Gríma Wormtongue is an apt name for the treacherous character in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and in Peter Jackson’s adaptation. In The Two Towers, he is glued to King Théoden of Rohan, whispering in his ear as his chief advisor. The films don’t delve too much into Gríma’s history, nor explain precisely how he ended up next to the most powerful man in Rohan. Not only that, but Gríma’s role in Saruman’s death is different in the books than in the films. Though he’s a relatively small character in Jackson’s movie, Gríma’s role is actually quite detailed and provides a lot of context for other events in The Lord of the Rings.
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The Two Towers introduces Gríma alongside King Théoden, who looks weathered, to say the least. Théoden seems old and worn down, unable to speak clearly and slumped to one side of his throne. When the Riders of Rohan return from Riddermark, claiming that orcs are ravaging their lands, Gríma urges Théoden not to intervene and even exiles his nephew Éomer because he “sees too much.”
When Gandalf arrives at Rohan, he discovers Théoden is under Saruman’s influence, with Gríma as the instrument to keep the power intact. Gandalf quickly releases Théoden from Saruman’s hold, and the King is eager to seek revenge on Gríma. Under Gandalf’s advice, Théoden spares Gríma and lets him go crawling back to his master instead. In hindsight, this was a good call because Gríma ends up being Saruman’s downfall in both the films and books, although in different ways.
Gríma is native to Riddermark and the son of Gálmód. He secretly joined Saruman’s service under the probable guise of receiving Éowyn — Théoden’s daughter — as his reward. Unfortunately for him, he does not get his reward and is punished by Saruman for his failure to keep influence over Théoden. Now back at Orthanc with his master, Gríma becomes more of a burden to Saruman than he’s worth, eventually throwing the Palantir off the top of the tower and letting it fall into Pippin’s hands. In Return of the King, Gríma pushes Saruman off the top of the tower, killing him. In the books, Gríma kills Saruman in an altogether more satisfying way.
After Orthanc’s destruction at the end of The Two Towers, Saruman and Gríma head to the Shire to enact petty revenge against the Hobbits, turning their home into an industrial wasteland. During this time, Saruman’s cruel, physical punishments wear Gríma down, and he starts looking more like Gollum than a man of Riddermark. Gríma even goes so far as to kill Lotho Sackville-Baggins and may have eaten him under the command of Saruman. Eventually, Gríma slits Saruman’s throat with a knife. Shortly after, he is also killed by rioting Hobbits.
Overall, Gríma plays a huge role in The Lord of the Rings, as noted by J. R. R. Tolkien’s Unfinished Tales. In the book, Gríma is captured by the Nazgûl in a Rohan field and is interrogated. Gríma tells them about Saruman’s plans, involving his specific interest in the Shire and the Hobbits that live there, as well as the news about Gandalf’s arrival in Edoras. At the time, the Nazgûl only knew that someone named “Baggins” lives in the Shire and supposedly still has the One Ring. Because of this chance encounter, the Nazgûl journey to the Shire to locate “Baggins” instead of heading to Edoras to confront Gandalf. If Gríma had not divulged Saruman’s plans, Frodo might have had more time to get out of the Shire.
Gríma Wormtongue, while not a major character in the movies or books, still causes a lot of mayhem. He pushes The Lord of the Rings‘ story onward through his malicious and sneaky actions, even betraying his own master’s plans to the Nazgûl for the preservation of his own life. Somehow, through his use of scheming and power-hungry nature, he made his way to King Théoden’s side to enact Saruman’s evil influence over the King and the region. After struggling for power his whole life it seems appropriate that Gríma is the one to kill Saruman — the person responsible for manipulating, exploiting and destroying his life. Maybe Gríma’s true purpose was to be Saruman’s downfall all along.