Posted on 01/06/2006 10:31:09 AM PST by Slings and Arrows
Flash animation - click below for the two parts. WARNING: Contains foul language, hobbit abuse.
According to Gandalf, Sauron let Gollum go, perhaps with implanted compulsions that made him a spy for Sauron, unwillingly.
You're probably right about the elevation of the Eye. Although from the book I never got the idea of the Eye as being something physically visible like that. If you recall, Frodo only saw it while wearing the Ring. It was not in the physical world. I think Jackson put the Eye on top of Barad-dur in for cinematic reasons. Frankly, I thought it looked a little silly (some have pointed out that it looks remarkably like a giant flaming vagina), although I'm not sure how you portray a metaphysical Eye in a movie. :)
However, in the Book the implication is that the Nine took some time, weeks or more, to make their way back to Mordor after their horses were destroyed in the Ford.
During this period, the Eagles could presumably have launched a pre-emptive aerial strike on Mordor. Also, in the book at least, there are strong indications that the flying beasts the Nine use are something new that Sauron has just cooked up.
Geekish enough for you?
Thanks for the ping!
"Couldn't one of the Eagles have done a low-altitude sneak in? :)"
I think the problem is/was the Eagle would be corrupted by the power of the ring. He would have kept it and used it to make the eagles the lords of Middle Earth.
Now, I hate to think of what a giant eagle, with the power of the ONE RING, might do over my head.
That was hilarious! What is the "Badger Version"?
Again, my pleasure.
[TTT:BV might make more sense if you watch this first. But probably not.]
Passing geekish, yes.
In the book, when the Nine were initially looking for the Ring they were trying to be (relatively) inconspicuous. [Not like in the movie, obviously.] Flying on wyrmback is just about the polar opposite of inconspicuous.
Agree re the Eye in the movie. That flashlight-beam it emitted suggested that it worked line-of-sight which the books (and other parts of the movies) contradicted.
Questions of the Ring corrupting its bearer aside, "Why not have an eagle carry the Ring" raises another question; namely, "Why weren't the eagles doing 24/7 reconaissance on Mordor, or even bombing runs?" [Gandalf would have thought of it, if no one else.] That they weren't suggests to me that Sauron had some pretty effective air defenses.
Which was probably the single largest logical flaw in the book. The Nine of the Fellowship part of the book, sneaking into The Prancing Pony and fleeing in terror from Aragorn and a few torches held by hobbits, have almost nothing in common with the Nine of ROTK, who go toe to toe with Gandalf the White, with the strong implication that Gandalf might be defeated by the Witch-King, although the confrontation never quite materializes in the book.
If the Nine are so powerful, why are they sneaking around trying to grab the Ring by stealth? Why not take it by force?
Because Sauron knew he was going to war, Ring or no Ring, and was trying to achieve strategic surprise. The greater the delay before the Men and Elves got off their arses, the greater his advantage. Recall the disorganized state of the kingdoms of Men - it nearly worked, too. Would have, if not for Gandalf.
P.S. Agree re the torches. If the Nine feared fire, why didn't Gandalf, or even Aragorn, order the armies to pepper the bastiches with flaming arrows?
Yeah, but the whole theory of the book is that once Sauron gets the Ring the war is over, regardless of what Men or Elves do. So his rather tentative efforts to acquire it in Eriador make little sense, IMHO.
Especially since he knows they are on their way to Rivendell, the home of Elrond, his great enemy for six thousand years. Sauron knows Elrond has the power to wield the Ring, but doesn't realize that he has no desire to do so.
So the Nine just run off and leave the Ring to continue on its way to Rivendell. The Ring which their Master has obsessed over for 3,000 years, and which is the key to victory by either side, simply becasue they are opposed by three functional hobbits and one man? Can't buy it.
How about molotov coctails for the flying Beasts? Even if they wouldn't affect the Riders, I bet the Beasts wouldn't like them at all!
Not necessarily from Sauron's perspective - he'd already gotten his ass kicked once when he had the Ring, and he was going up against one of the afforementioned ass-kickers again. Also, the more overt his grab for the Ring, the more time Frodo would have had to haul butt. Sauron had hoped to get the ring before Frodo was alerted, figuring that Frodo would run if notified that the Nine were after him, and be that much harder to catch. (Good call, that.)
Agree that fire should hve been used against the Nine's wyrms.
ROTFLMAO!
Much better!
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