The Lord of the Rings: 5 Things You Still Don’t Understand About Gandalf and the Other Wizards

Gandalf is one of the most important characters in The Lord of the Rings franchise, yet there are still a few things about him—and wizards in general—that don’t make much sense. Gandalf, along with all the members of the fellowship and various others, appeared on the screen in the original “Lord of the Rings trilogy”. However, unlike many of the other characters in those films, Gandalf went on to play an important role in several other films and shows within the franchise.

The first performance of the character appeared in three films based on The Hobbitand is currently confirmed to be in the upcoming film The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum again. It has also been revealed that in the ongoing Prime Video series Lord of the Rings: The Rings of PowerThe stranger is actually Gandalf. Despite appearances on screen, however, these 5 things about Gandalf still make no sense.

5) Gandalf could not crack the Ritual to Enter the Mines of Moria

Although it was a small detail, one of the first things that didn’t make sense about Gandalf in the original trilogy was his inability to solve a riddle in order to enter the Mines of Moria. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. The riddle was, “Speak a friend and enter.” When Frodo asked what that meant, Gandalf explained that it was simple; if you wanted a friend, you had to say the password, and the doors would open. However, Frodo discovered that he really wanted an Elvish word for friend, “Mellon.”

At that time in the story, Gandalf had already been established as a wise and worldly person, who in theory should not have a problem solving this riddle (which is to be honest, to be honest). In fact, Gandalf had already made it clear that he did not want to go into the mines, so some of the fans believed that he was pretending not to know. In the movie, it doesn’t seem like that, though; The wizard looked dazed, almost out of shape.

4) Gandalf did not use much magic when he returned from the king

After Gandalf’s apparent death in The Fellowship of the Ringhe went back inside The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers he is no longer Gandalf the Gray but an even stronger Gandalf the White. The change marked a great improvement in Gandalf’s abilities; in fact, the White Wizard was the highest level of wizards in The Lord of the Rings. Even with that power, when it comes time for a fierce battle with King of Wings: The return of the kingGandalf actually wields quite a bit of magical power in a surprising way.

It is true that his staff was destroyed by the Witch-king of Angmar during the Battle of Gondor, and that certainly slowed him down somewhat. However, Gandalf did not need his staff to do magic; he could still use his powers without them during that battle and during the one that followed at the Black Gate of Mordor. These fights were certainly the moment when such power would be most important, as everything throughout the three films boiled down to them.

3) Gandalf was not as worried as he should have been about Bilbo’s Ring.

Bilbo Baggins finds the One Ring during the events of The Hobbitand at the beginning of The Fellowship of the Ring 60 years later, he still has it. While Gandalf did not know that Bilbo had found the One Ring, he did know that he had found the magic ring. However, it is not until The Fellowship of the Ring that Gandalf gets really worried and starts digging into the history of the One Ring and its power.

Although he can’t be blamed for not suspecting that this was the One Ring, since that would seem impossible, it’s surprising that he wasn’t more concerned. Besides, Gandalf was known to be a wise and perceptive wizard. Perhaps, knowing that Bilbo had obtained the magic ring under suspicious circumstances would have set off at least a few bells for the wizard. It will be interesting to see how The Hunt for Gollum it refers to this, if at all, as the cause of name hunting.

2) Gandalf Used a Moth to Call Eagles

Although much has been said about eagles by The return of the Lordspecifically as to why Gandalf didn’t just use them to bring the One Ring to Mordor in the first place, the so-called plot hole actually makes sense. For many reasons, not the least of which was that Sauron would have seen them coming with his great eyeball, it would not have worked to have the eagles fly someone through the One Ring to Mordor. However, there is a very strange time with the eagles The Fellowship of the Ring.

Namely, when Gandalf has been captured by Saruman, he talks to the moth to find eagles to save him. Of course, Gandalf has magic, so that might be the case, although it’s a minor issue that still doesn’t explain how that worked. It’s also important to note that moths are a film creation; in the books, it’s another wizard with an eagle that saves Gandalf—and he doesn’t use moths.

1) Wizards were only meant to be guides, but Gandalf was so much more

Finally, the most important thing that doesn’t make sense about Gandalf is his level of involvement. In the Lord of the Rings books, it is confirmed that wizards were sent to Middle-earth only as guides. However, Gandalf went far, far from that order, especially when it came to Frodo. To The Fellowship of the Ring alone, Frodo hesitates to leave the Shire, and Gandalf tells him it’s the only way.

Yes, it makes sense that Gandalf felt the need to be more involved, considering that all of Middle Earth was at risk from Sauron’s return. Still, with that in mind, wizards were meant to have a special role, and Gandalf clearly went beyond that in the original trilogy.

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