Why Did GANDALF Choose BILBO BAGGINS For The Hobbit Adventure? | Middle-Earth Lore

An exiled King looking for revenge. A magnificent Dragon sitting in his way. A wandering wizard wanting to change things. How does this all add up to the wizard, Gandalf the Grey, choosing the Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, being the answer? We look at that today!

I hope you enjoy it!

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0:00 - Intro
1:09 - Why was Gandalf involved with Thorin's Company?
3:07 - Why would Gandalf choose a Hobbit?
5:09 - Why, specifically, Bilbo Baggins?
8:56 - Round-up / Summary
9:47 - Question of the day
10:30 - Thank you Brohirrim!!

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Thumbnail Art:
"Hobbit Thorin and Bilbo" - daekazu
"Gandalf Illuminated" - kohse
"Bilbo and Gandalf" - Joel Lee

Art in order of first appearance:
Thorin Oakenshield ('Speedpaint') – FrerinHagsolb
SMAUG – moonxels
Gandalf the Grey - John Howe
Bilbo – StressedJenny
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey – New Line Cinema
Wizard's Room – dleoblack
Thorin and the Blue Mountains – megatruth
Smaug and his treasure – Shockbolt
Gandalf the Grey – LucasGraciano
The Archive – aegeri
Sauron the Necromancer – Kiendriel
Mithrandir – SanOzbulbul
The Hobbit - Gandalf - Daniel Govar
The Hobbit - Thorin - Daniel Govar
The Red Book of Westmarch – ralphdamiani
The Hobbit – ZachBobBob
Middle Earth – Klaradox
Thorin Oakenshield - Dat Phan
Thorin, Balin & Gloin – Aloesowa
The Gray Pilgrim - John Howe
Gandalf - Abi909
The Lord of the Rings Shire – KillerGmbH
Concerning Hobbits – ZutaraGirlXD
Hobbit or There and Back Again - Andrei-Pervukhin
The Eye of Sauron – DinoDrawing
Bilbo Baggins - The Hobbit – joaoMachay
Hobbit Scholar – JonHodgson
Gandalf's Still Life – Incantata
Gandalf and Bilbo Baggins - (Artist Unknown)
Thorin Oakenshield and company - Hyper-Connected
hobbit - Andrei-Pervukhin
Bilbo and Gandalf - Joel Lee
Smaug – TheRisingSoul
The Hobbit – ProfessorAdagio

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#LordoftheRingsLore #WhyDidGandalfChooseBilbo #Gandalf

[papalaz]

Hobbits are naturally hard to detect. Virtually invisible to most, if they hide. Also, Smaug had never encountered a Hobbit and was unfamiliar to their scent. Smaug could smell a dwarf burglar a mile away. Hobbits were even unknown to Treebeard, one of the oldest inhabitants of Middle Earth, at least 11, 000 years old.

[MountainFisher]

I've read The Quest For Erebor and Gandalf was certain that Sauron would attack Lothlorien and Rivendell and with Smaug he'd most likely be victorious. Gandalf had tried to convince the White Council, but was always gainsaid by Saruman who was searching for the Ring in the Anduin River himself and only changed his mind when his spies told him that Sauron had started searching the river near the Gladden Fields where Isildur was killed.
Gandalf was also certain that Sauron would not let an assault on Erebor happen unless he had other things on his mind that made an attack upon Dol Guldur extra important. Thorin did not want Bilbo to come and even Gandalf's warning about having a foresight didn't scare him very much. He told Gandalf that maybe he had a foresight or was merely crazed from too many worries. Gandalf replied that he certainly had enough concerns with one of them being a "proud dwarf who asked him for advice with no claim on me that I can see" and then doesn't listen to him.
He finally convinced Thorin by telling him that he was fond of this hobbit and if you treat him right he'd have Gandalf's gratitude for the rest of his days. That affected Thorin more than the warnings and he agreed Bilbo could come.

[iconicnzz]

In lieu of the insulting statements from the actors about the Rings of Power being "the story Tolkien never wrote" I do feel like that one moment from the first Hobbit film between Galadriel and Gandalf really is the "scene Tolkien never wrote". I mean how perfect is that exchange? It perfectly encapsulates Gandalf's dynamic with the world around him and gives insight into how he makes his choices. My favorite part is it shows how Gandalf, a Maiar, is just as susceptible to the things of the world as Sauron is, only in Gandalf's case, he lets compassion, courage, and fear influence his actions. Why else would he choose Bilbo Baggins, of all the people in Middle-Earth, to join him on his quest? Is it just me who feels that way?

