The Powers of the Istari (Wizards) | Tolkien Explained

Lol Gandalf was played so well in the movies that 95% of his art is drawn as Ian McKellen.

I think the real question we're all wondering about is this: Could Gandalf actually have turned Sam into a toad?

I think that Valar should forbid Aulë from having servants. The guy is such a poor judge of character that he almost caused the end of Middle Earth.

I always loved that Olorin/Gandalf was considered the wisest of the Maiar, and he was the one who didn't want to go. He was afraid of Sauron, and unsure of his abilities. In the end though, it was his wisdom and tempered nature that allowed him to reject the allure of power, and allowed him to guide the forces of Good to victory. He was the one Istari who completed the quest that they were sent forth to perform. I don't think there will ever be another writer quite like Tolkien.

one interesting thing Ive always loved is when Saruman is killed it says a mist like a man rises from his body and looks west then a wind from the west blows it away. Which represents Saruman’s spirit being rejected by the valar

I love the moments in the movies when Gandalf uses his deep and scary voice. I often refer to it as his "Maiar voice".

There is and interview with Mckellen and Lee, where they talk about how they played their characters, and what's the approach to playing a character who isn't human. They both show excellent understanding of the differences between Gandalf and Saurman. Ian says he plays Gandalf as mostly human. He accepts his human like form that gets weary and has many of the limitations of a physical body. Lee theorized that Saruman resents his physical form, that such a powerful entity should have to endure mortal limitations and interact with lesser beings. So he decided to play him with a more inhuman air. It was truly perfect casting for Ian to get Gandalf and Christopher (who wanted Gandalf) to be told you'd make a better Saruman. Plus with what we know about the power of the 'Voice of Saruman' I can't think of a better voice for pulling that off.

I imagine that Sauron might have taken a while to realize what the Wizards were, but after the did he probably wondered who they were specifically. When he got ahold of Saruman I imagine he was like "Ah Curumo! It's been a while. You work for me now". He never bothered with Radagast so much, but when Gandalf battled him with his mind, I wonder if he was "OLORIN? REALLY? You dare to face me student of Nienna?" and 10 seconds later he figured out that it was precisely Olorin who had been thwarting his plans all along.

the fire metaphors in the legendarium are so interesting. on the one hand, fire is associated with light, warmth, and creation. on the other it's associated with terror and destruction. it's associated with Eru (the "secret fire") but also with Sauron. the ring is created and destroyed by fire. the balrog and Gandalf use the opposing sides of fire magic against each other. fire lights the beacons between Gondor and Rohan; but fire also nearly kills Faramir. the great eye is wrapped in flame--but the stars Sam sees in the sky that bring him hope are also great balls of flame. fire is power itself, and it can be good or bad based on who wields it and how they treat it.

I always enjoy when new or casual fans realize that Gandalf, The Balrog and Sauron are of the same kind: Maiar.

Love how in most fantasy settings, wizards are beings or people who took an interest in magic and stuff, but in Lotr they are straight up basically angels.

Tolkien Wizards in one line :
" Do not take me for some conjurer of cheap tricks. I am not trying to rob you. I'm trying to help you. "

One of my favorite things about LotR is how when Tolkien reaches his creative limits (wide limits indeed), he blends them so cleanly with the limits of the reader's own knowledge. The Wizards' abilities are a perfect example of this. They're a shadowy mix of conventional "magic" and spell systems, chemistry, technology, and other "secret crafts" that our world just doesn't have parallels for. What I'm saying is, even though Tolkien can't really go into detail on things like that, which are just beyond our real-world understanding, he blends it so well with a tantalizing air of mystery that it's almost satisfying in itself.

While I do love the hard rules of magics that other fantasy worlds have. I also really love how magic is in Tolkien's world. It is very flexible and feels like a projection of one's emotional state combined with their intent to an extent. Least that's just my casual reader perspective.

I love how Gandolf is written. Clearly he’s powerful, but they don’t go into such extreme detail that you literally know exactly how powerful he is.

