Wind Beneath My Wings

[msconduct]

As I work my way through LOTR extra special super extended editions on DVD, I begin to wonder: if Gwaihir, lord of the eagles, is available for charter to pick Gandalf up off Orthanc and to ferry Frodo back from Mordor, why the hell couldn't he just take Frodo to Mordor in the first place?

Comments

[enidw.livejournal.com]

It was against the Geneva Convention?

[badasstronaut.livejournal.com]

It's not the main event, but the journey that counts.

[isaacfreeman.livejournal.com]

Apparently you're not supposed to ask that question.

I tend to take it a step further: since Jim the Giant Eagle doesn't have a finger to wear the ring on, and it's rather doubtful that it would have any particular effect when worn on a talon, why doesn't Gandalf just ask him to fly to Mordor and drop it straight into the volcano?

The best reason I can think of is that giant eagles can be seen from quite some distance, and Mordor has rather good air defences by Middle Earth standards. So it's all right to move people around a long way away from Mordor, but not safe to actually go there until right at the end when the Fell Beasts aren't in top fighting condition any more.

Also, I am told, giant eagles are a proud species who Disdain the Works of Men. They're only really friends with Radagast, and a little bit with Gandalf, but not enough so that he can tell them to so something they don't want to.

I still fell, however, that this doesn't fully account for the amount of mucking around walking places in the Lord of the Rings.