it's a question many have asked what
would happen if one of the most powerful
beings in middle earth
took the ring now i've taken all the
effort i put into my usual videos
mapping travels researching dates and
timelines and put it into figuring out a
plausible sequence of events
so today on nerd of the rings we tackle
the question
what if gandalf took the one ring
our story begins in bag end over the
years gandalf has grown suspicious of
bilbo's ring
after bilbo leaves he instructs frodo
not to use it
believing it may be a ring of power as
aragorn hunts for gollum
gandolf makes his way to minas tirith
where he finds the scroll of a seal door
and puts together the pieces of the
history of the one ring
he leaves minas tirith and on his way
back to the shire he learns from the
elves of lorian
that aragorn has captured gollum gandalf
travels to merkwood where he
interrogates gollum
seeing the effects that the ring has had
on this creature who had once been a
hobbit
in addition to how it affected bilbo
over the past decades
gandalf is now certain the ring frodo
now possesses
is in fact the one ring gandalf travels
with all haste back to the shire
arriving on april 12 3018. in the book
we get a sense of how gandalf could have
come to possess the ring
and what could happen if he did no
cried gandalf with that power i should
have power too
great and terrible over me the ring
would gain a power still greater and
more deadly
do not tempt me i do not wish to become
like the dark lord himself
yet the way of the ring to my heart is
by pity
pity for weakness and the desire of
strength to do
good the wish to wield it
would be too great for my strength now
this is where the true story diverges
and our theory takes hold
after confirming frodo's ring to be the
one frodo offers it to gandalf
rather than refuse gandalf out of his
pity for hobbits and desire to do good
agrees to take the one ring this would
be an all too logical thing to do
after all sauron has known the names of
shire and bagans for at least a year by
this point
he will surely be coming for the ring
and the land of the shire
and its hobbit inhabitants are
ill-prepared and ill-equipped to face
any force of the enemy even with the
modest guard of dunadine around its
borders
not to mention a hobbit like frodo if
confronted by a servant of the enemy
would stand little chance of fighting
back or escaping
so gandalf takes possession of the ring
and decides to head to rivendell
the nearest place of strength from which
to move rather than leave in september
as frodo would
gandolf leaves on may 1st the same day
he leaves the shire in the actual story
in the books it takes gandalf from
september 29th to october 18th
to reach rivendell from hobbiton that is
less than three weeks
which includes being attacked by the
nazgul on weathertop
and taking a long detour north in order
to lose the four
pursuing him we can safely assume that
with the nazgul not leaving their
dwellings of minas morgul and dogeldor
until june 20th gandalf reaches
rivendell with relative ease within the
same 3 week period
meaning he arrives in him ladris before
the end of may
3018. it's possible and even likely that
gandalf would have aragorn accompany him
to rivendell
but the other fellowship members would
not be in rivendell for quite some time
and the hobbits would be left out
entirely gollum won't escape the elves
captivity until june
20th so there's yet no reason for
legolas to come to rivendell
likewise boromir and gimli would also
have not yet left their homes
let alone arrived in amladdress now the
fellowship stayed in rivendell for
roughly two months
so for consistency's sake we'll say
gandalf rests in rivendell for the same
amount of time
therefore at some point between the end
of may and the end of july
it is left to those who remain to have
their own council
gandalf elrond glorfendel aragorn
and the elves of rivendell now i believe
gandalf would still at this point be
following his own advice to not use the
ring
his trip has been relatively easy thus
far so there's been no reason yet for
him to use it
or even remove it from his bag or pocket
or wherever he stores it
however as he has possessed the ring for
two months it begins to work on him
though he likely does not realize it
even if it was kept in a vault
in rivendell while they decide what to
do having possessed it for weeks the
ring begins to weigh on gandalf's
thoughts
by this time the ring has just enough
effect on gandalf to lead him to
volunteer to take the ring at the
council
the council still decides to destroy the
ring of course as we learn in the actual
book that this is truly the only viable
option they have
now here they would have a choice would
they go south towards the gap of rohan
or would they travel east crossing the
mountains then turning south to lorien
here i believe they would mimic what
occurs in the actual story
going south towards a gap of rohan for
multiple reasons
first traveling to lorien this way would
take them close to murkwood
and even more concerning while sauron
had been kicked out of dolgodur by the
white council decades earlier
we know from my ringwraith video that
sauron still had forces there
led by the nas ghoul kamal the
easterling
traveling so near to sauron's one
stronghold outside of mordor would
indeed be taking a huge risk
second at this point the wise would be
completely unaware of the treachery of
saruman
speaking of saruman you may wonder why
would gandalf not immediately go to
saramon like he does in the films to
consult the white wizard
while in the books gandalf only goes to
eisenguard after meeting ratagast on the
road while wandering
eriador since gandolf has now taken the
ring himself he has no need to seek news
in the wild
and therefore would not meet up with
ratagas to be told to go to isengard
this may be a bit of a stretch but for
all we know ratagast may himself come to
rivendell during this two-month period
seeking gandalf he may even take part in
this revised council informing gandalf
