Saruman's fireball

[The Saucepan Man]

Originally Posted by gorthaur_cruel

Legolas is shooting out of impulse, not out of calculation.

So Legolas' first impulse is to kill first and ask questions later - to take one criminal's life in order to save the life of another criminal? As you say, Grima may well have been on the verge of repenting, whereas Saruman clearly was not. And he is too late, resulting in two deaths rather than one. That doesn't say much for either his instincts or his reactions.

No, it is clear to me that he does make a judgement - he judges Saruman to be the more useful to them. And his judgement is correct, in terms of the film.