Fifty Shades of Gandalf the Grey
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> It simply is not credible that a mere mortal Man, however virtuous, could simply ignore the allure of this talisman [the Ring], which Faramir does with laughable ease.
That is interesting but doesn’t justify the argument. Early in The Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo asks Gandalf to take the ring and Gandalf says he himself would not be able to resist temptation. I think this point was important enough that it might have made it into the film version.
Also there’s a bit of implication in this argument that wizards are some sort of genetically differentiated group (likes elves, humans, hobbits, etc) while I have always assumed that wizards are just humans (or others I suppose) who are scholars and who get their advantages (long life, spell casting etc) through training.
So that would not contradict the Faramir argument if Gandalf kept coming by to teach him, but certainly makes the argument about the death of Findlay’s absurd.
Yes he is.
> He is a "Maiar"
Yes, he is. Just like the other four wizards.
Wizards are definitely in a different group than elves or men. They are a class of being called maiar (singular maia). Sauron and the balrogs are also maiar. They’re sort of junior gods (to oversimplify) in Tolkien’s universe. The great gods are the Valar (singular vala), the demiurgic beings of Middle Earth. The vala Aulë was a smith who crafted, among other things, the mountains and other lands of Middle Earth. Sauron and Saruman were both followers of Aulë. And they were both good at making things (Sauron especially). If I remember correctly, Sauron raised the mountains around Mordor.
The most powerful vala was Melkor, later known as Morgoth, who fell into evil. He was defeated and removed from the world at the end of the First Age. The greatest of the maiar whom he seduced into his service was Sauron. Some of the maiar who followed him took the form of monstrous creatures who wielded whips of fire. They were the balrogs. In Moria Legolas recognized the ancient creature as “A balrog of Morgoth.”
Indeed.
Don't tempt me, Frodo: https://youtu.be/MpOF1NHowdQ?t=40
The 5 Wizards (Gandalf, Radagast, Saruman, and 2 unnamed blue wizards) are Maiar manifested to help the Ring make it to Mt Doom. They are literally the beings that helped create the universe, manifested in physical form. And they have the backing of even more powerful beings (the Valar).
That's why Gandalf scares the shit out of everything, and seems to know everything. He has existed in one form or another since the dawn of time, there are very few beings with even a glimmer of the power he has, and he's immortal to boot.
One thing that gives this idea a bit more credence is that Aragorn is also not tempted by the ring in the same way the other humans are. Aragorn descends from Luthien, who is the child of Thingol (an elf) and Melien (a Maia). The whole Numenorian royal bloodline descends from them. Also telling is that the Numenorian royalty lived significantly longer than normal Numenorians, similar to Maiar. Of course, elves also can't die of old age, so it's hard to attribute that directly to the Maiar.
Gandalf not being totally immune isn't surprising. Sauron poured his Maia powers into the ring, so it's of a roughly equal power level to Gandalf. Perhaps higher since Sauron sacrificed his ability to manifest in the physical world. Gandalf's power is the ability to recognize the ring's corrupting influence. It doesn't sound like much, but the rest of the cast is practically tripping over themselves to get the ring even after being explicitly warned it will drive them mad. Gandalf is able to keep his sanity whilst near the ring, and that was enough to accomplish his goals.
You mean Alatar [1] and Pallando [2], also known as Morinehtar and Romestamo.
When it comes to Tolkien, very few things are actually unnamed.
I prefer to think that the path of the ring into the heart was via despair. Those with a strong enough sense of purpose (Sam, Aragorn), or a fundamental strength of character (Faramir), or otherworldly indifference (Bombadil) could see it as a false promise. Although Faramir might have wavered if re-exposed before being doused with lighter fluid.
Maybe Eru just decided “well, letting the dogs run” didn’t turn out too well and directed Manwe to put the multi-millennium plan into action this time. Maybe the Eagles were more, umm, interesting then we thought? 50 shades of Manwe?
It doesn't. Aragorn already descends from a Maia. The whole Numenorian royal blood line descends from Thingol and Melian; Melian is a Maia.
> I prefer to think that the path of the ring into the heart was via despair.
I don't really think this plays out. Aragorn is definitely descended from Maia, Faramir might be, and Tom Bombadil is a powerful being though we don't know how powerful (although certainly at least in the realm of a Maia).
I think the real story is Sam's devotion to his friend (or lover, if you subscribe to that theory). That in this clash between immortal, supernatural beings with incredible power, what changes the world isn't a mega-being appearing to vaporize all the evil. It's Sam's unwavering devotion to Frodo. Everyone else is tempted by the ring, but Sam alone is unphased, blinded by his desire to simply go home with his friend/lover and live a simple life.
I like the poetic irony of it. What saves the world is one man's indifference to saving the world.
However, even if we ignore Tolkien's general conservativism, it is unlikely that Aragorn would ever cheat on Arwen; they got "engaged" just three years before Faramir was born.