Did Gandalf have a Plan "B"?

[Mithalwen]

Originally Posted by Mumriken

Actually I'm not sure why they didn't do this in the first place. They could have sent orome into mordor and forced Sauron into submission. It's not like the battle would last for long, like 5 second and Sauron would be crying for daddy morgoth. xD

I think there are two reasons why not. I think there is a strong implication throughout the books that if an individual of a similar status overthrew Sauron they would inevitably become a tyrant in his place no matter how benevolent the intentions they might start out with. Gandalf and Galadriel both say this when they have the opportunity of taking the ring and we have the evidence of Saruman's behaviour to see that their fears were not groundless.

There is also the sense that it is time for the younger children, Men (and by extension Hobbits as essential a sub-group) governed their own affairs and solve their own problems. It is the transition point effectively out of mythology into the modern world. The "supernatural" races are going away or diminishing, fading. Men albeit with an elvish strain are taking control. Though the king is restored he is devolving power for example to the hobbits (thought I always thought it a tad impractical if men really couldn't even pass through the Shire especially if they were opening uo Fornost Erain). Think of Gandalf telling the hobbits that sorting out the problems in the Shire was what they had been trained for.