No, the Eagles didn't go there for two reasons: It was dramatically inappropriate, and because they are agents of higher powers who want man to show man can take care of affairs. The first Lord of the Eagels, Thorondor, in the first age, took on Morgoth himself, managing to injure him before getting away unscathed. (Morgoth used to be Sauron's boss in those days, a higher power in his own right). While Gwaihir and company are smaller than Thorondor, they still would have little reason to fear the Ringwraiths. And this is another point: As Tolkien explicitly states in a letter, fear is the primary weapon of the Nazgul. They are NOT combat hogs. And Peter Jackson's suggestion that the Witchking (who was deliberately powered up by Sauron for the battle) could take on Gandalf, while not explicitly rejected in the book, is highly unlikely in the original context.
What would the Nazgul do to kill the eagles anyway? They have to reach them first, and need their flying steeds for that. But the back of these beasts would be broken before the Nazgul says "Oops"....
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robbevl
17 years ago
"What would the Nazgul do to kill the eagles anyway?"
They could scare them away.
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rohanaroundtheworld
17 years ago
Whats Nazgul anyway?
Why couldnt Gandalf just conjur up some birds; they wouldnt need to be that big, considering hobit size. Or even levitate the ring through the cosmos, OR tie it to that moth he had control over; send that thing to it's death. Let's face it, Sarion was an eye on a tower wasnt it? Tree's walking around is one thing but a tower the size of the Rialto is another thing all together.
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robbevl
17 years ago
There are many reasons as to why he couldn't do those things you suggested. I can't explain them all, you'd have to read The Fellowship Of The Ring for that, but I can tell you this. The ring has a mind of its own. it wants a master with high ambitions. When it's lost, it can let someone find it, not by leading the person actively, but by giving him unconscious impulses. When its on a hand it doesn't like, it can let itself slide of it, to be found by someone who's more powerhungry. So as long as the ring exists in this univese, someone will find it, and someone will use it. Maybe not in the first one thousand years, but eventually it will happen. So they could either postpone the threat, or erradicate it.
And the Nazgul are the nine ring ghosts.
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instigate_insanity
16 years ago
"Why couldnt Gandalf just conjur(sic) up some birds...?"
I think the ability to conjure living creatures is something that's outside the realm of possibility when it comes to magic. It's possible to change one living creature into another, but not possible to create life out of nothing.
And don't kid yourself about Sauron merely being an eye on a tower; he still had immense power, even in his weakened state. And Mordor isn't exactly the easiest place to get into except via stealth; if he'd attempted to use magic, he would have been detected immediately. And a moth would be incapabel of carrying an object as heavy as a ring; also, it no doubt would have managed to get away of its own accord during the attempt.
About Vidocq: I agree with the rest when they say that they needed the Alchemist completely trapped, with nowhere to go, and they needed the ambush with the mirrors. Plus, if they'd captured him the moment he'd contacted Nimier, there wouldn't have been much of a movie, would there?
When you're miserable, you need to make someone even more miserable than yourself
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