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Originally Posted by Mansun
Lets get back to the main theme of the thread, the titanic confrontation between Gandalf vs WK which promised so much but delivered so little in the ROTK, rather than turning it into a Punch & Judy thread.
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Sorry. Thought that you might be interested my
reasoning regarding why I posted thus.
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Gandalf, being a symbol for Good, really did give the 2 big villains of the LOTR (save Sauron) a choice to turn away from Evil. That, I guess is what he was sent to middle-earth for.
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Gandalf the Confessor? That's an interesting take on the text. Does he only give the choice to the more powerful main characters (i.e. the Balrog, the Witch-King, Saruman) as he seems never to ask any of the orcs or wargs to turn from their evil ways before he despatches them? My understanding of the text is that he is offering his opponent a way out, as he sees its end, and that it is nigh, and so tells said opponent that it may want to retreat.
A common courtesy from the exemplar of Good Guys.
Saruman truly gets a chance to turn, but does Gandalf have the power to absolve the other White Wizard's sins? I think not; Saruman would be judged by his behaviour (works) after he were to leave Orthanc.
And though this too is off-topic, to me in Middle Earth there is a strong correlation between 'human-attractive' form and the chance for redemption. The Witch-King, having no real form, had no chance to turn away from evil.