Amazon Prime Video showrunners The Rings of Power revealed the identity of the Dark Wizard, but it opens up another immediate question concerning Tolkien’s lore. After hosting The Stranger for the first two seasons, The Rings of Power the season 2 finale finally revealed that the character’s identity was Gandalf. With this mystery closed, however, the Lord of the Rings prequel still has another magical being roaming Rhûn to explain, and this one isn’t so cool. The Dark Wizard, played by Ciarán Hinds, is expected to be one of the main antagonists of the series from now on.
In a recent Reddit Q&Ashow creators Patrick McKay and JD Payne told audiences the answer to the mystery of the Dark Wizard’s identity. Rather than prolong another character’s ambiguity, an aspect of the series that received criticism in the first two seasons, the producers preemptively stated their thought process. They revealed that the Dark Wizard is one of the five Istari, but he is not Gandalf, Saruman, or Radagast. This means that the Dark Wizard is one of the two mysterious Blue Wizards, which creates an obvious question.
The Dark Wizard is one of two blue wizards (but where is the other one?)
Did the Dark Wizard kill your companion?
The Blue Wizards are vague characters in JRR Tolkien’s lore and are primarily examined in Unfinished Stories. The book reveals some of Tolkien’s thought processes about what could have happened to these characters and why they weren’t present in The Lord of the Rings. Now, The Rings of Power will offer your perspective on what happened to them. THE the idea of ​​the Dark Wizard being a villain is in line with Tolkien’s notesbut it leaves a big question about what happened to the other Blue Wizard.
If the Dark Wizard turned evil, that could imply that he somehow killed his friend Istar at some point in his travels. Or the other Blue Wizard may have simply continued to wander and never appear in the Prime Video series. Another option is that they are in cahoots, which would give Gandalf a lot of work to deal with during the Second Age. If he is dealing with two Istar in the east, that would explain why he was not present during the War of the Last Alliance.
What Blue Wizards Mean to the History of Rings of Power
Is the Dark Wizard just an obstacle for Gandalf?
On the one hand, meeting the Blue Wizards is fascinating, as it is one of the greatest mysteries in Tolkien’s universe. On the other hand, it is important that they are linked in some way to the central narrative. They could just be an obstacle for Gandalf to defeat, demonstrating his growing strength as a wizard in Middle-earth. Alternatively, perhaps Gandalf’s goal in The Rings of Power could be helping the Dark Wizard find his way back to the side of good, as he tried to do with Saruman in The Two Towers book.