Rings of Power Season 3 Reveals Dark Wizard as Blue Wizard Pallando
The reveal arrives in Season 3's third episode, when Gandalf communes with the Secret Fire and learns Pallando killed his fellow Blue Wizard.
Season 3 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has revealed that the Dark Wizard is Pallando, one of the two Blue Wizards, according to Collider. The reveal comes in the season's third episode.
In that episode, Gandalf, played by Daniel Weyman, communes with the Secret Fire and hears about the wizard once called Pallando. He learns that Pallando murdered his partner, the other Blue Wizard.
The show attributes the devastation of Rhûn to Pallando's betrayal and lust for power. The Dark Wizard is played by Ciarán Hinds.
What Tolkien wrote about the Blue Wizards
Tolkien wrote that only five Istari came to Arda in physical form, and much of the little material about the Blue Wizards appears in Unfinished Tales. In The Peoples of Middle-earth, he described them as likely sent during the Second Age, around the same time as Glorfindel, to circumvent Sauron.
In a letter collected in The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, he suggested the Blue Wizards founded secret cults and "magic" traditions that outlasted Sauron's fall. Near the end of his life, Tolkien changed their names to Morinehtar and Rómestámo.
The series spent its first two seasons teasing the Stranger's identity as Gandalf.
Quick answers
Who is the Dark Wizard in The Rings of Power Season 3?
The Dark Wizard is revealed to be Pallando, one of the two Blue Wizards. The reveal comes in Season 3's third episode.
What happened to the other Blue Wizard in The Rings of Power?
According to the show, Pallando murdered his partner, the other Blue Wizard.
Who plays the Dark Wizard in The Rings of Power?
Ciarán Hinds plays the Dark Wizard.