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A Balrog of Morgoth. Those words of Gandalf’s terrorized even Legolas, an eternal being who did not fear much. In the movie, the vision of the smoking, flaming Balrog with bat-like wings emerging from the shadows of Moria revealed a true match for our favorite wizard.

With those huge wings, however, comes question: does the Balrog fly?

Interestingly there is no mention in any of Tolkien’s books of a Balrog flying. During their fight, the beast fell when Gandalf struck the bridge.Additional information can be found at http://epicbrew.net/2011/09/18/geek-speak-weekly-balrogs/. They then climbed the Read the rest of this entry »

Peter Jackson’s exclusion of the Scouring of the Shire from The Return of the King, the last film in the Lord of the Ring’s Trilogy, was a mistake, but not a fatal one.

In J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterpiece, the hobbits return to the Shire from the War of the Ring. The One Ring has been destroye and they expect to resume their untroubled lives. But they find out quickly that the Shire is now under occupation by a bunch of cruel Big People called Ruffians, who answer to a Read the rest of this entry »

The death of Saruman at the hands of Grima Wormtongue presents a unique end to one of the primary antagonists in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Whereas many characters perish throughout the trilogy, Saruman’s ending is unique in that it suggests a total annihilation, a dissipation that men, elves, dwarfs, hobbits and the evil races alike never suffer.

Though it goes unstated, the Wizards Saruman, Gandalf, Radagast and others are likely Maia, sent from Valinor to oppose Read the rest of this entry »