I'd also point out that the Balrog, Shelob, and possibly the watcher in the water are the only baddies who aren't "truly" part of the War. They are, essentially, independant entities.
The Balrog hid in Khazad-Dum after the defeat of Morgoth. The Balrog would neither know nor care about the war of the Ring - so in that sense, Gandalf is allowed to stand against him so that the rest of the party may go on. He does not have to engineer a battle with the Balrog, he's within his mission as Istari to fight it himself.
The Balrogs were also Maiar, just like Sauron, so it's doubtful that Sauron or his later creations would've had any influence over the remaining Balrog (the other six were destroyed much earlier). Plus, when the Balrogs and Sauron were both servants of Morgoth, the Balrogs were brawn and Sauron Brains. I don't think Sauron would've wanted a Balrog involved with the Ring, though he almost certainly knew that one Balrog remained and was hiding under Moria.
Shelob is a child of Ungoliant - the only servant of Morgoth who ever stopped obeying Morgoth. She's commandable by none and has no thought for the ring or for any power - only thought of her own hunger (proving that in the spider family, the apple does not fall far from the tree).
The thing about Gandalf's battle with the Balrog that intrigues me is that I wonder what Galadriel's reaction would've been when Legolas told her about the Balrog. No doubt she would have much knowledge of Balrogs and would probably be interested in what had become of Gandalf after he and the Balrog fell into the depths of Khazad-Dum.
Aside from herself, Sauron, and Treebeard, the Balrog would also have been the oldest living thing in Middle Earth.
I'm rambling now, I'll stop. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]
<font size=1 color=339966>[ 1:30 PM February 02, 2004: Message edited by: Vitesse ]
|