8. Saruman Appears During A Brief Rivendell Stop
When chased by the pack of Wargs led by Azog, the dwarves are unwittingly directed by Gandalf to the hidden valley that leads to Rivendell, home of the Elves ruled by Lord Elrond (Hugo Weaving), much to the disgust of Thorin, who memorably hates Elves. There they are wined and dined, while Gandalf attends a meeting with Elrond, Lady Galadriel and Saruman the White - three members of the White Council - to discuss the growing darkness around the area that would become Mirkwood and Dol Guldur, and Gandalf's suspicions. In The Hobbit text, this council meeting is given as the reason for Gandalf's absence for part of the journey, though it is not shown in the book. It is this council that leads to the White Council's intervention to drive the Necromancer out of Dol Guldur after a further council where Gandalf had announced his own discovery of the Necromancer - only to be shot down by Saruman, who had begun to covet the One Ring for himself, so Jackson has obviously changed Tolkien's time-line to shift events into the future slightly. Over the course of the meeting in the film Saruman expresses his doubts about Gandalf's theories, including the evidence provided by Radagast, and he convinces the council that nothing need be done, before saying he cannot endorse the dwarves' quest to Erebor. The council then learn that the dwarves have left Rivendell prematurely, and Galadriel realises that Gandalf knew all along that Saruman would forbid the quest. This all occurs over what seems to be only a few days, when in the text, the company stay at Rivendell for a number of weeks. The sequence is clearly included to more explicitly set up the events of the Lord of the Rings, though it seems odd that Gandalf is clearly presented as already doubting Saruman's loyalties when he apparently goes to the white wizard during Fellowship blissfully unaware of his treachery. And again there's an element of fan service as it gives Jackson an opportunity to reintroduce LOTR characters - though it's a shame that Christopher Lee appears to have aged 100 years since filming the LOTR trilogy.