"The King of the Golden Hall" - Jacob's Thoughts

I'm of two minds about the "exorcism" of King Theoden by Gandalf.

In the Peter Jackson film version, Theoden is quite obviously under Saruman's spell by means of the nefarious Wormtongue, which influence Gandalf magically expels with his staff while his compatriots battle the guards empty-handed.

This of course is not how it goes down in the book.

But weirdly, it is the book that actually features the more cinematic scene, what with Gandalf revealing his white-robes and glowing in the dark and blackening the skylights and summoning thunder and striking down Wormtongue in a sudden flash of righteous lightning!

Yet I also understand why Jackson opted for the less "cinematic", sturm und drang climax to this scene, because, quite frankly...what just happened?  How did striking Wormtongue with lightning free the king, exactly?  I understand that Tolkien here was making some sort of commentary about all those smooth-tongued operators in our lives who play on our fears and vanities to manipulate us, but how does a literal flash-in-the-pan light-show and a little fresh air undo (what sounds like) literal years of rhetorical connivings?  (For crying out loud, the man had been talked into imprisoning his own nephew!).

Far more believable is the idea that Theoden was under an actual spell--and not just a spell of flattering words--which Gandalf liberates him from.  In my experience, most folks don't just give up everything they've been told over night.  I'm gonna have to side with the Jackson version on this one.

Moreover, Gandalf's victory over Saruman has a rather satisfying full-circle feel to it in the film; it's a sort of vindication, a knock-out punch against the same foe who handed his butt to him in Fellowship.  Given that Gandalf and Saruman will never have another rematch, this was as opportune a time as any for the wizard to have his Rocky moment.

Not that I disliked this chapter or anything--in fact, I was actually rather pleased when they allow Wormtongue the option to either ride with them into battle, or ride back to Saruman--but in either case he is free to choose.  Theoden even instructs his men to follow him to make he does not do anymore damage, but not to hinder him.  A lesser novel would have had Theoden or Gandalf strike down Wormtongue in a self-righteous fury.   It takes real moral fortitude to demonstrate the level of magnanimity we get instead.  As we've discussed before, Sauron's goal is to exercise complete control, such that no one has a choice--hence, if our heroes are gonna be the actual heroes, then they are gonna have to make sure that everyone has a choice.  Including their enemies.

It is easy to grant freedom to your friends, but the real test is whether you can grant freedom to your enemies, including such obvious dirtbags as Wormtongue.  As the past decade and a half of U.S. foreign policy has demonstrated, the moment we lower to the level of our enemies, is the moment when we lose all moral authority.  Tolkien here knows better.