Why did 👁️Sauron let Smeagol go?

[BalrogRingDestroyer]

After getting the information about Shire and Baggins and that the Ring had been found again, Sauron let Smeagol go, instead of having him executed. This move seemed to have turned out to be one of Sauron's worst mistakes, up there with his underestimating Eru with the Numenorean plan, resulting in Numenor getting sunk and his body destroyed.

Smeagol showed Bilbo and Frodo the best way in (I think the Ash Mountains would have not had Shelob or a Black Gate (or maybe they did have some kind of patrol, who knows) but they were quite a ways east and I think Frodo and Sam would have died of hunger and thirst before getting there and going that way toward Mt. Doom.) Also, Smeagol ended up destroying the Ring in the end.

If Gandalf felt that his letting Smeagol sneak off, which resulted in Smeagol going to Sauron and telling him about the Ring and Baggins and the Shire, was one of his worst mistakes, it seems that Gandalf wasn't the only Mair to have goofed up by letting Smeagol go free. It seems that Sauron would almost certainly have won the War of the Ring and gotten the Ring back had he either executed Gollum or kept him as a prisoner.

So, that begs the question, what did Sauron hope to gain by letting Smeagol go? He certainly couldn't have hoped that Gollum would bring the Ring to him, as it's clear from the text that Smeagol wanted the Ring for himself and was as determined to keep it out of Sauron's clutches as Frodo and Sam were. It seemed that Smeagol, for a while, thought that the Orcs were his "powerful friends" and even, based on some text in Return of the King, that the orcs were aware of him sometimes going into Mordor but left him alone.

Eventually, it seems that Sauron and the orcs grew tired of Smeagol and wanted to get him too, but they never caught up with him as he beat them to Mt. Doom. I'm actually surprised that Smeagol was bold enough to go near Mordor again after being taken prisoner (possibly to the Dark Tower) and tortured (likely severely). (I would think that most people who were unfortunate enough to end up tortured in Mordor but were fortunate enough to walk out of there alive would want to come, at the nearest, as close as the Misty Mountains to the place for the rest of their lives. However, while maybe it can be excused as him going with Frodo and Sam there because of the lure of the Ring, it seems that he was meeting with Shelob several times in the past.



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[Áramandë Amaniel]

Considering that Smeagol fell so swiftly under the evil nature of the ring, he never really let Smeagol go in the first place.

If Smeagol was executed, how differently would the fates of Middle-Earth have been?

 

[grendel]

I'm pretty sure Sauron had convinced himself that he could NOT control Gollum - who is now called Sméagol - to the extent of having him fetch the Ring and bring it back. He could tell that Sméagol was thoroughly evil (takes one to know one) and a part of his mind would always have its own agenda. However, possibly he thought that he could use Sméagol to lead him - via the Nazgul - to whoever did have the Ring. He knew Sméagol would not stop pursuing it. I believe that was his main reason for allowing him to escape.

 

[Erestor Arcamen]

Gollum was captured in Mordor in the year 3017 and taken to Barad-dur, and there questioned and tormented. When he had learned what he could from him, Sauron released him and sent him forth again. He did not trust Gollum, for he divined something indomitable in him, which could not be overcome, even by the Shadow of Fear, except by destroying him. But Sauron perceived the depth of Gollum's malice towards those that had "robbed" him, and guessing that he would go in search of them to avenge himself, Sauron hoped that his spies would thus be led to the Ring.
Gollum, however, was before long captured by Aragorn, and taken to Northern Mirkwood; and though he was followed, he could not be rescued before he was in safe keeping.

-Unfinished Tales, The Hunt For The Ring

 

[ZehnWaters]

He did not trust Gollum, for he divined something indomitable in him, which could not be overcome, even by the Shadow of Fear, except by destroying him.

As well he shouldn't have. Per Tolkien, if Sam had treated Gollum with the same compassion Frodo did, Gollum would have still taken the Ring in Orodruin but, upon exiting Sammath Naur, would have realized that Sauron would never let him have it (the Ring) and would have then thrown himself into the fire willingly to spite Sauron and to honour his "master", Frodo.

 

[d4rk3lf]

So, that begs the question, what did Sauron hope to gain by letting Smeagol go? He certainly couldn't have hoped that Gollum would bring the Ring to him, as it's clear from the text that Smeagol wanted the Ring for himself

Of course that Sauron knew that Golum would not bring ring back. Sauron was not a fool.
He let him go (making Golum believe he escaped), and then he sends orcs to follow him, hoping that it will lead them to the location of the ring.
It's a pretty smart move in my book.

