Season 1 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power promised a Balrog, and while King Durin’s tragic sacrifice in the mithril-rich depths beneath Khazad-dûm may have been short-lived, it was certainly spectacular. But one thing it hasn’t done is give in Rings of powerAnswer to a simple question: Can Balrogs fly?
At this point you may be wondering if I’m joking. From Course Balrogs can fly; they have wings. They have always had wings. The one in the Peter Jackson films has wings. But what if I told you that Peter Jackson and his team made a somewhat controversial decision when they chose to portray the Balrog with wings?
What if I told you that the question of whether Balrogs even have wings has puzzled Tolkien scholars for decades?
Image: Amazon Studios
The root of the problem is that all of the language Tolkien used to refer to the Balrogs’ “wings” and their “flight” is open to interpretation.
The first description of a Balrog’s form is found in the Moria sequence of The Fellowship of the Ring. And the first hint that it has “wings” comes after several paragraphs in which it is described simply as a huge, maned, man-shaped figure, wielding a sword in one hand and a whip in the other, and burning hidden by shadows and smoke. And in this first mention, Tolkien specifically does not say that the Balrog has wings. He says the darkness around him Look like wings: “The shadow around him stretched like two huge wings” as the Balrog deals with Gandalf on the bridge of Khazad-dûm.
The next reference, two paragraphs later, describes how the Balrog’s fire died away and the shadow around him grew until “he suddenly rose to great heights, his wings spreading from wall to wall.” By itself, this language is more literal. However, looking at the first mention, it can be argued that Tolkien is simply elegantly referring to the previous parable without intending a literal meaning – which is a commonly observed pattern in the descriptive writing of his fiction.
A few paragraphs later, the bridge collapses under Gandalf’s staff and the Balrog falls into the abyss. Tolkien writes, “His shadow fell and vanished.” Which brings up another good argument for flightless Balrogs: If the Balrog could fly, why couldn’t it rise from the abyss? Why would Gandalf even try to shatter the bridge beneath his feet if he knew it could fly?
And in order not to go too deep into textual analysis, suffice it to say that Tolkien referred to Balrogs every time The Silmarillion For example, “flying at the speed of a wing” or “crossing a great distance”, there is a counterexample in which he uses “flight” simply to mean “escape” or describes entire land-based armies as “crossing” a country. And in Tolkien’s early writings there are many references to Balrogs being part of ground-based armies, the forces of evil not containing flying monsters that can rival the Great Eagles, etc.
But on the other Hand, The Silmarillion Published posthumously, it is compiled from Tolkien’s most comprehensive writings, not necessarily his most recent. And we could go around in circles like this for hours.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powera series that aims to be visually reminiscent of the Peter Jackson films has a Balrog that looks every bit the same as Jackson’s Moria, complete with curved horns, a skull-like face, and large winged limbs covered in cascading smoke. But can it fly? The show hasn’t yet clearly established itself in this arena: we don’t see them flying in their brief appearance, but we do see them falling and flapping their wings, either in an unsuccessful attempt to get into the air or in a successful attempt You to control his descent. So there is room for interpretation, at least for now.
People will debate whether Balrogs have wings and can fly until humanity is a fairy tale Books written by rabbitsbecause there are convincing textual arguments for both sides and the “real” answer will never be known. It’s the “Is a hot dog a sandwich?” question of Tolkien studies/fandom, the “Do you say it gif or jif?” It’s a question worth pondering, as long as you answer it with the force of a Buddhist koan accepts, and not the greatest thread in the history of forumsblocked by a moderator after 12,239 pages of heated debate.
The most obvious truth is that Tolkien wrote many descriptions of what Balrogs could be interpreted when he gave them wings and the ability to fly, but he never did either expressly stated that they have wings and can fly, not in any material he himself saw leading up to publication. Both sides are potentially right and potentially wrong equally.
You can even argue both ideas at the same time, like this: “Yes, the textual support is limited in some ways, but seriously, the wings look pretty damn cool, and it’s all made up fantastical mythopoeic opera anyway, so why not.”? The Balrog in The Fellowship of the Ring He’s also not described as having horns, and they look great. “Perhaps the chasm beneath the bridge of Khazad-dûm was too narrow for the Balrog’s wings to function?”
Anyway, that’s my opinion on it. Now take a nice sip of this delicious water and check out the comments section…
