Why did Gandalf regularly visited the Shire – Bilbo Baggins
Bilbo Baggins and Gandalf adventured together to assist the dwarves to recover Erebor from the dragon Smaug. Bilbo Baggins obtained the One Ring without knowing its true nature from Smeagol, the corrupted hobbit also called Gollum during the quest for Erebor.
Bilbo Baggins would use the One Ring’s ability to cloak himself at dire moments (The One Ring doesn’t technically cloak the user but it sends the user to the dimension between the living and the dead).
Bilbo Baggins didn’t mention much of the magic ring he possessed. However, Gandalf grew suspicious and curious of Bilbo Baggins’s ring and thought it was one of the rings of power.
Gandalf was constantly gathering information of Sauron and the darkness and constantly checked the Shire to keep an eye on Bilbo Baggins and the magic ring without knowing that the magic ring was the One Ring.
Why didn’t Gandalf recognize the One Ring
Very few have actually witnessed the actual One Ring throughout history and even Gandalf never saw the One Ring nor knew the exact characteristics of the One Ring.
As the rings of power could also extend the owner’s lifespan, and the One Ring was long missing, Gandalf never imagined that Bilbo Baggins would wield the One Ring.
Also, Saruman at the White Council falsefully declared the One Ring went missing in the Anduin River and would have flowed to the Belegaer Sea never to be seen again.
Thus, Gandalf could only recognize the One Ring’s presence after Bilbo Baggin’s stunt of becoming invisible at his own 111th birthday party. Gandalf would demand Bilbo Baggin to hand over the One Ring to Frodo and he rushed to Minas Tirith to check on Isildur’s archive to obtain information about the One Ring.
Why did Bilbo Baggins disappear and retire on his 111th birthday?
Bilbo Baggins was considered an odd hobbit and he didn’t like his kind. Bilbo Baggins was friendly to the partners from his adventure to Erebor and his nephew Frodo but he was stubborn and hostile to other hobbits. Bilbo Baggins missed the old days and his adventures and wished to visit his old friends.
Bilbo Baggins made a stunt disappearing from his 111th birthday with the One Ring. Bilbo Baggins after his final stunt was scolded by Gandalf for the stunt and for trying to hide the One Ring.
Gandalf saw Bilbo Baggin’s obsession with the One Ring, but Bilbo Baggins was able to give up the One Ring with his own will. Bilbo Baggins headed to Elrond’s Rivendell to visit Dale and Erebor and would settle at Rivendell.
At Rivendell, Bilbo Baggins started to work on the book called the Red Book of Westmarch. Bilbo Baggins also started to translate Elf language to common speech of the history of Middle Earth.
The One Ring’s whereabouts and trace
The One Ring betrayed Isildur during the ambush on the Gladden Fields and sank to the bottom. Smeagol was a hobbit that lived near the Vales of the Anduin that went on a fishing trip to the Gladden Fields with his cousin Deagol.
Deagol found the One Ring after he stumbled upon it but Smeagol demanded the One Ring as a gift as the One Ring tempted Smeagol.
Smeagol would murder Deagol to claim the One Ring but the One Ring would corrupt Smeagol and Smeagol was banished from the hobbit village at the Vales of the Anduin.
Deformed and corrupted by the One Ring, Smeagol or Gollum would head to the Misty Mountains to avoid the sunlight. With the One Ring, Gollum or Smeagol spent about 500 years with the One Ring.
However, as Bilbo Baggins stumbled upon Gollum’s nest, Bilbo Baggins took the One Ring during a riddle-take-off between him and Gollum. Bilbo Baggins took the One Ring with him back to the Shire after the Battle of Five Armies and recovery of the dwarf kingdom Erebor.
Gandalf and Bilbo Baggins’s conversation of the One Ring
Gandalf now realizes that Bilbo Baggins’s magic ring was not a ring of power that Gandalf first thought. Gandalf always had an eye on the magic ring of Bilbo Baggins thinking it was a ring of power because Bilbo Baggins was unusually young and didn’t age.
However, after Bilbo Baggins pulled his stunt by becoming invisible at his 111th birthday party, Gandalf would scold Bilbo Baggins and heard in details of Gollum, Smeagol, their riddle battle and the experience with the ring of Bilbo Baggins such as the temptation and becoming invisible.
Information of the One Ring was unknown to almost every being on Middle Earth including Gandalf and Gandalf urgently realizes that he should find this Gollum or Smeagol for more information and starts the hunt for Gollum.
Gandalf and Aragorn’s hunt for Gollum
Gandalf would recruit the Chieftain of the Dunedain Aragorn for the hunt of Gollum while Gandalf went to Minas Tirith to obtain more information about the One Ring. After a long journey and many events Aragorn would capture Gollum and interrogated him at the Woodland Realm led by Thranduil and Legolas at Mirkwoods.
Gandalf discovered the parchments and scrolls of Isildur at the archives of Minas Tirith and realized the magic ring of Bilbo Baggins wasn’t just a ring of power but the One Ring itself.
Gollum’s Journey and Torture at Mordor
After Bilbo Baggins took the One ring from Gollum, Gollum would constantly mumble Baggins and Shire the only information that he had from Bilbo Baggins.
Gollum then took off from his lair in the Misty Mountains and wandered the eastern side of the Misty Mountains in pursuit of Bilbo Baggins. Gollum got to know the path of Cirith Ungol and the regions of Mordor during this journey but he was caught by the orcs of Mordor.
The capture of Gollum was reported to Sauron and Sauron ordered to bring the Gollum in front of him. Sauron saw the deformation of Gollum and noticed that Gollum has lived for an abnormally long life.
Sauron immediately realizes that Gollum may have possessed the One Ring and thought Gollum might have key intel on the whereabouts of the One Ring.
Sauron’s minions tortured Gollum and Gollum eventually screamed “Baggins” and “Shire”. After receiving this information, Sauron thought Gollum was useless and released him and plotted a plan to secretly recover the One Ring.
Gollum was captured by Aragorn right after he was released from Sauron and was taken to the elves of Mirkwood for interrogation.
Sauron’s decoy attack on Osgiliath and Mirkwoods & Nazgul’s pursuit of the One Ring
Sauron wanted to secretly recover the One Ring and orders an attack on Osgiliath, the former capital of Gondor and the Woodland Realm of the elves of Mirkwood. Sauron then orders the nazguls to recover the One Ring and search for Baggins at the Shire.
The attack on Osgiliath and the Woodland Relam was to confuse the elves and humans while the nazguls could secretly rush to the Shire without being noticed during the chaos.
Also, Sauron wanted to test the strength of the elves before he could start his conquest of Middle Earth again when the One Ring was recovered. Thranduil and Legolas had to defend the orcs and Sauron’s allies while Gollum managed to escape during the chaos.
Legolas was deployed to Rivendell at first to warn Gandalf of Gollum’s escape but he would become part of the Fellowship of the Ring.
Sauron and the orcs took over Osgiliath at first, but the forces of Gondor led by Borormir assisted by Faramir recovered Osgiliath. Sauron was however satisfied that he could test the strength of the elves and Gondor while the nazguls could reach the Shire without being noticed at all.
