February 23, 2002

Wings, Balrogs, and Smoke... Oh My!
David

I have to say, I didn't expect to get into this argument, and, like another poster, I do not believe it matters as far as any important issue in the story goes.

However, during my fourth viewing, I actually made the point to specifically look for wings on the Balrog. I watched the entire scene focused only on the wings. (Now I know, a toy is coming out with wings, but I'm only talking about the movie here.) Do you know what I saw? Believe it or not, I saw two shadows that spread out like wings. I never saw actual physical wings. Right before the Balrog fell off the bridge I did see wing "stumps" (for lack of a better word) coming out of the shoulder area, which might imply wings (or maybe not).

So, after specifically and intently watching to see the wings….I actually saw no wings. I saw two shadows spread out like wings. Pretty much exactly the way the scene is described in the book.