It is quite curious that for all modern high fantasy and D&D owe to Tolkien and his work, his style of magic is so very different from what we are used to now. Specially with D&D we see magic as a science of sorts, a thing to study, to classify, spells to be researched and then applied through formulas, artifacts developed with the precision of machines, schools of magic not unlike our colleges. And yet Tolkien would have none of that and might have even found the idea of it rather comical or even senseless… his magic is a thing of wonder and mystery, a thing of mind and soul. It would seem that for the Istari and the Eldar, the work of their arts and lore (which they emphatically do not refer to as magic), is as an act of the will upon the world, to manifest the ethereal into the physical through a mastery of the spirit, and knowledge of the world seen and unseen, well beyond the understanding of the younger races (readers included). That is why there can be no hard and clear rules, mechanisms and limitations, for such are the ways of the material plane, while their powers exist in another, and to try to understand it in terms more familiar to us is folly, instead one ought to just marvel at it and bask in the beauty of Tolkien’s work, a magic of its own.

One is never late to a Nerd of the Rings video.. Nor is he early! He arrives precisely when he needs to!

We are told explicitly in the first two chapters of the Silmarilion, that all the Ainur (no distinction other than "power level" actually sets Valar apart from Maiar) can clothe themselves in forms of their choosing. More importantly to this discussion, they can walk Arda UNCLAD. In this form, even the mightiest of the Noldor can't detect their presence. I think it's likely that Tolkien considered this in creating Radagast, and Iwendil was a master at moving about while remaining almost impossible to detect. Most people infer that Saruman killed Radagast, or had him killed, but I can't find a passage that is even close to definitive on that subject. I think it possible that Radagast decided to do his best to protect his favourite ecosystems and members of them, and he just pieced out and tended to Mirkwood and or Fangorn. He may be visiting Bombadil, they'd probably find it easy to get along, but as fun an image as it is, there isn't a hint of suggestion that he is off with Tom and Goldberry. However, the familiarity that Gandalf, Elrond, and (I think) Glorfindel speak of Bombadil with suggests that Radagast is very likely to know and be known by old Tom.

I do wish there had been more of a showing of a "good" Saruman, to make his eventual fall actually feel more tragic, but then sources tell us he was bitter, and angry, practically from the beginning, when Cirdan gave Gandalf his ring, and Galadriel sought to give Gandalf leadership of the White Council. He might've been bad even in the east, before we knew anything of his actions, and we don't really get scenes odmf his decency, even if marred by pride. It almost makes me wonder if Aule and Yavanna were actually a happy couple? He created Dwarves, and Yavanna, panicking for what these beings might do with axes, to stoke fires of hearth and forge, asked for Eru to create the Ents to protect her forests. Ayle chose Saruman, and even as he was then, Yavanna feared, and begged they take her Radagast with them. Granted, the Smith had a poor track record; he taught Sauron, and Sauron fell. He taught Feanor (alleged), and Feanor created the Silmarils, which then caused several conflicts, and he refused to part with to literally change the world. His knowledge went to Celebimbor, through Sauron, and we get the Rings of Power, which cause more conflicts. Had he not also made chains to bijd Morgoth, I might question everything he had a hand in, though I know he, at least, is not malevolent. I wonder why such a skilled craftsman couldn't see the obvious flaws in his tool (Saruman), while even his own loving wife seemed concerned every time he made another new thing.

I'm a new subscriber, and have spent the last couple of weeks catching up on your previous videos. While I've been reading LOTR for most of my life, you've kinda opened new points of view for me. So thanks for that!

I would really like to see you do one of these on Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth. He was always one of my favorite minor characters of the story and I've always felt Jackson's decision to omit him and his Swan Knights from ROTK was a mistake.

I remember from reading the books that there're no formalized spells cast by the istari. When gandalf lights the pinecones on fire to throw at the wargs, he does cry out in Sindarin (edit) but translated is 'Fire be for saving us'. The movie depicts gandalf perform some kind of healing similarly on Frodo. In Tolkien's system, magic is more like exertions of will or prayer.

A note on telepathy; it's strongly implied that Elrond and Galadriel also have this ability. There are at least two passages I can remember directly referencing this ability. Each has their own talents in this regard, but there is a common thread in their abilities which ties to an interesting coincidence.
It is interesting to note that the only references (as far as I recall) of such extensive telepathic abilities are only in regard to Elrond, Galadriel and Gandalf, the bearers of The Three. It does stand to reason that, given the nature of the Ring of Power, this is an ability the three rings focus and amplify in these three individuals as opposed to them simply possessing telepathy at this level of proficiency. I personally believe this to be the case.
Of course, there are a couple of potential issues with this. One specific mentioned instance comes after the One Ring is destroyed. However, it is mentioned that The Three more faded than lost their power all at once. Plus, when the trio are engaging in their "mind speech" at this point, they are all in close proximity. The other potential issue is with Olorin being mentioned as inspiring the dreams and thoughts of the elves in the early days. While this is a form of telepathy, it's not as refined or focused as what is mentioned the trio possessing. So it is possible that there is some innate ability among them that the rings are able to amplify and focus.

