Anyone who has read or watched the Lord of the Rings would know about Gandalf's "death" and resurrection in The Two Towers. However, there's one person who doesn't agree with the idea of the wizard being brought back to life. Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin says that J.R.R. Tolkien's novels would have worked out better if Gandalf stayed dead.
George R.R. Martin was a guest on the Bullseye podcast where he shared his opinion on characters being resurrected in fiction.
“I do think that if you’re bringing a character back, that a character has gone through death, that’s a transformative experience. Even back in those days of Wonder Man and all that, I loved the fact that he died, and although I liked the character in later years, I wasn’t so thrilled when he came back because that sort of undid the power of it,” Martin said.
He then pointed out that he disagreed with how J.R.R. Tolkien decided to resurrect Gandalf.
“Much as I admire Tolkien, I once again always felt like Gandalf should have stayed dead. That was such an incredible sequence in Fellowship of the Ring when he faces the Balrog on the Khazad-dûm and he falls into the gulf, and his last words are, 'Fly, you fools',” Martin stated.
“What power that had, how that grabbed me,” he continued. “And then he comes back as Gandalf the White, and if anything he’s sort of improved. I never liked Gandalf the White as much as Gandalf the Grey, and I never liked him coming back. I think it would have been an even stronger story if Tolkien had left him dead.”
It's an interesting thought considering that Gandalf plays an important role after he returns as Gandalf the White. Still, Martin is entitled to his own opinion and perhaps he can share his own ideas on how the wizard should have been brought back.
Explore new topics and discover content that's right for you!