Two of J.R.R. Tolkien’s most well-known works areThe HobbitandThe Lord of the Rings. Both take place in Middle-earth and follow the story of a Hobbit, but the events they cover are vastly different, and their tones and cast of characters are also quite different from each other (which makes sense, asThe Hobbitwas originally meant for a young audience). While a lot of the characters don’t cross over, there are still a few familiar faces that appear in bothThe HobbitandThe Lord of the Rings, and some of them even play quite significant roles in both.
One such character is Gandalf the Grey,the iconic wizardin the series who is portrayed by Sir Ian McKellan in the movies. He is a major player inThe Hobbitas well asLOTR, and the crossover is one of the ways that the gap between the two stories is bridged. However,The Hobbittakes place a number of years beforeLOTR, which leaves a significant amount of time between Gandalf saying goodbye to Bilbo and starting Frodo on his own journey. What exactly was he getting up to in between these stories?
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Where Was Gandalf At The End Of The Hobbit?
DuringThe Hobbit, Gandalf has to depart from Thorin and company for a brief time for a reason that is unspecified in the book, but is depicted in the films. Gandalf was gathering the White Council (including Galadriel, Elrond, and Saruman), and together they confronted the Necromancer at Dol Goldur. Gandalf suspected that this Necromancer was actually Sauron attempting to make his return, and he was proven to be correct. They were able to defeat him, but Sauron was not held back for long, as he proceeded to sneak back into Mordor and spent the rest of the time in betweenThe HobbitandThe Lord of the Ringsbuilding his strength and his armyonce again.
What Was Gandalf Doing Before LOTR?
The White Council met for one final time after they learned of Sauron’s presence in Mordor to discuss the Rings of Power. Despite the fact that the Ring of Power was said to have been lost in the Belegaer,Saruman was distrustful of Gandalf, and sent spies to watch him and the Hobbits as he found out about Gandalf’s interest in and frequent visits to the Shire. Gandalf liked the Shire and the Hobbits themselves, but his travels to that part of the land were also to keep an eye on Bilbo and his mysterious Ring, which Gandalf was also researching, trying to discover its true nature. Gandalf was a wanderer at this time, going wherever his ultimate quest to defeat Sauron took him.
During this in-between period, Gandalf met Aragorn for the first time.Aragorn had just left Rivendell, where he was raised and trained, and he crossed paths with the wizard. Gandalf recognized Aragorn’s true heritage as the Heir of Isildur, and knew that he would be an important figure (and a key ally) in the war that would inevitably come. Aragorn and his rangers were able to keep watch on important locations and keep Gandalf up-to-date with the enemy’s moves and plans. Gandalf also continued monitoring the Shire, and asked that Dúnedain rangers post themselves in and around the Shire and report any suspicious enemy activity back to him.
Gandalf was growing more and more suspicious that the Ring that Bilbo held was much more than it seemed. He had a feeling it was a Ring of Power, but there were many of those that were forged, so that wasn’t necessarily a cause for concern. However, he noticed Bilbo’s behavior changing in strange, un-Hobbit-like ways, which confirmed his deep suspicions that thiswas actually the One Ringafter all. This is what pushed him to convince Bilbo to leave the Ring with Frodo and therefore set off the events ofThe Lord of the Rings.
Gandalf also took an interest in the creature Gollum, who was the one that Bilbo had gotten the Ring from in the first place. He asked for Aragorn’s help to capture Gollum, which was a quest that led them around Rhovanion and the outskirts of Mordor for years.Upon studying more records, Gandalf learned the full history of the One Ring, and then got word that Aragorn had managed to catch Gollum and was in Mirkwood with him. Gandalf went there and proceeded to interrogate Gollum to confirm the information he had already learned, and found out that Gollum had already been captured and tortured by Sauron. Gollum told Sauron about a “magic ring” as well as the words “Shire” and “Baggins”, which is what led Sauron to target Frodo in the Shire. When Gandalf learned of this - now certain that Bilbo’s ring was the One Ring - he rushed back to do what he could to save Frodo and the Ring from Sauron’s clutches, which is where the main events ofThe Lord of the Ringsreally begin, as the Hobbits set off away from the Shire.
