Not only does this scene represent Tolkien’s belief that nature is strong enough and pure enough to withstand the mechanized world that tries to destroy it, it also represents how staying true to each other and fighting for what is right can have amazing power, even in the darkest of times. Unfortunately, the celebration does not extend to Saruman, who is the cause of the damage in the first place. Nor does it extend to the groveling Grima Wormtongue, who fled to the wizard’s side after being kicked out of Rohan once the king discovered his treachery.
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However, both Saruman and Wormtongue are given the chance to repent for their part in the war. They are given the opportunity to rejoin their original side, and fight against Sauron as they were always intended to. Gandalf implores Saruman to rejoin the White Council, to remember his Istari mission and help them defeat Sauron with the inner knowledge he has gained during his betrayal. And even once Saruman refuses, Theoden still offers this same hand of friendship to Wormtongue, even after all that has passed between them. He tells his former servant: “Grima, you need not follow him! You were not always as you are now. You were once a man of Rohan”. This is where the scene differs slightly in Peter Jackson’s movie adaptations, for in the films, Grima is belittled by Saruman and goaded into killing him with a hidden knife, before Legolas can stop him with his bow and arrows. However, in the book, Grima disappears back inside the tower, and what he does next ends up making all the difference to the war.
As the scene is described in the book, “A heavy shining thing came hurtling down from above. It glanced off the iron rail, even as Saruman left it, and passing close to Gandalf’s head, it smote the stair upon which he stood.” The object continues to do damage as it falls and rolls, but Pippin runs after it and picks it up. Grima has thrown the Palantir of Orthanc out of the tower, where it lands by Pippin’s feet. The question is, did he throw it at them, or to them?
Many fans believe it was a last redeeming effort of Grima to help his former master Theoden, without incurring the possible penalties that Saruman would have in store if Grima switched sides openly. This is definitely furthered when Aragorn states “Perhaps his aim was off because he’s not sure who he hates more, you or Saruman.”
It is very difficult to tell who the Palantir had been aimed at, as it falls both in the place where Saruman had been stood a moment before, but also very close to Gandalf’s head. Some believe that this was his way of paying recompense for the wrongs that he did to Theoden, and to his innocent niece Eowyn, but others believe this gives him far too much credit and cunning, and that he is nothing if not a cowardly, cringing character. But whether t it was intended to help them or to hinder them, Grima giving the others access to the Palantir helps them to see glimpses of Gondor before it is struck. This makes it so that they might ride to the aid of the kingdom. It allows them to remove the treacherous wizard’s power and cut off his link to the dark lord and his resources, and most importantly, allows Aragorn to challenge Sauron in the evil orb, showing him that the heir of Numenor has returned, and rushing him into striking before his forces are truly ready.
In this way, Grima’s actions actually help to determine the fate of Middle Earth and ensure that the allies win. He is, in many ways, a tragic character. He is never worthy of the woman he wanted, never strong enough to stand up for himself, and never gets the chance to repent for his actions, as he is killed during the Scouring of the Shire at the end of Return of the King, just as he is on the cusp of becoming a better man and returning to the side of the good.
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