that saruman wishes to see him
like he does in the book so this
fellowship would believe they had an
ally and a powerful one awaiting them at
isengard
this alternate fellowship leaves
rivendell around the beginning of august
you know what to avoid any confusion
with the actual fellowship i'm going to
call
our hypothetical fellowship gandalf's
company since he's the star of this
theory
gandalf aragorn and a small group of
elrond's elves make up the company
as in the books i believe elrond and
glorfendel remain behind
once again there's two possible
approaches here do they take the path
from the actual story heading south on
foot along the narrow paths beside the
mountains
in order to evade spies or do they go by
roads on which they could take horses
today i'm going with the same path as
the canon story
gandalf's company is made of more
warriors but i think they would still
err on the side of caution choosing to
evade the spies of sauron and travel in
secrecy
interestingly this means they would
likely miss boromir who at this point is
traveling north to find rivendell
we know boromir departs minas tirith on
a horseback on july 4th
he makes his way north and through the
gap of rohan as he
forged the grey flood he loses his horse
and must travel the rest of the way on
foot
he spends a good chunk of his trip
wandering the roads of ariador
as he doesn't know where exactly
rivendell is located
as he says at the council of elrond long
have i wandered by roads forgotten
seeking the house of elrond of which
many have heard but few knew where it
lay
since gandalf's company takes the paths
near the misty mountains they miss
boromir completely
now we know it takes the fellowship a
bit over a month to go from rivendell to
lorien
which includes a failed attempt to cross
the redhorn pass
so we'll give gandalf's company a month
and a half to make their way to saruman
in orthanc
arriving in mid-september now this is
where things get really interesting
gandalf having always been cautious
around saruman and feeling the grip of
the one ring decides to hide its
presence
saruman tells the group he must discuss
important matters with gandalf alone
wizard to wizard as it were while the
rest of the group waits
gandalf and saruman make their way into
orthanc
where saruman builds up to his big
reveal his pitch to gandalf to join
with sauron gandolf refuses saruman
attacks
and begins to take the upper hand in
their fight in his desperation
not truly knowing or being cognizant of
what he's doing
gandalf slips on the one ring as the
power surges through him gandalf fights
back
and while defending himself kills
saruman
with this act the one ring strengthens
its hold
on gandalf having heard the commotion
the rest of gandalf's company burst into
the tower of isengard
gandolf explained sauron's treachery and
his attack on gandalf
while hiding his use of the one ring the
group
seeking to reassess their path after
having lost what they thought would be
an
ally rest at eisenguard here the change
of timeline causes a very interesting
circumstance
again since we know the journeys of the
ring wraiths we know that in september
3018
they've returned to the wold in rohan
having unsuccessfully searched the veils
of anduin for leads on the shire and for
gollum
at this point sauron is aware of
saruman's treachery and tells the nas
ghoul via messenger
to abandon secrecy and make for isengard
their arrival date is september 18th
which lines up perfectly with gandalf's
company resting there
the nine come to eisengard seeking
saruman
but instead they find gandalf's company
could a group of elves along with
gandalf and aragorn withstand the nine
it's possible however as gandalf has now
used the ring and had a couple days to
dwell on the power that it brought him
he is unable to resist the opportunity
presented to him
in unfinished tales we hear a very
applicable line from saruman to the
nazgul when they come to isengard
i have it not as surely its servants
perceive without telling
for if i had it then you would bow
before me and call me
lord with the nine preparing to lay
siege upon
orthanc gandolf slips on the ring once
again
the ring wraiths are confronted by its
new bearer
the nas ghoul are now gandalfs to
command
naturally aragorn and the elven
companions would be uneasy by this
development
gandalf dismisses their concerns as a
one-time occurrence
he assures them he only used the ring
this one time
as they could not hope to battle all
nine while he was still weary from his
battle with saruman
it is just the stroke of luck they need
in the end gandalf convinces the group
that the
ring rights cannot be destroyed while
sauron and the ring endure
however since gandalf possesses the ring
he can command them
causing havoc in sauron's forces
reluctantly
aragorn and the elves allow gandalf to
send forth the nazgul
he commands the witch king to return to
minus morgul and make preparations for
war
with all the orcs under his command
gandalf's company makes their way
southeast to rohan
arriving at eterus around a week later
just as in the books
theoden and his kingdom have been
weakened by the words and poison of
grima worm tongue
in similar fashion to the real story
theory gandalf comes to eterus and heals
the king
and grima wormtongue is banished from
the realm
in the books theoden is much more eager
to fight saruman than in the films
the very same day that theoden is healed
he leads the rohirum to take the fight
to saruman
in similar fashion theory theodin is
brought up to speed by gandalf
except in this situation they are taking
the fight to sauron
gandalf consults with the king and it is
decided
theoden will muster the rohirrim and
ride to minas tirith
after a rest of about a week in eteres
gandolf makes his way
south he tells aragorn and the elves to
assist in the preparations of the
rohirum and to meet him at minas tirith
making the trip of roughly 350 miles
gandalf arrives at minas tirith in late
october 3018
at around the same time boromir arrives
in rivendell
