Guide Mentor

Character Role Analysis

Gandalf

For as long as Middle-earth exists, Gandalf will always be the wise, wizard mentor to us all (he's actually the only character appearing in each of Jackson's Middle-earth movies, thanks to Bilbo's absence in this one). And in The Two Towers, Gandalf is upgraded from the Gray Wizard to the White Wizard—he's back, and he's fancypants.

That's right, Gandalf doesn't just talk the talk, he walks the walk. He's big into this whole bravery and courage and hope stuff, but when you summon up enough strength to defeat a Balrog, literally a god incarnate, you can say whatever you like. And Gandalf has a lot of things to say. While we might generally find him counseling the hobbits or Aragorn, in The Two Towers he tries to win over Théoden. While he's able to break Saruman's grasp on him, he can't convince Théoden to stand and fight instead of cower in Helm's Deep.