Orthanc in The Lord of the Rings. Parallels can also be drawn between the Stranger intimidating Poppy by ri terribly among the trees and Gandalf the White scaring the lembas out of Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli in Fangorn Forest. The Stranger uses shock waves similar to the ones Gandalf uses to fight Saruman and the Balrog, and the blinding light the Stranger emits against The Rings of Power's mystics copies Gandalf's own blasts of bright white.
Tolkien is rather vague with regard to how the Istari utilize magic, so the clue here isn't that only Gandalf should be able to cast these spells. Radagast can talk to animals, after all, and Saruman can almost certainly replicate the Stranger's shock waves. The comparison lies instead between The Rings of Power's depiction of the Stranger's magic, and how Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy portrays Gandalf's magic.
The Stranger's Magic Moth Attack
Quite apart from the firefly whispering earlier in The Rings of Power season 1, "Alloyed" features its own allusion toward Gandalf's bug pals. Upon learning he's secretly an Istar, the Stranger effortlessly defeats the Dweller and her fellow mystics by bathing them in a brilliant white glow and sending them back to the Unseen Realm. As their physical bodies disintegrate, the particles morph into a swarm of glowing magic moths that gently fly off into the breeze. The choice of insect here is curious as, once again, The Rings of Power season 1 appears to be referencing Gandalf's affinity for moths from The Lord of the Rings. Similar to the "follow your nose" line, this callback only makes sense if Weyman's wizard is actually Gandalf.
The Stranger's Connection To The Stars
When the Stranger first arrives in Middle-earth, his single overriding memory concerns a star constellation he must locate. In Amazon's The Rings of Power season 1 finale, this constellation is revealed to lie in Rhûn - a realm to the east with deep ties to Sauron. Tolkien mythology explains how the Istari are actually Maiar spirits incarnated into physical bodies by the Valar, so it seems The Rings of Power's Stranger has been sent to Middle-earth for the express purpose of investigating Sauron. That backstory applies to pretty much all wizards, but the Stranger's manner of navigation - using stars to find his way - applies more specifically to Gandalf.
Before coming to Middle-earth, Gandalf's name was Olórin, and a thirst for knowledge led this eager spirit to learn from the wisest of the Valar. Olórin was especially aligned with Varda, the Queen of the Valar and creator of the stars in the night sky. Though The Rings of Power has barely dipped its little toe into Tolkien's divine mythology, it's plausible that the Stranger navigates Middle-earth using the stars because of his closeness with Varda, and his intimate knowledge of the constellations she created. Added to the deulge of other hints, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power all but confirms the Stranger is Gandalf.
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