I know this question is a bit behind the flow of the sessions, but after watching the discussion regarding Gandalf's Announcement, and why or why not Gandalf should accompany Frodo to the Cracks of Doom, I wondered...
Clearly, Frodo will need some help to get there, both to guide to protect him. But perhaps shouldn't the question be, who needs help besides Frodo, who is the right person or people to provide that help, and how can we get them to the place where they can provide that help?
Clearly from the text, Gandalf needed to be sent to Rohan (which Elrond's council may not have known), to deal with Saruman (which Elrond's council did know was a problem), to Minas Tirith (which they knew was a problem). There were other places where Gandalf was needed, but perhaps the most surprising was that he (or somebody) needed to take Frodo to Moria so that a 10th member of the company could be added, Gollum. It is interesting that from the time Gollum joined Frodo's company, he seemed to take the roles of Gandalf (guide) and Boromir (protection, but also temptation), both of whom were lost to the larger company (at least for a time). How short sighted of Elrond's council for not considering the larger question of where to send help, and who to send there. It is also a bit surprising that Elrond's council did not consider the need to include someone like Gollum (or perhaps Boromir), because it was already clear from the text that the ring bearer would not be able to destroy the ring of his own volition.
We also see from the text other folks that needed help and the surprising way that help was delivered. Treebeard needed motivation to deal with the Saruman problem, so Pippin and Merry were sent there by the hands of the Uruks, surprisingly. Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas were needed in Helm's Deep, so they followed the helpful Uruks to Rohan, arriving just in time. It goes on and on. Elrond's council just didn't know what all-wise providence knew.
Or course, going back to the original question, why should or shouldn't Gandalf accompany Frodo to the Cracks of Doom, a simple response might be, not that he would (or wouldn't) be a good help to Frodo, but perhaps there would be some way to help Frodo elsewhere, say by distracting Sauron by creating a disturbance in Minas Tirith or by providing a palantir to Aragorn or by providing an army as bait at the front gate of Mordor, while Frodo slipped in the back.
Excuse me if this issue was discussed in sessions that I may have missed. I've just started watching the sessions again after a long break.
Clearly, Frodo will need some help to get there, both to guide to protect him. But perhaps shouldn't the question be, who needs help besides Frodo, who is the right person or people to provide that help, and how can we get them to the place where they can provide that help?
Clearly from the text, Gandalf needed to be sent to Rohan (which Elrond's council may not have known), to deal with Saruman (which Elrond's council did know was a problem), to Minas Tirith (which they knew was a problem). There were other places where Gandalf was needed, but perhaps the most surprising was that he (or somebody) needed to take Frodo to Moria so that a 10th member of the company could be added, Gollum. It is interesting that from the time Gollum joined Frodo's company, he seemed to take the roles of Gandalf (guide) and Boromir (protection, but also temptation), both of whom were lost to the larger company (at least for a time). How short sighted of Elrond's council for not considering the larger question of where to send help, and who to send there. It is also a bit surprising that Elrond's council did not consider the need to include someone like Gollum (or perhaps Boromir), because it was already clear from the text that the ring bearer would not be able to destroy the ring of his own volition.
We also see from the text other folks that needed help and the surprising way that help was delivered. Treebeard needed motivation to deal with the Saruman problem, so Pippin and Merry were sent there by the hands of the Uruks, surprisingly. Aragorn, Gimli, Legolas were needed in Helm's Deep, so they followed the helpful Uruks to Rohan, arriving just in time. It goes on and on. Elrond's council just didn't know what all-wise providence knew.
Or course, going back to the original question, why should or shouldn't Gandalf accompany Frodo to the Cracks of Doom, a simple response might be, not that he would (or wouldn't) be a good help to Frodo, but perhaps there would be some way to help Frodo elsewhere, say by distracting Sauron by creating a disturbance in Minas Tirith or by providing a palantir to Aragorn or by providing an army as bait at the front gate of Mordor, while Frodo slipped in the back.
Excuse me if this issue was discussed in sessions that I may have missed. I've just started watching the sessions again after a long break.
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