Having not read the book before watching the film, Gandalf's conversation with Bilbo in Bag End, set my imagination on fire. Having studied systems of magic, Gandalf's magic felt so wildly adept. Such masterful character building by Tolkien.

As always, these videos are great not just because of the information Nerd of The Rings gives us, but the art that is used to help convey the Information .

I remember reading somewhere Olorin went often among the elves, often inspiring them in their dreams. Seams consistent with knowing frodos dreams.

This video is incredible. Well done, the narration, the art, the music. Every nerd's dream. (wipes tear)

i absolutely love that this video have 400k+ views in 9 days. fantastic content and a ton of fellow Tolkien fans out there! keep up the great work.

Saruman, Gandalf and Radagast all have amazing actors portraying them.
[i do hope that the two blue wizards will eventually get great theatrical performers one day]

Brilliant video. We always appreciate your hard work and dedication towards these videos. So we love your channel and your videos.

3:54 man I am awed by how respectfully Grima killed Saruman. Brings tears to my eyes.

I think another ability (that wasn't mentioned I think) that can be safely counted among Gandalf's powers is the ability to inspire hope and courage. Of course that's not necessarily a supernatural ability, but those things are hard to nail down in the diffuse and ambiguous magic of middle earth.
Also I really love that you didn't try and force hard rules on Tolkien's magic, I can't stand it when people try to apply some hard framework to a soft magic system.

I've always wondered about this in the books and movies the wizards and magic don't seem to do all that much, at least not in the way we usually think of magic like large scale destruction, transfiguration and and such things it's alot more subtle

It's worth noting that Gandalf chose to appear as an old man of the shores of middle earth. In Valinor he was younger with beautiful long silver hair.

Wow 13:00-14:50 in this context about the power of the wizards you can really get a feel for the gravity of that moment and appreciate the skill of Tolkien’s writing. Very very cool. Thank you for producing it 👌🏼

After watching the TV series, it made me want to watch both the cinematic trilogies. From The Hobbit : An unexpected Journey all the way to Lord of the rings : The Return of the King. And tbh at the end of it all I found myself wanting more and not satisfied enough. It just couldn't end there, so I'm glad to say I have decided to engulf myself in the world of Tolkien. And have purchased the Four book set on Amazon. 😁 Can't wait for the 31st of OCTOBER 🎉. Also want to thank channels like this, for making the decision that much easier and exciting.
If there's one positive the loyal fans of Tolkien can take away from this Amazon series, it's that it is convincing people like me to read and enjoy the books. To further advance our knowledge of the world of Tolkien.

You left out one of Gandalf's powers, although it may be more attributable to his ring. The power to give courage and heal the spirit. He not only does this with Theoden, but in Gondor during the siege. As Gandalf passes among the men of Gondor, he is able to counter (at least briefly) the effects of Sauron's cloud of blackness.

In Gnomish, one of Tolkien's early conceptions of an Elven language, the word for "wizard" is curug (and "witch" is curus). An alternative word is thothweg, also translated as "wizard".
In The Hobbit, while no mention is made of an Order of Wizards, Gandalf tells Beorn that Radagast is his "cousin". In the Unfinished Tales it is said that the wizards appeared in Middle-earth about 1000, but in The Peoples of Middle-earth a rough note by J.R.R. Tolkien said that the Blue Wizards (Alatar and Pallando, or Morinehtar and Rómestámo) came much earlier in the Second Age. Christopher Tolkien stated that much of the writings about the Istari are rapid jottings and often illegible.

Could you do a video explaining the importance/power behind a wizards staff? Is it a tool to channel power, a symbol of rank, crucial to their form of magic?

I would love to understand more about the wizards staffs. It seems as they are very important, yet they still are just... there

Another time Gandalf uses his fire magic is in The Hobbit when they are stuck in the trees. He lights pinecones in different colors and throws them on the wargs. I wish they did the different colors in the movie, and I also wonder if each color means anything.

