12 Times Gandalf Seriously Dropped The Ball

10. When He Wasted All That Time Doing Research And Drinking

When Gandalf first sees the ring in Bilbo's house, he goes to touch it - and sees a flash of Sauron's crazy hypnotic fire-infused eye once his fingers get close enough. However, he leaves poor innocent Frodo with the ring, and runs off into god-knows-where to research the long and grim history of the ring itself. Plus, he can be seen holding a giant flagon of an unidentified liquid (no doubt some sort of illegal Middle Earth moonshine) - and surely this intoxication affects his performance when he goes a-knocking on Saruman's door later on? Meanwhile, Frodo and Sam set off on their merry journey into hell. Well done Gandalf, for not seeing the obvious in the first place.