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Lord_Sauron
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Post Did Radagast fail in his mission?
on: March 20, 2010 01:45
would Radagast ever be welcomed back to Valinor even though he forsakened his mission to which only Gandalf accomplished.
If he did return to Valinor forget this question.

[Edited on 1/7/2011 by cirdaneth]
RangerStryder
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Post RE: Did Radagast fail in his mission?
on: March 21, 2010 12:18
First of all, there's no account of Radagast going back to Valinor in the 3rd or 4th Age.

His mission in Middle-earth is to help its inhabitants to 'organize' in fighting Sauron.

But he failed his task when he got distracted.

imo....failure in his mission does not change his stature nor forfeit his being a Maia.
(If those Noldor Elves can be forgiven; in joining Feanor, then a Maia who got sidetracked then has plenty of chance to come back)


As a Maia (Istari), Radagast can go back to Valinor whenever he wants.


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Lord_Sauron
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Post RE: Did Radagast fail in his mission?
on: March 21, 2010 01:52
thanks for your reply i wasn't to sure if it said somewhere that radagast returned to valinor.
Elthir
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Post RE: Did Radagast fail in his mission?
on: March 21, 2010 04:04
There's a poem concerning the Five that came from a far country, which notes 'One only returned' (The Istari, Unfinished Tales)

... but that alone doesn't mean Radagast desired to return in any case. He may have lived long, long after the events of The Lord of the Rings, and possibly went 'mad' after the battle of Arfderydd.

for that last part


[Edited on 22/3/2010 by Elthir]
PotbellyHairyfoot
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Post RE: Did Radagast fail in his mission?
on: March 21, 2010 02:23
(Turning Radagast into Merlin, are we?)
Radagast at least to me, went rustic, much like the Elves of Mirkwood, and was likely content to stay on Middle-earth and continue to focus on animals.,
Rulea
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Post RE: Did Radagast fail in his mission?
on: June 15, 2010 10:05
Maybe. I wish Tolkein would have told us his fate instead of just dropping him from the first book...
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Archaic_Elf
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Post RE: Did Radagast fail in his mission?
on: June 22, 2010 06:30
Radagast was never killed in the LOTR, but is it the case that the wizards are immortal? Isn't it said that they have the appearance of old men but yet they still age very slowly. If Radagast died from old age, I'm sure he would wind up in Mandos aware of his true identity and able to return to Valinor eventually.

If Radagast is still alive, which I imagine is actually the case, then he would either look like the oldest man that ever lived or he may have simply turned into a bird, squirrel, or some other animal if not even a tree. Wouldn't it be cool if some super squirrel were running around defending a particular forest from some greedy tycoon that is completely set on building a set of upscale condominiums? He would make Rocky the Flying Squirrel look like an amateur. Quick, get Pixar on the phone with me now!!!
FaronGurhoth
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Post RE: Did Radagast fail in his mission?
on: August 06, 2010 02:45
I don't think that Radagast completely failed. In the Silmarillion Radagast helps Saruman set a watch on the Anduin, thinking that it is for the guard on the Necromancer (Sauron). Would he do this if he had forsaken the mission?

Also, in the Unfinished Tales it says that Yavanna had been the one who wanted Aiwendil (Radagast) to go with the other Istari and it hints that she did so because she could no longer go there herself to care for the growing things that she had made there. Could this be the real mission that she made for him? If so, then he didn't fail.

