Do Balrogs Have Wings?

[Kuruharan]

That "narrow opening of the door" bit is one example of the selective reading of that article oblo posted. If you look back, you'll see that the door is only partly open when Frodo & Co. enter the Chamber of Mazarbul, which after all isn't the Broom Closet of Mazarbul. The "narrow opening" means the narrow opening of the nearly closed door.

Hmm...I may be willing to partially concede a small point. For some reason I'd simply assumed that the Fellowship had opened the door to look about before they stepped in (this seeming to be the natural thing to do). However, I suddenly realize that it does not actually say that. I still think it is a reasonable assumption, but...

I don't think it really impacts the argument that much because when the door was shattered the orcs were still only able to leap in one at a time.

As to the "realistic" (hahaha) analysis of Balrog anatomy, where its wings "must" go, how it would "need" to wield the whip, etc., I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree, since we'd both have to completely make up our arguments to have an argument, and if I want to have a made up argument I can think of other topics I'd like to make up my arguments about.

You mean more so than what we've already been discussing about imaginary creatures?