The identity of The Stranger in The Rings of Power remains a mystery for now, though with the release of the first few episodes of Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 this week, we have no doubt that we'll be coming up with several new theories in due time.
Fans have their suspicions, with one particularly legendary LoTR character having long been suspected to be The Stranger. But just when we thought we'd figured it out once and for all, some gaps in our hypotheses have us questioning ourselves again.
Following an entire first season of speculation, truly everyone from Sauron to a Balrog has seemed like a convincing candidate for the real identity of the Istari at a certain point. Actor Daniel Weyman hasn't given us many clues, either, with him saying "It wasn't a question I ever asked of the showrunners" in a recent interview.
So who is The Stranger in The Rings of Power? These are our best guesses.
Is Gandalf The Stranger in The Rings of Power?
Several things point to Gandalf being The Stranger, with him undoubtedly being the most popular pick for fan theories. Why? Well, there's a few things.
Namely, in The Hobbit there's a symbol on the door of Bilbo's house which is the same symbol The Stranger draws when the Harfoot girl sees him in season 1. Likewise, The Stranger sings, with Gandalf having a love of music thanks to his affinity with Harfoots, as well as him singing at the start of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
Beyond that, in the finale episode of Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power it's confirmed that the character is an Istar or Istari, AKA a wizard in Middle-earth.
While that could in theory be several candidates, at the conclusion of last season we see The Stranger remembering “fragments” of his memories, with him telling Nori "When in doubt, always follow your nose."
If that sounds familiar it's because this is the very same line Gandalf says to Merry in The Fellowship of the Ring. Though the show still hasn't confirmed who The Stranger is, surely this reference is more than a coincidence.
Who is The Stranger otherwise?
While Gandalf is our top pick for The Stranger, if we were to cast the net wider in theory it could be one of the Blue Wizards, with the two characters Alatar and Pallando arriving in Middle-earth in the Second Age to stop the reach of Sauron.
Their focus was to limit the Dark Lord's reach in the east and south of Middle-earth, an interesting detail when you remember that season 2 follows The Stranger's journey to Rhûn.
Ultimately, the main issue with alternative theories on who The Stranger is is that Tolkien lore outlines that Gandalf, Saruman and Radagast travelled to Middle-earth in the Third Age to battle against Sauron's growing power. With that in mind, we'd be willing to put our money on the fact that The Stranger is likely Gandalf.
Here's exactly when new episodes arrive on Prime Video.
