Quote:
Originally Posted by Sauron the White
I agree that Smaug had plans for the bridge. What were those plans I do not know. It is possible that he wanted to destroy it himself just for the satisfaction of it. It is possible he saw the bridge as a way to trap hundreds of fleeing people and get them all in one very convenient place. Nothing in the text indicates otherwise. It merely says Smaug was foiled in his plans but we know nothing of what they were.
Although we are told that he greatly enjoyed the game of killing and hunting the people and intended to do that to those who escaped. Perhaps killing those trying to also escape by bridge was just the first round in his cat and mouse game? I really do not know for a fact and neither does anyone else.
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Just one question (and I think I already asked it and didn't get an answer) - if this was the case, how is the fact that his enemies are now "on an island in deep water too deep and dark and cool for his liking" relevant? Why did Tolkien include that in the second half of the sentence, according to your theory?
Furthermore, why add "if he plunged into it, a vapour and a steam would arise enough to cover all the land with a mist for days; but the lake was mightier than he, it would quench him before he could pass through" if all he had in mind was a cat-and-mouse game involving the bridge (why would there be any question of him "plunging into" or "passing through" the water at all in that case?) Why explain, that is, why he can't risk falling into the water or pass through it, if that were never an issue anyway?