Rings of Power Reveals Pallando as the Dark Wizard

The third episode of season three of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power reveals that the Dark Wizard is Pallando, one of the two Blue Wizards, and that he killed his partner, Alatar. The episode also gives Gandalf a mission to save Pallando rather than destroy him, extending the series’ account of a part of J.R.R. Tolkien’s world left largely unexplained in his writings.

Gandalf learns the wizards’ history from the Secret Fire, a divine presence associated with Eru Ilúvatar, the creator of Middle-earth. In the episode, the Secret Fire explains that Pallando sought greater power, betrayed Alatar and left the region of Rhûn in ruin. The revelation identifies the previously unnamed Dark Wizard as Pallando, rather than Saruman, whose identity had been a subject of speculation among viewers.

Gandalf initially asks how he can defeat Pallando. Instead, the Secret Fire tells him that his task is to save the fallen wizard. The episode establishes that mission but does not show whether Gandalf succeeds or what ultimately happens to Pallando. The story presents the fate of the Blue Wizards through the series’ fictional events; Tolkien’s writings offer little detail about their work...