Amazon Prime Videos The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power offers Gandalf a chance to succeed where he failed Saruman in The Lord of the Rings. The series teased the mystery of Sauron’s true identity in Season 1, the Stranger’s identity in Season 2, and Season 3 looks set to continue the revealing trend by confirming who the mysterious Dark Wizard is. Producers Patrick McKay and JD Payne have all but admitted that he is one of the Blue Wizards, the mysterious Istari whose fate was never confirmed in LOTR (Reddit). Gandalf was unable to save Saruman from the darkness, but the Dark Wizard offers him a new project.
Gandalf, Saruman, Radagast and the Blue Wizards were the five Lord of the Rings Istari sent to Middle Earth by the Valar to oppose Sauron. Sauron corrupted Saruman, who harbored a selfish desire for power anyway, and Radagast chose the birds and beasts over his mission. But the Blue Wizards”don’t get into these stories,” although “great wisdom they had” (The Silmarillion). JRR Tolkien speculated in a letter that they may have turned to Sauron, but they err on the side of good in the main texts. Dark Wizard might be goodand Gandalf could help him get there.
Gandalf Could Save the Dark Wizard in Rings Of Power Season 3 (Unlike Saruman)
Gandalf couldn’t help Saruman, but he could help the Dark Wizard
Gandalf was unable to save his fellow Istar, Saruman, from the darkness in The Lord of the Ringsbut The Rings of Power season 3 offers him the chance to save another Istar. Saruman deceived the White Council, including Gandalf, leading to his incredibly problematic rise to power in the Third Age. Like Saruman, Rings of Power Dark Wizard shows signs of corruption. Now that Gandalf and the Dark Wizard are on the same page about opposing Sauron, Gandalf could keep him on task in season 3, succeeding where he failed with Saruman.
Does Saruman’s refusal to change prove he was actually evil in Lord of the Rings?
Saruman’s mistakes were different from those of Sauron and Morgoth
Gandalf has the chance to save one of the Blue Wizards from the failed quest in Lord of the Rings’ Second Era in Rings of Powerbut Saruman may have been beyond redemption. In the Third Age, Saruman’s behavior leading up to his death revealed a petty, cynical and cruel personality, stuck in his ways. GrÃma Wormtongue served him reluctantly but loyally, and Saruman mocked him for it in a sadistic, arrogant, cruel, and merciless way. Frodo spared his life and, instead of repenting, hated him for it – this did not fit with his cynical worldview, frustrating the revenge he sought for his mistakes.
LOTR explores megalomania – hunger for power. In Morgoth’s cynical and nihilistic megalomania, he hated and destroyed what he could not possess. Sauron’s megalomania was neurotically perfectionist and delusional – in his God complex he thought he was healing the world. Saruman’s megalomania was cynical and without illusions, but he still had respect. “You are wise… you stole the sweetness of my revenge“he said to Frodo with”mixing admiration and respect,“proving the distant consciousness of his imperfection. Saruman’s self-consciousness suggested redeemability, although he remained unsaved. But Gandalf could still save the Dark Wizard in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
Source: Reddit