What I'm curious about is this: do the colors of the wizards have an meaning for their powers/strength. To me it seams that Saruman though becoming "many colored" would enhance his power but backfired and Gandalf becoming " the white" did increase his powers imensly. Along with his line "I am Saurman, rather Saruman as he should have been, to me implies the names they took as Istari were tied to their power as much as their identity and he had the company refer to him as Gandalf for their comprehension not because he was still Gandalf, if that makes sense.

Ive always been hesitant in watching videos on Tolkien's work. I feel like these kinds of videos are usually opinion based and people tend to interpret his work in all manners of ways. You have changed my mind. Your voice work, the dedication to detail, while actually pulling from the source material, and your disarming tone make these videos easy to digest. Subbed! Time to binge.

Yet another wonderful vid my friend, thanks much!
Like most fans, I've always been enamoured by the Istari and am blessed enough to have all of Tolkien's literature (available) on them to peruse.
I was disappointed by the childish treatment PJ provided Radagast however, I think he provided astounding depictions of Gandalf and Saruman, courtesy of the trust instilled in the two actors that no others could have bested in such iconic roles.
The circumstance and fate of the two "Blue Wizards" is a tantalizing thought. We of course hope to think that in their own way, they prevented Sauron from converting many more of the East to his cause. Whether or not it cost them their 'human' lives, we'll never know but I personally trust they stayed allied to the cause of the just and righteous. :)

08:00 I just re-read the trilogy after about a 15 year break. Reminded me that as good as the movies were, they books were still so much better. Gandalfs depiction is one example, he describes himself as more powerful than any being unless he was in front of Sauron himself, fought off 5 of the Nazgul single handedly, and fearlessly faced down the Witch King (opposed to the movie!). Really embodies what you described as hiding power in order to guide people vs taking control through force.

What you failed to mention was that when Gandalf broke the bridge, he broke his staff.
To me, that is the breaking of his power, but also the freeing of it. His oath seemed bound in his staff, and he was bound to not fight Sauron power for power. He was not so compelled against the Balrog.

What I never understood was how Gandalf was able to hide his ring of power from Saruman. Better yet, how Saruman, who was supposed to have such expertise in ring lore, failed to detect it?

Tolkien is more well known for his linguistics rather than his diction, and many readers find his writing dry. Then you read this. "Saruman, your staff is broken.". That, to me, demonstrates the ability for straightforward prose to inspire and evoke fantasy. In a single line, Tolkien indelibly demarcated the wizard archetype: learned ones in tall towers possessed of secret knowledge, with staves to show both their office and their strength, who speak words of power. How absolutely magnificent of an ending for one of the top chapters of the whole six books.

I am new to the channel, dunno what you do but I can say you are an amazing story teller, and all quotes you read from the books are so well told that gives me goosebumps. very gj

I love how token loved using Phoenician Lore in his books. To be honest I named my daughter Astrid from these wizards.

So in The Two Towers we see Gandalf turn Glamdring into a lightning blade for a moment. Any instances in the books where he does that? He seems to have control over fire but maybe doesn’t use it like dumbledore, he seems to imagine fire and it appears while dumbledore manipulates fire from a spark. I just want someone to explain his powers to me as if he were an Elden Ring build lol

I always thought that when Gandalf said he could read Frodos mind and memory he meant that Frodo talked so in depth about what happened Gandalf could guess what he was thinking

Love your videos man! I used to watch the movies with my grandma before she passed, she loves tolkiens world & watching these videos almost makes me feel closer to her!

This was an awesome round up! I love hearing about the Istari collectively. I’m definitely one of those for whom they’re some of Tolkien’s most interesting characters; Gandalf has to be my all time favorite of Tolkien’s figures!! He was always (and is) my goal for what I wanna be as a grandad 😝

I've always wondered were they simply forbidden to use the full powers of the Maiar, or were their powers actually reduced and unavailable to them even if they wanted to use them? And in the same vein, was Gandalf the White simply allowed to use more powers, or was he actually stronger?

The voice of Saruman was one of my favorite chapters in LOTR, you can see how gifted saruman is in speech but uses it to manipulate, its good Gandalf was there to rebuke him

That Was such an Amazing Video Matt! I Really enjoyed that! Good to have all the Lore put In a way to Follow it so well and enjoy learning about it! Thanks so much!

