LotR1-FotR-Seq04

[Elladan and Elrohir]

Originally Posted by Essex

Was that really his view? Or is this really a pipe dream he has? For what he actually says is: bide our time, control it? you really think saruman thinks he could control Sauron once he had the Ring back?

or could it be a way of forcing Gandalf to follow him? tell him to join with sauron and they could then bend him to their will, when he might not really think this himself? or is Saruam nvain enugh to actually believe this?

so I'm not sure HOW far away the film actually is - he still gives gandalf 'one choice' - to 'join' with sauron...... (ok perhaps 'must' is too strong.....)

Well, granted, it's pretty close to the book for THIS scene, but that's the only scene in the book that really presents Saruman as being honestly tight with Sauron. In later scenes (check Book III Chapter V "The White Rider" for example), Gandalf makes it clear that Saruman is a traitor not only to the White Council, but to Mordor. I don't think we can make a good argument that Saruman was loyal to Mordor; in fact, I believe this is made yet more explicit in "The Hunt for the Ring" in Unfinished Tales.