Why did Gandalf come back, but not Saruman? #lotr_qa

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Middle Earth Lore

Gandalf, Tolkien, Wizards, Rings of Power, LOTR, Lord of the Rings, Return of the King, Hobbits, Frodo, Sauron, Middle Earth, Saruman, Radagast, Blue Wizards

[Timasion]

Because Eru Illuvatar said "I can't spare this man. He fights."

[JeffRebornNow]

Saruman had a second chance, too, if you think about it. Gandalf refused to destroy him and after the Battle of Bywater Frodo took pity on him just as Bilbo had taken pity on Gollum. Saruman looks at him with some awe and says something complimentary about the hobbit's wisdom before kicking Wormtongue and causing him to go spastic. In the end, it was only his own misdeeds that doomed him.

[TheBalisongBear]

I love that, in the movies, hes basically like "yeah, God is really disappointed in saurumon so he gave me enough power to whoop him"

[Jari-]

They both died from workplace accidents 🤣🤣🤣

[JamesTobiasStewart]

Eru: Okay Gandalf, you're the only Istari who's still unambiguously doing your job and I do not want to have to sink another continent over this... Therefore I am promoting you and giving you your body back. Now finish the mission; Gandalf the White.

[samtheman]

Saruman got instantly K.O.d by wormtongue in the movies but in the books its a whole different story

[Smurfen]

The Balrog he fought for days was the last known Servant of Morgoth left in existance (besides Sauron), Eru took him out of the universe and gave him new powers neccesary to rally the Free peoples against Sauron, when Saruman died in Shire his spirit tried to return to the west but was rejected and left as a Spirit in Middle Earth for eternity as punishment.

[LuisSanchez-fjdt]

The “you died “ at the beggining killed me

[Kamehaiku]

Gandalf had a green 🍄 on hand from radagast😂

[augmenautus]

I think if you kill a Balrog, you get a bonus life. Gandalf killed the Balrog and came back to life, and Glorfindel the elf killed a Balrog and came back to life.

[rouninpanda]

After death, when Saruman stood before King Yemma in the "other dimension" he should have had his body restored a la Vegeta to rejoin the fight alongside his bromance Gandalf. In the end they could have fused into Super Gandaman or Sarumalf and easily taken on Imperfect Sauron.

[ApoRekt]

It wasn't really a power up though, was it?
The Maiar were nerfed when sent on mission as to not intervene too much. They were there to guide, not solve all problems.
He was just sent back with full strength

[swehumorofficial]

I remember writing a fanfiction, many years ago, in which Saruman's spirit managed to latch onto a ring of his own creation (Saruman calls himself "Ring-Maker" and is seen wearing a strange new ring on his finger, but Tolkien never went into further detail about this - though it sent my imagination spiraling). However, as his creation was imperfect, he could not return to full power as Sauron did, or even assume physical form. Instead, he would speak to and influence whoever wore the ring, relying on the power of persuasion in his voice to bind a mortal servant. Which of course, he did, thus making the antagonist of this story, which took place late in the reign of Eldarion.
How plausible this scenario is, I cannot say, for I was very young at the time and have not given the matter much thought since. Indeed, I have long abandoned the juvenile art of fanfiction to focus on more original creations. But I may as well share the synopsis here, I suppose, as it is vaguely relevant to the subject matter.

[lutzeichmeyer]

So that's Gandalf's built in plot armour

[krzychup.]

Actually in book Saruman hasn’t died like they showed, he died but in complete different place and time

[nctpti]

"The god of Middle Earth..." Gandalf and Saruman were BOTH MAIAR. You even acknowledge they are both, themselves, lesser gods. And Saruman was still not destroyed. He did end up as a spirit, who, like Sauron via the ring or Morgoth before him, by being a greater god, was still not fully destroyed.

[johndododoe]

Saruman and Sauron both became small dark clouds that were blown away by the wind (in the RotK book) . Yep, they were both maiar that turned to evil thousands of years apart .

[theaussieanimalguy]

He needed to be the next white wizard to replace bad wizard

[kenkline]

Yeah Gandalf good, Saruman bad. Thanks for clearing that up.

[zziggsofficial]

I think its because even though they are Maiar they had a purpose on their own as the Istari. Gandalf mentioned that he was sent back until his mission was accomplished. I assume that this refers to the defeat of Sauron. But when Saruman turned against them he basically revoked his purpose as the white wizard and the leader of the Istari so they sent gandalf back as the new leader and the new white wizard. He even said so himself. He said something along the lines of: "I am Saruman. Or at least Saruman as he should have been". He is supposed to be a replacement for Saruman and when Saruman was actually killed he didn't return because his place was taken by gandalf.