# What if Gandalf took the ring?



## Darth Saruman

*What if Gandalf had kept the one ring?*

Let's say he took the ring from Frodo, at the Shire, before the big journey began.

What would have happened? Would he have succeeded in conquering Middle-Earth and, if so, how?


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## Ithrynluin

*Re: What if Gandalf had kept the one ring?*



> _Originally posted by Darth Saruman _
> *Let's say he took the ring from Frodo, at the Shire, before the big journey began.
> 
> What would have happened? Would he have succeeded in conquering Middle-Earth and, if so, how? *



Yeah,he would've become a dark lord in his turn.The ring would eventually corrupt him and enhance his Maia power and all evil things would bow before him and call him "lord".


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## Galdor

> 'No!' cried Gandalf, springing to his feet. 'With that power I should have power too great and terrible. And over me the Ring would gain a power still greater and more deadly.' His eyes flashed and his face was lit as by a fire within. 'Do not tempt me! For I do not wish to become like the Dark Lord himself. Yet the way of the Ring to my heart is by pity, pity for weakness and the desire of strengh to do good. Do not tempt me! I dare not take it, not even to keep it safe, unused. The wish to wield it would be to great for my strength. I shall have such need of it. Great perils lie before me.'



The Fellowship of the Ring Chapter II 

I hope this helps.


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## ReadWryt

> It was part of the essential deceit of the Ring to fill minds with imaginations of supreme power. But this the Great had well considered and had rejected, as seen in Elrond's words at the Council. Galadriel's rejection of the temptation was founded upon previous thought and resolve. In any case Elrond ir Galadriel would have proceeded in the policy now adopted by Sauron: they would have built up an empire with great and absolutely subserviant generals and armies and engines of war, until they could challenge Sauron and destroy him by force. Confrontation of Sauron alone, unaided, self to self was not contemplated. One can imagine the scene in which Gandalf, say, was placed in such a position. It would be a delicate ballance. On one side the true allegiance of the Ring to Sauron; on the other superior strength because Sauron was not actually in possession, and perhaps aslo because he was weakened by long corrupetion and expendature of will in dominating inferiors. If Gandalf proved the victor, the result would have been for Sauron the same as the destruction of the Ring; for him it woudl have been destroyed, taken from him for ever. But the Ring and all its works would have endoured. It would have been the master in the end.



The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien # 246 to Mrs. Eileen Elgar (Sept. 1963)


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## Lantarion

That's a bout what I was going to say. At first Gandalf would (as Galadriel said she would) use the Ring for good, and to enhance the beauty and greatness of all good, living things. But sooner or later the Ring would gain control of the posessor, and turn everything good into evil. Gandalf was a very powerful person, a Maia of great knowledge and esteem. His great goodness, corrupted into evil, would cause unparalelled terror to be unleashed. There would be nothing left in his wake, and eventually he would, in his madness, rise up against the Valar, and would be subdued and/or slain at last. But it would not matter, because the world would be completely destroyetd and corrupted, abd only if the Valar would return to Arda would the great lands be unmarred of evil.
So not a good idea, is it Gandalf?!


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## Gil-Galad

Hm...I think that Gandalf would become like Sauron.The ring would corrupted him.Sauron was maia who believed Morgoth and the ring is a great evil and Gandalf would follow Sauron's fate.


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## ReadWryt

I don't know why the rest of the quote got lost, but here goes...



> Gandalf as Ring Lord would have been far worse then Sauron. He would have remained `righteous', but `self-righteous'. He would have continued to rule and order things for `good', and the benefit of his subjects according to his wisdom (which was and would have remained great).


 The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien # 246 to Mrs. Eileen Elgar (Sept. 1963)


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## Darth Saruman

Thanks for the quotes ReadWryt.


Hmmm, Gandalf would have been worse because the free peoples of Middle-earth would have probably trusted him with the power and followed him. He then would have probably destroyed Sauron, Saruman, and all the orcs. He would be a hero. Then, when his power and popularity were it their heights, he would become a dictator.


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## BelDain

yes, G's will would have ruled Middle-Earth totally which is the complete opposite of the freedom from tyranny and oppression that he originally was sent to fight for.


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## Rúmil

from a scribbled margin-note on the same letter ReadWryt quoted:



> Thus while Sauron manipulated [illegilble word] evil, he left "good" clearly distinguishable from it. Gandalf would have made good detestable and seem evil.



Definitely, he would have dominated all ME: he was originally about as potent as Sauron (see UT) and in LotR is sated that with the Ring Sauron would not have left one thing standing in ME (said by Gandalf to Denethor; I can't find the exact quote right now; in book V anyway, chap. I or IV, must be.)


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## Xanaphia

What would have happened???!!! Disaster worse than Middle Earth had ever known! Gandalf has, at least in my mind, more potential than Sauron and therefore could have completey demolished Middle Earth as we now know! It would be pure CATASTROPHE, MISFORTUNE, AFFLICTION, HARDSHIP TO AN EXTENT NEVER BEFORE IMAGINED, AND PURE HORROR TO ALL OF OUR GOOD FRIENDS IN MIDDLE EARTH!!!!


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## ReadWryt

The thing I find most interesting about that letter is that, in so many words, Tolkien states outwright that Gandalf the White, posessed of the One Ring, could have defeated Sauron...that is some food for thought about just how powerfull he was upon his return...


