Editor’s note: The below contains spoilers for The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2.
A shadow rises in the east as The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power returns for Season 2. In the faraway lands of Rhûn, a new character, a Dark Wizard (Ciarán Hinds), threatens to make things a lot more difficult for the Stranger (Daniel Weyman), Nori (Markella Kavenagh), and Poppy (Megan Richards). In Episode 2, “Where the Stars Are Strange,” the trio gets separated when mysterious riders on the Dark Wizard’s order attack them when they stop at a water well, making things even more dramatic. Everything hints at a possible showdown between our favorite nameless pilgrim and the Dark Wizard, but who is this new villain, really?
The Dark Wizard Sent the Mystics After the Stranger in ‘The Rings of Power’ Season 1
The Stranger’s arc in Season 2 has been defined so far by his quest to find out his name and obtain a staff through which he can harness his power. It’s not easy, and, as he tells Nori, these things “already belong to him,” he just has to find them. But, if we know next to nothing about the Stranger in Season 2, in Season 1 we knew even less. There was very little information about him, other than him randomly speaking runes and conjuring up the Hermit’s Hat constellation out of fireflies, and the fact that there were three powerful figures clad in white going after him: the Mystics.
Not much was known about the Mystics, either. They wielded staffs and practiced powerful magic, and were after the Stranger in Season because they thought he was actually Sauron (Charlie Vickers), given how he arrived in Middle-earth in a ball of fire from the sky. They also carried a shield with the Hermit’s Hat constellation drawn on it, hinting at a deeper connection to the Stranger. They clearly served someone evil, but, if Sauron was on the other side of Middle-earth, still disguised as Halbrand, with Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), who could it possibly be that sent them to find him?
In the Season 2 premiere, “Elven Kings Under the Sky,” the leader of the Mystics (Bridie Sisson) makes her way back to Rhûn after being defeated by the Stranger in the Season 1 finale. The Dark Wizard makes it clear that he already knows the Stranger isn’t Sauron, but, in fact, one of the Istari, and relieves the Mystic of her task of bringing the Stranger to him, entrusting it to the dark riders instead. The Dark Wizard’s intentions are clearly not the best, since this rider mentions he plans to threaten to kill Nori and Poppy to get the Stranger to cooperate.
Is the Dark Wizard Another Istar?
Although not much is known about him, not even his name, the Dark Wizard appears not to be very powerful, but also very convincing. He summoned the Mystics with blood magic and also turned the riders of Rhûn to his side. His appearance also alludes to the Istari, having long dark hair and beard, wearing long robes, and wielding a staff. He does look fancier, though, with his beard having white patterns across it, and his staff carrying a red gem on its top. He speaks about the Istari with a lot of respect, despite his dark intentions, so could he be one of them himself?
The first character in J.R.R. Tolkien‘s Legendarium that comes to mind when thinking about the Dark Wizard is Saruman the White (Christopher Lee). In The Lord of the Rings books and movies, Saruman begins as a wizard recognized for his wisdom and leadership among the Istari, but his research into Sauron’s power and the One Ring sends him in a downward spiral, eventually turning him into full evil and betraying his fellow Istari. Given that the Stranger is already confirmed to be an Istar himself who just has to come into his own senses, something similar may be happening to the Dark Wizard. The Mystics, for example, carried a shield with the Hermit’s Hat emblem, a hint that the Dark Wizard himself probably had to go after this constellation when he first arrived in Middle-earth and knows what the Stranger is looking for.
The Dark Wizard could also be another Istar, but it seems unlikely that he could be either Gandalf (Ian McKellen) or Radagast (Sebastian McCoy). The other two Istari, the Blue Wizards Alatar and Pallando, arrive in Middle-earth in the Second Age, while the three wizards we know only get there by the Third Age, according to Tolkien’s writings. Still, the Dark Wizard and Saruman seem to share many traits. For example, Saruman’s natural ambition may already be manifesting in the Dark Wizard; he just isn’t aware of who he really is yet. His fancy staff and robes allude to Saruman’s need for luxury and control, too. Also, the way the Dark Wizard already has his own following in Rhûn is very similar to how Saruman establishes himself in Isengard, with locals blindly supporting him, to the point of him being able to eventually create his own army. Saruman thoroughly enjoys his position and the benefits that come with it, and the Dark Wizard seems to do so, too.
Could ‘The Rings of Power’ Season 2’s Dark Wizard Be Something Else Entirely?
According to Tolkien’s writings, Saruman, Gandalf, and Radagast only come to Middle-earth in the Third Age, even though The Rings of Power has been exploring a different approach. While the Dark Wizard does seem to share much with Saruman, he may yet prove to be something else. For example, the Nine Rings for Men are shaping up to be a crucial part of Season 2’s plot, with Sauron (disguised as Annatar) constantly pushing Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) to forge those rings. Not much is known about them, only that those who wear them eventually become the Ringwraiths, also known as the Nazgûl.
What is interesting about this is that there is only one Nazgûl whose identity is known — and it’s not the Witch King of Angmar. The Nine Rings are given by Sauron to powerful kings, warriors, and sorcerers of Middle-earth, and he has most of his followers in the South and East of the continent, and that’s where the name Nazgûl comes from: Khamûl the Easterling. The Easterlings were a group of people who live in the regions beyond Rhûn and are often allied with Sauron. Khamûl, like the other recipients of the Nine Rings, was a powerful and ambitious ruler who was corrupted by the power of his ring.
Known as the “Shadow of the East,” Khamûl is the second in command among the Nazgûl, after the Witch King himself, and was a powerful ruler in these lands before being corrupted by his ring. The Dark Wizard resides in Rhûn right now, and he is also a powerful sorcerer who has been casting a very long shadow. If he proves to not be an Istar, he may well be a version of Khamûl who is being set up to receive one of the Nine Rings. Be that as it may, the only certainty right now is that he represents trouble to the Stranger, Nori, and Poppy.
Season 2 of The Rings of Power is streaming on Prime Video. New episodes air weekly on Thursdays.
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