The Rings of Power introduces its Saruman replacement in season 2, but this character is different from the Lord of the Rings’ villain in one big way. Rhûn’s Dark Wizard becomes a new secondary antagonist in The Rings of Power‘s sophomore season, going to extreme lengths to track down the Stranger — then becoming angry when the other Istar won’t join him. The showrunners’ recent Dark Wizard confirmation rules out the possibility that he’s Saruman, a popular theory about the character. However, he still serves as the villain’s replacement.
Based on J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay’s comments, it seems that the Istar in Rhûn is one of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Blue Wizards. These characters don’t get much attention in Tolkien’s writings, and they don’t appear in The Lord of the Rings. That makes the introduction of one of them an exciting prospect. But even if Rhûn’s Dark Wizard is a character yet to be explored in adaptations of Tolkien’s works, he mirrors Saruman by taking on a similar role in the Amazon show.
The Rings Of Power’s Dark Wizard Is A Parallel Of Saruman From The Lord Of The Rings
He’s A Secondary Villain To Sauron & A Foil To Gandalf
The Rings of Power‘s Dark Wizard may not be Saruman, but he’s clearly the Lord of the Rings show’s replacement for the character. His narrative parallels Saruman’s in two major ways. The first is that he serves as a secondary antagonist to Sauron. Sauron is very much the Big Bad of Amazon’s Lord of the Rings show, and he fully steps into that role in season 2. But that hasn’t stopped The Rings of Power from introducing other threats, like Adar and Rhûn’s Dark Wizard. The latter will play second fiddle to Sauron, just as Saruman does in LOTR.
They depict what happens when an Istar uses their power for selfish reasons, while Gandalf shows the exact opposite.
Additionally, both Saruman and the new Dark Wizard serve as foils to Gandalf’s character. The characters’ relationships with Gandalf are different. Saruman is an old friend who betrays him, while Weyman’s take on Gandalf doesn’t know The Rings of Power‘s wizard. Even so, both characters represent a dark path that Gandalf won’t go down. They depict what happens when an Istar uses their power for selfish reasons, while Gandalf shows the exact opposite throughout The Rings of Power and The Lord of the Rings.
Because LOTR’s Blue Wizards Aren’t Evil, The Dark Wizard Must Turn Good Again
The Dark Wizard Will Do What Saruman Couldn’t
The Rings of Power‘s Dark Wizard may have a similar role to Saruman in the show, but his ending should deviate from that of the LOTR villain. While Tolkien doesn’t dig too deeply into the Blue Wizards’ characters — and some of his writings are contradictory — there’s no indication that they serve Sauron in his Third Age story. Tolkien does suggest that the Blue Wizards become cult leaders, which fits with The Rings of Power‘s depiction of its wizard so far. The show’s Dark Wizard is obviously attracted to power, and he’s willing to do questionable things to attain it.
Tolkien’s characterization of the Blue Wizards suggests they avoid serving Sauron, unlike Saruman.
That said, Tolkien’s initial writings state that the Blue Wizards travel as “missionaries to ‘enemy-occupied’ lands,” and he later confirms that they try to sway people from following Sauron (via Tolkien Gateway). Tolkien originally writes that they “failed” in this endeavor, but he eventually credits them with “weakening and disarraying the forces of the East.” Tolkien’s characterization of the Blue Wizards suggests they avoid serving Sauron, unlike Saruman. That means the Blue Wizard in The Rings of Power won’t be fully evil, and he may see a redemption story — something Saruman never gets.
The Rings Of Power Redeeming The Dark Wizard Will Differentiate Him From Saruman
The Blue Wizard’s Story Will Differ From Saruman’s & Gandalf’s
If The Rings of Power chooses to redeem its Dark Wizard — something the show also strives to do with Adar at the very end — it will differentiate his character from Saruman’s. Thus far, the Amazon show is repeating a lot of narrative beats from The Lord of the Rings‘ Gandalf and Saruman story. However, the series has the opportunity to do something entirely new with its Blue Wizard. It can give the Istar a character arc that’s completely unique, placing him in the middle of Gandalf and Saruman morally.
Given what we know about Rhûn’s Dark Wizard and Tolkien’s Blue Wizards, it seems unlikely this character will come to see Middle-earth exactly the way Gandalf does. However, The Rings of Power‘s version of Gandalf may convince him to use his powers for the benefit of Middle-earth — especially with the threat of Sauron looming. Viewers will have to wait until The Rings of Power season 3 to find out if the show’s Saruman replacement gets the redemption arc the LOTR character never does. It would fit with Tolkien’s lore and make for an interesting storyline.
