Randall Flagg: How His Appearance in The Stand Connects to the Rest of King’s Books

Randall Flagg is a mysterious and deadly character in Stephen King’s books. Sometimes the dangerous character is easy to spot while at other times eagle eyed readers will be the only ones able to tell he’s been there. This is due to the fact that the character uses a number of aliases. Usually the aliases he uses have the initials R.F.

Randall Flagg began life as Walter o’Dim and eventually became much more than a simple mortal man. He is such a deadly force that he tends to be blamed for anything horrible that happens in Stephen King’s books.

One odd facet in Randall’s vast history is how his character in the rest of Stephen King’s books connects to The Stand. Why is this such an odd facet in the character’s history? Because his character in The Stand is so different from his appearances in the rest of Stephen King’s works.

So it is up to each reader to make their own theories about how Randall Flagg in The Stand connects to all of Stephen King’s other works.

My own theory, that is just forming as I reread The Stand, is that the Randall Flagg we see in The Stand is the remnants of Walter O’Dim that died at the end of the final Dark Tower book.

This would explain why he doesn’t have a clear sense of memory in the novel. I mean, how would you react if you barely survive death?

It would also explain why he appears so differently in The Stand than in the rest of King’s works. He’s not the Randall Flagg we know, he’s just the remnants of the fearsome character.

Maybe one day in the future I will revisit this theory and flesh it out out.