But one of my favorite Sauron smart moves is when Gollum is captured by the Elves, he simultaneously attacked both Denethor and Thranduil, and it was a diversion, because he sent Nazguls to search for the ring at the very same moment.
He succeeded in the distraction everyone's attention, as we see in the books, because Nazguls were very close to the Shire, before anyone knew it. He fooled even Gandalf with this strategy. If Nazgul's arrived only one day earlier (or even few hours) it could have been catastrophic.

 

[Áramandë Amaniel]

Of course that Sauron knew that Golum would not bring ring back. Sauron was not a fool.
He let him go (making Golum believe he escaped), and then he sends orcs to follow him, hoping that it will lead them to the location of the ring.
It's a pretty smart move in my book.

But one of my favorite Sauron smart moves is when Gollum is captured by the Elves, he simultaneously attacked both Denethor and Thranduil, and it was a diversion, because he sent Nazguls to search for the ring at the very same moment.
He succeeded in the distraction everyone's attention, as we see in the books, because Nazguls were very close to the Shire, before anyone knew it. He fooled even Gandalf with this strategy. If Nazgul's arrived only one day earlier (or even few hours) it could have been catastrophic.

I agree. That was a very carefully planned out strategy of his.

 

[Taters]

I always thought that Sauron let Gollum go BECAUSE his desire for the ring was so great...that if Sauron's forces couldn't find the ring, then maybe Gollum could. If Gollum found the ring, unlike Frodo he would put it on/wear it for prolonged periods, and then Sauron would know where the ring was. Gollum would be no match for the Nazgul in the "spirit realm" and then Sauron would reclaim the ring.

I just read the online discussion elsewhere regarding Sauron's apparent "fear" of Gollum due to Sauron's inability to comprehend Gollum's relationship to the ring.

 

[Nienna Núri]

I never really thought about it before, but my first response to this question is that Sauron let Gollum go because it pleased him to know how miserable, unhappy and tortured Gollum was. This would have all come to an end if he killed Gollum instead.

In addition, there was the general sense that Gollum would stir up mischief for Sauron's enemies, without Sauron being able to predict exactly how this mischief would manifest.I'm reminded of how Morgoth let Hurin go back in the First Age. Morgoth couldn't have known exactly what Hurin would do once he was free, but supposed after all those years of torture and propaganda, whatever Hurin did would end up aiding Morgoth's cause, which it did.

Sauron probably was taking a page from the book of Morgoth here, or attempting to, but had no way of knowing how horrible a mistake this would prove for him. One of the best elements of the whole saga is the way Bilbo's pity in sparing Gollum turned out to be the thing that saved the world, without having any idea how it could have that effect. Only Gandalf had a hunch, and this was just some kind of vague inkling or intuition. Frodo learned that Bilbo's pity was important, but he couldn't have guessed the nature of Gollum's importance either when he also showed pity toward him.

And certainly Sauron didn't see any of this coming either. He probably figured Gollum might do something like hone in on the ring and cause some chaos for whomever had it, in one way or another that would increase Sauron's chances of learning where the ring was and retrieving it. It was speculated that Gollum achieved this by alerting the orcs to the Fellowship's presence along the Great River. This didn't pan out, but I imagine this was the kind of mischief Sauron would have hoped for. He didn't realize that just as Hurin had been seeded with Morgoth's curse, causing ruin and tragedy when he was released, Gollum had been seeded with Bilbo's blessing, which bore fruit in the ring's undoing, complemented by Frodo's blessing once they met. Simple pity, or compassion as we might say nowadays, seeded Gollum with the magic of the world's salvation, invisible to almost everyone's eyes, particularly Sauron's.

 

[Elbereth Vala Varda]

" But Sauron perceived the depth of Gollum's malice towards those that had "robbed" him, and guessing that he would go in search of them to avenge himself, Sauron hoped that his spies would thus be led to the Ring."

This from Unfinished Tales says it all.

 

[Amon Rudh]

As above. There's not much we can think of that JRRT didn't. This was probably his only literary fault, seeking perfection of lore and character depth.

 

[Squint-eyed Southerner]

BTW, Gandalf does tell Frodo that he "let him go", but this was a figure of speech, as he didn't "have" him at the time, only his trail, leading south out of Mirkwood. It was the hunt for him he let go, which he acknowledged was a "great mistake".

He did have a lot on his mind, so we should probably cut him some slack. 🙂