There are hints that Radagast failed as a Wizard in The Lord of the Rings, but it isn’t totally clear. The movies didn’t do too much to clarify the matter, although they raised some interesting questions about the Wizard, who was played by Sylvester McCoy. Published in three parts between 1954 and 1955, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings novel mentioned Radagast in a very minor capacity. So, it can be quite hard to tell for even diehard Tolkienites if Radagast is a particularly shining example of Lord of the Rings’ Istari.

Known as Istari in Lord of the Rings’ Elvish language of Quenya, the Wizards ranged from the goodest (Gandalf) to the cruelest (Saruman). Radagast and the Blue Wizards occupied a mysterious space in between. With the Blue Wizards destined to wander the east of Middle-earth in mystery, with no sign of what happened to them, Radagast offers a clearer case study of an ambivalent Istar. The nature-loving Wizard seems to be some sort of hero, but perhaps not one who succeeded in his mission from the Valar to stop Sauron.

Radagast Became Too Enamored By Middle-earth’s Beasts & Nature To Truly Help It

Radagast Would Have Been Better Off Accomplishing His Mission

Although Lord of the Rings’ Blue Wizards can’t even claim to have saved any creature in Middle-earth, they didn’t fail in quite the same way as Radagast. Coming to this understanding takes an examination of the mission that was set for the Istari. Middle-earth’s God, Eru Ilúvatar, created the Ainur first of all races. And of the Ainur, there were two orders. The Valar were the 15 strongest Ainur, while the Istari were of the Maia order, which was the one below the Valar. Radagast didn’t oppose Sauron as the Valar had ordered the Istari to do.

The 15 Valar of Lord of the Rings gave the Istari a hard task because they were up to it. While in one draft of the legendarium written by Tolkien, Gandalf was the chosen Istar of Manwë, Radagast was the chosen of Yavanna, Valier of the earth. Radagast was always destined to fall in love with the birds and the beasts, to a certain extent. If he had opposed Sauron instead of becoming sidetracked by them, he could have protected them better, ironically. Radagast protected nature as he intended to, but Sauron may have destroyed much of it had he won.

The Small Things Radagast Did To Support The Istari’s Mission Weren’t Enough On Their Own

Radagast Was Helpful In The War Of The Ring To A Certain Extent

Radagast was only moderately helpful in the Istari’s mission, and he certainly can’t be credited in any way with the downfall of Sauron. While Saruman went east and returned and Gandalf, the Grey Pilgrim, traveled far and wide, Radagast was said by Gandalf to have at one point lived in Mirkwood. Yet he could not stop the shadow from spreading across the forest in the first place, shrinking as he did from his duties in favor of a simpler life. However, he did try to help Saruman and Gandalf when he realized that the Lord of the Rings’ Ringwraiths were operating.

Radagast’s willingness to ᴀssist Gandalf and Saruman in their ongoing struggle with Sauron was noble, and it did add merit to his attempts to protect wildlife. Although it wasn’t explored in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings movie, Radagast spent a while looking for Gandalf to warn him about the Nazgûl at the end of June in the year 3018 of the Third Age. Radagast usefully obeyed Gandalf when asked to set his spies in motion. However, he was easily manipulated by Saruman, proving his inferiority as a Valarin agent.

Radagast Was The Reason Gandalf Was Captured (Though He Also Helped Save Him)

Radagast Sent Gandalf Into A Trap In The Lord Of The Rings

Even though Radagast did some small things to help in the War of the Ring, he was generally not carrying out his mission to oppose Sauron, especially when he accidentally sent Gandalf into a trap. Calling Radagast a simple fool, Saruman made it clear that he had been using Radagast to get to Gandalf. Indeed, as Gandalf said, it would have been futile trying to get Radagast to betray anyone, honest as he was. As heroic as this is, it didn’t help him in his mission. Instead, it had him encouraging Gandalf to seek Saruman’s aid.

