The Lord of the Rings is full of mysterious prophecies, but one of the most mysterious may be the one made by the Witch-King of Angmar regarding Saruman. The Witch-King of Angmar is one of Sauron's most powerful followers in The Lord of the Ringsleading the deadly Ringwraiths, and he may have been wiser than some realize. The Witch King, Saruman and Wormtongue appear in Peter Jackson's legendary film The Lord of the Rings trilogy and its source material, JRR Tolkien's novel of the same name. However, the fascinating prophecy of the Witch King's Parseltongue does not appear in either.
While Saruman may genuinely be one of the most evil characters in Lord of the RingsGríma Wormtongue often feels like both victim and perpetrator. Likewise, the Witch-King of Angmar is a petrifying force of evil, but he is also an automaton, decomposed by his Ring of Power into a slave to Sauron. This complex interplay of culpability creates the rich grayscale morality of Lord of the Rings this makes readers and viewers so involved in the diverse fates of all its characters. This is what makes the Sorcerer King's insightful vision Unfinished Stories Such an intriguing moment.
Tolkien wrote that the Witch-King predicted that Wormtongue would destroy Saruman
The Witch King knew something Saruman didn't know
In Unfinished StoriesJRR Tolkien described how the Witch-King of Angmar predicted Wormtongue's betrayal of Saruman. This happened around the time of the events of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers film. Unfinished Storiespublished posthumously in 1980, contains several finished and unfinished works Lord of the Rings stories from different periods of Tolkien's life. A chapter of this, “The Hunt for the Ring” describes what happened behind the scenes as Gandalf rode from Edoras. In this fascinating addendum to LOTRthe Witch King approached Saruman and then Wormtongue, looking for the Ring.
The Witch King realized that Wormtongue was evil and would harm Saruman. That's why he let Wormtongue go instead of killing him. However, It probably didn't take a genius to see that Wormtongue was a traitorous bastard – the basic psychological profile could probably have gotten someone this far. As such, the Sorcerer King's perception in this chapter of Unfinished Stories it may not be a prophecy as such, but rather a moment of insight. The visions are thoughts of the One Eru Ilúvatar, the God of Middle Earth, and the Sorcerer King may not have been a priority contact for Eru.
Why the Witch King wanted Saruman dead
The Witch King has always been loyal to Sauron
Although Saruman worked for Sauron during The Lord of the Ringshe eventually turned against him, which Sauron discovered. Saruman was one of Lord of the Rings' five Istari, sent to Middle-earth by the Valar to oppose Sauron. Saruman betrayed this task quite spectacularly, first by betraying the Valar, and then by delving further into treason by betraying Sauron for his own gain. When Sauron discovered Saruman's betrayalhe alerted the Ringwraiths. Being biophysically loyal to Sauron, according to the control of the One Ring, the Witch-King wanted Saruman dead.
|
Tolkienian era |
Event marking the beginning |
Years |
Total length in solar years |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Ahead of time |
Undetermined |
Undetermined |
Undetermined |
|
Days before days |
Ainur entered Eä |
1 – 3,500 Valian years |
33,537 |
|
Pre-First Tree Years (YT) |
Yavanna created the Two Trees |
YT 1 – 1050 |
10,061 |
|
Early Age (FA) |
Elves woke up in Cuiviénen |
YT 1050 – YT 1500, FA 1 – 590 |
4,902 |
|
Second Age (SA) |
The War of Wrath is over |
SA 1 – 3441 |
3,441 |
|
Third Age (TA) |
Last Alliance defeated Sauron |
AT 1 – 3021 |
3,021 |
|
Fourth Era (Fo.A) |
The elven rings have left Middle-earth |
Fo.A 1 – unknown |
Unknown |
There was a lot that wasn't revealed by Peter Jackson's story Lord of the Rings films. Unfinished Stories sheds some light on the intrigues of Sauron's forces during the War of the Ring in the Third Age. “The Hunt for the Ring” reveals some details about how Saruman began planning his own rise to power behind Sauron's backintercepting Sauron's messengers. Sauron realized this, but chose not to reveal his hand at first in order to manipulate Saruman. Revealed as a traitor to Sauron, Saruman became incredibly vulnerable, but Wormtongue reached him before Sauron did.
Why Wormtongue killed Saruman in The Lord of the Rings
Wormtongue and Saruman didn't end on good terms
Gríma Wormtongue was Saruman's loyal servant throughout the period The Lord of the Rings and still ended up killing him. Saruman's death was different in the book and the films, but he died at the hands of Wormtongue in the same way in both. This speaks to the working conditions under Saruman – terrible. Simultaneously, this shows Wormtongue's dishonesty. Wormtongue and Saruman had a complex and intriguing working relationship. In Tolkien's 1954 masterpiece, The Lord of the Rings, Saruman actively mocked Wormtongue for his loyalty, demonstrating bizarre leadership tactics.
Wormtongue probably knew too much about Saruman for Saruman to ever abandon him from his service.
It seems that Saruman was a particularly toxic type of leaderentrapping his subordinates in codependent slavery. Wormtongue probably knew too much about Saruman for Saruman to ever abandon him from his service. He was trapped in a loveless, hopeless existence, subsisting on the small reward he could get from the lie of a life he lived in the court of Rohan. In fact, his disloyalty to Saruman is no wonder. Saruman bullied and harassed Gríma Wormtongue, openly taunting her inability to escape him. Karmically, this led to Saruman's death – karma worked hard on Lord of the Rings.
Why The King's Theatrical Version's Return Didn't Include Saruman's Death
Saruman's death scene didn't fit into Return of the King
The expanded edition of The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King included the death of Saruman, but surprised many fans that it was not included in any of the previous releases. Jackson a little confused The Lord of the Rings' timeline of his films, to the point that Saruman's death really would have fit The Two Towersdespite coming close to the end of the novel. And in fact, Jackson had planned this, but cut the scene to reduce the film's running time. Saruman actor Christopher Lee was outraged by this.
Wormtongue stabbed Saruman to death in the book and film.
Many fans also opposed this change. It wasn't hard to see why – The Two Towers did not do justice to Saruman and resolved his fate with just one comment. Eventually responding to the backlash surrounding the cutting of Saruman's death, Jackson ended up adding the deleted scene back into the The Return of the King extended edition. Wormtongue stabbed Saruman to death in both the book and the film, but in the film, Saruman also fell from Orthanc to be impaled on a spiked wheel in one of the The Lord of the Rings' more epic scenes.