Imagine No Redemption

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc

I have always thought it clear: Radagast's purpose, had he succeeded and fulfiled his task, would have been to help the Free Peoples, with special focus on the animals and plants and whatnot. That was why Yavanna had picked him. In other words, he was supposed to be a counterweight to Saruman.

Even without giving Radagast's failure the "excuse" of Yavanna's special instructions, I wouldn't see him as being in need of repentance. He seems to have made no conscious decision to distance himself from his primary task, and his actions could not necessarily be construed as harmful to Middle-earth or its denizens, in sharp contrast to Saruman.
The UT essay makes it clear that the Istari were especially vulnerable to such failings because of their "real" bodies, which subjected them to all temptations and trials of lesser beings. That obviously was no excuse for Saruman's deeds, but in the case of Radagast, I still wonder if his distraction might not have been merely an accepted foregone possibility, if not an expressed order from Yavanna.

Originally Posted by Legate of Amon Lanc

Imagine the ideal bunch of non-fallen Wizards: Gandalf boosts the morale like he always does, Saruman makes the Free People use their creative potential to the best in order to outwit Sauron, while Radagast is there to nudge Saruman and keep him in line in case he started to make grand plans of building ten thousand forges for Gondorian army while using the entire Mirkwood for fuel. Likewise, Saruman, in his ideal place, should have reminded Radagast of his task and stopped him from "going too native".

Indeed the Istari and their varied gifts do seem intended to counter-balance one another. Again though, given the very nature of the way the Istari were clothed in real flesh, I would think the Valar should have known it was unlikely to work out that way in practice.

x/d with BB