[The Franchise]

Originally Posted by ThaVirus

Is there any more convenient Deus Ex Machina than the Eagles in LOTR and The Hobbit? Seriously. What do those all powerful Eagles do in their free time? And why is my phone autocorrecting to capitalize the word Eagles?

Also, why did Beorn only have 4 seconds of screen time in The Battle of the Five Armies? They literally air dropped that man into battle. So ****ing awesome. I would have watched a 2 hour movie of just him wrecking Gundabad orcs.

http://www.reddit.com/r/FanTheories/...he_eagle_plot/

Gandalf and the eagles discus the plan for the eagles to take Frodo and the ring to Mordor and the eagles agree to do it, even though it could be dangerous for them because of the nine dragons the Nazgûl ride - the only things in Saurons defences that could stand in the eagles way. But they would have the element of surprise and much greater numbers if they did end up having to fight the dragons.

They see that their ability to fly is the only advantage Saurons enemies have against him and that this plan is the only plan that has any reasonable chance of success. Gandalf and the eagles agree that the plan should be kept very secret. If Sauron hears about it he'll realise the one weakness in his defences and quickly try to protect himself against it, and there goes the one advantage his enemies have.

Gandalf can't risk losing this advantage so he tells no one when he arrives at Rivendell. Nobody can know the plan until they reach the eagles and are flying on their way to Mordor because if they're captured they could have the plan tortured out of them - in the same way Gollum had the location of the ring tortured out of him. When they leave Rivendell they're a group of nine, not a just Frodo, Sam and himself like he'd planned for. But that's fine, he thinks, there are plenty of eagles to carry them.

Gandalf just has to get the fellowship to the other side of the Misty Mountains and go north to meet the eagles where they live, because meeting them anywhere else would mean a greater risk of being seen by the enemy. He can't take any chances of the his plan being discovered in any way and is being extremely careful because as far as he knows the survival of Middle Earth rests on the secrecy and success of his plan.

There are four main routes across the Misty Mountains, they're marked on this map. From north to south:

High pass
Redhorn pass
Moria
The Gap of Rohan

Being closest to the eagles the High pass would have been ideal for Gandalfs plan, but he decided against it because it was the obvious route for crossing the mountains (for whatever plan they might have) so Saruman was watching it. It was also infested with goblins and orcs who could see them travelling north after the pass, inform Sauron or Saruman who might then realise they were going north to meet the eagles thus discovering the plan.
The next most northern pass is what Gandalf settled for, even though it's a very dangerous pass and even though it would mean a long journey north to meet the eagles, it is still the safest route for his plan to remain secret and that is all that's important to him now. Keeping his plan secret was the main reason for him choosing the Redhorn pass. But Saruman was watching here too and sent storms to stop them.

The Gap of Rohan would take them far too close to Isengard, and more importantly too far south. Which was no good for the plan as they'd have to travel the whole length of the Misty Mountains up the eastern side to meet the eagles. So the Gap wasn't an option for Gandalf and the only way left was Moria. Which he didn't like at all and we see he's very reluctant. We think it's only because of the Balrog but it's also because of the risk of goblins and orcs seeing them go north on the eastern side (like the High pass) and because it was further south than he'd planned for which meant it would take longer to reach the eagles.

They almost get through Moria but Gandalf ends up fighting the Balrog and falling down the chasm. When he's about to fall he realises he has to tell them the eagle plan quickly before he falls, and in a way that any nearby orcs and golbins won't understand. He says ''Fly, you fools'' hoping at least one of the fellowship understands what he really means... but they don't. He falls and fights the Balrog. Meanwhile the fellowship escapes Moria and carries on with the only plan they've known - get the ring to Mordor.