The Stranger & Harfoot Reddit Theory Fans Wish Could Work
There is The Rings of Power fan theory that could give answers to all questions you might have about the Harfoots and the Stranger. Unfortunately, there is a twist.
After The Rings of Power finale, pretty much everyone in the fandom is confident that the Stranger is future Gandalf, while the Harfoots are the prototypes of the hobbits. However, there is a big issue with Gandalf in particular, because the Lord of the Rings lore masters keep insisting that the wizard did not arrive before the Third Age, while the show is set in Second Age.
Well, there is a popular fan theory posted on Reddit that suggests that everything is... exactly like that. But it adds that the Harfoots and the Stranger action might take place in the Third Age, while the rest of the show's events happen in the past.
This would be a perfect solution for all of the show's potential storytelling and lore problems. However, according to other fans, it simply doesn't work.
First issue with the fan theory is that the meteor in the beginning of the series is something that ties all of the events together, and everybody in the end of episode 1 witnessed it.
Even if the Harfoots saw another meteor, there is another thing: Mount Doom volcano eruption which has affected the Harfoot's caravan.
"With the Harfoots witnessing the meteor, AND volcano bombs landing on their Grove, it's almost certain that everybody is on a similar timeline," Redditor BrotherTraining3771 explained.
The theory's failure to live up to the reality of the show still leaves Gandalf's origin a mystery — if the Stranger is indeed Gandalf, as fans suspect him to be. But either he has a long way ahead of him before actually becoming the Gandalf we know, or the showrunners appeared to have treated the source material loosely and just ignored the timeline differences.
What we do know about the Stranger as of season 1 finale is that he is an Istar — "wise" or "wizard" in translation to our language. This does not necessarily mean he is Gandalf, but judging by his advice to "always follow your nose", such character development is more than likely.
The second season of The Rings of Power is already in the works. However, the premiere date is yet to be announced.