20 Idiotic Decisions Made By Characters In The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy

14. Gandalf Knows Gollum Is Tracking Them, And Tells No One - The Fellowship Of The Ring

Gandalf has a bad habit of keeping things to himself. In Moria, he reveals to Frodo that Gollum has been following them... but only after Frodo notices! Gandalf justifies his reasoning for not taking action well - "My heart tells me Gollum has some part to play yet, for Good or Ill." However, there is one tiny oversight that he neglects to mention: Gollum is a crafty and dangerous being, capable of murder for what he desires most. And what he desires is on a chain around Frodo's neck. It takes until Frodo and Sam are on their own for Gollum to make his move and try to steal his "Precious" from them, but what could have happened if he decided to act earlier? Gandalf may have been wise to warn Frodo about the addicted sociopath following them, because any moment Frodo was alone after then, he could have been strangled by Gollum. Let's just face it, Gandalf the Grey is terrible with keeping the Fellowship informed about dangerous creatures.

13. Gandalf Confronts The Balrog Unnecessarily - The Fellowship Of The Ring

Gandalf is most definitely at his most fallible in the mines of Moria. The Fellowship spends a good chunk of time fleeing from the Balrog, and just when they are nearly at the exit, Gandalf chooses to face the demon in a long and climactic battle, and gets himself killed. Yes, he is brought back soon after, but having the leader of the group killed is quite an inconvenience, especially when it may not have been a necessary sacrifice. How much of a threat to Middle Earth did this creature really pose? Saruman has an ancient text about this specific creature, hinting that Durin's Bane had been awoken a long time ago, and still had yet to leave the mines of Moria. In Tolkien's own notes, it reveals that this creature had been awoken by the Dwarves over a thousand years before the War of the Ring. It had not stepped out of the mine a single day in that massive time span. Would it have pursued them outside into the light of day, where it would be weak and far less intimidating? Doubtful. While it's certain Gandalf was only trying to do what is right in ridding Middle Earth of an evil foe, his death caused a major fracture within the Fellowship, and they never quite recovered.