Great, are they immortal? I ask because the Nazgul’s swords are scary even to sentient beings.
And I was figuring a Hobbit riding on a bird and throwing it in the volcano as they fly by, not the bird going invisible and being corrupted.
It’s just not a, “If Indiana Jones hadn’t looked for the Ark the Nazi’s never would have found it.” plot fail
Given that even Frodo failed in the end, the answer is no. Sauron believed that no one could willingly destroy the Ring, and by the evidence he was correct. Gollum fell into the Crack of Doom, nobody actually destroyed the Ring on purpose.
Khan!!!
I don’t know if they are immortal or just very long lived. Yes, the Nazgul would certainly be a threat.
That would be impossible. I know in the films, there is no exposed lava and they need to walk inside to find some. I haven’t read the books in a while, but I remember that being the case there as well. The eagles would need to land and somebody would need to carry the Ring into the mountain to drop it.
I never said one of the eagles would wear the Ring. That would make them more visible to Sauron and the Ring Wraiths.
Just being around the Ring corrupted Boromir.
Just studying about the Ring without ever even seeing it corrupted Saruman.
It would eventually corrupt any sentient being. The question is simply how long it would take.
Like the elves, they’re unageing but can be killed.
Indeed, I take the One Ring to allegorically be desire itself: you couldn’t want anything and not want the One Ring. It took the self-abnegation of a saint for Bilbo to surrender the Ring and even then he couldn’t truly get over it. Nobody could willingly destroy the Ring having once had it, and losing the Ring meant that both Bilbo and Frodo could find no peace in this world, they had to go to the Undying Lands to be healed.
The main issue is that, just like some jet fighters carrying a bunch of heavy ordnance, the eagles couldn’t dogfight the fell beasts on any remotely even playing field, as long as they were determined to hold onto their precious cargo.
Except Tom Bombadil. [/grins, ducks, runs like hell]
I mean, one of those options is literally twice as worse as the other. You should obviously go.
I know, right? We don’t know anything about this guy, and he’s being really evasive when we ask questions, but we don’t want look like dicks so let’s just give him access to everything.
Tom Bombadil actually proves the point; he was immune to the Ring in part because he was utterly indifferent to it. Which was also why it couldn’t just be left with him, because he’d inevitably simply forget about it and leave it unguarded somewhere.
The Hobbits did as well as they did because they were so unambitious, but still focused enough for a goal like “go to Mordor to destroy the Ring”.
I still expect a logical explanation about the submarine ride to the island!
That’s easy - it was possible because it happened off-screen.
That bugged me on the very first viewing! How utterly stupid!
Later I realized that there’s no way they could even get the Ark inside the sub. The openings are too small. So (even though you can see clearly it isn’t) it must be tied to the deck. So it can’t submerge. Indy is safe from drowning! But all ships, submarines, too, post lookouts while moving. He’s caught!
Easy solution: the Nazis use…a ship!
During that era, submarines only submerged to attack - otherwise they stayed on the surface, where they could travel faster.
Ah, this I know! They specifically show the crew preparing to dive however.
Anyway, Mangetout pretty much nailed it.
It’s ahistorical but they could have shown the sub running at periscope/snorkel depth, with Indy clinging to the mast for dear life.
I’d rather they just addressed that topic head-on, like have an earlier, ill-fated attempt to destroy it by eagle. (Also, I never read the books… they were far too long for me =/ Only saw the movies and played a bunch of games. So sadly, I’d prefer a short story…)
Anyway, it seemed like (at least in the video games, which probably aren’t canon?) there are a lot more eagles than there were the flying giraffe-lizard-things that the witch kings ride on. Sure, there were crows and such too, but in general the skies around Mt. Doom seemed less fortified than the land passages. Even if it took a hundred eagles mounted by a bunch of hobbits and their supporting army, all of which could be clearly noticed by their crows and scouts, that still seems like it would’ve been a higher chance of success than 3 people spending weeks on foot. If you could’ve made some mithril armor for the eagles, combined with invisibility-rock cloaks, even better.
I dunno, it just seems like all the aerial stuff was underutilized and never really explained much, at least in the movies. The aerial mounts could’ve been a much bigger part of the overall strategy and tactics that the different factions used, but they were just occasional and rather minor threats. Like when Gandalf summoned a moth and escaped the tower he was being held captive on… why isn’t that something he used more frequently? Or if dragons were a regular part of the landscape like in the dwarf sequels (or were they prequels?), surely they could be employed in battle more often? I would’ve loved to see a spinoff with a One Ring-corrupted super-gollum-dragon instead of some innocent hobbit.
Not really “plot hole”, I guess, just… strange. IMHO the stories would’ve made more sense either without any giant flying things, or where they were utilized much more often and had to be specifically defended against (like the giant anti-dragon ballistae in Game of Thrones).
Every two person “Mexican standoff”. Just shoot first.
As Tuco (The Good, the Bad and the Ugly) says, “When it’s time to shoot, shoot. Don’t talk”.
But they posted lookouts, and sometimes had men working topside, if something needed to be done.
Not a lot of places to hide. And a very easy solution is available if you caught someone who shouldn’t be there. And are a Nazi.
Nothing is canon except Tolkine’s published books and the appendices in them. I forget how many giant eagles there were. There were at most nine fell beasts- one for each Nazgul.
There were corrupted crows almost everywhere. While not a threat individually in battle, they were a vast and effective spy network. In battle, several hundred crows attacking at once woud be fatal.
Incorrect. Once Sauron knew about the giant eagles and their mission, he would have done anything in his power to stop them. Frodo, Sam and Gollum succeeded precisely because nobody noticed them.
Mithril was rare to start with and is even rarer in that age. Thorin gave Bilbo a mithril chain mail shirt. One of the Fellowship sees the shirt and says it is “worth the Shire and everything in it.”
I assume you mean the Elven cloaks recieved in Lothlorien? They do not make you invisible. They change color to help you blend in.
In the books, Radghast sends a giant eagle to fetch Gandalf when he is late for a meeting. In the movie Gandalf does not summon a moth. He happens to catch a passing moth and uses it to relay a mesage.
Smaug was the last dragon. He was very minor as dragons go. By the time of the Fellowship, there are no dragons.
You admit to never having read the books. You admit to a poor understanding of the films-You say “the dwarf sequels (or were they prequels?)” .None of what you mentioned is a plot hole.