In the DnD campaign my friend set up for us, the 2 blue wizards turned.... Became the black, and the red... Built a massive army, swept across Rohan, and captured Minas Tirith... Their goal with the power they had built up.... To open the Doors of Night, releasing Morgoth upon Middle Earth...
It was an amazing campaign, and I'm almost sad we were successful, cuz seeing the results of Morgoth being unleashed sounds pretty insane...

Very interesting and awesome video! The Istari are amazing! I saw another intriguing video on the subject which describes the powers/magic of the Istari being not about casting spells, but about speaking reality into existence through their connection to Eru. For example, when Gandalf says, "Saruman, your staff is broken," he is not breaking Saruman's staff, but revealing a truth/law of the universe, that the staff is now broken. This is similar to his statement of "you shall not/cannot pass" to the Balrog. The video explains it better, but it's very interesting conception of magic to consider. Ah, I found it: clip-share.net/video/O8c79z7tMg8/video.html

I have not heard the names of the blue wizards Alatar and Pallando since I was a teenager (c35 yrs ago) but I have continually used these two names when describing what the two missing Istari were to friends etc. They would give me that 'wtf are you talking about fool', look and I had started to think this was just something I had read in the many Rolemaster/MERP game modules I played with friends and that it was not original lore but something dreamt up to flesh out the world by ICE (Iron Crown Enterprises wrote/published the rolemaster game modules). Delighted to hear the full detail after so many years - all that is forgotten is not lost.

A lot of credit should be given to Nienna. Olorin may have been Manwe's maiar, like Sauron was of Aule's, but they both went away to and followed a different valar for the rest of eternity - Nienna and Melkor. So the fact that Gandalf was incorruptible was because of Nienna's humility, kindness, piety and purity. Makes you wonder that what if it was she who the direct counter to Melkor.

My favorites will always be Gandalf and Radagast. One protects the weak, the other one shows the weak their inner strength. I also like the Blue wizards and their quest to help those who had fallen rise again. And Saruman.... the less said the best.

New listener to your channel, this is good stuff, thanks man!
I’m sure it’s come up on this channel before, but the BBC radio drama does a great job of Gandalf and Saruman’s final interaction. You can get the audio book for the entire LOtR BBC radio drama on audible. Ian Holm plays Frodo, Bill Nighy plays Sam, Michael Horderns command presence as Gandalf is incredible.

Saraman must have possessed the ability to shape-shift or, more than likely, cast illusions. At the edge of Fangorn Forest, Gimli sees an old bent man leaning on his staff and wrapped in a great cloak. The old man vanished when Gimli roused Legolas & Aragorn. Later, when the three meet Gandalf the White, Gimli asks if the old man was Gandalf. Gandalf denies it was him. Gandalf also tells Gimli that "Saraman could look like me in your eyes, if it suited his purpose with you."
Eomer also mentions "phantoms of Saraman" when meeting the three hunters, but this could simply be colorful speech.

Such a phenomenal channel. Been binging your content for the last week or two. Your writing and narration are excellent, the editing flows very smoothly, and the art selection really brings it all to life. I read The Hobbit and LOTR when I was young, but never got into Tolkien's other works, and learning all this expository information, it's just really cool. Makes me wanna read The Silmarillion, which I almost tried years ago. Thanks for all your work.

That passage where Gandalf commands Saruman to come back and finish the conversation always makes me think of the South Park episode with Chris Hansen where he tells Cartman to have a seat and Cartman magically walks back and takes a seat.

Your videos are an absolute treasure! Thank you for creating this high quality, easy to follow content.

The video on Wizards arrived exactly when it needed to. 🧙

This is so good. The one thing that has always confused me re: Middle Earth is the concept of magic. We know the voice of Sauron was a sorcerer and that Sauron was a Necromancer, but how would a regular mortal actually cast spells, etc.

Great summary! I always enjoy your readings from the text 😊. Love the videos on the individual wizards as well ❤

Beautiful video. Movies and series come and go, but Tolkien is forever.

I do not know about the blue wizards, but Radagast I suspect was sent by what was essentially the goddess of nature to protect nature as the war of the ring unfolded. You showed a picture of Radagast as you commented that some wizards may have forgot why they where on middle earth, and I think you may have done him a disservice. Over wall an excellent video.

