The Istari all had the same delegacy inThe Lord of the Rings — to aid Middle - earth in the fighting against Sauron — but some of them pursued this task more effectively than others . The Istari were some of the stiff beings inJ.R.R. Tolkien ’s volume , created byEru Ilúvatar , The Lord of the Rings’god , and give wisdom and power for their role . The Valar send the wizards to Middle - earth during its Second and Third Ages , and they all undergo very different journeys upon go far there ( some of which flummox more attention from Tolkien ’s works than others ) .

In the end , only one of thefive Istari inThe Lord of the Ringsfulfilledhis aim completely , seeing Sauron ’s licking all the way through . Based on Tolkien ’s Hagiographa , there ’s evidence that the others played their persona in the Dark Lord ’s demise , but they also got sidetracked or turned away from the light . If nothing else , the Istari ’s journeying were proof that even the most powerful entities in Middle - globe were n’t infallible . Of naturally , some of them did a beneficial job at hold fast to their delegation , while others seemed less invested from the start .

4Saruman

Did The Opposite Of What The Valar Intended

Perhaps it ’s no surprise that Saruman failed the bad in his missionary post to work against Sauron , as the Istar ended up joining the Dark Lord inThe Lord of the Ringsrather than thwarting him . Prior to this turn of events , one could say that Saruman was actuallymorecommitted to his design than Radagast and even the Blue Wizards . After all , Saruman was n’t always evil , and he initially led the Istari and the White Council . Unfortunately , his lustfulness for power and desire to utilise the One Ring took over , ensuring his failure .

Even if Saruman made efforts to sqaush Sauron ’s rising to might originally , he accrue the farthest of the Istari in the end .

BecauseSaruman wanted the One Ring for himself and was uncoerced to link Sauron to obtain it , there ’s no question that he ’s the Istar who give up his delegacy the most . Even if Saruman made efforts to squash Sauron ’s rise to great power before , he fell the farthest of the Istari in the Third Age . He was n’t even able to return to Valinor , highlight the depth of his failure .

Gandalf radagast the brown lord of the rings

3Radagast

The Brown Wizard Became Preoccupied With Middle-earth’s Nature

Originally known as Aiwendil , Radagast never turned his back on his commission in the way that Saruman did inThe Lord of the Rings . However , the Istar got sidetracked from assist the people of mediate - earthly concern , minify his contributions to the efforts against Sauron . Radagast the Grown barely imply himself in the War of the Ring , and he spent the bulk of his time on in-between - earthly concern focusing on its plant living and animals . Radagast had a better understanding of nature than the races of Middle - earth and their power struggles , and he disappear into that .

In the Lord of the Rings Christian Bible it is said there are other wizards besides Gandalf and Saruman , but where were they during the War for the Ring ?

To be fair , Radagast did use the creatures he connected with to help Gandalf and Saruman at time , aiding in the search for the One Ring and agreeing to relay communications between Gandalf and Saruman . It ’s also thanks to Radagast that Gandalf escaped Orthanc , as the other Istar sent the eagle Gwaihir . So , while Tolkien himself hold that Radagast lose sight of his purpose , he still made choices that positively impacted the outcome of the War of the Ring . He simply was n’t that active in his efforts .

Ciarán Hinds as the Dark Wizard in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2 and a stained glass background

2The Blue Wizards

Tolkien’s Later Writings Suggested They Made An Impact

It ’s difficult to grade the Blue Wizards ' effectuality in the conflict against Sauron , as Tolkien wrote about the two Istari so meagerly . In fact , they ’re grouped together because that ’s how Tolkien described them . TheBlue Wizards were among Tolkien ’s most mysteriousfigures . We know that they locomote due east and in the south with the purpose of turning the Men of Middle - earth against the Dark Lord . However , Tolkien ’s thoughts about what happened next varied from schoolbook to text , making it harder to piece together their part in Sauron ’s defeat .

These Blue Wizard theories seek to explain their absence seizure in The Lord of the Rings and offer ideas about how they can seem in The Rings of Power .

Some might place Radagast as more efficient for this reason , but Tolkien specifically called out Saruman ’s and Radagast ’s failure — andhis final sentiment about the Blue Wizards suggested they might have succeed in help Middle - earthin the end . Although Tolkien ab initio write in a alphabetic character from 1958 that he conceive " they flush it , as Saruman did , though doubtless in different way , " and that they became religious cult loss leader , he later on offered a more affirmative perspective .

Gandalf The Gray from The Hobbit

Tolkien ’s unfinished works published posthumously claimed the following:“They must have had very great influence on the history of the Second Age and Third Age in weakening and disorder the forces of East … who would both in the Second Age and Third Age otherwise have … outnumbered the West . “Going by Tolkien ’s last sentiment , the Blue Wizards actually did play a pivotal rolein the War of the Ring and its outcome , even if they did n’t succeed to the same extent as Gandalf .

1Gandalf

Gandalf Actively Saw His Mission All The Way Through

Gandalf was clearly the most in effect when it came to his mission , as he was the only Istar to actively play a role in Sauron ’s licking during the War of the Ring . Gandalf fulfilled his duty by run Frodo on his journeying to destroy the One Ring , and he never strayed from working for the commodity of mediate - terra firma . This was why Gandalf was capable to retrovert to midway - land as Gandalf the White after Saruman sour his back on his determination .

Gandalf forget Lord of the Rings ' Blue Wizards ' epithet in The Hobbit was even queer than the gently contemptuous put - down it appeared to be .

Gandalf ’s success also explicate why he was theonly wizard who went to the Undying Landsat the end ofThe Lord of the Rings . The fates of the others — except for Saruman — were exit up in the air . hand that Gandalf was the only one of the Istari who intelligibly completed his mission , it ’s meet that he got the most straightforward confirming conclusion . He was rewarded for his efforts in a satisfying way afterThe Lord of the Rings .

Radagast, Gandalf, And Saruman In The Lord Of The Rings

Custom Image by Yeider Chacon

The Lord of the Rings Franchise Poster with Gold Words Resembling a Ring

Movies

The Lord of the Rings