Gandalf wasn’t that wise: 7 Times Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings risked more than it’s worth

Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy successfully brought J. R.R. Tolkien’s beloved novel about the fictional Middle-earth to the big screens. The movies depicted the destruction of the One Ring and the events and battles surrounding it. The formation of the Fellowship of the Ring to Frodo reaching Mount Doom to destroy the ring was shown in these films.

Several people were involved in defeating Sauron, such as Aragorn, Legolas, and more. However, one of the most important characters who started the plan to destroy the ring was Gandalf. He was the one who asked Frodo to go to Rivendell where the Fellowship was formed, and he also gathered many forces in the fight against Sauron.

However, to achieve this perilous goal, Gandalf also has to take risks sometimes. As Sauron says in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003), Gandalf can sacrifice even the closest people to him to destroy evil from the Middle-earth. In this article, we have listed 7 such times when Gandalf took a bold risk in The Lord of The Rings films.

Disclaimer: This article is based on the writer's opinion. Readers' discretion is advised.

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7) Sending Frodo to Mordor

Gandalf, from the 2001 The Lord of the Rings film, has shown trust in Frodo with the ring as he sees that Frodo might not get corrupted by the evil powers of the ring. However, in doing so, he put the Hobbit’s life in danger as the servants of Sauron, such as the Orcs and Nazgûls, would be looking for him.

Gandalf's will to destroy the ring involved risking Frodo's life, a chance he was ready to take. Even though there was a fellowship, Sam and Frodo were left with Gollum to go to Mordor while the others kept Sauron’s army busy in battles.

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6) Entering the mines of Moria

In the first The Lord of the Rings movie, Gandalf and Aragorn lead the Fellowship to go through the mountain of Caradhras but fail due to the heavy winter.

They are then taken to go through the Mines of Moria, which is risky, as the mines are infested with Orcs and trolls, and all the dwarves have already been killed by them. Frodo even gets injured by a huge troll as the Fellowship fights with the orcs.

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5) Imprisoned by Saruman at Isengard

In The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), Gandalf visits Saruman in Isengard after he gets the message from Radagast the Brown that Saruman wants to see him. Going to Isengard alone was a risk Gandalf took as Saruman imprisoned him in Orthanc after he refused to help him find and use the One Ring.

Gandalf is shocked that Saruman tells him how he wanted to get a hold of the powerful ring and wanted to use its evil powers. Later, he is saved by Gwaihir the Eagle, who helps him escape from Saruman’s capture.

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4) Leaving the fellowship at crucial times

There were several times throughout the Fellowship’s quest when Gandalf left them and went to accomplish some other task related to the ring. He is busy rallying forces against Sauron, which requires him to travel from one place to another.

Gandalf's decision to fight the Balrog left the Fellowship vulnerable to further attacks, and they experienced several losses, which resulted in Sam and Frodo continuing their journey to Mordor alone. They were not accompanied on most of their journey and had to take Gollum’s help, who tried to trick Frodo and take the ring from him.

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3) Gandalf stops Legolas from killing Saruman

Gandalf confronts Saruman in Isengard in the last film of The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He asks him to surrender but is taunted by Saruman, which prompts Legolas to attempt to kill him. However, Gandalf stops Legolas from doing so.

In the books, this decision causes a major problem as Saruman ends up wreaking havoc in Shire. But in the movie, Grima stabs him, and Saruman falls to his death. Even if it was to gain more information about Sauron, Gandalf still risked leaving Saruman alive. Fortunately, Saruman fell to his own death and couldn’t cause more harm to anyone.

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2) Gandalf takes Pipin to Minas Tirith

After Pipin looks through the Palantir, Gandalf takes him to Minas Tirith in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).

Since there was an ongoing battle in Minas Tirith, he risked Pipin’s life by taking him there. Although he did keep an eye on the hobbit to prevent him from causing any more problems, his presence there put him at risk, as the Nazgûls were also present in the battle.

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1) The battle with the Balrog

The trolls and Orcs are not the only dangers that they face in the mines of Moria. After fighting their way through the trolls, the Fellowship encounters the Balrog.

Gandalf takes a bold risk and fights the Balrog alone to allow the other members of the Fellowship to pass through the bridge of Khazad-dûm. It was a risky move by Gandalf because, while fighting the Balrog, he also fell into the depths of the mines with the formidable creature, ending his life in the process.

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Although he returns as Gandalf the white, the risk he takes is hazardous.

Also Read: 10 Best Durin moments from The Rings of Power