[Folwren]

Originally Posted by Sauron the White

Of course the movies have holes. Nothing is perfect. I cringe every time I see the scrubbing bubbles of the Army of the Dead render the complete battle before the gates of Minas Tirith meaningless. Of course there are holes. What film does not?

Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Master and Commander, to name a few. All of which are based off of well written books.

And as for the book LOTR not having any holes. I give you two words - the first one is Tom and the second one starts with the letter B.

Tom Bombadil is not a hole. What makes you think he is? He may be an unnecessary character, but so is Bergil, and the ninth Nazgul, and Haldir, and Glorfindel (Tolkien could have used Arwen) etc, etc, etc. These characters may be unnecessary but they do make the story deeper and more interesting and are not holes in the tale.

No holes? Explain this to me then. Sauron needs the ring so he can dominate and control all of Middle-earth. Well, he had it once and it sure did not do him any good then did it? The forces of the Last Alliance of Elves and Men defeated Sauron and his armies even though Sauron had the ring firmly in his possession.

Alright, then, I will explain. Sauron did not take over all of Middle Earth in the beginning because there were too many powerful opponents. There were many more elves and they were powerful elves Gil-Galad and Elrond were just two. The men were united and their blood still pure Numenorean blood. The force and strength of the Alliance could never be equaled again. What is more, they acted quickly to the threat of the Ring, whereas in the 3rd age after the Ring was found they tarried whilst Sauron got busy gathering orcs and trolls to himself. Sauron was too strong for another Alliance. An army gathered would be like waves on a sea shore - no matter how large, they always break, foam, and then fall back, defeated.

And for years now I have yet to hear a reasonable explanation as to why the forces of good could not have laid siege to the Black Gates to distract Sauron and his forces while at the same time Frodo swept in on an eagle, escorted by an army of other eagles, and dumped it right into Mount Doom.

I've never thought about this. But I guess I will, just for you.

Eagles...eagles would have not only ruined the book, but would have caused the ruin of Middle-Earth. Think of it - the council decides to send eagles. They go find some and bring 'em back and the eagles start flying across Middle-Earth. They reach Mordor to. . . .get assaulted by the Nazgul and their winged creatures. What do you suppose would happen? A battle in the air resulting in what? Frodo falling to the earth, breaking his neck, and the Ring being misplaced in the land of Mordor. Yay.

As for the forces of good…what forces of good are you talking about? Theoden, the horse lord, was under the poison of Saruman, and Denethor was a jerk. What forces are you referring to?

-- Folwren