In short, while Gandalf was technically alive during The Rings of Power, this was only in the eternal spiritual sense, and he wasn't alive as audiences know Gandalf until about 1,000 years later in the Lord of the Rings timeline.
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.
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.
If the Stranger were to be confirmed as Gandalf, the history of Middle-earth may have to be changed. Gandalf the Grey is not supposed to arrive in Middle-earth until the Third Age (Rings of Power is set in the Second Age, otherwise known as the Age of Númenor), accompanied by Radgast the Brown.
Why does Gandalf have no memory 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.
When The Fellowship is taken to Galadriel, she and Boromir have a telepathic conversation which immediately causes Boromir to burst into tears. She senses his desires for the Ring but tells him not to give in because even now, there is hope.
Halbrand does not deny his heroism out of bashful humility, though; he knows that as Sauron, he's not the hero she wants him to be for the Southlands -- not when his plans involve scorching it into Mordor. No, Halbrand was never a hero, nor did he ever claim to be.
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.
Tolkien once described Gandalf as an angel incarnate; later, both he and other scholars have likened Gandalf to the Norse god Odin in his "Wanderer" guise.
It's that friendship with Nori that develops throughout the season, according to Weyman, that shows the Stranger the path forward to becoming (we assume) Gandalf.
Legolas may not be born yet, but his father and grandfather are certainly alive during the events of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Thranduil and Orophor are lesser known in Middle-earth lore, so it could be exciting to see their stories unfold in the series and discover the backstory of Legolas's ancestry.
Who is the giant who fell from the sky in 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.
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.
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.
Elanor "Nori" Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh), that Hobbit ancestor known as a Harfoot, is the Frodo/Bilbo piloting this ship. She has eyes as wide as Elijah Wood's and a matching wonder about the world, a curiosity that often gets her, and by extension, her best friend Poppy (Megan Richards), into trouble.
Nori's parentage is unknown, although he was a remote kinsman of Thorin and a member of the House of Durin. He was also the brother of Dori, and a cousin of Ori..
"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."
As for whether Halbrand actually loved or romantically desired Galadriel is to be determined. Sauron is an expert manipulator and likely sees Galadriel and her power as an asset. In line with the old adage, "Keep your friends close; keep your enemies closer," he'd rather have her on his side than against him.
She leaps off the ship taking her away from Middle-earth, encounters Halbrand, and eventually saves his life, and in the process, accidentally helps bring Sauron back to power.
Galadriel: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Go now and rest for you are weary with sorrow and much toil. Tonight you will sleep in peace." [She whispers to Frodo in his mind, casting her eyes sideways at him.]
In the final minutes, Sauron confesses that he's been manipulating Galadriel since they first met — using her as a way to get back to Middle-earth to fight back against his enemies in the Southlands and indirectly form the land of Mordor but also to get closer to Celebrimbor and the Elven smiths.
Beware of the Sea! If thou hearest the cry of the gull on the shore, Thy heart shall then rest in the forest no more. Lock-bearer, wherever thou goest my thought goes with thee.