[derekbarrantes]

‘Smaug & Sauron’

The Quest of Erebor bit in Unfinished Tales (which contains many of the information shown in this video) has always been one of my favorite stories in Middle Earth as it expands the relatively simple story of The Hobbit by showing just how important Thorin and Co.’s adventure (and Bilbo joining it) was in determining the fate of Middle Earth.

[TheKulu]

Yes, Smaug could have been a powerful ally, but could Sauron have persuaded the dragon to give up even one coin of his hoard or leave it unguarded? In many ways, that vast treasure could have been more valuable to Sauron than Smaug. With all that gold, Sauron could have bought whole mercenary armies and bought alliances.

[Jayjay-qeum]

"Bilbo was very rich and very peculiar, and had been the wonder of the Shire for sixty years, ever since his remarkable disappearance and unexpected return." -- The Fellowship of the Rings, "A Long-expected Party"

[islandrepublic]

SAURON N SMAUG would be a deadly alliance but not because of brute power but the intelligence and knowledge each brings. In retrospect SMAUG was killed by a bolt that pierce his opened skin, once can say that the alliance of men dwarves and Elf would have thousands of those bolts flying in the air that will eventually kill Smaug. But Sauron was inches away from defeating the Alliance if not for Isuldur being lucky and cutting the ring of power from Sauron’s finger. Needless to say Smaug would have tilted Sauron’s fortune and will more than likely spell the doom of the Alliances.

[maylabrown]

I don't really like how Galadriel is put up as above Gandalf or Elrond, she's shown as a perfect saint, when in reality out of all of the Elves we actually see she is the one with a darkness most hidden in her heart of hearts.

[ronnoc]

I love this channel. Deserves a lot more attention

[pahvi]

Ok but why is Bilbo Ben Shapiro in that cursed thumbnail

[Professional_Youtube_Commenter]

The screen character does not make the sneak and cunning ability of bilbo the hobbit very apparent. He just looks clumsy and prone to get himself into trouble to require saving by others until he finds the ring

[TyrionLannister]

Eru Ilúvatar obviously wanted the good guys to win and often intervened directly (ressurecting Gandalf, making Gollum fall in to the abyss). I can't think of any scenario where Sauron would have won.

[mattbennett]

Not a massive point, but as an observation that fine tunes the meaning - rather than me being a pedant - when Gandalf is discussing what type of hobbit he wants he says “a foundation of the SOLIDER sort - i.e. “someone more solid” not “soldier”, which would give an inaccurate and misleading military aspect. A subtle distinction! (See 7:10 mark in the video)

[Huskytabby]

What-if video idea for you to do:

What if Gandalf never fell at the Bridge of Khazad-dum and continued with the Fellowship to Lothlorien and on forward?

[giano]

Smaug & Sauron 2024: Building a better Mordor. 😛

[nicolletorres]

Excellent video 👍❤️ would love a collaboration with Nerd of the Rings

[tubbymontana]

Wow awesome glad to see these awesome discussions

[GanonGhidorah]

- a retconned explanation that didn't happen anywhere in the original book, to cover-up the fact that Gandalf chose him, just to _d*ck_ with him for saying "Good Morning" to him.

[doperider]

Bilbo looks like Ben Shapiro in the thumbnail no offense to Mr Baggins

[venkelos]

Smaug & Sauron

I never too much wondered why Gandalf chose Bilbo, ad much as what Gandalf actually expected to happen. In a way, Gandalf can afford to just say "I don't have to worry about things; they'll sort themselves out better than I could ever try and force them", assuming that there was a plan beyond even him. It wouldn't take an army to seige the dragon, and the right people would find the right place, at the right time. Still, Gandalf was sending them off to deal with a dragon, and so long as it lived, it was a problem, so ge expected them to kill Smaug, somehow. I just wish we had a better idea how he might've thought they'd pull it off, especially once he withdrew to go deal with the Necromancer.

I also wish Smaug could have been useful. I frequently complain about how little it felt like Sauron used his supernatural power, allies, and crafting skill to fight his enemies; he mostly just used simple soldiers, and power through numbers strategy. None of the Orcs were "special"; none had superior skills, or kit crafted by Sauron. He didn't seem to use his power to fight on his own behalf. A great, flying seige engine, impervious to many weapons, and bellowing gouts of withering flame, could have gone a long way towards really pressing the advantage, and making the heroes have to work for the win. I liked the story, and I know Sauron was doing stuff, but the D&D Dungeon Master in me wished he would seem more monstrous, and a supernatural threat, instead of what we got.