The Rings of Power: Istar in Lord of the Rings Explained

10/17/2022 10:08 am EDT

The Stranger stands revealed, sort of, in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power's first season finale episode, "Alloyed." (SPOILERS for the episode follow). The mysterious Stranger, a.k.a. "Meteor Man," has been one of the question marks pondered by Lord of the Rings fans throughout The Rings of Power's debut season. While, officially, the Stranger's name still remains a secret, Sauron's minions from Rhûn, after mistaking him for their Dark Lord, call the Stranger "Istar." The Stranger then uses his power, channeled through the staff he took from the Dweller, to seemingly destroy all three travelers from Rhûn.

What does it mean for the Stranger to be Istar? Here, we'll explain.

What is an Istar?

The Istari are better known as wizards to most Lord of the Rings fans. Most famous among them are Gandalf and Saruman, who were key players during the War of the Ring in the Third age.

The Istar are Maiar (roughly analogous to angels in Middle-earth lore) who were sent down to Middle-earth in the physical form of old men. Their mission was to aid the Free Peoples of Middle-earth in countering Sauron's attempts to rise to absolute power.

Where did the Istari come from?

Explaining where the wizards came from requires getting into some of the more spiritual mythology of Middle-earth. The Maiar are the lesser of two orders of Ainur, holy beings who were the first living entities created by Eru Ilúvatar, the capital-"G" God of Arda, the world in which Middle-earth resides. The greater of the two orders are the Valar, who are roughly analogous to the lowercase-"g" gods of mythology.

Based on J.R.R. Tolkien's writings, in the 1000th year of the Third Age, as Sauron began to rise again, a council of Valar decided that three Maiar should be sent to Middle-earth as messengers to help stem the tide of darkness. When the time came, only two Maiar showed up to make the journey, but their number eventually grew to five.

Who are the Istari?

Five members of the Istari Order are named in Tolkien's writings. They are:

• Saruman the White: Formerly the powerful Maiar named Curumo, who was one of the two Maiar who first agreed to travel to Middle-earth. He was first among the Istar and their leader until his corruption during the early days of the War of the Ring.

• Alatar the Blue: The other Maiar to first show up for the mission. Upon arriving on Middle-earth, he traveled east to Rhûn and little is known about his fate thereafter.

• Pallando the Blue: Alatar chose to take his close friend, Pallando, the Middle-earth with him. Like Alatar, Palladno became a blue wizard, and he traveled to Rhûn with his friend.

• Gandalf the Grey: When only two Maiar showed up for the mission to Middle-earth, Manwë, leader of the Ainur, summoned Olórin to be the third. Olórin was reluctant to go to Middle-earth as he feared he was too weak to face Sauron. Manwë assured him that this is exactly why he should go to Middle-earth, and ordered him to make the journey. However, Varda, queen of the Valar, decreed that Olórin would not be the third messenger. Thus, Gandalf the Grey became was among the last of the known Istari to arrive on Middle-earth.

• Radagast the Brown: Yavanna, a Valar associated with nature and growth, begged Corumo to take the Maiar called Aiwendil with him to Middle-earth. Aiwendil became Radagast the Brown. Radagast became primarily concerned with plants and animals, spending most of his time in the forests of Middle-earth and doing seemingly little to aid in the wizards' true mission. Saruman considered Radagast a fool and manipulated him into sending Gandalf to Orthanc during the events of The Fellowship of the Ring, where Saruman imprisoned his fellow wizard.

What are an Istar's power and abilities?

Despite their frail appearance, the wizards are as physically capable as Elves. If killed, they'd be sent back to Middle-earth to continue their mission until its completion, as seen with Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Wizards are capable of using magic, which allows them a range of abilities from manipulating the elements, to telekinesis, healing, and casting illusions. They typically channel their power through a staff.

However, the Valar put limits on what the Istari were allowed to do. They could not rule over the Free Peoples of Middle-earth, nor could they match the power of Sauron (a Maiar himself) with their own, less they became like Sauron themselves (which is ultimately Saruman's fate). Thus, the Istari relied primarily on their wisdom to guide the Free Peoples in their fight against Sauron.

Which Istar is the Stranger?

The Rings of Power hasn't named the Stranger yet. "[H]e doesn't really know his name yet," writer Gennifer Hutchison told us during an interview. "So I think until he knows his name, I don't think we really know his name either. So I would still call him the Stranger."

However, many signs point to the Stranger being Gandalf the Grey, arriving somewhat earlier in The Rings of Power's Middle-earth timeline than he does in the books. However, he could still be any of the wizards. That he's heading to Rhûn suggests he could be one of the Blue Wizards, for example. However, it is worth noting that Sauron's servants recognized the Stranger as an Istar, suggesting that wizards are known to them, and thus the Stranger is not the first to arrive on Middle-earth.

"I can tell you essentially what we've revealed is that he is a wizard, Istar," Hutchison told us of the status of wizards in The Rings of Power at this point. "And the thing is, we're discovering it along with him. That's really the point of this character, and this storyline is building that world as he and Nori discover it, and so as far as where it goes in the future, that's open for fans to think about in the break between seasons. But I will say they are obviously on that path to figuring out who he is and why he's here."

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is streaming now on Prime Video. The show's second season is currently in production.

Disclosure: ComicBook is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of Paramount. Sign up for Paramount+ by clicking here.