Except for Tom Bombadil, nobody seemed to be immune to the corrupting effects of the One Ring, even powerful beings like Gandalf and Galadriel, who refused to wield it out of the knowledge that they would become like Sauron himself.
He was likely the safest person to be around Frodo (aside from Samwise Gamgee) since he wouldn't be tempted to forcibly take it from him like Boromir. However, Gandalf's strength could only take him so far. Were he to touch or possess the One Ring, it wouldn't take long before its power overtook him.
He would not want to take the chance that the Ring might corrupt him. If it wouldn't, it wouldn't, but Gandalf doesn't want to risk it. The One Ring is definitely a corrupting force. And if Gandalf were to be corrupted, the people of Middle Earth would have no chance against Sauron.
Though Elves and Maiar had greater natural resistance to the Ring's effects, Hobbits possessed an inborn resilience to its primary means of temptation. In fact, they saved Middle-earth from Sauron precisely because they could fend off his influence better than most others.
Inversely, the hobbits' good-naturedness and lack of ambition makes them less susceptible to the Ring's promises of power, as in Frodo and Samwise Gamgee, who are able to handle the Ring for extended periods of time.
Indeed, the rings did not even turn them invisible; and the Dwarves were immune to some of the rings' more detrimental effects. It is believed that the Dwarves' natural hardiness, and the fact that it was only the more powerful Dwarf lords who possessed them, made them resistant to Sauron's control.
Bilbo's Compassion Protected Him From The Ring's Corruption
Luckily, Bilbo's compassion causes him to show mercy. The importance of that moment is revealed in one of Gandalf's wisest quotes when he tells Frodo that Bilbo's pity and compassion in acquiring the Ring help protect him from its corrupting power: “Pity?
Galadriel, one of the greatest Elves of Middle-earth, could resist the temptation of the One Ring because of her exceptional strength of will, wisdom, and awareness of the Ring's corrupting influence.
Tolkien attributed Sam's resistance to the One Ring to two main factors: "In that hour of trial it was the love of his master that helped most to hold him firm, but also deep down in him lived still unconquered his plain hobbit-sense." Ultimately, Sam's greatest desire was not to defeat Sauron or transform Mordor into ...
He also loses his life just after trying to take the ring to Frodo. In the films, Aragorn finds Frodo very shaken shortly after, and has the chance also to take the Ring, but is able to resist it and tells Frodo to leave and remove it from people's grasp, saying “I would have gone with you to the end”.
The contents of Tolkiens' notes and other works weren't covered and were thus off-limits to the filmmakers. That's why Gandalf's mind coincidentally went blank — he legally couldn't name the wizards. So, the writers had Gandalf exploit a loophole by alluding to the two Istari without explicitly mentioning them.
Sam does take the Ring for the right reason, to keep it out of orc hands at Cirith Ungol, but again his own weakness tempts him to keep and wield the Ring — even to challenge the Dark Lord.
Gandalf is aware that claiming the One Ring would corrupt him, and his journey for good would become twisted. If Gandalf the White had taken the One Ring, his immense power would likely allow him to defeat Sauron, but he would ultimately turn to darkness and become the new dark lord of Middle Earth.
When it comes to his level of resistance, it's a little harder to judge because he didn't have a lot of interaction with Frodo. However, Elves were by no means immune to the Ring's power. Just as Galadriel fell victim to it, Legolas could easily lose his self-control.
Summary. Gandalf, as an Istari, was sent to Middle-earth to assist in the fight against Sauron, but he was forbidden from using his full power to interfere with the natural order. Saruman's downfall serves as a warning of the dangers of exceeding the limits placed on the Istari by the Valar.
Except for Tom Bombadil, nobody seemed to be immune to the corrupting effects of the One Ring, even powerful beings like Gandalf and Galadriel, who refused to wield it out of the knowledge that they would become like Sauron himself.
There's a big reason why this coincidence didn't clock with Gandalf, and it's because the idea of Bilbo finding the One Ring seemed out of the realm of possibility. For close to 3000 years, the One Ring was missing, with no hints as to its whereabouts.
Because the Nazgûl can't teleport, at least not in the book. According to the map in the book (the below is a fragment), it's just about 100 miles from the Black Gate to Mount Doom.
The One Ring has the power to extend the life of any mortal indefinitely. Gollum survived after losing the Ring because its effects on him lingered as long as the Ring existed in the world.
As previously stated, Gandalf is a Maia and is therefore superior to Elves regarding power. Still, this isn't to say that an elf couldn't develop enough skill and power to defeat a Maia. As a bearer of one of the Three Elven Rings (Nenya), Galadriel would have an edge against Maiar like Saruman and Radagast.
The majority of her powers come from her Ring of Power, Nenya, the Ring of Water. The ring, also known by the names the White Ring and the Ring of Adamant, is one of the three Rings of Power given to the Elves of Middle-earth in the Second Age.
Thus, Galadriel's dark form in Jackson's The Lord of the Rings personified what would have occurred had the Lady of Lothlorien given in to temptation and taken the One Ring for herself. She would have succumbed to evil because the Ring was indomitable, even with her power.
The dwarves of Middle-Earth were notoriously strong willed, able to resist corruption and stay true to their purpose. Sauron had no means by which to corrupt them regardless of how he tried.
Hobbits are simple creatures and do not wish for much, so there is nothing for the Ring to use against a hobbit. Frodo is the hobbit that is corrupted the most next to Gollum and Bilbo, which is why he is unable to throw the Ring into the fire. But even Frodo remained good at his core.
