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The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerhas introduced a couple of new characters who have not yet revealed their identities to audiences.The Stranger, for example, hasn’t confirmed who or what he is, though we might have an idea by now. Another dark wizard who had sent the mystics after the Stranger has also been introduced in Season 2, and he is speculated to be an Istar.
The mysticshave also confirmed the Stranger as an Istar, but what exactly are these beings is on everyone’s mind? Those who have read The Silmarillion already have a good idea, as the Istari play a huge role in the affairs of Middle-earth after Morgoth’s downfall.
Who Are The Istari In Rings Of Power?
The Istari are a group of powerful beingssent to Middle-earth by the Valarto assist in the struggle against Sauron. They are more commonly known as Wizards in Tolkien’s works.
While The Rings of Power hasyet to explore the lore of the Istari, they’re being introduced slowly with the Stranger being everything butverbally confirmed to be Gandalf.
He is not Sauron, he is the other, the Istar!
- Mystic
The Istari are not men or elvesbut rather members of the Maiar. They are divine and powerfulbut below the Valar themselves, who serve the greater cause of protecting Middle-earth.
The Maiar are powerful and immortal. The mostnotable Maia is Sauron himself, who was corrupted by Morgoth,the first Dark Lord.
In response to the growing threat ofSauron in the Third Age, the Valar decided tosend a group of the Istarto Middle-earth in the form of old men to help guide the Free Peoples in theirfight against the Dark Lord. This group became known as the Istari.
They were chosen fortheir wisdom and strength, but upon arriving to Middle-earth,they were limited by physical formsand could not wield their full divine power openly.Saruman and Gandalfare important members of this order.
In Tolkien’s works, five of the Istari came to Middle-earth.
Gandalf
The most famous of the Istari, Gandalf, was a wise and powerful Istarwho played a huge role in Sauron’s defeat during the War of the Ring.
Histrue name in Valinor was Olórin, and he was originallypart of the Ainur.
Gandalf’s primary strength was his wisdom, andhe was the only Istar to truly fulfill the missionfor which the Valar sent them, and theonly one of the five to return to Valinor.
Saruman
Saruman was the leader of the Istari,but he was corrupted by his desire for powerand eventually sought the One Ring for himself, aligning with Sauron before meeting his own downfall.
Radagast
Radagast the Brown wasa Maia who was associated with nature and living things. He had a deep love for animals and plants but played a much smaller role in the events of the Third Age.
He became more focused on the creatures of Middle-earthinstead of the fight against Sauron, which led to some criticism of his actions from others.
Alatar And Pallando
These two lesser-known Istarijourneyed far into the east of Middle-earth anddid not participate in the major events of the Third Age.
Their mission was to combat Sauron’s influencein the lands of Rhûn and beyond, though much of their fate remains a mystery, as Tolkien provided little detail about their actions.
It is believed they may havefailed in their task. In the Rings of Power adaptation, the prevailing theoryis that the Dark Wizard chasing after the Strangercould beone of the blue wizards, however this hasn’t been confirmed yet andshouldn’t be taken as fact.
The Istari In The Rings Of Power
The Rings of Powerintroduces an Istarduring the Second Age, which is asignificant deviation from the established canon, as the Istari are nottraditionally sent to Middle-earth until later.
However, Amazon’s series has already explored creative libertieswith the timeline and characters, so we’ll just have to take it for what it is. It’s possible that the show might confirm theidentity of the dark wizardas one of the Blue Wizardswho traveled east during the Third Age.
Do not meddle in the affairs of wizards, for they are subtle and quick to anger.
- J.R.R. Tolkien
The Istariareincredibly powerful beings in Middle-earth, but their power is not expressed in the same way as other beings like Sauron, despite being in the same class of divines. Since they are Maiar and below the Valar,they have a lot of power.
However, their abilities in Middle-earth are intentionally limited by the Valar,and they must rely more on wisdom and guidance. Currently, the Stranger is trying to harness his magical abilitiesas he relies on Tom Bombadilto show him how to use his power.
If he succeeds, then there is much morethan spells and elemental powersfor the Stranger to learn. But despite being incredibly powerful, there’s a long way to go before theStranger becomes the Gandalf we know.