I think it's assumed that they were for want of a better word "Hamstrung" when they initially arrived but when Gandalf defeated the Balrog and came back I'm of the opinion that Eru kinda allowed him to be at full strength if he wanted. Another thing I've often wondered about, as Balrogs are corrupted Maiar I wonder if they were unshackled by Morgoth and had access to their full capabilities at all times? Always loved that scene with Gandalf and Saruman at Orthanc.

I love the gentle ebb and flow of beings' lives and mistakes. Aule creating dwarfs to be incorruptible but also his Maiar being Sauron and Saruman. The gentle way that Radagast is sent to mind Saruman, because people are right to be wary of new things etc.

I always imagined that Tolkien would have eventually used the 2 blue wizards in his unfinished The New Shadow.. imagine one of them set against a corrupted other.. or against the honest Radagast.

McKellan is also, to date, the only live action portrayer of the character (to my knowledge.) But yes, his brilliant portrayal surely does have something to do with it.

I recently re-watched the cartoon Lord of the Rings classic and thought it would be fun to see how the War of the Ring played out if the role of Gandalf was swapped with a travelling blue wizard who heard news of one of their kind becoming corrupt (Saruman). Or how Saruman of Many Colours would appear in the live-action movies, haha!

Saruman was able to communicate and use the Crebains, due to learning how to communicate with those particular birds from Radagast.
Presumably Saruman used Radagast for that specific knowledge, as a way to spy on others, hence viewed Radagast as a pawn.

Your channel is amazing. Love the fan art, bravo.

After reading all this, about how the Istari were confused at first and so on, the Rings of Power adaptation now feels faithfull and actually makes a lot more sense!

I’m glad you describe hunger as a human emotion. My wife complains that I won’t tell her what I’m feeling. I tell her that I feel hungry all the time.

I don't know if in the books, especially the deeper lore books like unfinished tales or what have you, that they speak of it, but it definitely feels as though Gandalf at a minimum, but maybe all the wizards and those few who know them and their ways, like the elves, have an ability to see into the future or as if destiny and fate were pre-ordained and would slowly become revealed to them.
Like if one were to travel in the dark and some object stood in their way. So long as you had better vision in the dark (not perfect vision, but simply better than normal) that they'd know of it coming before another who might bump right into it before they knew of its existence.
The entire time the magic folk all seem to know that all hinges on some key moments they aren't able to exactly foresee, but that they know exist, so they try to 'manipulate' for lack of a better word, things to the outcome they hope to see.

Did Sarumans voice actually hoodwink Treebeard? That appears to be a more impressive display of his slimy ability. Now if he could hoodwink Tom Bombadil that would be on another level altogether.
The passage of Gandalf saying he would most like to talk with Tom after the ring is destroyed; that would be an intriguing dialogue.

7:51 Was a little disappointed you only went over what powers Gandalf wields in *The Lord of the Rings* and not *The Hobbit.* Gandalf is able to wield fire and flame in impressive ways in that book, particularly in Goblin Town. Since the films mute his powers so much, this is not known by a lot of casual fans.

Gandalf being able to read Frodo's "mind and memory" clearly means he simply listened to sleep-talking and put the pieces together, no magic needed.

You should do LotR and the Hobbit as audiobooks!

Would you ever considering recording lotr audio books? I love the way you impersonate the characters in your videos!

I like to believe the blue wizards were sent to middle earth with nothing but the power of hindsight, a book of knock-knock jokes, and a zippolighter with the flint missing.

You ignore something important, Gandalf almost never works magic. He tells others that he did/tried to but you can count the number of times he used magic in the books with your fingers. Moria is a good example, he tells the others that he tried to spell the door and thats it. He is basically the wizard of Oz...

I've always wondered how the five wizards would assist the elves in the first age.

