The Rings Of Power Quietly Debunks A Popular Wizard Theory (& Fully Breaks Canon)

Warning! Spoilers for Rings of Power season 2, episode 8!

There was a popular theory regarding the wizards of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, but the finale of season 2 officially debunked it. The Prime Video series’ Istari has been controversial since there were limited ways in which the Stranger’s story could play out without diverting Tolkien canon. Hope remained going into season 2 that Rings of Power would take a fresh angle with these characters, avoiding any extensive changes to The Lord of the Rings story. However, the confirmation that the Stranger is Gandalf and a subtle reveal about the Dark Wizard dashes this.

Rings of Power quickly confirmed that the Stranger and the Dark Wizard were Istari. The problem with this is that these characters didn’t quite align with any of the wizards from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. Gandalf, Saruman, and Radagast didn’t arrive in Middle-earth until the Third Age, and the Blue Wizards didn’t befriend Harfoots or blatantly join Sauron. This led to the popular theory that one of both of Rings of Power‘s wizard characters was the invention of Prime Video and not among the five Istari described by Tolkien. However, season 2 officially proved this false.

The Dark Wizard Confirms The Rings Of Power’s Istari Are The Same Ones From LOTR

The Dark Wizard Cannot Be An “Original” Rings Of Power Character

The Stranger has officially been confirmed as Gandalf, but it might have been possible for the Dark Wizard to be an original Rings of Power wizard rather than one of Tolkien’s five Istari. However, the character (played by Ciarán Hinds) mentions in the finale of season 2 that he and Gandalf were among the “five.” This officially banishes hopes that the Dark Wizard is an original character of Rings of Power and means that the Prime Video series is instead adapting one of Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings characters.

How The Rings Of Power’s Istari Break The Lord Of The Rings Canon

The Dark Wizard’s M.O. Doesn’t Quite Fit

Rings of Power adapting Tolkien’s canon character wouldn’t typically be an issue. After all, most of those in the series come directly from the author’s works (that’s the point, after all). The problem here is that the Istari stories are the most significant divergences from canon in the Prime Video series. The reveal that the Stranger is Gandalf means that the timeline for these beings’ arrival has been significantly moved up. Even more extreme changes include this character’s arrival as a meteor, his friendship with Harfoots so soon, and his trip to Rhûn, none of which happened to the wizard in canon.

The Dark Wizard is just as much a problem, which is why the theory that these characters were brand new inventions of Rings of Power gained popularity. It would have still been a change to canon, but it wouldn’t significantly alter the history of characters like Gandalf, Saruman, or the Blue Wizards. Timeline changes are one thing and nothing new to the Prime Video series, but confrontations between Gandalf and an evil wizard in Rhûn in the Second Age are something else entirely—especially when considering that the Dark Wizard must be one of the four remaining Istari.

If The Stranger Is Gandalf, Who Is The Rings Of Power Season 2’s Dark Wizard?

The Options Are Limited

The Stranger being Gandalf and the confirmation that Rings of Power acknowledges that there are only five Istari means that the Dark Wizard can only be Saruman, Radagast, or one of the two Blue Wizards. We can safely rule out Radagast since a reveal that this nature-loving wizard once ran an evil cult in Rhûn is simply too outrageous to accept. The events of Rings of Power‘s season 2 finale seemed to be hinting at the Dark Wizard being Saruman, with the implication that Gandalf may again lose his memories. Still, this is a bit too uncomfortable of a stretch and feels like a red herring.

It’s most likely that the Dark Wizard will ultimately be revealed as one of the two Blue Wizards, Alatar and Pallando. Tolkien gave contradictory information about what happened to these Istari, but one version of their tale saw them establish cults in Rhûn. This would align with the Dark Wizard’s goings on in the East, though his confrontation with Gandalf and his apparent training with Tom Bombodil would be inventions of Rings of Power. In the end, it might have been interesting to explore brand new Istari rather than forcing canon ones to fit, but perhaps the fantasy series will pull it off whens said and done.