Either way, he would still be allowed to return, for he still abided the rules of the Valar and didn't forsake THEM. I believe that the same is true for Alatar and Pallando...
Makil
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Post RE: Did Radagast fail in his mission?
on: August 09, 2010 10:10
I seem to remember Gandalf saying that his mission was over,Sauran was defeated and he would have to leave ME.
I would assume that the same would apply to Radaghast, as they were all on the same mission.
I can't imagine that someone as kind and good hearted as Radaghast would not be welcomed back.
cirdaneth
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Post RE: Did Radagast fail in his mission?
on: June 30, 2011 09:30
I agree with Makil ... and who is to say that the 'mistakes' he made were not ultimately fortuitous.
Huin
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Post RE: Did Radagast fail in his mission?
on: August 05, 2011 12:29
I think Radagast could probably return to Valinor, if he wished. He seems to have excused himself from any major role in the struggle against Sauron (although he did, as has been pointed out, take some action if Gandalf or Saruman prodded him to), so in a sense he failed. Radagast's failure was not malicious though, as Saruman's was.

I should think that the irresponsibility or timidity Radagast showed would be excused. After all, he was prone to all the cares and sufferings of mortals, surely a hard thing for a semi-divine being to bear.
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Ithildinel
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Post RE: Did Radagast fail in his mission?
on: August 06, 2011 06:33
I have always found it curious that we were never explicably told what Radagast's 'quest' was . As mentioned above, he was sent by Yavanna and was her student in all things. One has to wonder what Valar were thinking when they picked their envoys: It kind of makes sense there would be Curumo the leader, Olorin the advisor and Aiwendil/Radagast, The Friend of All Things Living. (Can't comment on the Blue Wizards, but the fact they moved far east while the others stayed in the west speaks for itself.) It's quite possible that Radagast's task was to protect the animals and nature of Middle-earth from Sauron's taint and ensure their continuous cooperation with the cause. (Hence their help in keeping watch over Dol Guldur.) It would also explain why Radagast established his home near Mirkwood, where the taint to nature was most palpable. (Mutant animals and whatnot.)
I also wonder if Radagast would have wanted to return to Aman at all? Gandalf said his mission was over, but was Radagast's? Would he abandon those he had been protecting for over two millenias or would he prefer to tarry in Middle-earth and heal the hurts of war? The high and mighty in Minas Tirith might have thought Radagast failed in his task, but the fact is we know very little of the reasoning behind Valar's actions.

-Itha
Huin
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Post RE: Did Radagast fail in his mission?
on: August 06, 2011 09:57
Itha, your comment makes me ponder Yavanna's motivations more and brings another question to mind: When we ask if Radagast failed, whose standards should we be holding him to? Yavanna's standards, or those of the council of Valar which convened specifically to devise a way to counter Sauron?

When the Istari volunteered/were appointed, it was for the purpose of aiding the peoples of Middle Earth in resistance to Sauron. Perhaps Yavanna sent her own representative for her own reasons, and if that was the case he probably served her well. But if Yavanna didn't intend for Radagast to aid in the mission as laid out in the council, he shouldn't have been numbered among the Istari: Curumo wouldn't have thought so, at any rate, so the idea that Yavanna had a special mission for Radagast makes Curumo's scorn even more feasible.
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Ithildinel
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Post RE: Did Radagast fail in his mission?
on: August 07, 2011 10:01
War has many faces. There would be more in resistance to Sauron than leading the armies and bullying poor innocent hobits. (Though those are undoubtdly important tasks.) Valar have responsibility to all of the Middle-earth, not only to people in it.
Eh, maybe I'm stretching the theory a bit. I like to think there was a deeper meaning behind Radagast's character, because he had no real purpose in the series besides running errands between Gandalf and Saruman.

-Itha
Huin
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Post RE: Did Radagast fail in his mission?
on: August 07, 2011 01:06
I agree that resistance could involve the plants and animals, as Sauron was capable of destroying or perverting them as well. And the huorns did save everyone's arse at Helm's Deep.

However, I do hold that the intended purpose of the Istari was to deal with the people. I think Unfinished Tales states it specifically, though I don't have it in front of me now.

To me it seems that, like many people of our day, most of the Valar aren't overly concerned with animals. "Of Aulë and Yavanna" seems to express Yavanna's frustration at this. I get the sense that the majority would have disapproved of Radagast's use of his time.
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