dirtyFrenchman
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Sep 14, 2025 4:32 PM
dirtyFrenchman
14972
191
12
tinydog
Telemapus
Kats8652
Because Sauron installed several Patriot missile systems.
Sulexar
They would have died instantly.
JayDeeDubs
Wicky4d
The reason why the eagles can't fly the ring to Mordor? The ring would have gained control over them just like Boromir.
IHaveAPetTReX
They couldn't take the Eagles, the Eagles were on tour with the Rolling Stones and Grateful Dead at the time. Or they would have been...if they could eacape the Hotel California.
dirtyFrenchman
It was however, Led Zeppelin that clearly explained:
'Twas in the darkest depths of Mordor
I met a girl so fair
But Gollum and the evil one
Crept up and slipped away with her
firlefranz
amp99
RoamingEast
can we just agree 'plot contrivance' and stop all this retroactive analysis?
dreikommavierzehn
that makes sense for fictional universes and stories within them that haven't been thought out thoroughly. Most notable for that would be the HarryPotter world. But Tolkien first built the world, then told stories within them. Most of everything in it had a specific reason for why it is the way it is. And he also gave an answer to this specific question.
DanCodyComics
He created a well thought out world, true. That is not the same thing as a well thought out *plot.* To be perfectly honest, the story is full of holes and weird logic.
LoyalToTheEnd
BeornBlackclaw
looks like Oglaf
kevbot5000
It is, it is!
reverendbonobo
Don't let the lack of titties fool you. It's definitely Oglaf.
JoePicardo
Hashbrown123
If the eagle are fast it doesn't matter. They just need to fly in, drop off frodo, and duck out.
mondeca
And they don't have to fly straight towards Mt. Doom, either. They could fly around to the south, until the mountain is between them and Sauron, and it would still be faster and safer than walking.
WorkerLurker
They are highly corruptible by the ring.
gnomedeplume
fast enough to do all that before Sauron spots them, mobilizes his forces to mt doom and get on top of Frodo before he has time to toss the ring? unlikely
varonicaED
No, no, Frodo is only carrying the ring, there's nothing there that says he can't still be carrying it when it's cast into Mt Doom, nobody expected him to come back alive anyway, done right Frodo need never touch the ground outside the lava pit!
dreikommavierzehn
I think one of the great tragedies if Imgur were to shutdown is that I don't get to reference the great library of @Ngugi anymore:
/gallery/why-did-fellowship-not-">yKifW">https://imgur.com/gallery/why-did-fellowship-not-fly-to-mordor-ddyKifW
https://imgur.com/gallery/eagles-of-middle-earth-gZfHWiA
Ngugi
Thank you
dreikommavierzehn
My lack of attention is a curse but also a blessing. It means I skipped many long posts only to re-discover and read them years later. Like right now, a 2020 Lotr post on the Eagles. 🖤
Ngugi
That's perfect, haha, just as intended
dreikommavierzehn
never before has Gandalf been this relatable to me, perfect reponse 😅
Onetonmanwithaspoon
Considering that at the very end of the Return of the King they had a last stand at the literal gates to be a distraction, then why didn't they just post up at the gates and just air drop the halfling? Land, dismount, take off and no one would be the wiser.
Telemapus
The Eagles didn't go into Mordor until the ring had been destroyed (and thus also the Nazgul). The Nazgul were the problem.
Sulexar
Probably because 8 people "posting up" outside the gate would not have drawn the entire remaining mordor army out.
Onetonmanwithaspoon
They had a army, It wasn't just 8 people.
Sulexar
They had an army at the end of the war, not at the beginning. How are people this fucking stupid?
SlaaneshiRightsFront
Don't the eagles refuse to help Thorin & Co due to concerns of being shot at by farmers? Mordor seems like a much more concerning proposition; particularly as there are plenty of dots to connect that would place sightings of eagles high on Sauron's concerns list; not least among which would be that the last known location of the ringbearer (prior to the council) was Rivendell, which is not far from the Eyries, and the eagles also helped Gandalf escape Orthanc
Onetonmanwithaspoon
I get that the eagles were worried about the danger, but at the very least, they get put in a location where it wouldn't take months to make what was seen as a suicide mission on foot. Like they're putting the fate of the whole world in the hands of 8 people that have a tracker on them.
SlaaneshiRightsFront
In regards to the ring, I doubt very much the eagles would have refused on the grounds that it was dangerous; they're brave and noble creatures, the farmer example mostly serves to highlight they're not invincible, or capable of flying out of range of bowshot (at least, not while carrying passengers), the reason the were ruled out is because they would be as high a priority target as Russian drones in Polish airspace, and - vitally - there would be no coming back or intervention in the 1/2
SlaaneshiRightsFront
Case of failure; shot down over Mordor would be almost as bad as handing the ring directly to Sauron. The infiltration plan, past a certain point in the journey, carries the same risk, but doesn't advertise the exact location of the ring the way the eagles would, and allows for a greater degree of support along the way 2/2