The wizards came to Middle Earth somewhere between the Second and Third Ages, sent by the Valar to help guide the peoples and creatures against the darkness of the evil lord Sauron. They started by getting to know the world and its creatures, and much of that knowledge came from the ents. Radagast the Brown is known for his love of nature, woodlands, and their creatures, suggesting that he would have been a great companion and ally to these herders of the woods. Saruman, too, was known to have spent many hours walking among their trees, talking to the forests around Isengard in the days of old, before he corrupted it. But arguably the greatest ent friend of all the wizards is Gandalf. He helps them navigate the challenges of the War of the Ring, and protects them from those who would choose to harm them. However, in many ways, Ganadalf seems like a strange choice to have trusted so willingly. He could have become the ents’ greatest enemy, if the tale had turned out differently.
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There is a very important point during the Fellowship of the Ring in which Gandalf has a decision to make. He is on the verge of heading back to The Shire to meet Frodo and Sam and accompany them on their journey to Rivendell, when he is waylaid. At this moment, Radagast unknowingly aids Saruman by intercepting Gandalf and redirecting him to Isengard, when Saruman lies in wait. The white wizard has been peering into the Palantir, and has news that the black riders are on their way to retrieve the One Ring from Hobbiton. He uses this opportunity to try to persuade the gray wizard to join forces with him and seize power for themselves, as they have long been allies, and two of the most powerful maiar in their world.
Gandalf, of coursem refuses. He is true to his Istari mission of trying to protect the world, not destroy. He is also loyal to those he has long held dear, like Frodo and Bilbo, and Aragorn, the latter of whom he has known since the future king was a young boy. His refusal to switch sides and perpetuate Saruman’s selfish lust for domination results in him being trapped on the Tower or Orthanc. He is only able to escape by virtue of Radagast sending the Giant Eagle Gwahir to Isengard with news.
Many fans have wondered why Saruman didn’t take Gandalf’s ring of power on Orthanc, seeing as power is what he so desperately sought. However, it’s a very good thing that he didn’t, especially for the Ents. Gandalf’s ring is the ring of Fire, and helps him tap into elemental magic that brings this fire to life in many different forms. These powers range from his famously spectacular fireworks, to the tense scene in The Hobbit where Thorin’s companions are stuck in the tree and end up throwing pinecones (set alight by Gandalf) at their enemies. If Saruman had gotten his ring, it could have spelled disaster for the tree-herders. Even worse, if Gandalf had decided to side with his old friend and the leader of the white council, he could have been an unstoppable enemy for the ents in the War of the Ring. In a matter of moments, he could have set the ents and all of their forests ablaze, devastating them beyond repair.
Instead, though, Gandalf chose to stand and fight against Saruman and Sauron. He strengthened his bond with the ents when they marched upon Isengard and destroyed the mechanism that the white wizard was using to build his army of Uruk-hai. They trapped Saruman in the tower, and held him there under Gandalf’s request, but he eventually escaped and made his way back to The Shire to wreak more havoc and damage. Saruman rejects Gandalf and Galadriel’s help no matter how many times it is offered, and eventually meets a grisly death. Nonetheless, Gandalf helped the tree-herders rebuild their burned forests and begin to thrive again after many years of displacement. In the end, he fulfills what a true Istari was meant to do all along.
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