and holds council with elrond the elf
wishing to maintain secrecy of the ring
will only state that a company on an
important task has headed south
and boromir will likely be of best
service in his home city
gandalf is brought to the throne room of
minas tirith to meet with the steward of
the city
gandalf reveals to denathor his plan for
rohan and gondor
rohan will ride to minas tirith join
with the forces of gondor
and ride to the black gate to make war
on sauron himself
denathor refuses gandalf's plan he has
received word that the forces of minas
morgul which had attacked us gileth have
retreated
back to the morgul veil why now should
they ride out to face an enemy that has
retreated
as in the books denathore has used the
palantir to learn the truth about
aragorn
and knows he rides with theoden he
answers gandalf
in the same manner as in the return of
the king do i
not know thee mythrandir thy hope is to
rule in my stead
to stand behind every throne north south
or west
so with the left hand thou would stews
me for a little while as a shield
against mordor
and with the right bring up this ranger
of the north to supplant me
but i say to thee gandalf myth reindeer
i will not be thy
tool i am steward of the house of an
arion
i will not step down to be the dota
chamberlain of an upstart
even were his claim proved to me still
he comes but of the line of a sildore i
will not
bow to such a one last of a ragged house
long bereft of
lordship and dignity by this time the
ring has a strong hold on gandalf
he is no longer concerned with the
courtesy of halls and the positions of
men
enough answered the wizard too long have
you sat in the seat of ruling
once more gondor shall have its king and
by no authority of yours
shall he be denied as denethor rises
from his seat gandalf wields the
combined power of the ring of fire and
the one
denethor is consumed by flames and is no
more
with the steward gone gandalf seizes
control of the city
he orders war preparations to begin
immediately
in the books it takes the rohirrim five
days to travel from dunharrow to minas
tirith
with less urgency they arrive in around
a week after assembling their forces
after making battle preparations with
aragorn and theoden
gandolf leads their combined forces in
their march to the black gate
they arrive in late november in a
coordinated attack
the forces of minus morgul attack those
of baradur
in the days before the nine lead the
forces of morgul
against their former master as the men
of the west arrive they breach the gate
to find
two decimated armies gandalf orders his
forces
and the ring rates themselves to attack
all the orcs
the servants of sauron are to be utterly
destroyed
gandalf calls forth the dark lord
himself from his tower
tolkien himself covered this
hypothetical scenario in letter 246
one can imagine the scene in which
gandalf say was placed in such a
position
it would be a delicate balance on one
side the true allegiance of the ring to
sauron
on the other superior strength because
sauron was not
actually in possession and perhaps also
because he was weakened
by long corruption and expenditure of
will in dominating
inferiors sauron descends from his tower
to fight gandalf face to face
gandalf with his two rings unleashes his
full
power and is the victor destroying the
dark lord
at this point amidst the chaos of battle
and the defeat of sauron
aragorn runs to gandalf offering his
assistance to take the ring to mount
doom
gandalf refuses the ring is
mine it shall remain with me and with it
i shall protect all middle earth it is
the only way
no gandalf you cannot keep it
says aragorn gandalf comes to a
realization
aragorn wants the ring for himself or at
least that is what he believes
he must seize this one opportunity in
the aftermath of battle amongst the
chaos
whether by a nearby ring wraith or by
his own hand
gandalf kills elisar gandolf grieves the
loss of his friend but knows it was
necessary to keep the peace
and the ring he orders the armies to
return to their realms and to spread the
word
sauron is overthrown and peace is to
reign
in middle earth to ensure this peace
gandalf makes plans to place each of the
nine nazgul
in strategic positions throughout middle
earth peace and order
must be maintained at all costs those
who resist
or break the law will be dealt with
severely
i'll conclude with another quote from
tolkien's letter 246
regarding gandalf's rule gandalf as
ringlord would have been far worse than
sauron
he would have remained righteous but
self-righteous
he would have continued to rule and
order things for good
and the benefit of his subjects
according to his wisdom
which was and would have remained great
gandalf would have made good detestable
and seem evil
it seems i have missed much tell me
mithrandia
where is my father where's my brother i
have stationed your brother
in australia he is overseeing the
reconstruction of the city
your father is dead it seems sauron had
poisoned his mind with the use of a
palantir
my hope is that in his absence you will
be of great service to gondor
i cannot stay in one city permanently i
need only a modest force from you
and from theoden for my journey a force
whither will you take this force
mithrandia much must be set in order to
ensure the safety of middle earth
i ride to rivendell and lorien
rivendo the line of kings has
failed boromir i believe it is time
for a new line to begin what say
you king
so there you have it guys my theory on
what if gandalf
took the one ring he rules over middle
earth maintaining peace by brute force
a tyrant in a different mold than sauron
but all the more tragic
as he does great evil in his pursuit of
good
now obviously there's a lot of
conjecture in here and a few things i
just did because i thought it was
interesting
i just couldn't resist denithor being in
flames the second time
so now i turn it over to you what do you
think would happen if gandalf took the
one ring
let me know in the comments as always i
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on nerd of the rings