Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for Episodes 1-8 of The Rings of Power.The time has finally come. "Alloyed," the Season 1 finale of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is here at last, and it brought us answers to some of the most asked questions up till now. Did you want to know who Sauron is? Now you do. Did you want to see some actual Rings of Power? Now there are three. What about the identity of the Stranger (Daniel Weyman)? We did also find out more about him, and, although the answer may not be that surprising, there is still more to him than meets the eye... or the nose.
As it turns out, the Mystery Meteor Man is indeed one of the Istari. With strange hooded figures following the tracks of his falling from the sky in the first episode, they finally catch up with the Stranger right at the beginning of the finale, and immediately call him... Lord Sauron. But something doesn't feel right, especially as, far away, in the realm of Eregion, the equally mysterious Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) is sniffing around Celebrimbor's (Charles Edwards) forge.
Saying someone is Sauron is a big deal; you have to be sure of who you're talking to. The Mystics were not, and ended up approaching an Istari instead of the Dark Lord. They surely paid a heavy price for that mistake. "Istar" translates to "Wise One" or "Wizard," and, although he admits to being good, the Stranger is no fool, and quickly dispatches the three figures.
Is the Stranger Really Gandalf?
Most likely, yes. There were major hints about the possibility of him being an Istari laid out throughout the whole of Season 1, but they all could have pointed equally to him being any other of the Wizards (well, maybe not Saruman). The fire of his meteor wasn't hot to the touch, inviting the adventurous Harfoot Elanor "Nori" Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenaugh) to rescue him. He was also always muttering and drawing runes to various effect. He connected to nature and protected his Harfoot friends, and that proved that he was essentially good.
Granted, other moments also gave off the idea that he could also potentially be Sauron. The shape of the crater his meteor made resembles the Eye of Sauron, and the fire of impact not giving off warmth was taken by some to be a reference to Galadriel's (Morfydd Clark) words in Forodwaith, when she mentioned the place was so evil their torches didn't give off heat anymore. In the following episode, as the Stranger is frantically writing runes in the ground, Nori's father, Largo (Dylan Smith) breaks his foot, and, later, the fireflies summoned to draw the Hermit's Hat constellation all die. In Episode 7, too, the Stranger first breaks the rotting trees in the Grove before they fully heal. As much sense as it makes to see those as bad omens, they were also a sign of his good intentions. Even when his actions had bad consequences, now we know they pointed to the fact that he was not yet himself wholly, and needed to regain his true conscience in order to fulfill his purpose in Middle-earth.
What seals the deal in favor of Gandalf is the scene in which Nori pledges to follow the Stranger on his travel to the East, towards the land of Rhûn. There are references to two different scenes in The Fellowship of the Ring, both portrayed in Peter Jackson's adaptation (although one is a deleted scene). The first one sees the Fellowship departing Rivendell, with Frodo (Elijah Wood) at the lead as the Ringbearer. He immediately admits he doesn't know which way to go as the road takes a bifurcation, and Gandalf (Ian McKellen) gently nods him in the right direction. The second is one of the Gray Wizard's most iconic lines as he meditates on which way to go when the Fellowship navigates the Mines of Moria. He settles on the right path by paying attention to the smell. "When in doubt, always follow your nose," he tells Merry (Dominic Monaghan). In the Rings of Power finale, the Stranger gives the exact same advice to Nori.
A short time earlier, he also mentions that a journey is one that someone undergoes alone, whereas an adventure is supposed to be shared. We know Gandalf is definitely fond of sharing adventures, as he goes on a number of those in his later years, especially with Bilbo Baggins (Martin Freeman) in The Hobbit and with Frodo in The Lord of the Rings. Another hint may be the Hermit's Hat itself. The constellation's name may be a nice nod to the fact that Gandalf is both a wandering pilgrim who travels alone through the lands of Middle-earth and to the fact that he is one of the few Istari that wears a hat.
Could the Stranger Be Another Wizard?
It would be a huge bummer if it turns out the Stranger is not Gandalf. Who doesn't want to see Gandalf the Gray again? He is one of the most beloved characters in pop culture, and nearly every line ends up carrying a dollop of wisdom — and huge meme potential, too. But is there really any chance of him not being Gandalf? Well, yes, there is, although not a big one, and it will only vanish when we finally hear the Stranger being called by one of Gandalf's names. His arrival in Middle-earth during the Second Age is a huge deviation from J.R.R. Tolkien's writings. According to the lore, he only sets foot in those parts of Arda in the early Third Age, arriving along with Saruman (Christopher Lee) and Radagast (Sylvester McCoy) to aid in fighting the threat of Sauron.
There are Istari that arrive in the Second Age, though, and those are the Blue Wizards. They don't even have officially published names (although an essay has Tolkien refer to them as Alatar and Pallando). Upon arriving they immediately go to the East, towards the land of Rhûn, as they were the home of many tribes of Humans who were still devoted to Morgoth, and, later, to Sauron.
Coincidentally (or not), there is now a pair of beings currently headed in that direction, right? The Stranger and Nori — who, of course, is no Wizard, nor a Maiar, but perhaps could end up developing a few magical abilities of her own and become one. None of that excludes the possibility of the Stranger being indeed Gandalf, and later finding his way to the Gray Havens by ship in the Third Age. There is a lot that has not happened yet in The Rings of Power, but the only certainty now is that the Stranger is an Istar — and definitely not Sauron.
The first season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is now available to stream on Prime Video.