June 5, 2002

Re: Balrogs
Richard P.

Two more points on which I feel I must argue!!! ;)

Firstly, the idea that the intelligence of the Balrog is reflected by the intelligence of the person(s) that it has slain.
I just don't buy that... I mean, fair enough, Feanor, Fingolfin, Glorfindel; there all pretty strong guys, as well as being very clever, but in the end they are flesh and blood. A Balrog is a Maia. It is also a Maia that has taken on a huge physical form... I don't think that your going to beat it with any intellect, you have to beat it with massive power. I could be the cleverest guy in the world, but if Mike Tyson picked a fight with me what would my chances of survival be?

0.

I think this is what we see when we have Elves or Men fighting Balrogs. These are things to which a couple of heafty sword strokes are like a wasp sting, whereas it is so strong that one half hearted swing of a club from a Balrog would kill you instantly. In fact, we see that the only person to have any real success in fighting a Balrog, Gandalf, is a Maia. Of course, Glorfindel kills a Balrog, but only by falling off a huge cliff with it, Gandalf actaully kills the Balrog, and then his body passes away with the power he has had to expend in kill the Balrog.

Secondly, I don't think that if the Balrog had taken possesion of the Ring he would have done anything with it. I believe there are two things he may have done.
a. Taken the Ring back to Sauron. If the Balrog had known what the Ring was, he would have relinquished it to Sauron. If he had claimed it, Sauron would have been aware of it, and, being the Balrog's superior, simply ordered the Balrog to give it back, and this the Balrog would have done, because it is a subservient being. Its purpose is not to think, but to destroy.

b. Just not known what the Ring was. It is interesting to note that the Balrog DID NOT go for Frodo. If it was aware of the Ring, of what it was and that Sauron was seeking it, it would have gone for Frodo. Instead it goes for Gandalf because it regonises another Maia on its patch.

Also, if the Balrog is so clever, why has he not set himself up in Moria, with all the Orcs as his minions, and started a successfull mithril mining operation, exporting to Sauron and Saruman? Why has the Balrog not come forth from Moria to challenge Celeborn and Galadriel or even Sauron? I think it is because without someone giving the Balrog executive orders to do something, it just won't do it. I'm not saying that its not capable of independant thought, of planning out something and then executing that plan; but i am saying that it needs to be told what to do first... ie. wipe out the armies of the Noldor........ the Balrog goes off and does it; it didn't come up with that idea on its own, and when those ideas stop comming, it simply sits and does nothing until it feels really threatened.