Well, that's a pretty big 'what if' question! Saruman not going 'bad' would just about alter the whole story! Which just goes to show how pivotal he is to the plot.
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Originally Posted by Fordim Hedgethistle
But isn't this just what happened when Gandalf became the White? He pretty clearly states that he is Saruman, or "Saruman as he was meant to be." So when Saruman went evil, he was replaced by Gandalf who became the new/true Saruman: Saruman the White/Good.
Which makes me think. If Gandalf the White really is "Saruman as he was meant to be" then does not this imply that it was Saruman's role to rally Rohan, save Minas Tirith and Crown Aragorn? Maybe this all ties back to Gandalf's other claim that he is "a steward" -- Saruman is properly the white, but he (like the line of Isildur) "has failed" and so his role is taken up by his steward Gandalf.
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I often wonder about the issue of Gandalf the White being 'Saruman as he was meant to be'. Of course, on one level it simply means that Gandalf has been given the status of leader of the Istari in Middle-earth as Saruman has revealed his treachery. But it also makes me wonder if this really is the same Gandal? He might be a Gandalf with a changed mission and changed status (even a changed personality as Bethberry pointed out a few weeks ago), but is he Gandalf
at all?
Is this Gandalf the same Gandalf the Grey who came from Valinor or has a "New Gandalf" been sent back?
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'Gandalf," the old man repeated, as if recalling from old memory a long disused word. 'Yes, that was the name. I was Gandalf."
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It is as though a wizard is simply a blank page to be written on, or perhaps more like an Etch-a-Sketch! The picture of the wizard is drawn and then it is shaken up to remove it and a new wizard can be drawn in that space. I think this is something about the mysterious nature of the Maiar, that a form taken can be altered in this way; it means that there is no reason why New Gandalf could not resemble Saruman in some way.