Lord of the Rings: What Is an Istar in The Rings of Power?

This Lord of the Rings article contains spoilers for The Rings of Power.

In journey toward Rhûn to uncover who he is and what his destiny might be. This journey is where we find them in season 2, lost in the barren wilderness of the East, where the Stranger receives a vision of another powerful being, who we simply know now as the Dark Wizard.

When we meet the Dark Wizard in the second episode of season 2, he seems to possess powers similar to those of the Stranger, making it likely that he is also an Istar, or at least was once known as such before falling to darker influences. Some of J.R.R. Tolkien’s later work suggests that a pair of Istar known as the Blue Wizards were potentially sent to Middle-earth before the others and may have fallen to Sauron’s influence during their journey in the East.

After first learning of his new identity, The Stranger translates Istar as “the wise one” or “wizard,” and that is essentially what an Istar is. Istari are Maiar spirits sent to Middle-earth to aid the denizens of Middle-earth in the fight against Sauron on their own.

Five Istari were sent to Middle-earth. Saruman the White arrived first, is the leader of the Istari, and head of the the land of Rhûn with Saruman to try and influence the people to fight against Sauron, but not much is known of their fate after Saruman returned west without them.

Despite their appearance as old men, the Istari are far from frail beings. They possess magical powers greater than those of the Elves, using staffs to channel their power in times of need. Their powers include casting illusions, summoning lightning and firebolts, healing others, telekinesis, and even controlling the minds of other beings. Their staffs weren’t required for all magic use, but their powers do have limits without them. However, despite all of these fantastic abilities, the Istari were encouraged to only use their powers in times of crisis, instead relying on their intelligence and wisdom to overcome most challenges. 

Physical combat was also only to be used as a last resort by the Istari, even though they were incredibly skilled at hand-to-hand combat and weaponry. Gandalf was one of the few wizards to engage regularly in combat and fought alongside the Elves, Men, Dwarves, and Hobbits in many of the great battles of Middle-earth.

Even though the Istari can be killed, as evidenced by Gandalf’s run-in with a Balrog in The Fellowship of the Ring, they can also be brought back to life by the Valar (God-like immortal beings that are said to rule over Middle-earth). Gandalf was resurrected because the Istar’s task – helping the people of Middle-earth stop Sauron – was not yet complete. 

It’s unclear when exactly the Istar came to Middle-earth. In The Rings of Power seems to be borrowing from the latter origin story.

While it’s not yet confirmed which of the five Istar the Stranger is, his peculiar arrival inside a meteor and his unique powers make more sense now (Gandalf is no stranger to dramatic entrances after all). With the addition of the Dark Wizard as another potential Istar, it will be interesting to see what The Stranger and Nori discover about both of their identities this season.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is streaming now on Prime Video.