The first three episodes of Rings of Power are out, and I have thoroughly enjoyed them. I accept that there are changes from the books, and I am really just looking for a story that captures the themes of Tolkien’s writing. The big mystery for this season seems to be the identity of the mysterious Meteor Man. There seem to be two candidates, so allow me to go through both of them first.
Gandalf
Pros: His appearance, his use of magic (particularly communicating with the fireflies and having some power over the fire). As Olorin (his name as a Maiar), he would travel amongst the Elves unseen (so I guess it would be possible for him to be in Middle-earth during the Second Age. When he rises against Nori and her friend, he seems to grow taller and the scene is reminiscent of the Fellowship movie scene with Bilbo.
Cons: In the lore, Gandalf does not appear until the Third Age, after Sauron’s defeat. When Manwe sends him and the other wizards, they take the appearance of old men and they do not age from that point. So it would not make sense to have a “young Gandalf.” Would Gandalf harm the fireflies? He did not have amnesia when he came to Middle-earth.
Sauron
Pros: We know that Sauron can change his form, so it would not be crazy for him to take the appearance of a wizard, especially if he is trying to trick the elves to forge some rings. The signs of evil…first we have the crater and the lines, they look similar to the symbol of the Eye of Sauron (was that symbol being used during the Second Age though?), then there is the lack of heat from the flames in the crater (Nori says that the flames are not hot, which is similar to the line earlier in the episode about the presence of evil causing the torch flames to give off no heat), next we have his killing of the fireflies and his quickness to resort to dark magic when he feels threatened. There was also the leaf falling from the tree when the comet goes overhead, Gil-Galad looks at it and sees that the leaf is blighted or dying.
Cons: Sauron was not some disembodied spirit that had to return to Middle-earth during this period. Gandalf says that Sauron had no knowledge of the halflings until Gollum mentioned them.
My Theory
If I were betting on this, I would probably put money on Gandalf. If done right, it could make sense. Such as Gandalf helps and guides the Harfoots, who eventually settle in an area that becomes the Shire. Maybe he does not regain his memory until after Sauron is defeated (but then the story would not really tie in with what is happening elsewhere). The idea of it being Sauron seems to be a red herring. Like the firefly scene could have been a powerful being accidentally killing them because he did not realize his power was so great. I still have my money on Halbrand being Sauron. We shall see…
Could Meteor Man be someone else? There are a few candidates. One of the Blue Wizards perhaps? They came in the Second Age, and not much is known about what happened to them (I think Tolkien mentions in his notes that they may have been corrupted by Sauron, but I could be misremembering). Or, and hear me out, since this is a crazy idea. Could the mysterious being Glorfindel? He was sent back to Middle-earth as an emissary of the Valar and Manwe gave him power that put him almost on par with the Maiar. Granted, Glorfindel is an elf, so that is why this theory is bonkers.
So yeah, I like the mystery and I cannot wait to see the identity of the Meteor man. Who do you think he is?
