Hamfast of Gamwich
Rivendell
I've been thinking a bit about Gandalf in Dol Guldur. I've read people say that Gandalf states he's not been to Dol Guldur prior to the unexpected party. However, I came across this line in the film looking at the fans transcript:
[Gandalf:] “A sickness lies over the Greenwood. The woodsmen who live there now call it ‘Mirkwood’. and they say...”
[Saruman:] “Well, don’t stop now. Tell us about the woodsmen say.”
[Gandalf:] “They speak of a Necromancer living in Dol Guldur, a sorcerer who can summon the dead.”
[Saruman:] “That’s absurd. No such power exists in the world. This...Necromancer is nothing more than a mortal man. A conjurer dabbling in black magic.”
[Gandalf:] “And so I thought too. But, Radagast has seen--”
I find this interesting for two reasons. Firstly it implies Gandalf knew of the rumours of the Necromancer prior to his meeting with Radagast in AUJ but dismissed them in a similar way to Saruman before Radagast gave him reason to suspect otherwise.
When combined with the following quotes from PB:
Boyens said, when we asked why we didn't see Thráin give Gandalf the map and key. "We did try it at the front of this movie, and then we moved it," she said. Does that mean we'll see that moment in a flashback or prologue to The Desolation of Smaug? "Yes, it's very important that we're going to be doing that. We will be meeting Thráin, and it may be in unfortunate circumstances. It may involve torture. The discovery of who or what is in Dol Guldur"
This leads me to believe Gandalf has definitely been looking around Dol Guldur, and probably met Thrain there (rather than in Moria or elsewhere as has been suggested) prior to the unexpected party. The reason why he found nothing there apart from Thrain to lead him to suspect the fortress wasn't deserted is the big mystery at the moment.
Was the Necromancer hiding?
[Gandalf:] “A sickness lies over the Greenwood. The woodsmen who live there now call it ‘Mirkwood’. and they say...”
[Saruman:] “Well, don’t stop now. Tell us about the woodsmen say.”
[Gandalf:] “They speak of a Necromancer living in Dol Guldur, a sorcerer who can summon the dead.”
[Saruman:] “That’s absurd. No such power exists in the world. This...Necromancer is nothing more than a mortal man. A conjurer dabbling in black magic.”
[Gandalf:] “And so I thought too. But, Radagast has seen--”
I find this interesting for two reasons. Firstly it implies Gandalf knew of the rumours of the Necromancer prior to his meeting with Radagast in AUJ but dismissed them in a similar way to Saruman before Radagast gave him reason to suspect otherwise.
When combined with the following quotes from PB:
Boyens said, when we asked why we didn't see Thráin give Gandalf the map and key. "We did try it at the front of this movie, and then we moved it," she said. Does that mean we'll see that moment in a flashback or prologue to The Desolation of Smaug? "Yes, it's very important that we're going to be doing that. We will be meeting Thráin, and it may be in unfortunate circumstances. It may involve torture. The discovery of who or what is in Dol Guldur"
This leads me to believe Gandalf has definitely been looking around Dol Guldur, and probably met Thrain there (rather than in Moria or elsewhere as has been suggested) prior to the unexpected party. The reason why he found nothing there apart from Thrain to lead him to suspect the fortress wasn't deserted is the big mystery at the moment.
Was the Necromancer hiding?
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