Destroying the Ring: Quick and Easy

Since the first edition of The Lord of the Rings, Frodo has “managed” to destroy the Ring nearly seventy times. To honor this, the Tolkien Society declared 2003 the first Tolkien Reading Day, held annually on March 25th. The Lord of the Rings is a matter of the heart for me. These were the first books I ever read voluntarily, I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve devoured them, and I put the movies on whenever there’s nothing better on TV (which is, frankly, often). The act of destroying the Ring itself, even if it wasn't as elegant as expected, is such a powerful symbol. In one moment, all the evil ends, suffering and war cease, and peace and better times begin.

Destroying the Ring took the famous hobbit 182 days. He surely could have finished the 2,863-kilometer journey faster if he wasn't constantly delayed by Ringwraiths or an overgrown spider. But perhaps most LOTR readers/viewers have wondered if there was a better way.

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? It’s Gwaihir, Lord of the Eagles!

Eagles are an ancient and powerful race in the history of Middle-earth, sent by the mighty Valar Manwë to watch over the Elves wandering in the darkness. In the Third Age of Middle-earth, however, thanks to our old friend Gandalf, they took on the role of a winged deus ex machina. When things get tough, just send a moth, and the problem is quickly solved.

Something like this:

The eagles appear whenever needed. They saved Gandalf and the dwarves from goblins, helped win the Battle of the Five Armies in The Hobbit, rescued Gandalf from Isengard, saved him from the peak of Zirakzigil after his fight with the Balrog, and finally picked up Frodo and Sam in Mordor. At first glance, this eagle taxi service seems to work reliably. So why didn't they just take the Ring in their beaks and destroy it themselves? For all the thought Professor Tolkien put into Middle-earth, this seems like a pretty major stumble.

Let’s look at this problem more closely. By the time the official “Let’s throw it all into the volcano” plan was launched in Rivendell, Sauron must have already known about it thanks to Saruman. At the very least, he must have suspected something was up, which is why he upgraded the Nazgûl from their ground-based, water-fearing, one-horsepower mounts to much more efficient flying variants that circled Mount Doom. It would have made more sense to send a small, inconspicuous unit when no one expected it—in broad daylight, taking the direct route through the marshes and the main gate.

Even so, it seems the eagle plan was almost a reality. Many fans believe that was Gandalf’s original intention, but since he’s a grumpy old wizard, he didn't tell anyone. After all, they just had to cross the Misty Mountains with the fellowship, stop by the eagles' aerie, and it would have been done by evening. As luck would have it, they took a shortcut through Moria instead. We all know how that turned out…

One theory suggests that beings as powerful as the eagles (they are among the first creatures of Middle-earth, ranking somewhere between wizards and Ents) must not get near the Ring. Even Gandalf had trouble with it. Poor Galadriel had a hysterical breakdown at the mere possibility of obtaining the Ring. Only a hobbit, an insignificant “little guy” from the Shire, can carry the Ring and only go partially insane. But the fact is, the eagles had already carried Bilbo with the Ring in his pocket, and no one seemed to mind. This theory just doesn't make sense.

It must be added that the original literature handles the eagle paradox much better than the film adaptation. It is more or less clear from the text that Gwaihir, Lord of the Wind, is not just a feathered taxi; he has his own plans and responsibilities to his people. He helps Gandalf based on an old debt (Gandalf saved Gwaihir’s life). To quote The Return of the King: “Twice you have borne me, Gwaihir my friend,” said Gandalf. “Thrice shall pay for all. I will not ask you to bear me more than to the gates of Edoras, where my horse now is.” It is clear from all the fragments that the eagles' intervention was always more a matter of chance and luck.

Fans are a strange bunch. They can dedicate their lives to a hobby and spend all their free time on it. At the same time, they can fight over absolute nonsense. I’ve personally witnessed a wild debate that nearly came to blows. And it was over something as trivial as the color of buttons on a Starfleet uniform. In a way, it’s magical how they can fight for what they love. But we shouldn't let such trifles and inconsistencies ruin all those beautiful stories and worlds. If J. R. R. Tolkien had chosen the eagle solution for the Ring problem, the discussion forums might be emptier, the entire trilogy would have shrunk to the size of a flyer, but we would have also lost one of the greatest stories in world literature. And that would be a shame, wouldn't it?

author Karel Krajča