Adding to the list:
- Lightning spells. In The Hobbit Gandalf is awakened from his sleep by Bilbo and a flash of light and a loud bang later several of them drop dead. Perhaps more lightning magic like he uses against the Nazgul and Balrog? Those battles are described as flashes of lightning and the hobbits find burn marks at the battle side (Weathertop) later.
- Fortitude and stamina. Gandalfs battle with the Balrog lasted several days and nights. That includes non-stop fighting and climbing the mountaintop all the way from the lake they fell in (from a great height which would kill a normal person).
- Some kind of magic armor? Gandalf never wears armor despite being on several war battlefields. In the Hobbit an arrow gets stuck in his hat, yet he never feels the need to protect his body from stray arrows and is never hit.
- Different disarming spells. In addition to Denethor, when Gimli, Aragorn and Legolas mistakenly attack Gandalf in Fangorn, Gimli's axe becomes too heavy, Aragorns sword becomes to hot and Legolas arrow misses and bursts into flame.
- Superhuman reflexes. Continuing on the above point, Legolas is capable of drawing his arrow faster than Eomer can blink. Yet Gandalf can protect himself against Legolas.
- Whatever that light thing was he did against the Nazgul to rescue Faramir.
- Presumabily all Maiar know Counterspell as was done by Durin's Bane.
People often talk about how Gandalf uses little magic. However he seems fairly consistent in choice of magic use to me: lightning spells against supernatural enemies (or if startled) and using his will to empower others during war (which we see Saruman and Sauron do as well). Other spells he uses mostly as utility when the needs arrises. PJ cut back on his use of magic which I don't think is necessarily a bad thing (though the magic duel between Gandalf and Saruman definately was).

Forgot to mention Gandalf melting the butter in Butterbur. And Butterbur fell down and began to melt. But when Gandalf learned the hobbits had gone with Strider, he blessed Butterbur's beer.
Gandalf also blessed Bill the pony. How else can you explain Bill making it all the way from Moria to Bree in safety.
Saruman could also see into the future as he told Frodo's future. "'You have grown, Halfling,' he said. 'Yes, you have grown very much. You are wise, and cruel. You have robbed my revenge of sweetness, and now I must go hence in bitterness, in debt to your mercy. I hate it and you! Well, I go and I will trouble you no more. But do not expect me to wish you health and long life. You will have neither. But that is not my doing. I merely foretell.'"

Its interesting how Gandalf's fear of sauron, that would be the reason why he should go. This would be used as a reason for Atreus/Loki from GoW to venture on his own quest, his own fear of venturing on his own that would be the reason to go.

Hi ! Like always, I love your videos full of very helpufull informations.
Little technical comment however : I've never been bothered by music until now. I always found the choices of them great like the pictures, but in this video, I can't focus correctly on your purpose (bad isn't it ? ahah) . Maybe there's a change in the audio mixage ?
Thanks by advance if you read the comment and take note of it and once again thanks for your wonderful work !

The Maiar are deity who really have no bounds if they true to Eru Iluvatar as with time they become more powerful and develop more godly skills. Gandalf literally has no bounds as it appears that Eru personally brought him back to life and gave him a personal education. Bombadil on the other hand is already at full strength, probably Eru's best buddy.

Radagast, more Druid than wizard, may his messages always be heeded, for the forests, fauna, and lands always foretell of evil coming as they are the most innocent and therefore most susceptible to its corruption.

I know soft-magic systems don't fully define abilities, but if we had to I'd say the Istari abilities are:
1. Command: (ability to speak statements that immediately materialize as facts "your staff is broken")
2. Telekinesis: (move objects with their minds (Saruman swinging Gandalf around))
3. Telepathy: (Gandalf speaking to Frodo) (swerves into mind-control with Saruman, perhaps in conjunction with Command.)
4. Transformation: (Radagast, but Valar and Maiar generally have this ability)
5. Nature Control: (ability to break/manipulate rocks, expand fire, make lights, wind/storms, control animals) (I'd place Saruman's snow avalanche here + Command speech)
6. Protective Barriers: (the spell in Moria, but also Gandalf's shield when battling Durin's Bane)
7. Premonitions: (having a connection to the future, knowing what will happen, at least in a vague sense.) (a bit like Galadriel but not as powerful)
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I think these 7 powers covers most things? What did I miss?

One cardinal rule was that these Maiar would not personally confront Sauron, however in the hobbit movie Gandalf takes on Sauron in Dul Guldor. Don’t get me wrong, the scene was awesome!

I remember commenting on one of your vids about this, and you certainly didn't disappoint! Glad to see your work!

The power of speech is the greatest of all, since the songs of power have a basis of speech in them, even if it's just sounds, though it was unaffective against others of the Heren Istarion. Olorin was also a powerful user of speech.