The Stranger in Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power Isn’t Who You Think

Since its announcement, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has been a subject of mass debate. It is based on the appendices to Tolkien’s trilogy, as opposed to the trilogy itself, and is set in the Second Age, an era for which we have a detailed chronology of historical events but much less knowledge of how those events unfolded. And in addition to beloved characters like Elrond and Galadriel, it introduces its own original players in Arondir, Bronwyn, and more.

You can parse the various storylines with the appropriate Tolkien references, but there is one specific element of The Rings of Power that has confused scholars and puppets alike: the Stranger, or the wizard-like figure who crash-lands in Middle-earth via molten meteorite.

Viewers were first introduced to the Stranger (commonly known as Meteor Man) in the trailer for The Rings of Power season 1, in which various figures in Middle-earth were seen watching a meteorite fly through the sky. Some people thought it was The Rings of Power‘s Sauron, which was absolutely incorrect. Others were and remain convinced it was Gandalf, but based on the context it is not so clear-cut.

After I looked at what was released The Rings of Power So far, we’ve learned a little more about this mysterious figure – though this knowledge has only served to reinforce our belief that neither the Dark Lord nor Mithrandir is our man. So in order to assess who our magical friend might be, we must first debunk who he almost certainly isn’t.

One of the main reasons people are convinced this is Gandalf or Sauron is because showrunners Patrick McKay and JD Payne have all but confirmed that it’s a figure of similar stature in Interview with Vanity Fair about 10 burning questions:

Well, I would say (Gandalf, Radagast and Saruman) are not the only beings, those names, in that class. So maybe, but maybe not. And the mystery and the journey of it is all the fun, I would say.

This is an interesting answer, because it hints at the other “beings” and class “names” that the wizards—known as Istari—share: They are all Maiar, meaning they are a type of angel. The Valar, who are above them, are closer to gods or heavenly beings. To put it as plainly as possible, Meteor Man is likely a Maiar spirit, which is what both Gandalf and Sauron are. But so are the other Istari, including the mysterious Blue Wizards, and also the Balrogs, and others. Meteor Man could therefore be any one of many people—not to mention the possibility that he could also be a completely original character.

In many ways, Gandalf seems the obvious identity for this mysterious figure. He is found and helped by harfoots, which ties in neatly with his later love of hobbits. The nature of his arrival via flaming meteor is also fitting, as he is the Istar associated with fire. He is, most obviously, a frail old man with long grey hair and an impressive beard – all characteristics of the fana, or physical manifestation, of the Maiar who become Istari.

But the hobbit point is far too obvious to be a red herring. His affinity for fire is mentioned several times in Tolkien’s writings (the most famous example being at the Bridge of Khazad-dûm where, after saying “You cannot pass!” he says “I am the servant of the Secret Fire, bearer of the Flame of Anor!”), meaning that he literally wields the fiery wrath of the sun.

But the biggest counterpoint here is the timeline. Gandalf arrives in Middle-earth around the 10th century of the Third Age, which is about three millennia after the events we see in The Rings of Power. Sure, time compression could play a role – and will likely be emphasized by Elrond’s acknowledgement of 20 years as fleeting – but that’s a lot of time to fly by. Plus, the harfoots and the elves see the meteor at the same time, and they’re also quite close together geographically, with only the spine of the Misty Mountains separating Eregion from the Gladden River. All of which is to say: Gandalf receiving Narya, the Elvish Ring of Fire, upon landing in Middle-earth is a crucial part of not only Tolkien’s legendarium, but also his identity as the Istar of Fire. That burning crater may be an obvious visual reference to Gandalf, but in-universe, it’s also too early in his timeline to have such a connection.

Let’s also 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 because of his fear of Sauron. Do you think this guy makes the most daring entrance in the history of Middle-earth? No. He sails there, like the other Istari, and wanders around and befriends little hobbits. He doesn’t hurtle headlong through the sky in an actual meteorite. And as for the Stranger’s old-man appearance… Lots of people are old. Middle-earth doesn’t run on the basis of “Old man with a beard? Wizard confirmed.”

With all that said, it makes sense that the Stranger is a new character, of which we already have a few. Tolkien once said that the hobbits didn’t do much during the Second Age, so spotlighting the harfoots is a good way to magnify their importance alongside an original wizard (he is, of course, a wizard or mage of some sort, with the weird Stormcrow scream that apparently affects the weather).

It is also possible that he is a fusion of the two Blue Wizards, who originally came to Middle-earth in the Third Age, but were later returned to the Second Age by Tolkien himself. The Stranger’s nakedness and apparent amnesia are consistent with this.

In the books, Gandalf speaks of his own nakedness prior to his resurrection as Gandalf the White, noting, “Darkness took me, and I wandered from thought and time, and I wandered far in ways I will not tell. Naked I was sent back—for a little while, until my task is done.” Meanwhile, Tolkien wrote about the Maiar having to get used to their physical bodies, which makes the sending of the two Blue Wizards—or an original character—fairly plausible, in the sense that it could have been some kind of prototype, experimental type thing. This explains the Stranger’s memory loss, inability to speak, rapid fatigue, and tremendous magical power all in one fell swoop. It’s also a little silly.

Personally, I’m partial to the idea that it’s Glorfindel, who dies fighting a Balrog in the First Age and is brought back as an emissary of the Valar in SA 1600. This is unlikely because Meteor Man is, you know, a man, as opposed to a classically handsome elf. 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 Power despite not currently being in the cast. Then 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 final possibility for who this could be if it’s not an original character is Tilion, a minor Maiar spirit who rules the moon. There are two poems about him in Tolkien’s legendarium – one from The Adventures of Tom Bombadilthe other of The Company of the Ring. These are called ““The Man in the Moon Landed Too Early” And “The man in the moon stayed up too long,” and the first contains the following stanza:

He blinked his feet, thinking of the meat,
of pepper and an abundance of punch;
And he stumbled unconsciously on his sloping stairs,
and like a meteor,
A star in flight, for Yule on a night
he fell down while he was flashing down
From his ladder path to a foaming bath
in the windy Bay of Bel.

The meteor in this poem lands far away from our harfoot friends, and while the Stranger seems to be in a trance, it’s unlikely he’s been drinking too much punch. However, it’s one of the few mentions of an actual meteor in Tolkien, and Tilion is a Maiar, which makes McKay and Payne’s status as lore experts and comments about the Maiar as a “class” interesting to say the least. Again, it’s unlikely to be Tilion—especially since there’s little reason to introduce him.

Sadly, we now know it’s not Tom Bombadil, but you can imagine what might have been. Tom misunderstands his own powers and accidentally summons a meteor that takes him halfway across Middle-earth before crashing to the ground somewhere east of the Misty Mountains. Perhaps he befriends the harfoots here and migrates west with them to The Shire. It would explain their absence from SA history, as he could be deliberately helping them stay out of it, while this overarching setup could potentially provide a fascinating backstory for why the One Ring doesn’t control Tom.

The Stranger is not Tom Bombadil. He’s probably Gandalf. But, oh, imagine the possibilities.