Well it just had to be this one didnt it? For all its recurrence in LOTR fandom, the question of why Gandalf didnt ask the giant eagles to fly the ring to Mordor remains a massive hole at the centre of the series. Fans will likely be rolling their eyes at this point, ready to jump down to the comments and explain it away. But while theres logical solutions to this question, none carry much weight. The most common defence, that the eagles were their own race and not just Gandalfs servants, is all well and good, but surely its in the eagles best interest to destroy the ring; they are clearly closer the good side given their actions elsewhere. What makes this so hard to ignore is that eagles actually turn up at the final battle; they werent wanting to sit this out at all. And in them managing to take on a gaggle of Fellbeasts this scene succinctly destroys the defence that flying enemies might have put them off. Im yet to be given any convincing reason why destroying the One Ring was less important than day to day eagle chores. Let's not forget that while the idea may seem silly, so does a small group walking the whole way. Your move, Tolkienites. Know any solutions to these problems? Or do you have any more to raise? Head down to the comments and let us know.
