Warning: spoilers ahead for The Rings of Power episode 8. The Stranger is a stranger no more in Daniel Weyman's character, the Stranger. Falling from the sky in a ball of flame, Middle-earth's naked newcomer quickly befriended the local Harfoots, but couldn't help hurting them (repeatedly) with his powerful and uncontrolled magic.
The Rings of Power tried very hard to convince audiences the Stranger could be Sauron, and season 1's finale goes so far as to call him by that name. The Dweller, Nomad and Ascetic finally catch up to the man they've been pursuing and worship him as Lord Sauron, and only after spending some time with their "master" do the trio realize they've made a terrible mistake. The Rings of Power never actually speaks the Stranger's real name explicitly - only the title of his order: Istari. Although there are other wizards in Lord of the Rings canon - including Radagast the Brown, Saruman the White, and the mysterious Blue Wizards - The Rings of Power season 1 finale heavily implies the Stranger is Gandalf.
Why The Rings Of Power's Stranger Is Probably Gandalf
The Rings of Power's season 1 finale first confirms the Stranger is an Istar. The Dweller realizes it, then the accusation resonates with Middle-earth's Meteor Man in a way that immediately tells him she's right. In The Lord of the Rings, the Istari are the five wizards who come to Middle-earth and aid in fighting Sauron.
Audiences had long theorized the Stranger could be The Rings of Power's version of Gandalf. Visually, the long gray hair and wild beard vaguely resemble Ian McKellen in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings movies, while the gray clothes provided by the Harfoots further add to his physical Gandalf-isms. Moreover, the Stranger's friendship with the Harfoots could foreshadow Gandalf's affinity for Hobbits in The Lord of the Rings. Throw in use of powerful magic, the desire to help Middle-earth, whispering spells to insects, and the fact that Gandalf is by far the most marketable character alive during The Rings of Power's Second Age era, and no one could say the signs weren't there.
After the Dweller and her people proclaim the Stranger is an Istar, Meteor Man still doesn't his name or life before arriving in Middle-earth. The line that alludes toward his identity comes at the very end of The Rings of Power episode 8 during a conversation with Nori, when the Stranger advises, "Always follow your nose." Gandalf uses this very same line in The Fellowship of the Ring when speaking to Merry, leaving little doubt that he and the Stranger are one and the same. As extra proof of his Gandalf-ness, the Stranger turns his enemies into moths, referencing the insects the wizard speaks to in The Lord of the Rings.
Why Would Gandalf Be In Middle-earth? Who Sent Him?
Since the Stranger's memory remains patchy, he still isn't sure of his purpose in Middle-earth, nor from whence he originally came, but based on established Tolkien mythology, viewers can take a pretty good guess. Tolkien's five Istari were sent to Middle-earth by the Valar when Sauron began growing powerful. Their purpose was not to vanquish the villain directly, but to guide and assist the peoples of Middle-earth toward their own victory. The Stranger, therefore, is likely on a mission to bring down Sauron on the Valar's behalf... even if he doesn't that part yet. Nori somehow knows this to be true also, since she implores her friend to realize he's "here to help." This would explain his instinct to investigate Rhûn in The Rings of Power season 2, since there's obviously a connection between the Dark Lord and the eastern realm of Men after the Dweller tried to lead who she thought was Sauron there.
The Stranger being an Istar cleverly s for his memory loss. When Gandalf and the other wizards appear in The Lord of the Rings, they've already been present in Middle-earth for centuries, and have gained great wisdom during that time. Initially arriving at mortal shores, however, Tolkien depicts Istari almost as newborns learning everything for the first time - very similar to how The Ring of Power has depicted its Stranger. The memory loss is, therefore, an unfortunate side effect of a wizard making the trip from Valinor to Middle-earth.
Now The Rings of Power has confirmed the Stranger was almost certainly sent to Middle-earth by the Valar, audiences perhaps also know why Nori was lucky enough to find him first. Back in The Rings of Power episode 2, Nori told her friend Poppy that finding the Stranger felt strangely destined. Poppy also recalled an incident where Nori had nursed a baby eagle back to health. In The Lord of the Rings, eagles are the messengers of the Valar, so by showing one kindness, it's possible she became known to the bigwigs of Valinor, and Strandalf was deliberately sent to land near Nori, who'd already shown her caring, comionate nature.
