By Becca Lewis | Published
Lord of the Rings fans may have noticed that the movie version of the story has a major plot hole. Why couldn’t the adventurers save themselves the trek and why couldn’t the Eagles fly them to Mordor? The answer is in the literary version of the story, but not well explained in the film, hence the confusion.
Fly You Fools
While the series of films based on JRR Tolkien’s books depict Eagles as reclusive, and apart from male problems, the film version of The Lord of the Rings does not cover this aspect of their behavior. Men’s lack of motivation to save the realm is unclear because the films do not address Gandalf’s special status with eagles. Despite the ability to fly, they can’t necessarily fly wherever they want.
Another reason why the Eagles in Lord of the Rings cannot be equipped to carry the Fellowship to their opponent’s doorstep is because the Eagles are not immune to the effects of the Ring. If they give up their desire to wield the power of the One Ring, the eagles can kill Frodo and take the ring for themselves. Eagle Imagine the Dark Lord wielding the power of the Ring in the Eagle Realm.
Traveling by plane is also dangerous
The main reason the Eagles couldn’t just fly the Fellowship to Mordor in Lord of the Rings is that the journey would be just as dangerous for them as it is for the members of the Fellowship, if not more so. If an eagle is targeted by Sauron’s agents, it will likely fall from the sky, taking its rider with it, and the eagles will not be equipped to defend themselves against such an attack. . There is no guarantee that flying Eagle Express will be any less dangerous than traveling by land, even if it is a short trip.
Of course, there’s a practical reason why the Eagles didn’t just fly the Fellowship to Mordor, and that’s because reading Lord of the Rings or making movies wouldn’t be an epic adventure if the trip was just a couple. minutes long. There will be no opportunity to meet friends on the way to fellowship, no cloak and dagger stealth travel, and no conflict. It would just be a story about riding an eagle and making a quick trip to Mordor to drop off the ring.
The story is better without the Eagle Express.
Instead of being a plot hole, the plot of Lord of the Rings is actually strengthened by the character’s journey, the struggle for the fate of the human realm, and all the interesting things that happen along the way. Using a magic wand to solve all of the Fellowship’s problems doesn’t make for a good story, but it also doesn’t lead to the final battle, during which the two Hobbits and Gollum destroy the ring. None of this would have been possible if the journey had been cut short, Gollum had been allowed to follow the party and the ring had been accidentally thrown into the pit.