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## Rúmil

After all, he was a maia of Manwë; and there's a good chance Manwë chose his most powerful maia for such an errand... and the Valar must have been getting pretty desperate with the situation in Middle-Earth. Maybe the "enhancement" Gandalf got was not only a permission to reveal more of his innate power but also consisted in an addition of something of the powers of the Elder King to his own?....

**ps: I'm glad you got rid of the Japanese cutie things on your avatar


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## Maeglin

How long do you think it would take before Gandalf's works turned into evil if he had accepted the ring? What about Galadriel? And what exactly would the things that they are trying to do out of goodness be? (besides defeating Sauron and Saruman that is) And also, since everything he did would eventually be turned into evil, in what ways would this happen? I mean, there has to be _something_ good that can't be turned evil.


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## Eliot

After Gandalf, Galadriel, or anybody else who was good excepted the ring, I think they would defeat Saruman and Sauron, probably defeat anybody else who opposes them (this person is probably evil by now),
and I guess they would pretty much take over the world (or try).

Just say that Gandalf took the ring. I bet Elrond, Galadriel, and anybody else who was good, would probably either go into hiding or leave Middle-Earth.


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## YayGollum

Sure, I agree with the Eliot person. Why not? I just noticed a small mistake in the Glorfindel1187 person's post. I know one person that was good that wasn't turned evil. Smeagol. He never became evil. He just became schizophrenic.  That would be weird to see a schizophrenic Gandalf!


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## Lantarion

"Good Olórin, nice Olórin, yeess my preciouss.."  

Er, but seriously speaking I think that Gandalfw would have been beyond all aid in receiving the Ring; i.e. he would already be sufficiently greedy/evil/basically susceptible to the lure of the power inside the One Ring. So I don't think it would be long before he started commanding 'troops' of his own; but eventually he would have submitted to Sauron, instead of taking his place: that is my view. Because the force inside the Ring was Sauron's, He and the Ring are kindred, you might say. And although Gandalf was extremely powerful even as the Gray, the Ring would have eventually slain him and been delivered back to his master, after jerking the whole of Middle-Earth around through Gandalf. 
On the other hand, if Sauron would already at this point been subdued/slain in some way, I think Gandalf (being now the White and far more powerful) would have been almost recklessly powerful and uncontainable, and eventually the Valar would have been called in. 

Galadriel, although a powerful Elven maiden, would have been even more easily converted by the Ring, because she does seem to have a liking for power in the books.


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## Beorn

Well, I knew this had come up before! Everything before G1187's is from the old thread.

You may also want to check out http://www.thetolkienforum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=3319


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## Earendil

if gandalf had taken the ring it would have corrupted him and anhancing his power. making him the new dark lord adn he might even have replaced sauron...which is a VERY scary thought!!


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## YayGollum

Okay, I gots a better idea. If Gandalf took the Ring, sure, he'd do all of the crazy stuffs that were in that quote around here somewhere. I'd like to think that Sauron would win in some battle with Gandalf. He'd have the Nazgul and lots of crazy minions. Gandalf would have a bunch of good guys and the power of the Ring. 
Don't forget Gollum! The dude who killed Sauron and the One Ring! There would be a crazy battle. With Sauron and the Nazgul so close to the Ring, it'd fall off of Gandalf, and be dogpiled by lots of people, and guess who would get it? Yep. Gollum the Hero! Everybody would be running after him. Poor Smeagol. He's used to it. He'd go invisible. Noone but the Nazgul and Sauron would be able to see him. They'd say, "Oh, we'll get him later. He was easy to catch before. We'll beat this crazy army of Gandalf's first." Gandalf would have a lot less power. Sauron would win. Gollum would be long gone. Of course, the big battle would be near Mount Doom, and Gollum would feel like dancing again.  
Is that too crazy? Okay, maybe Saruman would be the hero this time because he'd always want the Ring for himself. He'd see what it did to Gandalf, who he knew was stronger than him, and he'd be able to resist. Gollum would just live as a superly old hobbit in that stinky elf place that Bilbo and Frodo and the evil sam got to go to.


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## Earendil

wow! what an original way to think about it!!!


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## YayGollum

That was the plan, dude. Yay! Any other crazy ideas? I can come up with more!


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## Thorondor_

I raised a point in a parallel thread: both Gandalf and Sauron kept posession of their rings even after their death... So, an heroic ending for Gandalf taking hold of the One ring would be to somehow get himself killed, travel aaaall the way to Mandos (or Eru for that matter) and get rid of the ring - one way or the other.


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## theostyn

gandalf would take over middle as if he was a god becouse he would be. and soaron would be like a kitty compared to him because has it says soaron put all of him in the one ring so Gandalf would be 2X gandalf + souron in side gandalf.
P.s Souron would not be thare becouse with out the ring he can only live in the form of that Big eye over the two towers!!! BOOOM But tom bombadil would be still be more power full then gandalf like that


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## elladan

theostyn said:


> gandalf would take over middle as if he was a god becouse he would be. and soaron would be like a kitty compared to him because has it says soaron put all of him in the one ring so Gandalf would be 2X gandalf + souron in side gandalf.
> P.s Souron would not be thare becouse with out the ring he can only live in the form of that Big eye over the two towers!!! BOOOM But tom bombadil would be still be more power full then gandalf like that


I don't know.I like Yay Gollum's account on this one...


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