Lord Of The Rings: 10 Persistent Plot Holes FINALLY Debunked
5. Why Are The Eagles (Apparently) So Useless?
The Claim: The Eagles should have flown the company to Mordor, or at the least helped in the fight against Sauron.
Simply put, the Eagles are not taxis. They are no ordinary birds, but are the Great Eagles, sent by the Valar, Manwë (Lord of these angelic caretakers of Middle-Earth) to keep watch over the Elves and the activities of Morgoth, and later Sauron.
That mission doesn’t include ferrying people around. Gwaihir, the Eagle who rescues Gandalf from Orthanc, alludes to this when he tells Gandalf that he can take him “Many leagues, but not to the ends of the earth. I was sent to bear tidings not burdens.”
Clearly the Eagles do help but, outside of rare exceptions, only in line with their primary mission.
And why do the Eagles not fight? Actually, they do. The movies open with the climactic battle of the War of the Last Alliance, a battle that Tolkien stated all beasts and birds fought in. The Eagles also fought in the climactic battle of the War of Wrath, were at the Battle of Five Armies and at the climactic battle of The Lord of the Rings.
Thus, they are committed to battle, but only when absolutely necessary.