Rings of Power’s Stranger: If meteor beard guy isn’t Gandalf, who is he?

It has been in use ever since. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power It has been the subject of widespread debate. It’s based on the appendices of Tolkien’s trilogy, as opposed to the trilogy itself, and set during the Second Age, an era for which we have a detailed chronology of historical events but far less knowledge of how said events transpired. Along with familiar characters such as Elrond or Galadriel it introduces its own players, Arondir and Bronwyn.

You can read the various threads of folklore, provided you have the correct Tolkien references. But there’s one element that is essential. The Rings of Power Both scholars and sockpuppets have been left puzzled by the Stranger. This is the wizard-like, wizard-like character who crashes-lands in Middle-earth using molten meteorite.

In a trailer, viewers were introduced to the Stranger (commonly known as Meteor Man). The Rings of PowerThe event was witnessed by many Middle-earthers who were watching as a meteorite flew through the air. Some believe this to be a coincidence. The Rings of Power’s Sauron, which is likely wrong. Others are convinced that it’s Gandalf, which also doesn’t add up.

You have seen the first episode of The Rings of Power, we’ve learned a little bit more about this mysterious figure — although this knowledge has only served to further our conviction that neither the Dark Lord nor Mithrandir is our guy. So, to assess who our magical friend could be, we first need to debunk who it almost certainly isn’t.

The Tolkien lore that might reveal the Stranger’s identity

Image: Prime Video

People are certain that it is Gandalf, or Sauron because of showrunners Patrick McKay (and J.D. Payne all but confirmed it to be a figure of similar status in Vanity Fair’s 10 Burning Questions interview:

Yes, that’s what I would do. [Gandalf, Radagast, and Saruman]These names do not represent all the beings in that particular class. It could be, though it is possible. It’s all about the adventure and mystery, that is what I think makes it so much fun.

This is an interesting answer, because it points to the other “beings” and “names” of the class the wizards — known as Istari — share: They are all Maiar, meaning they’re sort of like angels. The Valar are more close to celestial or god-like beings, and are considered higher than them. Meteor man is most likely a Maiar spirit. That is why Gandalf as well as Sauron were named as such. However, the Istari also include the Blue Wizards as well as Balrogs. Meteor Man could therefore be one of many people — that’s not to mention the possibility he could also be a totally original character.

What is the Stranger Sauron like?

Image by New Line Cinema

But again, the best course of action here is to argue why it probably isn’t Sauron and definitely isn’t Gandalf. After 500 years, the former goes back to Middle-earth and skulks about like a bad aroma. After his master’s defeat in the First Age, Sauron is forced to rebuild his power and army discreetly, so rocketing his way back to Middle-earth in a literal fireball would probably be pretty counterintuitive. In Tolkien’s writing, he returns as Annatar, dubbed the “Lord of Gifts,” and tricks the Elves of Eregion into forging the Rings of Power — which, you know, is kind of the name of the show, and therefore likely to be an important part of it.

There is an argument that viewers will recognize “Annatar” as Sauron the deceiver, and so the onus may be on Amazon to introduce him in a different way. Some people think that Halbrand, Galadriel’s new pal, will end up becoming the Dark Lord in his stead. It’s not the cleverest theory — Galadriel is the only person in Eregion to distrust Annatar in the books, so having her be the one who is betrayed in the show would be a disservice to her character. Obviously, an idea being bad does not completely discount it from being realized — but McKay and Payne have proven time and time again that they are avid Tolkien fans first and foremost, so while certain liberties might be taken in response to the established lore, it’s unlikely that it will be totally dismissed.

We don’t know if Sauron is Annatar or Halbrand. However, we do know that he cannot enter the Elven Kingdom of Lindon founded at the start of the Second Age by High King Gilgalad. Because both Elrond as well Gil-galad can smell Sauron’s evilness from miles away,

It is interesting to note that the Galadriel version is actively seeking Sauron. She refused to travel to Aman. Instead, she returned to Middle-earth to swim back towards Valinor shortly after being accepted. There is also some funny business going on in Arondir and Bronwyn’s arc, in that they are based in a new village created by Amazon that is set in west-central Mordor. Sauron’s orcs are gathering strength, which is indicative of the secret construction of Barad-dur (depicted in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy as the tower with Sauron’s eye) from around S.A. 1000 onward. Basically, Sauron is being very quiet, and the only move left in his playbook is to use his charm and good looks to accentuate his aptitude for persuasion (this is a big deal, because it is only when Sauron is defeated at the end of the series that he is no longer able to take on a “fair” appearance).

Let’s just say that Sauron announced his return to Middle-earth by turning himself into an iconic shooting star, which was what most people on the continent saw. This is not a Dark Lord-like move.

That’s not to mention the fact the shape of the impact crater resembles the Eye of Sauron from Jackson’s trilogy, which would be an egregiously, condescendingly obvious reference. Usually, when a show introduces multiple red herrings — many of which contradict each other — the most logical course of action is to disregard all of them equally.

This brings us to Gandalf.

The meteor Stranger Gandalf is also a good idea.

