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Old 08-29-2012, 02:30 PM   #29
Alfirin
Shade of Carn Dûm
 
Join Date: Jun 2007
Posts: 435
Alfirin has been trapped in the Barrow!
Something occurred to me. In a certain odd sense, Radagast's trusting of Saruman is not in fact a "failure" either, it is in fact exactly what he was supposed to do. The Valar after all had made Saruman Chief of the order, which presumably meant all the other wizards were obligated to defer to him. So in an odd sense, it is in fact Gandalf who fails in this case, by bucking the chain of command. He of course has excellent reason for doing so, and is deferring to a higher code, but the fact remains he is defying one who is his superior. And while the Valar may have known the Ishtari might very well go astray, it's a little unclear if they left instructions as to what any of the wizards should do if one of their number went off the beaten track. Indeed it may not have been until Gandalf's death that Eru (before sending him back) gave him the instruction (and authority) to cast Saruman out if he would not repent. So Radagast did exactly what he was supposed to in this case, his COC gave him an order ("Go find Ganadalf, and tell him I want him to come to Orthanc and discuss something with me.") and he did it. The fact he then left so quickly may be indicative that he thought something was a bit fishy (if it was a matter for wizards, then Radagast might have expected that the instuction would be for both of them to come) That actually may be why he sent the Eagle, to see if there was something they needed him to do (remember the eagle was sent to check on both Gandalf and Saruman). Whether Radagast ever guessed Saruman had turned to the dark side is a bit iffy (one would assume Gandalf would have sent some message (perhaps along the lines of telling Gwahir "when you have dropped me off, and return to your home, make sure you tell Radagast what has happended") if only to keep Radagast from continuing to listen to Saruman, assuming Saruman should give another order (Saruman may have little or no regard for Radagast, and think him a fool, but even fools can be put to use by the cunning mind.)
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