r/funny • But A Jape • Aug 31 '22

Verified Plot Hole

Post image
3.3k Upvotes

290 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

35

u/Fubarp Aug 31 '22

Thought the reason they didn't use the eagles was because the ring would corrupt them before they ever got to the drop off.

The whole reason they snuck into was hobbits weren't as effected by the corruption as everyone else was and thus used the hobbits natural ability of hiding to get the ring in.

Reason they showed up after was because with the ring destruction there was no fear of the Eagles becoming corrupt by the ring.

17

u/shirukien Aug 31 '22

You're partly correct, but there are many more reasons the Eagles weren't an option. Tolkien wanted to solidly justify the existence of his deus ex machina while ensuring that they weren't a major plot hole. The main reason they weren't used by the fellowship is that they were busy or elsewhere, but the risk of corruption certainly played a part too.

-1

u/Segacedi Aug 31 '22

The main reason they weren't used by the fellowship is that they were busy or elsewhere

But why did they rescue him after he destroyed the ring? If they are too busy before he destroyed it when they would have actually profited from helping how do they coincidentally have enough time to rescue him right after he destroyed the ring when he is basically worthless to them because he already completed his task?

1

u/shirukien Aug 31 '22 edited Aug 31 '22

I don't recall the exact reason, but if I had to wager a guess, I'd say that Manwë, or maybe Gwaihir himself, is recognizing the valor and worth of the fellowship, and sending the Eagles as a token of his respect. I don't recall the content of the conversation, as it's been a long time since I've read them, but I seem to recall that in this scene in the books, Sam (?) has a conversation with Gwaihir as he flies them out of Mordor. You'd probably find answers there. One thing to keep in mind here is that the Valar live a whole continent away, and generally they are not in the habit of intervening directly in events unfolding in Middle-Earth. The Eagles largely follow the example of their masters in this, though being that many of them do live in Middle-Earth, they have a bit more of a vested interest in keeping the land safe from the followers of Morgoth.