[alatar]

Originally Posted by Celuien

Agree with you about the Orcs, lmp. Shagrat and Gorbag do seem far more than beasts. Maybe the non-sentient Orcs of Myths Transformed (something I have yet to read) are a later modification. Heren Istarion's article does an excellent job attempting to reconcile the differences, I think.

Is it that the Third Age orcs and other ilk have fallen from their original automaton evil prototype and, like men and elves, are lesser than like what came before? Men slowly became less long-lived and embued with special powers; orcs slowly decide that cannon fodder is a poor life. Isn't that the idea hinted at behind the 'fourth age snippet', that men and orcs were converging, so that by the present neither race is clearly distinguishable?

Adding that Gollum is too integral to the story as a character to fit the definition. His death and simultaneous destruction of the Ring fit with the tale. It feels natural, almost, for the character that became so consumed by the Ring to fall with it in the end, both figuratively and literally.

Gollum I have no problem with, it's just that it is too convenient to have him fall just after he reclaims the Ring. Tolkien, assumedly in control of the situation, could have had Smeagol claim the Ring with Frodo between him and the Crack of Doom, and so his death (and consequent destruction of the Ring) could have taken more effort by Frodo and/or Sam, who could have given the wretched thing a bump into the lava.

As for the Eagles, their appearance is more troublesome. Although if taken in context with The Hobbit, not enirely unexpected. The birds seem to have a penchant for appearing out of nowhere and saving the day.

That they do, though it's less apparent (at least to me) in the Hobbit, where Gandalf and a bunch of dwarves and Bilbo sitting in a tree throwing burning pine cones at the orcs and wargs below surely would have attracted their attention. And, after having saved Gandalf and the others, they may have seen that something interesting was going to come of the campaign, and so paid it more attention.

The eagles at the Black Gate is another matter, as they could have shown up an hour of two earlier and just made it known that the new Ringlord, as played by Aragorn, also had close air support.