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Originally Posted by AragornII
Let's just say that Boromir has a better chance of living if Gandalf is there.
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Agreed. However, maybe Gandalf would have seen Boromir's heart, and so tried to separate him from the temptation of the Ring even earlier. Maybe Gandalf, Sam and Frodo break the Fellowship in Lothlorien?
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alatar, I don't think that Aragorn could have filled Gandalf's role in Rohan/Orthanc. He doesn't have the fast horse that can bring Eomer in time. He was essential in being at the actual battle, and couldn't have filled Gandalf's place as Eomer(or Erkenbrand)-bringer.
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Again I would have to agree. Assume that I'm not 'in' the story but the author, then I could make it all work.
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Another point... if Gandalf hadn't been in the forest to tell Treebeard that Merry and Pippin were hobbits what would have happened to them? They might have been killed, and then Saruman is still out there because Merry and Pippin never roused the Ents to attack Isengard. What would the consequences been of letting Saruman live? Possibly a revival of Isengard and just Helm's Deep later in the story.
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Assume that Treebeard acts a little less hasty - and I think that you're confusing the movie with the books (where are we anyway?
). If memory serves, Treebeard sees Gandalf the White but does not speak with him, and so Treebeard makes his own judgment regarding the Hobbits. Again, without Gandalf, assume that Saruman is locked in Orthanc and Treebeard is at the door. If no one (i.e. Gandalf, Aragorn, etc) shows up after Isengard is flooded, then there's no Palantir for Aragorn, but except for Saruman communicating with Sauron, that part of the story doesn't change that much.
Isn't life better with Gandalf 'dying' on the Bridge?
You make valid points, and I appreciate your questions - I haven't worked this hard at spinning a tale since I had to explain to my parents why I was out all night!