Yet Another LOTR What-If Thread: ____ the White?

Cafe Society
1

Okay, Gandalf and the Balrog have tumbled to the Uttermost Depths. As Olorin, he appears before Mandos in the Timeless Halls, and the decision is pronounced: “You blew it! We’re sending in the second team.” And the Eagles of Manwe fly to announce the decision to another of the Maiar who have inhabited Middle Earth, specifically…

The list of Maiar? [ol]
[li]Sauron? Well, he’s out for obvious reasons[/li][li]Saruman? Could he be redeemed, won back to the Good Side?[/li][li]Radagast? Would he rise to the occasion?[/li][li]Melian? She left after Thingol’s death. would she come back to help their remote descendants?[/li][li]Alatar? Pallando? What in Udun are they doing there in the East, anyway?[/li][/ol]

Your task: Write up a precis of what happens if one of the above, not a renascent Gandalf, is put in charge of the redemption of Middle Earth.

2

Arien would be another candidate, though she’s probably doing all she can already-- The forces of darkness hate to see her face. Or Eonwë, maybe?

3

Once Frodo is on his way, there isn’t that much for the good guys to do except distract Sauron, and Aragon probably could’ve figured out much of that on his own anyways.

But if Gandalf does need to be replaced, one of the three remaining not yet evil wizards seem the obvious choice. Presumably there was a point to sending redundant wizards, Gandalf took over for Saruman once Saruman got all evil, presumably Alatar would take over if Gandalf died, and so on down the line.

4

Radagast was absorbed with his birds and flowers, and the other two nobody knew about. We don’t even know if they belonged to the White Council, but presumably not.

I thought that Gandalf didn’t go to the Halls of Mandos, but rather beyond the spheres of the world. It’s kinda hinted that Illuvatar sent him back and bumped him up a few levels.

5

The writer would simply create a new character. They can do that, you know.

6

Who knew?

But Tolkien spent decades crafting and reshaping his cosmology and had virtually hundreds of characters and backgrounds he rarely felt he couldn’t drag out of the closet and slip into a narrative. Glorfindel being the best known, Boromir being another (though that was a name and not an individual).

In this I’m very unsure. The istari were to rally the free peoples not lead them and for that you need to be known, respected and have context as to what has happened. That shrinks us right down to no one.