The series is set during the Second Age of Middle-earth. That alone would seem to rule out any possibility of Gandalf appearing in The Rings of Power. According to this history, Gandalf and his fellow wizards don't appear in Middle-earth until the Third Age, well after the events being chronicled in The Rings of Power.
Summary. The Rings of Power season 1's finale strongly suggested the Stranger is Gandalf. Gandalf's presence in Season 2 may break Tolkien canon, as he wasn't supposed to arrive until the Third Age. The show's handling of the Stranger's connection to Gandalf in Season 1 creates pressure for Season 2.
Why does Gandalf not know who he is in Rings of Power?
Stars wheeled overhead, and every day was as long as the life age of the earth." From that explanation, it makes perfect sense why Gandalf wouldn't remember much. He had left the confines of time, reembodied his Maiar form and been thrust back into the mortal realm. That doesn't bode well for remembering minutia.
The streaming service now has access to all five of the Istari in their show. The five Istari included Saruman the White, Gandalf the Grey, Radagast the Brown, and the two Blue Wizards. They also have access to state that they came to Middle-Earth sometime during the Second Age.
You probably already know about Gandalf the Gray, the wise and kind wizard, friend to hobbits, who was among the fellowship of the ring. He defeated a Balrog.
Theory: The Stranger is a Blue Wizard, not Gandalf | The Rings of Power
Is The Stranger actually Gandalf?
As soon as the Mystics realize the Stranger isn't Sauron, they label him an "Istar." With this label, and several other hints throughout the episode and the season, The Rings of Power has all but confirmed that the Stranger is everyone's favorite wizard: Gandalf the Grey. Let's break it down.
Like many characters in The Lord of the Rings, Gandalf was known by multiple names, but why Gandalf is called Mithrandir isn't completely clear. Starting in his teens, The Lord of the Rings author J. R. R. Tolkien enjoyed creating fictional languages with their own histories and grammar systems.
Who Are The Rings of Power's White Cloak Characters? The three figures who first appeared at the site of the Stranger's meteorite crash are known as The Ascetic (Kali Kopae), The Nomad (Edith Poor), and The Dweller (Bridie Sisson), the group's apparent leader.
The contents of Tolkiens' notes and other works weren't covered and were thus off-limits to the filmmakers. That's why Gandalf's mind coincidentally went blank — he legally couldn't name the wizards. So, the writers had Gandalf exploit a loophole by alluding to the two Istari without explicitly mentioning them.
The Blue Wizards (S. Ithryn Luin) [note1] were the two Wizards who were sent into the far East and South of Middle-earth to contest the will of Sauron, but never returned.
Though someone could start out with good intentions, the Ring would eventually corrupt them. And that is why Gandalf can't touch it. He is afraid that if he did, it would corrupt him and make him just as bad as Sauron since Sauron put so much of himself and his evil into the One Ring.
He knew his original name, and what he was, but not much more. When he was returned as Gandalf the White, he seemed to be able to recall much more, and seemed to have more power. When Gandalf and Saruman were in Middle Earth, did they remember living in Valinor before? To an extent, yes.
Gandalf knew exactly where the Ring was, and who owned it. At any time he could've stepped in to help Bilbo destroy it if he did indeed confirm it was the One Ring. However, Gandalf would also have known how corrupting an influence the Ring can be. So he wouldn't have taken it himself, even if he had known earlier.
The thing is, while many fans took the finale as confirmation that Meteor Man is Gandalf, that was never outright said. He is a wizard, but there was no mention of Mithrandir, Olorin or any other of Gandalf's names.
Who is the guy who fell from the sky in The Rings of Power?
This revelation refutes any lingering theories that The Stranger (Daniel Weyman), the man who fell from the sky at the start of the season, is in fact Sauron, with the finale confirming he's actually one of the Istari, Tolkien's version of Wizards.
While The Rings of Power season 1 includes no overt clues to suggest a direct link between Harfoot characters and the Fellowship Hobbits in The Lord of the Rings, several subtle details indicate that Nori Brandyfoot could potentially be an ancient relative of Bilbo and Frodo Baggins.
For those that haven't read Tolkien's work, it's easy to see why many audiences suspect Gandalf and Galadriel are in love. After all, many of their interactions in The Hobbit trilogy practically scream romance. However, their relationship remains purely platonic in Tolkien's source material.
As the story progressed, it became increasingly clear that Gandalf's expertise in magic outclassed Saruman's. That became evident when Gandalf, as the White Wizard, overpowered Saruman in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. That said, he certainly wasn't the better wizard in The Fellowship of the Ring.
In the northwest of Middle-earth Curumo became known as Saruman to Men and Curunír to Elves; Olórin was known as Gandalf to Men and Mithrandir to Elves; while Aiwendil became known as Radagast.
During his wanderings in Eriador, Gandalf met and befriended the isolated and secretive people of the Hobbits in their country, The Shire. During the Long Winter of 2758 Gandalf came to their aid. It was then when he witnessed and admired the pity and courage the humble Hobbits reserved in their hearts.
"So I think in his pitch to Galadriel, it cannot mean that he loves her or that there's any kind of romantic relationship. There should be no ambiguity around the fact that Sauron is evil — he's terrible, and he's using Galadriel to enhance his power."
6 Gandalf. As previously stated, Gandalf is a Maia and is therefore superior to Elves regarding power. Still, this isn't to say that an elf couldn't develop enough skill and power to defeat a Maia. As a bearer of one of the Three Elven Rings (Nenya), Galadriel would have an edge against Maiar like Saruman and Radagast.
He plays a pivotal role in one final tactical battle to distract Sauron, thus enabling Frodo to destroy the Ring once and for all. After Sauron's defeat, Aragorn is crowned King Elessar of Gondor and Arnor, a name bestowed to him by Galadriel.
Thus, Galadriel's dark form in Jackson's The Lord of the Rings personified what would have occurred had the Lady of Lothlorien given in to temptation and taken the One Ring for herself. She would have succumbed to evil because the Ring was indomitable, even with her power.
Though he appeared to the characters of The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring to be an aged wizard, Gandalf was actually an angel-like being known as a Maia. He was created by the god of Tolkien's works, Eru Ilúvatar, to help with the creation of the universe.
