Talk:Eagle (Middle-earth)

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Christopher Tolkien's comments about the "Eagle picture" are in his foreword to the 50th-anniversary edition of The Hobbit. All the eagles in The Hobbit are the same, as is clear from the beginning of Chapter VII, at least in this edition. The only speculation is that they include Gwaihir and Landroval. —JerryFriedman 18:10, 24 Dec 2004 (UTC)

The unanswered question is: Why didn't the Council of Elrond simply ask some Eagles to fly to Mordor with the One Ring, and drop it into Mount Doom? It would have been much easier than to go through all the side plots of the actual story. If you postulate the existence of such creatures as Eagles, and use them in the story, you ought to explain why you don't use them to resolve the primary plot tension.

This is what people who don't read the material (enough) gripe about. [1]

One possibility is that there were no Eagles available when they were needed. (Gandalf never summons them with a moth or anything in the book!) Another common argument is that Mordor was well defended, while the Eagles were wary even of shepherds with bows. It may have been an issue of secrecy: a group of Eagles far from the Misty Mountains flying toward Mordor might well have drawn Sauron's attention, and might have even hinted at the plan to destroy the Ring. Some suggest that like the Istari, the Eagles were forbidden by the Valar to help so directly. Another suggestion is that Frodo may have needed the long journey to (hopefully) develop enough strength of will to cast the Ring into the Fire.

Uthanc 07:38, 22 November 2006 (UTC)