Gandalf was clearly a powerful wizard in The Lord of the Rings, but his power also inspires confusion considering he never used it to fight true evil like Sauron, despite getting into a conflict with others like Saruman. Fans of The Lord of the Rings are aware of the fact that the lore goes so much deeper than what is shown in the Peter Jackson trilogy of films.
Outside of The Hobbit trilogy, other animated adventures, and numerous other stories that are set in the world of Middle-earth. All of this is, of course, thanks to J. R. R. Tolkien, the man who meticulously created the vast world shown in the films, and went so far as to create maps, personal histories, and detailed elaborations for how different races came to be in the roles they are in when Frodo is introduced.
Despite this, there are those who look at the films and believe that there are plot holes and errors, such as the choice to not have someone powerful, like Gandalf, ride a giant eagle to Mordor to destroy the ring, or why he didn’t simply challenge Sauron to a battle the same way he fought Saruman. But the reality is that there is almost always a reason behind actions and the lack of action in these stories.
Gandalf’s Role Was To Guide Middle-earth In Fighting Its Own Battles
Within The Lord of the Rings stories, Gandalf plays a vital role in getting the ring destroyed, though his choices make it seem as though he entrusted a powerful and dangerous artifact to some young, inexperienced Hobbits before disappearing for an extended period of time. But this is intentional, because Gandalf is supposed to act as a guide, not a savior.
In this way, Gandalf helps the inhabitants of Middle-earth to find solutions to their own problems, and assist them where and when possible, but he is also compelled to allow these individuals to make mistakes and find the path to their destination on their own.
“Matching Power With Power” Wasn’t The Right Way
A major reason for this more hands-off approach that is applied by Gandalf several times in The Lord of the Rings comes down to Gandalf’s true identity. Unlike the mortal beings of Middle-earth, Gandalf is a member of an immortal race from the Undying Lands, known as the Maia, who was sent to Middle-earth to guide and aid them in their path to overthrow evil, but not to dominate and destroy what exists within that mortal world.
To this end, Gandalf and others of his kind are forbidden from “matching power with power.” Of course, they have the ability to destroy powerful rivals, but in order to preserve the free will of the mortal races, Gandalf needs to allow them to act on their own behalf.
A Battle Between Two Full-Power Maia Could’ve Been Devastating
Conversely, we did get a small taste of what can happen when two Maia engage in conflict when Gandalf and Saruman fought each other in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings. Equipped with magical powers, these two immortals were able to cause damage to their physical bodies, but the true devastation lay in their surroundings.
If either one of these wizards had been fatally wounded, their essence would have lived on, as was the case when Gandalf was killed by a Balrog only to come back as Gandalf the White. However, if they continued to fight, and the battle moved to the ground level, it would have been able to cause immense destruction.
The fact that Maia and other immortals could cause so much harm was a part of the reason why they were sworn to not engage with mortal wars in the first place. Because before the Maia were sent to support the battle for Middle-earth, the Valar (essentially powerful Archangels) had previously reshaped the world and broken apart continents when they exercised their powers there.
Gandalf Doesn’t Directly Fight Saruman In The LOTR Books
While Gandalf fights Saruman in the films, the books see these events play out very differently. Rather than ever engage in a physical fight, which almost sees them in breach of their oath, the books only ever see Gandalf and Saruman engage in a war of words.
The pair clearly had disagreements, and Saruman does in fact decide to join forces with Sauron. But, when he extends an invitation for Gandalf to join him, Gandalf says no and he is simply led to the top of the tower, where Saruman detains him. Then the Gwaihir arrives to help Gandalf escape, and the events resume largely as normal.
Could Gandalf Have Been Allowed To Fight Saruman Directly?
While the conflict in the movie plays out and Gandalf and Saruman go on their separate paths following this, there is no further battle between Gandalf and his wicked rival. Ultimately, in the films, Saruman is killed (though as an immortal, this is not a permanent death), which means Gandalf did not need to deal with Saruman.
Evidently, Saruman’s actions were against the wishes of the Valar, and since he had broken his oath, it seems reasonable to assume that Gandalf would have been permitted to dole out the resulting punishment, especially when he is empowered in his new Gandalf the White form.
That said, the wishes of the Valar are considerably more vague, and it’s difficult to say what exactly Tolkien would have reasoned out as their ultimate goals. Gandalf was not allowed to fight Sauron, and doing so would have been a betrayal. However, it is possible he could have fought Saruman.
All of that being said, The Lord of the Rings contains so much more lore and deeper meaning for every character, race, and movement. The choice to disallow Gandalf from exerting his immense power was intentional, and there was no world in which he would have been allowed to overpower the wills of the mortals to carry out his own goals.