Would The Rings Of Power's Gandalf Reveal Break Canon?
Gandalf appearing in The Rings of Power would not be especially kind to J.R.R. Tolkien's original canon. Amazon's TV series is set during the Second Age of Middle-earth, although the timeline is greatly compressed for the sake of live-action (Isildur isn't born until more than 1000 years after the Rings of Power are made, for example). Timeline compression is one thing, but Gandalf and the other wizards shouldn't appear in Middle-earth until the Third Age. Not only is there no record of Istari present during earlier periods, Tolkien described how Gandalf (or Olórin, as he was originally known) needed convincing to fight Sauron in Middle-earth, and didn't initially wish to be involved.
Reconciling that backstory with Gandalf and Nori's Second Age Middle-earth adventure would certainly take some explaining in The Rings of Power season 2. Maybe if the Stranger was Olórin in his original Maia form The Rings of Power could avoid contradicting continuity, but Daniel Weyman's character is specified as an Istari, who are Maia incarnated for the overarching purpose of fighting darkness.
Why The Three Robed Followers Believed The Istar Was Sauron
The Rings of Power doesn't offer anywhere near enough detail to deduce how the Dweller, Nomad and Ascetic are so knowledgeable about divine matters, nor why they were so convinced the man who fell from the sky was Sauron. These questions will perhaps become clear once Nori and her magical friend reach Rhûn in The Rings of Power season 2. The three zealots were, however, reasonably close in their estimation of who Meteor Man was. Despite turning toward evil, Sauron is an immortal Maia, meaning he belongs to the same order as the wizards. Istari are slightly different to the Dark Lord in that they lose their memories and their powers are limited by the Valar but, in essence, the Istari and Sauron are kin... from a certain point of view. Perhaps the Dweller and her cohorts could only forecast the arrival of a Maia and merely assumed it would be Sauron, since they knew he'd return eventually.
Which Other Wizard Could The Rings Of Power's Stranger Be?
The Stranger's "follow your nose" line is a pretty strong indicator that Daniel Weyman is portraying an earlier Gandalf in The Rings of Power. It's the kind of tease that would look ridiculous in hindsight if he turned out to be anyone else. Since The Rings of Power season 1 finale doesn't explicitly use the names Gandalf or Olórin, however, the door remains open for a different Istar to swing in, and fair arguments can be made for all four.
The Rings of Power may be tempted to chronicle the untold story of Saruman the White falling from grace. If the Stranger were Saruman, future seasons could depict his growing sinister side as a means of foreshadowing The Lord of the Rings. As a friend of the Harfoots, the Stranger already possesses a strong bond to nature, and that could instead point toward Middle-earth's resident Dr. Dolittle (in more ways than one), Radagast the Brown. The two blue wizards, meanwhile, are enigmatic enough that The Rings of Power could do as it wished with them.
Another possibility - and one that would work more neatly alongside established Tolkien canon - is that the Stranger isn't any of the five Istari from The Lord of the Rings, but an earlier, as-yet-unmentioned wizard sent to Middle-earth by the Valar during the Second Age. Perhaps that experiment turns out so well, they go five times as hard next time Sauron appears. Having said that, it's difficult to look past The Rings of Power's "follow your nose" line and the looming specter of Gandalf.
Can More Wizards Appear In The Rings Of Power Season 2?
Given how the Stranger's arrival was witnessed in the Southlands and as far away as Lindon, it seems unlikely that any other wizards could've arrived alongside him unnoticed. Fortunately for magic fans, that doesn't mean more Istari won't arrive in The Rings of Power season 2. When Tolkien originally described the wizards' arrival in Middle-earth, their respective entrances were staggered over a period of time. Gandalf may be the first wizard to make land in Amazon's The Rings of Power, but others may be following behind him soon enough.
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