As per Saruman’s comments to Radagast, Radagast offered Saruman’s help on his behalf without making it seem like a demand, cleverly employing Saruman’s subtle tactics. He also pressed the urgency of Saruman’s aid. This resulted in Gandalf heading to Orthanc to get imprisoned by Saruman. However, Gandalf had inadvertently prepared for this situation by asking Radagast to send spies out for news of the Ringwraiths. One of Radagast’s spies, Gwaihir, rescued Gandalf from Orthanc. In this sense, Radagast’s network did prove useful in the end. This giant Eagle was able to bear Gandalf to safety in Edoras.

The Istar’s Ambiguous Fate Suggests He Remained Distracted In Middle-earth

Radagast Likely Stayed In Middle-earth In The Lord Of The Rings

It isn’t totally clear what happened to Radagast in Lord of the Rings after Sauron’s defeat, but it’s likely he remained in Middle-earth. Prime Video’s The Rings of Power explores the Dark Wizard living out in Lord of the Rings’ eastern land of Rhûn; he is likely a Blue Wizard, judging from showrunner comments. This invention on behalf of the show suggests answers around the mysterious Blue Wizards, but neither the show nor the movies confirmed the fate of Radagast.

Gandalf left for the Grey Havens toward the end of The Lord of the Rings, while Saruman met his demise in both the book and the movies, albeit in different ways. From the Grey Havens, Gandalf sailed to Valinor, which was where most Valar and Maiar that had descended from living in the Timeless Halls with Eru stayed on Middle-earth. It made sense for the remaining Istari, like Gandalf, to go back to Valinor and report back to the Valar. However, Radagast had gone rogue, so he likely wasn’t concerned about this.

J.R.R. Tolkien Himself Said The Istar Failed, But Not As Badly As Saruman

Tolkien Suggested Radagast Did Not Complete His Mission

In Unfinished Tales, Tolkien said that Radagast didn’t remain faithful to his mission. This is enough evidence to confirm that the author himself believed that the Istar failed when it came to the Valar’s ᴀssignment. Gandalf was the only Wizard to be loyal to the Valar by the end of the Third Age, despite the relative goodness of Radagast. Radagast’s devotion to wildlife could be seen as heroic despite his refusal to heed the words of his former superiors. Perhaps a shaky memory of his former life, as was the case for all Istari, did not help here.

Tolkien always ᴀsserted, however, the one Maia who certainly misfired worse than Radagast in opposing Sauron. Although Radagast signed himself out of most of the history books, much like the incredibly powerful Tom Bombadil, Saruman turned to Sauron. Ultimately, Saruman fell to the dark force he was meant to fight. He was not strong enough to resist the more powerful sorcerer’s controlling magic and influence. Radagast was an important part of the balance of Middle-earth. Despite beating Saruman for nobility in The Lord of the Rings, he ultimately failed in his mission.

The Lord of the Rings

Movie(s)

The Lord of the Rings (1978), The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug, The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim

Created by

J.R.R. Tolkien

First Film

The Lord of the Rings (1978)

Cast

Norman Bird, Anthony Daniels, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving, Sean Bean, Ian Holm, Andy Serkis, Brad Dourif, Karl Urban, Martin Freeman, Richard Armitage, James Nesbitt, Ken Stott, Benedict Cumberbatch, Evangeline Lilly, Lee Pace, Luke Evans, Morfydd Clark, Mike Wood, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Charlie Vickers, Markella Kavenagh, Megan Richards, Sara Zwangobani, Daniel Weyman, Cynthia Addai-Robinson, Lenny Henry, Brian Cox, Shaun Dooley, Miranda Otto, Bilal Hasna, Benjamin Wainwright, Luke Pasqualino, Christopher Guard, William Squire, Michael Scholes, John Hurt

TV Show(s)

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Character(s)

Frodo Baggins, Gandalf, Legolas, Boromir, Sauron, Gollum, Samwise Gamgee, Pippin Took, Celeborn, Aragorn, Galadriel, Bilbo Baggins, Saruman, Aldor, Wormtongue, Thorin Oakenshield, Balin Dwalin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin, Nori, Dori, Ori, Tauriel, King Thranduil, Smaug, Radagast, Arondir, Nori Brandyfoot, Poppy Proudfellow, Marigold Brandyfoot, Queen Regent Míriel, Sadoc Burrows

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