The Orc who knew too much

[Inziladun]

Hmm, don't remember thinking of this before.

It's a lot of conjecture, because we aren't told a great deal about Grishnákh. He does make an interesting statement, though. When threatening Uglúk, he says:

'They (Lugburz) might think that Uglúk's shoulders needed relieving of a swollen head.....They might agree with me, with Grishnákh their trusted messenger (emphasis added) and I Grishnákh say this: Saruman is a fool, and a dirty treacherous fool. But the Great Eye is on him'.

So, he's a "messenger"? From whom to whom? Could he have been part of a contingent sent from Mordor to Isengard in response to the drama with Gandalf's capture and escape? That could explain for his knowledge of Saruman, and the latter's desire for the Ring. I would think it possible that some of the higher ranking Orcs could have been told that Saruman was looking for a ring, and couldn't be allowed to have it. Even Sauron couldn't keep all his underlings completely in the dark (pun not intended).

Add in the possibility that Grishnákh could have heard rumors about Gollum's earlier capture, or even had a hand in it. And, later, Gollum was allowed to "escape" from Mordor by Sauron. That sort of thing would cause tremendous curiosity among Sauron's servants in the know, and I don't think it's unlikely that some news of why Gollum was important to Sauron could have been discovered by the rank and file.