Lord Of The Rings: 10 Persistent Plot Holes FINALLY Debunked
4. How Did The Ents Defeat Saruman So Easily?
The Claim: Saruman is a powerful wizard, so why doesn’t he fight? He has a magic crystal ball. He can summon storms. He defeated Gandalf in a duel. What gives?
This is yet another case of confusion created by the movies, which exaggerates Saruman’s power.
Firstly, in the books Saruman summoned no storm, and there was no duel between him and Gandalf – Gandalf was escorted to the top of Orthanc and that was it.
Secondly, it is the Mirror of Galadriel that shows the future, not the Palantir. So Saruman had no early warning. Not the he, in his arrogance, worried much about the Ents: In the book Gandalf states that “he (Saruman) has forgotten Treebeard.”
Lastly, when Gandalf returns as the White, he essentially replaces Saruman.
Quote: “Indeed I am Saruman, one might almost say, Saruman as he should have been.” This explains Gandalf’s increased in power, and explains Saruman’s lack of it. Also, Saruman’s fall to evil had diminished his power, a recurring theme in Tolkien’s work that is true of both Morgoth and Sauron. This, together with the fact that Saurman’s army had already marched for Helm’s Deep, left him defenceless.
Saruman might have been powerful once but his corruption cost him, leaving him a shadow of his former self.