September 25, 2002

Did Gandalf Jump?
Bob the Builder

To be honest, I was somewhat bemused by the arguments raised by Radagast da Foo’ (and, to a lesser extent, Swynwr) regarding my earlier observation on how Gandalf appeared to inexplicably and abruptly let go of the edge of the chasm, and why no one rushed to help him (as Frodo tried to do). The main points raised appear to be the following:

1) Gandalf deliberately dropped into the chasm because he knew that the Balrog had to be dealt with once and for all, otherwise it would make trouble for the Fellowship at some future point.

2) Gandalf deliberately dropped into the chasm because he knew he was too weak as Gandalf the Grey and wanted to return as Gandalf the White.

First of all, there is nothing in the book (from memory – I admit I don’t have the text in front of me at the moment so anyone feel free to correct me) to suggest that Gandalf deliberately dropped into the chasm. Rather, the Balrog dragged him (very unwillingly) into the pit with its whip. Likewise, in the movie, when the Balrog falls into the pit, Gandalf breathes a sigh of relief and starts to turn away. This is not the reaction of someone who knows that he has to jump down the chasm after the Balrog to engage in hand-to-hand combat for days. Why did he not dive down then, immediately, instead of having to be dragged by a whip? Furthermore, there is nothing to suggest that the Balrog would have come after them when it finally got out of the pit. It attacked them because they were there, just as it attacked the dwarves that bothered it unwittingly. The Fellowship would have been days’ journey away and out of sight by then.

On the second point, I think it belittles Gandalf’s self-sacrifice and willingness to put himself in harm’s way in order to defend the retreat of the Fellowship if one argued he did so in the knowledge that he would come back as Gandalf the White. Suddenly, his self sacrifice becomes lust for power (‘If I dive down the pit after the Balrog, I’ll come back as Gandalf the White and replace Saruman as the head of the Istari…cool!’).

Here is my theory as to why the fall of Gandalf was depicted the way it was in the movie.

If I am not mistaken, in the book, the Balrog entangled Gandalf’s feet with his whip and dragged him down the pit. Meanwhile, Gandalf had an opportunity to cling briefly to the ledge long enough to utter the famous words “Fly you fools!” before tumbling into the abyss.

Peter Jackson faced a dilemma in that he made the Balrog SO huge and physically imposing that it would have been comical to have Gandalf, however briefly, hold on to the edge whilst supporting the entire combined weight of himself and the Balrog. Therefore, he made the whip merely knock Gandalf off his feet. After that, Gandalf was clinging to the edge of the pit without anything trying to drag him down. This allowed him the opportunity to speak to the Fellowship, but also meant that he had to let go eventually and the Fellowship could not try to help him (otherwise they would have saved him!). While I understand why this change was necessary, I agree with Lady of Rohan in that I think the movie did not handle it well. It would have been more convincing if Gandalf had a more tenuous grip on the ledge, the Fellowship had rushed to his assistance, but he either lost his grip or perhaps a piece of the ledge gave way even as he screamed ‘fly you fools!’.

Just my thoughts.