Ulmo and the Ring War

[CSteefel]

Originally Posted by Andsigil

My objection to their appearance at the Morannon is only on a literary level. The only other appearance they make in the entire trilogy is when Gandalf is rescued from Orthanc. Then, suddenly, they appear at the Battle of the Black Gates.

I'm not a published author, and certainly am I no J.R.R. Tolkien. But every creative writing class I ever took cites deus ex machina as anathema. The eagles at Morannon are reminiscent of the cavalry making its first appearance in a western film to help the besieged pioneers... at the very climax of the story.

I wish Tolkien had simply left them out of that scene.

And when Gandalf is "rescued" from the peak of Zirakzigal and then carried to Lothlorien. It seems all of these involve something beyond the Eagles just patrolling the skies and randomly coming across Gandalf. Either the Eagles are hearing something directly from Manwe, or more likely, they communicate telepathically with Gandalf (Manwe's emissary in Middle Earth). In this regard, not perhaps a Deux ex Machina in the same sense that this term is usually used...