Photograph by Mark Pokorny/Warner Bros. Pictures

Gandalf is in many ways the apparent identity of this mystery figure. His later love of hobbits is reflected in his help and rescue by the harfoots. His arrival by flaming meteorite was also appropriate, as he is an Istar that is associated with fire. He is, quite obviously, a frail old man with long grey hair and an impressive beard — all features of the fana, or physical manifestation, of the Maiar who become Istari.

However, the hobbit point seems to be a red herring. His affinity for fire is referenced several times in Tolkien’s writing (the most famous example being at the Bridge of Khazad-dum where, after saying “You cannot pass!” he says, “I am the servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the Flame of Anor!”), meaning he quite literally wields the fiery wrath of the sun.

The timeline is however the most important foil. Gandalf arrives in Middle-earth in around the 10th century of the Third Age, which is approximately three millennia after the events we’re witnessing in The Rings of Power. Sure, time compression could be at play — and likely will be given the emphasis on Elrond’s recognition of 20 years as fleeting — but that’s a lot of time to breeze past. Elves and harfoots both see the meteor simultaneously. They are geographically close as only the Misty Mountains spine separates Eregion and the Gladden River. All of which is to say: Gandalf receiving Narya, the Elven Ring of Fire, when he landed in Middle-earth is a crucial part not just of Tolkien’s legendarium, but of his identity as the Istar of Fire. That burning crater may be a clear visual reference to Gandalf, but in-universe it’s also too early in his timeline to have such a connection.

Also, let’s zoom in on Gandalf, the most humble of the Istari and the only one who ultimately succeeds in his mission, despite originally wanting to stay in Aman due to his fear of Sauron. Do you think that this man is the most bold in Middle-earth history? Nah. No. He doesn’t hurtle headlong through the sky in an actual meteorite. And in terms of the Stranger’s appearance as an old man… Lots of people are old. Middle-earth doesn’t function on the basis of “Old guy with a beard? Wizard confirmed.”

It could be that the Stranger is someone entirely different

Image: Prime Video

It makes perfect sense that the Stranger should be a brand new character. There are already a couple. Tolkien once said that the hobbits weren’t up to much during the Second Age, so the spotlighting of the harfoots is a good way to increase their significance alongside an original wizard (he is, of course, some sort of wizard or magical, what with the weird Stormcrow shouting that apparently affects the weather).

It’s also possible that he could be a conflation of the two Blue Wizards, who originally ventured to Middle-earth in the Third Age, but were later retconned into the Second Age by Tolkien himself. The Stranger’s nakedness and clear lapses in memory are aligned with this.

In the books, Gandalf speaks to his own nakedness preceding his resurrection as Gandalf the White, noting, “Darkness took me, and I strayed out of thought and time, and I wandered far on roads that I will not tell. Naked I was sent back — for a brief time, until my task is done.” Meanwhile, Tolkien wrote about Maiar having to get used to their corporeal bodies, which makes the sending of the two Blue Wizards — or an original character — fairly credible, in that it could have been a sort of prototype, experiment type of thing. This explains the Stranger’s memory loss, inability to speak, rapid fatigue, and awesome magical power in one fell swoop. It’s also a bit silly.

Personally, I like the idea that it is Glorfindel who, after dying fighting a Balrog, returns to the Valar as an emissary in S.A. 1600. Meteor Man is an elf, not a man. This makes it unlikely. The main reason this would be cool is because Glorfindel was done dirty in Jackson’s trilogy, and absolutely deserves to be in The Rings of PowerEven though she’s not listed as a cast member, But again, the Stranger’s appearance doesn’t exactly scream “elf who was allowed to live with gods before being sent back as an angelic emissary to cultivate lasting peace throughout the realm.” Disappointing.

The last possibility for who this could be if it isn’t an original character is Tilion, a minor Maiar spirit who controls the moon. There are two poems about him in Tolkien’s legendarium — one from Tom Bombadil: The AdventuresOne from The Fellowship of the Ring. These are called “The Man in the Moon Came Down Too Soon” and “The Man in the Moon Stayed Up Too Late,” and the former contains the following stanza:

As he thought about the meat, he twinkled at his feet.
Punch and pepper galore
Unaware of his staircase’s inclining, he fell and got tripped.
And like a meteor.
One night, Yule is a star flying.
He fell, flickering downward
To a bath in foaming water, he will take a laddery route
Bel, in the windy Bay

This poem shows a meteor that lands far from the harfoots. The Stranger seems to be in stupor but it is not likely that he has been drinking excessively. It is, however, one of the only mentions of an actual meteor in Tolkien, and Tilion is a Maiar, making McKay and Payne’s status as lore experts and comments about the Maiar as a “class” interesting, at the very least. Again though, it’s unlikely to be Tilion — mostly because there is little reason to introduce him.

Or maybe it’s Tom Bombadil, misunderstanding his own powers and accidentally summoning a meteor that carries him halfway across Middle-earth before crashing into the ground somewhere east of the Misty Mountains. Maybe he befriends the harfoots here and migrates west to The Shire alongside them — which could make sense! This would account for their absence in S.A. History, as he could help them to consciously avoid it. However, this overall setup could provide fascinating background information about why the One Ring does not have control over Tom.

I mean, it’s probably not Tom Bombadil, but damn, I wish it was.