The Stranger in “The Rings of Power” could be Saruman, not Gandalf, offering a chance to explore his character before Lord of the Rings.
Saruman’s arrival in Middle-earth before Gandalf and his potential connection to Rhûn could further support the theory that the Stranger is Saruman.

Nori and the Stranger traveling to Rhûn may reveal the Stranger’s true identity.

When The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power first dropped, the biggest mystery of the show was “Who is Sauron?” However, fans were drawn to one major character who could have been Sauron, but he could have also been another significant figure from Lord of the Rings. The man who crashed to Middle-earth, many suspected, was Sauron, but that soon turned out to be false. The next obvious choice, especially by the robes he wore, was that he was Gandalf before taking up that well-known name.

There are more than a few hints that the stranger is Gandalf. For starters, he befriends a Harfoot, a Hobbit ancestor, and Gandalf is known to have a couple of Hobbit friends during the Third Age of Middle-earth. Additionally, the Stranger tells Nori to always trust her nose, which is something Gandalf would say. Fans might be jumping the gun coming to this conclusion, though, because there are a few reasons the Stranger could easily be the leader of Gandalf’s order, Saruman.

Why Saruman Makes More Sense in the Rings of Power

From a story standpoint, it makes sense to reveal the Stranger as Saruman because audiences of the movies and readers of the books never got a chance to really connect with the character. Granted, that wasn’t his character’s point, but nobody got to see who Saruman was before he made an allegiance with Sauron. Fans were told the lead wizard was great and wise, but his fall would be more impactful if fans got to see just how wise and powerful he was before the events of The Fellowship of the Ring.

It’s also not particularly exciting for audiences to see Gandalf in the Rings of Power. Eventually, yes. However, seeing Gandalf being good from the very beginning doesn’t show the audience anything they don’t already know. That’s not to say he should be villainous at first only to gradually come about to the side of good, but seeing Saruman start out as a good person would be more impactful. It would be real character development. It would be similar to Anakin Skywalker. His was a tragic story and revealing the Stranger to be Saruman could be equally tragic.

For fans to see that Saruman once had a friendship with a type of Hobbit much like Gandalf does later in life with Frodo and Bilbo before him, it would be hard to stomach, especially when he’s rather disdainful of Hobbits throughout Lord of the Rings. To witness Nori and the Stranger form a strong friendship during their adventures only for the Stranger to eventually become Saruman would add a whole layer to his character that would change the way fans view him in Tolkien’s works. The Rings of Power has a chance to build on Saruman’s character and really drive home the “everybody has a choice between good or evil” theme.

Saruman Did Arrive in Middle-Earth First

The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales states that Saruman was the first of the five Istari to arrive in Middle-earth. Unlike Gandalf, Saruman was eager to get there and wasn’t afraid of what awaited and, as far as audiences know, the Stranger is the first and only Istari to be in Middle-earth at the time. It’s possible there are others that Nori and her ilk aren’t aware of, but the three mystics even refer to the Stranger as The Istar, as in one. Not one of the Istar.

The first to come was one of noble mien and bearing, with raven hair, and a fair voice, and he was clad in white!

Okay, so the Stranger isn’t clad in white. Gandalf doesn’t arrive in Middle-earth until Sauron is defeated at the end of the second age. The Prime Video series isn’t quite there yet. Yes, the show has already taken some liberties from the source material and there’s nothing stopping it from doing it again with Gandalf’s arrival. But then there’s the matter of Rhûn, home of the Easterlings who eventually align with Sauron.

When the trio of mystics find the Stranger and mistake him for Sauron, they tell him travelling to Rhûn will help him fully realize his powers. Where are the Stranger and Nori heading by the end of the show’s first season? In the direction of Rhûn. Where did Saruman travel long before the events of Lord of the Rings? Rhûn.

Of course, it’s possible that Nori and the Stranger will never make it to Rhûn, instead getting tangled up with other characters like Galadriel. It’s even possible they come across Saruman or another wizard along the way, revealing that the Stranger is Gandalf, who tells them not to go to Rhûn, where they’ll go instead.

However, if they continue to Rhûn and make it there, it’s a stronger indication that the Stranger is Saruman because Gandalf never ventured there. In Tolkien’s work, the two blue wizards accompanied Saruman to Rhûn, so it’s possible that the Rings of Power will highlight the other wizards never seen in the books or on the screen, too. Saruman and Gandalf both went by different names throughout their lives, so even if the show doesn’t give them their more popular name at first, it may be a while before fans know who the Stranger truly is.